The story
Read it all →How Tonawanda Town came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Tonawanda Town.
The city's name is from the word Tahnawá•teh in Tuscarora meaning 'confluent stream'.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Tonawanda Town
11% of Tonawanda Town’s homes were built before 1940
1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1870.
1on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
10famous people
What stands out about Tonawanda Town’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18943 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1948. Watch Tonawanda Town change.Boom and bustPeaked at 21,898 in 1970; 15,129 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Tonawanda Town’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Tonawanda Town’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tonawanda Town’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Tonawanda Town on the map, 1894 to 1948
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Tonawanda Town. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1894Buffalo sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Tonawanda Town.
People over time
Tonawanda Town, census by census
Peaked at 21,898 in 1970; 15,129 people lived here in 2020.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Tonawanda Town’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Tonawanda Town, 1894 to 1987
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1894
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1900
In the archiveErie Canal - 1934
Born hereAlcide M. Lanoue is born here - 1947Born hereThomas Perry is born here
- 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 21,898
- 1980
Born hereDarren Fenn is born here - 1987
Born hereBobby Shuttleworth is born here
By decade
Tonawanda Town, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1900s1 item
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your albumDate unknown1 to date
Date?
2018
2018Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewErie Canal, 1900
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Tonawanda Town’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
1 historic place in Tonawanda Town
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →10 famous people were born in Tonawanda Town
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
T
Thomas PerryAmerican mystery and thriller novelist · b. 1947B
Bert LewisAmerican professional baseball pitcher · b. 1895
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Tonawanda Town’s history
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
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 the Library of Congress (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.