On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Throop is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Throop’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 Throop’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of New York towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.5 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Throop’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Settlement of the area that is now Throop was commenced by Ezekiel Crane and his son, Shadrach in 1790
The area was used for hunting by the Cayuga people. Throop was within the Central New York Military Tract, reserved for war veterans. Settlement began circa 1790.
The town of Throop was formed in 1859 from parts of the towns of Aurelius, Mentz and Sennett. The town is best known for the wide variety of colorful houses found throughout its various neighborhoods. These colors can range anywhere from a muted taupe to a bronzed eggshell.
Nathan Wood, who came in the fall of 1799 and located in the Ward Settlement, in the present town of Throop ; but the first one in the town of Mentz as at present bounded, was Harman Van Vechton, who came in about 1S17 or '18 and located in the village, where he built some time after, the house next north of Masonic Hall.
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History of Cayuga County, New York1879 · page 313Read the page →
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Aurelius, from which it was erected, as yrffcrscu, March 30th, 1802, and its name changed April 6th, 1806. It then embraced the present town of Montezuma and a part of Throop, which portions were set off April 8th, 1859. P'oUowing is a list of the first officers of Jefferson, now Mentz, who were elected March 6th, 1804: Isaac Smith, Superoisor ; Lewis Kitchel,
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History of Cayuga County, New York1908 · page 398Read the page →
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Aurelius was formed January 27, 1789. Brutus, Owasco, Cato and Jefferson (now Mentz) were set off March 30, 1802; Auburn and Fleming in 1823; a part of Springport in 1833 — and part of Throop, in 1859. It lies near the center of the western border of the county, on Cayuga Lake, and has a rolling surface, which inclines to the north and west. Owasco Outlet runs through the northeast corner, and Cayuga Brook and Crane Creek with several other small streams rise in the town. These afford a num-
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History of Cayuga County, New York1908 · page 263Read the page →
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March 19, 1827. Springport was formed from Scipio, January 30, 1823. Sterling was formed from Cato, June 19, 1812. Summer Hill was formed from Locke, as Plato, April 26, 183 1, but the name was changed, March 16, 1832. Throop was formed from parts of Aurelius, Mentz and Sennett, April 8, 1859. Venice was formed from Scipio, January 30, 1823. Victory was formed from Cato, March 16, 182 1.
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Throop, 1819 to 1900
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Throop is more historic than 40% 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.
How old are the homes in Throop?
21% of Throop’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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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