Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1910 on and old-book passages.
The Vernon post office opened in 1804, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vernon is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Vernon’s 8.1 sits near the middle of its state (43% of New York towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
From Wikipedia’s history of Vernon.
The first European settler was Josiah Bushnell, from Berkshire County, Massachusetts, who came in 1794.
The town was formed in 1802 from parts of the Towns of Augusta and Westmoreland.
Vernon was part of the original Oneida Reservation. In 1859, a remnant group of Oneida people lived in the southwestern part of the town.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereAlbert Gallatin Ellis is born here
Born hereJane Elizabeth Jones is born here
Born hereBreese J. Stevens is born here
In the archiveCanning factory dam, Vernon, NY (ca 1910)
In the archiveUntitled photo, possibly related to: Flour mill
In the archiveGrocer's doorway. Vernon, New YorkPassages that mention Vernon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
26th of December in that year called the first pastor, the Rev. Joseph Burnett. The church was incorporated on the 17th of August, 1854-, as "The Trustees of the Baptist Church of the village of Mount Vernon, town of East Chester, county of Westchester." In January, 1854, it was determined to build a church, the corner-stone of which was laid on the 27th of March in that year upon a lot in Fourth avenue l)etween Third and Fourth streets. The church was dedicated
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In the eastern part of Vernon county the people were quite generally in favor of the measure; and it is probable, that had the scheme reached a vote, the six towns in Vernon county would have been in favor of the new county of Sheridan. But the bill did not pass even the Assembly; so the movement was strangled in its early infancy; and Vernon county of to-day
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
This portion of Vernon county is bouinled on the nortli by the town of Christiana, on the east by the town of Stark, on the south by the town of Liberty, and on the west by the town of Viroqua. The town is square in size, comprising 36 sections. There is only one stream of any importance within its limits, with the exception of the main branch of the Kickapoo river,
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.
3 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Vernon’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
The Vernon post office opened in 1804, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Vernon is more historic than 86% 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.
47% of Vernon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±13.4 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1942.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Library of Congress (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people 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.
1910
1941
1941