The Van Etten post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Vanettenville (1836) and Swartwood (1875), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,508 in 18602020 census: 1,539166 years
How historic is Van Etten?
B−
More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Van Etten post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Van Etten’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Van Etten is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Van Etten’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 Van Etten’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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Van Etten’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area that became Van Etten was first settled around 1794, but more permanent settlement came in 1797. The town of Van Etten was formed in 1854 from the towns of Erin and Cayuta. (Cayuta later became part of Schuyler County.)
In 1876, the village of Van Etten was incorporated within the town.
In 2017, the village of Van Etten voted to dissolve and rejoin the Town of Van Etten. The dissolution took effect on December 31, 2018.
Passages that mention Van Etten, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A brief history of Chemung county, New York1907 · page 69Read the page →
Read the text
On the same date part of the old township of Cajoita was saved to Chemung, and with a portion of Erin Township was made into the township of Van Etten.'o Once more, on April 7, 1856, the northern part ssThe first town-meeting was held on February 14, 1854, and Samuel H. Maxwell was elected Supervisor. He served three terms in that capacity, and in his third term he was
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A brief history of Chemung county, New York1907 · page 71Read the page →
Read the text
in 1815, the red school-house built in 1837, and the one now in use, built in 1853. In Erin there were, in 1833, three school-houses, and the interest therein has not abated. In Van Etten the first school was taught by Mrs. Jonathan Baker, in 1803. There are now twelve school districts in the township. In Van Ettenville, in this township, there was organized a Union School in 1882, which is in charge of a Board of Education. The institution flourished from 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.
Timeline
Van Etten, 1836 to 1947
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Van Etten post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Van Etten rank for history?
Van Etten is more historic than 49% 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 Van Etten?
39% of Van Etten’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1963.
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 (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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