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BHistory
History · Vestal

Vestal dates to 1823, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns · #587 of 758 in New York. What drives it

Most of Vestal was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 5 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1830.

1823founded
2on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Vestal began

When was Vestal founded?

1823

Vestal dates its founding to 1823 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1830.

First census: 948 in 18302020 census: 29,313203 years

How historic is Vestal?

B

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1825.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Vestal’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vestal is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #587 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Vestal’s overall grade.
Founding era1823, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19409.4% of homes (±2.4) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 7 historic buildings, 2.3 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 62%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 23%

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 Vestal’s 2.3 sits below most of its state (26% of New York towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1823.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Vestal’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Vestal, and 7 old place names are still on the map.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 19013 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1969. Watch Vestal change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1823: 203 years of Vestal.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Vestal’s post office has been open since 1825. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Vestal
1825–today
South Vestal
1839–1842
Vestal Center
1851–1924
Tracy Creek
1856–1911
Willow Point
1890–1918
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Kintner Estates Mobile Home ParkRoss CornersSouth VestalTracy CreekTwin OrchardVestal CenterWillow Point
Gone or out of use
V Drive-Inlocale
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Vestal
Bunn HillTracy CreekVestal CenterVestal HillVestal ParkWillis

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Vestal’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Vestal’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRes. of Geo. E. Ross, E.S.Q., Vestal, B…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Vestal on the map, 1901 to 1969

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Vestal. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Vestal on the 1901 USGS mapVestal on the 1956 USGS mapVestal on the 1969 USGS map1901Apalachin sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Vestal.

The story

How Vestal came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Vestal.

Read it all →

The central area of Vestal, near Route 26 at Choconut Creek, was the site of an indigenous village of the Ochugnut tribe of the Tuscarora people. During the American Revolution, a squad of soldiers from the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, under the command of Lt. William McKendry were sent to engage the tribes, when possible, and destroy their homes and crops. During the summer of 1779, the squad did burn at least two villages without encountering resistance, including one situated in what is now nearby downtown Binghamton (the Chenango, at the confluence of the Chenango and Susquehanna rivers), and the Ochugnut (Choconut) at the site of Choconut Creek near present-day Vestal High School.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Vestal, 1823 to 1983

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1823
    FoundingVestal is established
  3. 1825Post officeThe Vestal post office opens
  4. 1833Born hereDavid Ross Locke is born here
  5. 1837Born hereSamuel C. Randall is born here
  6. 1839Post officeThe South Vestal post office opens
  7. 1842Post officeThe South Vestal post office closes
  8. 1851Post officeThe Vestal Center post office opens
  9. 1876In the archiveRes. of Geo. E. Ross, E.S.Q., Vestal, Broome Co., N.Y; Res. of A.F. Barnum, Binghamton TP…
  10. 20th century
  11. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1924Post officeThe Vestal Center post office closes
  13. 1957Born herePeter Robinson is born here
  14. 1983Born hereDaniel Capecci is born here
By decade

Vestal, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s2 items
Res. of Geo. E. Ross, E.S.Q., Vestal, Broome Co., N.Y; Res. of A.F. Barnum, Binghamton TP, Broome Co., N.Y1876Res. of Geo. E. Ross, E.S.Q., Vestal, Broome Co., N.Y…Residence of L.T. Safford, U.S.N., Vestal, Broome Co., N.Y; Res. of J.L. Rounds, Vestal TP, Broome Co., N.Y1876Residence of L.T. Safford, U.S.N., Vestal, Broome Co.…
Today10 recent
BC Transit buses2008BC Transit busesPennsylvania State Route 1672007Pennsylvania State Route 167BinghamtonUniversity Campus82007BinghamtonUniversity Campus8BinghamtonUniversity Campus72007BinghamtonUniversity Campus7BinghamtonUniversity Campus62007BinghamtonUniversity Campus6BinghamtonUniversity Campus42007BinghamtonUniversity Campus4WHEEL2006WHEELSpokes2006SpokesVestalParkway2005VestalParkwayArnold-park-vestal-ny2003Arnold-park-vestal-ny
Then & 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.

Res. of Geo. E. Ross, E.S.Q., Vestal, Broome Co., N.Y; Res. of A.F. Barnum, Binghamton TP, Broome Co., N.Y
Retake this viewRes. of Geo. E. Ross, E.S.Q., Vestal, Broome Co., N.Y; Res. of A.F. Barnum, Binghamton TP, Broome Co., N.Y, 1876

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Vestal’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 listings protect 7 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
2010
Vestal Central School
Vestal Central SchoolDrovers Inn and Round Family Residence
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Art Deco1
Vestal Central SchoolArt Deco
Drovers Inn and Round Family ResidenceDistrict

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Vestal, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,000185019001950200029,110

Grew from 948 people in 1830 to 29,110 in 2020, more than tenfold.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Vestal’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Vestal

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
David Ross LockeAmerican journalist and early political comment… · b. 1833
Peter RobinsonAmerican author, research fellow, television ho… · b. 1957
D
Daniel CapecciAmerican soccer player · b. 1983
Samuel C. RandallAmerican politician · b. 1837
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Union16 historic placesABinghamton1 historic placeBJohnson City7 historic placesA−Endwell1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOwego9 historic placesAEndicott5 historic placesB+Binghamton35 historic placesA+

Questions about Vestal’s history

What year was Vestal founded?

In 1823, according to Wikidata. Vestal’s post office opened in 1825, and the census of 1830 counted 948 people here.

How does Vestal rank for history?

Vestal is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #587 of 758 in New York. 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 Vestal?

Two places: the Vestal Central School (listed 2010) and the Drovers Inn and Round Family Residence (2010).

How old are the homes in Vestal?

9% of Vestal’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1968.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.