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History · St. Bonaventure

St. Bonaventure’s post office opened in 1907, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1898 on.

1907first post office
0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How St. Bonaventure began

When was St. Bonaventure founded?

1907

The St. Bonaventure post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,963119 years
Founding year: the first St. Bonaventure post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about St. Bonaventure’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of St. Bonaventure are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18985 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1980. Watch St. Bonaventure change.Old housesHalf of St. Bonaventure’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start St. Bonaventure’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how St. Bonaventure’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

St. Bonaventure on the map, 1898 to 1980

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of St. Bonaventure. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

St. Bonaventure on the 1898 USGS mapSt. Bonaventure on the 1938 USGS mapSt. Bonaventure on the 1943 USGS mapSt. Bonaventure on the 1961 USGS mapSt. Bonaventure on the 1980 USGS map1898Olean sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of St. Bonaventure.

The story so far

St. Bonaventure, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of St. Bonaventure yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

St. Bonaventure is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Allegany in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 1,963 at the 2020 census. This community, located between the village of Allegany and the city of Olean, is a college town established around St. Bonaventure University. Since the campus comprises the majority of the CDP, it has a much lower per capita income than most communities in the state, as do the several other CDPs statewide that are drawn around college campuses. St. Bonaventure also has its own on-campus post office and ZIP code (14778), separate from those of Allegany and Olean.

Its first post office opened in 1907. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,044 to 1,963 (-4%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to St. Bonaventure

Nobody well known was born in St. Bonaventure itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jeff FaheyAmerican actor · b. 1952
Marilyn HorneAmerican mezzo-soprano opera singer · b. 1934
Louis ZamperiniItalian-American middle distance runner and Wor… · b. 1917
R
Ray EvansAmerican songwriter · b. 1915
Charles IngallsFather of author Laura Ingalls Wilder · b. 1836
Rube WaddellAmerican baseball player · b. 1876
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

AlleganyIts storyB+Allegany1 historic placeB+OleanIts storyB+

Questions about St. Bonaventure’s history

What year was St. Bonaventure founded?

The St. Bonaventure post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.