The Wayland post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Loon Lake (1823) and Wayland Depot (1852), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 2,067 in 18502020 census: 3,732142 years
How historic is Wayland?
B−
More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Wayland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Wayland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wayland is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #677 of 758 in New York. 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 Wayland’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 Wayland’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 (±5.9 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 Wayland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Wayland’s post office has been open since 1884. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Loon Lake
1823–1865
Wayland Depot
1852–1884
Perkinsville
1858–today
Wayland
1884–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
PatchinvillePerkinsvilleShowboat Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Loon Lake SchoolschoolNew Gayland SchoolschoolSchool Number 14schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 8schoolSchool Number 9school
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wayland
East WaylandLakesideNorth Loon LakeSacred HeartSaint JosephsSaint PetersWayland Village
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Wayland on the map, 1902 to 1978
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wayland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Wayland 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 Wayland.
The region was first settled by European Americans around 1806, after the Revolutionary War. In historic times, for centuries it had been territory inhabited by the Seneca Native Americans, one of the powerful five tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy.
The town was formed in 1848 from the Towns of Cohocton and Dansville. Part of Wayland was used to form the Town of Fremont in 1854.
The Rowe House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
On August 30, 1943, the Lackawanna Limited wreck, occurred when the Lackawanna Limited, flagship passenger train of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad sideswiped a local freight that had not cleared into a siding, killing 29 people near the Gunlocke chair factory.
Passages that mention Wayland, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people1911 · page 253Read the page →
Read the text
The Lackawanna and Pittsburg Railroad was built from the oil-producing region of Allegany county, New York, to Wayland, Steuben county, on the Lackawanna line in 1884. It entered Steuben county in the town of Dansville, thence passed to the adjoining town of Wayland, turning to the south to avoid topographical obstructions its line is brought within ten miles of the city of Hornell. About this time the people of Hornellsville resolved, in view of the selfish and illiberal policy adopted by the Erie Rail-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people1911 · page 194Read the page →
Read the text
A Catholic church was organized in the town of West Union in 1845, and in the town of Bath in 1846. At Perkinsville, town of "Wayland, a parochial school was founded in 1850, under the instruction of the Sisters of Mercy. It is well attended and has a good reputation. A Catholic church was organized in the town of Addison in 1854; town of.Cohocton, 1861; town of Caton, 1883; town of Prattsburg, 1887 ; town of Pulteney, 1888 ; town of Cameron, 1891 ; and in the town of Campbell the following year.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of the settlement of Steuben County, N.Y.1853 · page 203Read the page →
Read the text
WAYLAND.* The first settlement in the town of Wayland was made by Zimmerman, in 1806, on the farm now occupied by J. Hess, at the depot. The north part of the town was settled by Captain Bowles (1808), Mr.
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
Wayland, 1823 to 1902
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Wayland post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Wayland rank for history?
Wayland is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #677 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.
How old are the homes in Wayland?
41% of Wayland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1959.
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), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
1873
