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History · Bleecker

Bleecker dates to 1831, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Bleecker District No. 3 School. Its Register listing is the Bleecker District No. 3 School. Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1840.

1831founded
1on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Bleecker began

When was Bleecker founded?

1831

Bleecker dates its founding to 1831 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1840.

First census: 346 in 18402020 census: 545195 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1840.The full story ↓

What stands out about Bleecker’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Bleecker are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1860 and 1940, then more than doubled.On the map since 19034 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1970. Watch Bleecker change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Bleecker, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bleecker’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bleecker’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Bleecker, census by census

02004006008001,00018501900195020001,062 in 1860Low: 190

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1860 and 1940, then more than doubled.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

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

On the map

Bleecker on the map, 1903 to 1970

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

Bleecker on the 1903 USGS mapBleecker on the 1945 USGS mapBleecker on the 1963 USGS mapBleecker on the 1970 USGS map1903Gloversville 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 Bleecker.

The story

How Bleecker came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bleecker.

Read it all →

The first permanent settlements began circa 1800 at Lindsleys Corners, although land sales took place before then.

The town was established in 1831 from part of the town of Johnstown, but did not arrive at its current dimensions until 1842. Part of Bleecker was returned to Johnstown in 1841, and another part was added to the town of Caroga in 1842.

Lumbering and tanning were important early industries. Around 1860 the maximum population, approximately 1,060, was attained; following this zenith, for decades it went into decline, though the community has grown since reaching a nadir of 190, a figure tabulated at the 1940 census.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bleecker, 1831 to 1928

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1831
    FoundingBleecker is established
  3. 1840Post officeThe Bleecker post office opens
  4. 1860CensusPopulation peaks at 1,062
  5. 1884Post officeThe Pinnacle post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1918Post officeThe Bleecker post office closes
  9. 1928Post officeThe Pinnacle post office closes
By decade

Bleecker, decade by decade

Today2 recent
NY 309's northern terminus2007NY 309's northern terminusFulton County Route 1252007Fulton County Route 125
On the National Register

1 historic place in Bleecker

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2025
Bleecker District No. 3 School
Bleecker District No. 3 School
Buildings
All 1 listings
Bleecker District No. 3 SchoolBuilding · listed 2025

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Bleecker

Nobody well known was born in Bleecker itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Kirk DouglasAmerican actor · b. 1916
Elizabeth Cady StantonAmerican writer, suffragist and Women's Rights … · b. 1815
Raymond TomlinsonAmerican computer programmer · b. 1941
Richard RussoAmerican novelist, short story writer and scree… · b. 1949
Nicole MainesAmerican actress · b. 1997
Lucille BremerAmerican actress and dancer · b. 1917
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Bleecker had its own post office from 1840 to 1918. Another post office, Pinnacle, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bleecker
1840–1918
Pinnacle
1884–1928
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bleecker CenterLindsley CornersPeters Corners
Gone or out of use
School Number 3schoolSchool Number 4school
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bleecker
BleeckerBleeckerSaint Johns LutheranSaint Josephs

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.

JohnstownIts storyB+Caroga1 historic placeA−BensonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMayfield2 historic placesA−

Questions about Bleecker’s history

What year was Bleecker founded?

In 1831, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bleecker’s post office opened in 1840, and the census of 1840 counted 346 people here.

What is on the National Register in Bleecker?

One place: the Bleecker District No. 3 School (listed 2025).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.