Beekman’s post office opened in 1821, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #674 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Most of Beekman was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Its Register listings are the Murphy Grist Mill and the Haxtun-Tower House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1820.
The Beekman post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Beekmansville (1818), Green Haven (1852) and Sylvan Lake (1870), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 4,257 in 18202020 census: 14,172205 years
How historic is Beekman?
B−
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Beekman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Beekman’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Beekman is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #674 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Beekman’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 Beekman’s 1.4 sits below most of its state (23% of New York towns have fewer) while its 2 listings 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 (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. 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 Beekman’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The "Beekman" name became attached to the area in 1697, from Henry Beekman, a Kingston native, who had a large land stake in Dutchess County. In 1697, while serving as a judge, "Beekman obtained a grant from the British crown for what was to be named the Beekman Patent," which included the present towns of Beekman, Pawling, Dover, Union Vale and "part of LaGrange." Henry was the son of Deputy Mayor of New York City Wilhemus Beekman, and also served as a delegate in the New York General Assembly beginning in 1691.
Passages that mention Beekman, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Dutchess County, New York1909 · page 389Read the page →
Read the text
Pawling is bounded north by Dover, east by the town of Sherman in Connecticut, south by Patterson in Putnam County, and west by the town of Beekman. Pawling Precinct was taken from Beekman Precinct by an act passed December 31, 1768, and erected into a town in 1788, when the State government was subjected to general revision in many of its details ; the town limits were then greater than at present, as Dover was taken off and made into a separate township in 1807. The ancient Pawling town records, which covered a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Dutchess County, New York1909 · page 363Read the page →
Read the text
deceased, from thence rvmning easterly to the division line between Fishkill and Beekman towns, ten chains southerly of the house formerly owned by Palmer and now in part occupied by John Arthur; and all that part of the town of Beekman lying west of a Une commencing at the point on the division line between Fishkill and Beekman, where the east and west line aforesaid in Fishkill will intersect said division line of Beekman and Fishkill, rvmning from thence northeasterly to a point two chains distance due east from the northeast corner of the house of Seneca Vail, built by Dr. Soffin (provided it includes the house of Blisha
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
Beekman, 1800 to 2010
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Beekman post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Beekman rank for history?
Beekman is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #674 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 Beekman?
Two places: the Murphy Grist Mill (listed 2015) and the Haxtun-Tower House (2016).
How old are the homes in Beekman?
5% of Beekman’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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 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.
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