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–Not graded
History · Breesport

Breesport’s post office opened in 1853, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1902 on.

1853first post office
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Breesport began

When was Breesport founded?

1853

The Breesport post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 629173 years
Founding year: the first Breesport post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Breesport’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 Breesport are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1969. Watch Breesport change.Old housesHalf of Breesport’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Breesport’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Breesport’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
On the map

Breesport on the map, 1902 to 1969

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

Breesport on the 1902 USGS mapBreesport on the 1954 USGS mapBreesport on the 1969 USGS map1902Waverly 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 Breesport.

The story

How Breesport came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Breesport.

Read it all →

As early as 1816 there were two log cabins on the land that would eventually become a part of Breesport. The majority of the early settlers came from two areas: Orange County, Connecticut and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. From Orange County, came the Staples, Treat, Harding, and Crandall families, and from Lancaster County came the Heller family. The Heller family is credited with building the first sawmill in 1830, only two years after settling. In the early nineteenth-century, many other people, including Silas Breese, A. Schoonover, Benjamin Smith, Israel Boyer, and David, Joel, and Israel Heller settled on Breesport land. It was not until 1854 that land was surveyed for village plots by Azariah Breese. Shortly after, in the fall of that year, a frame building was built on land that was later used for the Rodbourn House. The Rodbourn House was a hotel that officially opened …

ChaptersBreesport industryStores and hotelsSummary

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Famous people

Famous people close to Breesport

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

See all →
Eileen CollinsAstronaut and United States Air Force pilot · b. 1956
T
Tommy HilfigerAmerican fashion designer · b. 1951
Hal RoachAmerican filmmaker · b. 1892
Dan CaineU.S. Air Force general · b. 1968
Charlie BakerAmerican businessman & politician · b. 1956
Beth PhoenixAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1980
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Horseheads7 historic placesAErin1 historic placeB+

Questions about Breesport’s history

What year was Breesport founded?

The Breesport post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.