On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cambridge is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs put Cambridge near the top nationally; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cambridge’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 Cambridge’s 875 sits above most of its state (95% of New York towns have fewer) while its 198 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.2 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Cambridge’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town of Cambridge, formerly in Albany County, New York, was transferred to Washington County in 1791, shortly after the United States gained independence in the American Revolutionary War.
The eponymous village, incorporated within the township in 1866, was home to the Cambridge Hotel. According to local lore, someone working at the hotel originated the dessert known as pie a la Mode.
Passages that mention Cambridge, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The Cambridge history of English literature. Edited by A.W. Ward and A.R. Waller1907 · page 222Read the page →
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date, both orders resolved on establishing themselves in the great seats of education. The Dominicans fixed their headquarters at Bologna and Paris (12 17), besides settling at Oxford (1221) and Cambridge (1274); while the Franciscans settled at Oxford and Cambridge in 1224, and at Paris in 1230. When once these orders had been founded, all the great schoolmen were either Franciscans or Dominicans. Intellectually, the dogmatic Dominicans were mainly characterised by
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The Cambridge history of English literature. Edited by A.W. Ward and A.R. Waller1907 · page 486Read the page →
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A Durham copy, one at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (No. 139) and another in the University Library at Cambridge (Ff. i. 27), which contains two copies of the bulk, under the names of Nennius and Gildas respectively, are also important. The first printed edition was that of Thomas Gale in 1691 " (M. R. James). Edd. Stevenson, J., Eng. Hist.
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The Cambridge history of English literature1907 · page 393Read the page →
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Meanwhile, bishop's officer as he was in origin, the chancellor, in Cambridge, as in Oxford, had, with the episcopal countenance, first shaken himself free from the control of other episcopal officials; and then, in alliance with the archbishop and with the pope, successfully challenged the authority of the diocesan himself. The contest against minor ecclesiastical officials is best illustrated by the award issued in 1276 by bishop Hugo de Balsham in the dispute between the archdeacon of
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The Cambridge history of English literature1907 · page 394Read the page →
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absence of local friction helped to preserve from attack for a long period that jurisdiction of the bishop himself, which Hugo clearly reserved. Moreover, Hugo himself was the founder of Peterhouse, the oldest Cambridge college; he, and a long line of his successors as diocesans, not only took an enlightened interest in the well-being of the scholars, but were enrolled among their most conspicuous benefactors; and the propinquity of Cambridge to Ely gave little opportunity for
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
Cambridge, 1810 to 1990
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Cambridge is among the most historic 1% 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.
How old are the homes in Cambridge?
52% of Cambridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.2 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (18), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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