On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Torrey is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Torrey’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 Torrey’s 131 sits above most of its state (79% of New York towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% 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 (±6.8 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 Torrey’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town was first settled around 1788 by members of the Society of Universal Friends, a religious group led by a former Quaker preacher known as the Public Universal Friend.
The Crooked Lake Canal, opened in 1833, ran across the south part of Torrey.
The town was formed on November 14, 1851, from parts of the Town of Benton and Town of Milo. Torrey was the last town formed in the county.
The town was named "Torrey" in order to secure the support of Henry Torrey to enable the creation of the new town over the objections of the two towns losing their territory.
The Young-Leach Cobblestone Farmhouse and Barn Complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
Passages that mention Torrey, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The military history of Yates County, N.Y.1895 · page 13Read the page →
Read the text
Yates County was . organized February 5, 1823, and was named in honor of Joseph C. Yates, then Governor of the State of New York. The towns of Barrington and Starkey were added to the couuty in 1820, and the town of Torrey was organized in 1851. Twenty-three years after the organization of our county, war was declared by the United States against Mexico. The principal military operations in that war were the invasion of Northern Mexico by the American
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.
Torrey is more historic than 92% 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 Torrey?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Robert Ingersoll Birthplace (listed 1988, the first), and 1 historic district, the Crooked Lake Outlet Historic District, with 6 contributing buildings. 13 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Torrey?
26% of Torrey’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1966.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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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