1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1995 on and old-book passages.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1821.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Steuben’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Steuben is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Steuben’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Steuben’s 12.1 sits near the middle of its state (49% of New York towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1792.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Steuben’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town is part of the land grant made to Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben after the American Revolution. He maintained his summer residence in a log cabin in the town. His remains are buried in a state historic site east of Steuben village.
Steuben was formed from part of the Town of Whitestown in 1792. In 1796, part of Steuben was used to form the newer Town of Floyd and Town of Rome. Steuben was reduced again in 1797 to form the Town of Western.
Passages that mention Steuben, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people1911 · page 157Read the page →
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The town of Starkey was taken, under the act of the legislature of Xew York of April 6, 1824, from the town of Wayne, Steuben county, and was annexed to and remains a part of Yates county. On February 17, 1806, the town of Beading was formed from Frederickstown (now Wayne, Steuben county), and thereupon Beading became a town of Steuben county: thereafter, at the time before mentioned, Starkey was formed from the town of Beading, from territory which at that time was part of the town of Wayne, which
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people1911 · page 155Read the page →
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For many years spirited efforts were made by the inhabitants of the unannexed part of the town of Dansville to retain that name for the then recent postoffice, established in the part of the town remaining in Steuben county. In 1824, upon a petition of the inhabitants of the village of South Dansville, in the old county, the name of the Dansville postoffice was changed to South Sparta, and the name of Dansville postoffice was transferred to South Dansville. As these names remained for some time, the result was confusion in the deliv-
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Historical gazetteer of Steuben County, New York, with memoirs and illustrations1891 · page 213Read the page →
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fact, but has searched the session laws of the earlier days, and in those of 1839 found the following enactment, which is inserted as proof of the foregoing statements: "An act to erect the town of Wormley in Steuben county, passed March 28, 1839. The people of the state of New York, represented in senate and assembly do enact as follows: From and after the 1st Monday in February, 1840, all that part of the town of Painted Post, in the county of Steuben, beingtownship "No. 1" in the first range of townships
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History of Steuben county, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1879Read the page →
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publican party. He has been .somewhat active in politics ; has served as justice of the peace two terms while a resident of Howard ; three terms as supervisor of the town of Fremont, after its erection in 1864, and represented the Third Assembly District of Steuben County in the State Legislature in 1860 ; and, as a representative of the county, advocated and obtained the passage of a bill through both branches of the Legislature to erect the county of Canisteo from Steuben, thereby making a division of Steuben County. The
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Steuben, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
In 1792, according to Wikidata. Steuben’s post office opened in 1821.
How does Steuben rank for history?
Steuben is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Steuben?
One place: the von Steuben, Baron, Memorial Site (listed 2009).
How old are the homes in Steuben?
15% of Steuben’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1984.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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