The story
Read it all →How Austerlitz came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Austerlitz.
Ellis, Capt. Franklin, "History of Columbia County, New York", (1878), page 381:
ChaptersPast residents of note
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A+History
History · Austerlitz
Austerlitz’s post office opened in 1818, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns. What drives it
7 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Steepletop, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 107 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1873 on and old-book passages.
1818first post office
7on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Quick answers
How Austerlitz began
When was Austerlitz founded?
1818
The Austerlitz post office opened in 1818, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 1,625208 years
How historic is Austerlitz?
A+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Austerlitz post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Austerlitz’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Austerlitz is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Austerlitz’s overall grade.
Founding era1818, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194032.7% of homes (±10.5) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register7 listings, 120 historic buildings, 716 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 96%
NewerOlder
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 Austerlitz’s 716 sits above most of its state (94% of New York towns have fewer) while its 120 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.5 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 Austerlitz’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Spencertown Historic District takes in 76 historic buildings.A National Historic Landmark7 places on the National Register, including Steepletop, a National Historic Landmark.Deep rootsA post office since 1818: 208 years of Austerlitz.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Austerlitz’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Austerlitz’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the National Register
7 listings protect 120 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
places listed
7
National Historic Landmark
1
Steepletop
historic buildings protected
120
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Steepletop
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark
Architectural styles listings
Federal2
Greek Revival1
Georgian1
★ LandmarkSteepletopBuilding
Spencertown AcademyGreek Revival
St. Peter's Presbyterian Church and Spencertown CemeteryFederal · Built 1826
All 7 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Austerlitz, 1878–1883
Passages that mention Austerlitz, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Hillsdale, Columbia County, New York1883 · page 78Read the page →
Read the text
lem ville, where the Richmond Mills now stand. "Spafford's Gazetteer," published in 1813, says that there were then in the town (which included part of the present town of Austerlitz) "eleven grist-mills, ten saw-mills, four fulling-mills, and four carding-machines." Among the first fulling-mills were three on the Roeloff Jansen's Kill, in the Collin neighborhood. One of the first carding-machines was near the site of the Baily mill,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Columbia County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1878 · page 139Read the page →
Read the text
It is claimed that the first mowing-machine was invented and constructed by a Mr. Beal, of Spencertowu, in the town of Austerlitz, between 1830 and 1810. It is mentioned that " it had a straight scythe, and was at least a good experiment in the right direction."
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Hillsdale, Columbia County, New York1883 · page 56Read the page →
Read the text
The Supervisor from Hillsdale raised objections to prerogatives exercised by the District Attorney and jailer, which were ultimately sustained. The Supervisor from Stockport moved that the people of Austerlitz should be taxed for the support of an expensive bridge in Stockport, as the people of Austerlitz used it on their way to the Hudson market. The Supervisor of Hillsdale opposed the motion and was sustained. In 1811 it was
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Columbia County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1878Read the page →
Read the text
The village of Austerlitz was formerly called " Upper Green River ;" but that name is now given to a little hamlet lying near the Hillsdale line, a mile north of " Green river" (formerly known as the " Lower Hollow"), in that town.
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
Austerlitz, 1807 to 1971
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1807BuiltDaniel and Clarissa Baldwin House is built
- 1811Post officeThe Spencertown post office opens
- 1818Post officeThe Austerlitz post office opens
- 1826BuiltSt. Peter's Presbyterian Church and Spencertown Cemetery is built
- 1873
In the archiveAncram (Village); Canaan Four Corners (Village); Spencertown (Village); Austerlitz (Villa… - 20th century
- 1971LandmarkSteepletop named a National Historic Landmark
By decade
Austerlitz, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1873
2016
2007Then & 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.
Retake this viewAncram (Village); Canaan Four Corners (Village); Spencertown (Village); Austerlitz (Village); Ancram Business Notices; …, 1873
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Austerlitz’s page.
Retake this view · +15Places that used to be
Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Austerlitz’s post office has been open since 1818.
Spencertown
Austerlitz
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Moorhouse CornerSpencertown
Gone or out of use
Spencertown Academyschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Austerlitz
AusterlitzSpencertown
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Austerlitz’s history
What year was Austerlitz founded?
The Austerlitz post office opened in 1818, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Austerlitz rank for history?
Austerlitz is more historic than 96% 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.
What is on the National Register in Austerlitz?
7 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Steepletop (a National Historic Landmark since 1971), and 2 historic districts, the Austerlitz Historic District and the Spencertown Historic District, with 107 contributing buildings. 120 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Austerlitz?
33% of Austerlitz’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.5 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1969.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (7), Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.