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B−History
History · Amityville

Amityville’s post office opened in 1850, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns · #641 of 758 in New York. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1860.

1850first post office
1on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
30famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Amityville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Amityville began

When was Amityville founded?

1850

The Amityville post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 204 in 18602020 census: 9,500176 years

How historic is Amityville?

B−

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Amityville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Amityville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Amityville is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #641 of 758 in New York. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Amityville’s overall grade.
Founding era1850, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194024.8% of homes (±6.2) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 2.1 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 55%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 15%

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 Amityville’s 2.1 sits below most of its state (26% of New York towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.2 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 Amityville’s past

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

A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1873–1954.On the map since 19017 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1994. Watch Amityville change.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1890 to 1915, drew every building in Amityville.Famous sons and daughtersAlec Baldwin, Kevin R. Kregel and 28 more were born here.
★ What stands out · By decade

Amityville, decade by decade

6 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1910s5 items
Town of Huntington, Suffolk Co. - Amityville, Town of Huntington, Suffolk Co. - Cold Spring, Town of Huntington, Suffol…1873Town of Huntington, Suffolk Co. - Amityville, Town of…MapAmityville. (Village)c. 1888Amityville. (Village)Suffolk County, V. 1, Double Page Plate No. 9 (Map bounded by Inglee Place, Bayview Ave., Main St., Nassau County, Grea…1902Suffolk County, V. 1, Double Page Plate No. 9 (Map bo…MapPlant of Amityville, N.Y., creamery1910Plant of Amityville, N.Y., creameryAmityville1915Amityville
1920s–1950s13 items
Aero-view of Amityville, Suffolk County, Long Island, N.Y. 19251925Aero-view of Amityville, Suffolk County, Long Island,…Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a228491954Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a22849Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a228491954Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a22849Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a228501954Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a22850Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a228501954Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a22850Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a228511954Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a22851Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a228511954Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a22851Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a228521954Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a22852Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a228521954Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a22852Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a228531954Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a22853Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a228531954Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a22853Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a228541954Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a22854Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a228541954Dynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a22854
1960s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Amityville on the map, 1901 to 1994

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

Amityville on the 1901 USGS mapAmityville on the 1919 USGS mapAmityville on the 1947 USGS mapAmityville on the 1954 USGS mapAmityville on the 1969 USGS mapAmityville on the 1979 USGS mapAmityville on the 1994 USGS map1901Babylon 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 Amityville.

Every building

Amityville, building by building, 1890–1915

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.

Amityville fire insurance map, 1890, sheet 11890Sheet 1 of 5
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Amityville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Amityville.

Read it all →

Huntington settlers first visited the Amityville area in 1653 due to its location to a source of salt hay for use as animal fodder. Chief Wyandanch granted the first deed to land in Amityville in 1658. The area was originally called Huntington West Neck South (it is on the Great South Bay and Suffolk County, New York border in the southwest corner of what once called Huntington South), but is now the Town of Babylon. According to village lore, the name was changed in 1846 when residents were working to establish its new post office. The meeting turned into bedlam and one participant was to exclaim, "What this meeting needs is some amity." Another version says the name was first suggested by mill owner Samuel Ireland to name the town for his boat, the Amity.

ChaptersThe Amityville Horror

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Amityville, 1873 to 1975

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873In the archiveTown of Huntington, Suffolk Co. - Amityville, Town of Huntington, Suffolk Co. - Cold Spri…
  3. 1888In the archiveAmityville. (Village)
  4. 20th century
  5. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1902In the archiveSuffolk County, V. 1, Double Page Plate No. 9 (Map bounded by Inglee Place, Bayview Ave.,…
  7. 1910In the archivePlant of Amityville, N.Y., creamery
  8. 1925In the archiveAero-view of Amityville, Suffolk County, Long Island, N.Y. 1925
  9. 1949Born hereChristine Belford is born here
  10. 1954In the archiveDynamic Gear, Amityville, New York. LOC gsc.5a22849
  11. 1956Born hereKevin R. Kregel is born here
  12. 1958Born hereAlec Baldwin is born here
  13. 1975Born hereMike James is born here
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.

Amityville. (Village)
Retake this viewAmityville. (Village), c. 1888

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Amityville

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Amityville, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000190019502000Peak: 9,794

Between 204 and 9,794 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

30 famous people were born in Amityville

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

See all →
Alec BaldwinAmerican actor · b. 1958
Kevin R. KregelAmerican astronaut · b. 1956
Christine BelfordAmerican actress · b. 1949
Mike JamesAmerican basketball player · b. 1975
Dave WeldonAmerican politician · b. 1953
R
Rick LazioAmerican politician · b. 1958
Help out

Finish Amityville’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAmityville. (Village): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Babylon6 historic placesBOyster Bay61 historic placesA−East MassapequaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCopiagueIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorth Amityville1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGilgoIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Amityville’s history

What year was Amityville founded?

The Amityville post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Amityville rank for history?

Amityville is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #641 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 Amityville?

25% of Amityville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1959.

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 (17), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.