New York State's Curious, Century-Old Law Requiring Every City and Town to Have a Historian

I grew up on Long Island, in the kind of town where students paint Halloween murals on local storefronts and dress up as wrapped gifts to march in the holiday parade. To me, our town historian, with his dress-like-your-favorite-Christmas-Carol-character parties, was just another marker on the small-town quaint-o-meter.

As it turns out, Sayville, my hometown, has an official historian because it's the law.

Back in 1919, the New York state legislature mandated that every "city, town, or village" must have an official historian. It's a regulation that's unique among the 50 states, and basically unenforceable. Towns are not required to pay these record-keepers, who are appointed by a town mayor or manager. Municipalities that fail to find a volunteer are sent a strongly worded letter, but little else can be done.

Still, New York's cities have managed to fill the vast majority of these 1,600 positions, even tiny towns like Broome, population 204. The folks in these roles are an eclectic bunch, to say the least - the oldest town historian to serve was 103, the youngest is 13 - drawn to the gig by that crucial mix of obsession, pride, and boosterism....