Beacon’s post office opened in 1914, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #583 of 758 in New York. What drives it
13 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 39 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1920.
The Beacon post office opened in 1914, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Matteawan (1849), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 10,996 in 19202020 census: 13,769112 years
How historic is Beacon?
B
More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Beacon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Beacon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Beacon is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #583 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 Beacon’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 Beacon’s 35.7 sits near the middle of its state (64% of New York towns have fewer) while its 53 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 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 Beacon’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1683 Francis Rombout and Gulian Verplanck, merchant-fur traders from New York City, purchased the land that would come to include the City of Beacon from the Wappinger tribe. The sale was sanctioned by James II of England in 1685 in the Rombout Patent. Rombout died in 1691, leaving his share to his daughter, Catheryna Brett. The Rombout Patent was partitioned in 1706, and Brett received and maintained approximately 28,000 acres (110 km2) along the Vis Kill.
The Beacon post office opened in 1914, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Beacon rank for history?
Beacon is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #583 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 Beacon?
13 listings: 10 buildings, among them the Howland Library (listed 1973, the first), 2 historic districts, the Lower Main Street Historic District and the Tioronda Estate-Craig House Historic District, with 39 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 53 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Beacon?
32% of Beacon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1957.
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 the Library of Congress (6), the National Register of Historic Places (13), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
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