History · Carmel

Carmel dates to 1740, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #489 of 758 in New York. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Putnam County Courthouse, the Reed Memorial Library and the Gilead Cemetery. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 2000.

1740founded

3on the National Register

12%homes built before 1940

3old photos & papers

16famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Carmel’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Carmel began

When was Carmel founded?

1740

Carmel dates its founding to 1740 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 2000.

First census: 33,006 in 20002020 census: 33,576286 years

How historic is Carmel?

B⁺

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1815.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Carmel’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Carmel is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #489 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B⁺

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Carmel’s overall grade.

Founding era1740, from Wikipedia: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA⁺Homes built before 194012.4% of homes (±2.5) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%B⁻National Register3 listings, 0.9 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4C⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 74%

NewerOlder

New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 36%

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 Carmel’s 0.9 sits below most of its state (22% of New York towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1740.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Carmel’s past

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

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Carmel, and 12 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18925 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1981. Watch Carmel change.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1887 to 1910, drew every building in Carmel.

★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Carmel’s post office has been open since 1815. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Carmel

1815–today

Red Mills

1826–1866

Mahopac

1849–today

Mahopac Falls

1868–today

Baldwin Place

1879–today

Crafts

1881–1936

Mahopac Mines

1889–1904

18101920today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Baldwin PlaceBullet HoleCarmel HillsCraftsFosters CornersKnolls Trailer CourtMahopacMahopac FallsMahopac MinesMcLaughlin AcresStillwaterWest Mahopac

Gone or out of use

Mahopac Airportairport

12cemeteries and burying grounds inside Carmel

Ballard - BarrettBarrettCraneGileadHillKelleyMethodistMount Carmel Baptist ChurchOld BaptistPresbyterianRaymond HillUnion Valley

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Carmel’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewN.Y. & B. R.R. btw Carmel and Mahopac: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

On the map

Carmel on the map, 1892 to 1981

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

1892Carmel 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 Carmel.

The story

How Carmel came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Carmel.

Read it all →

The town of Carmel was originally inhabited by Indians of the Wappinger people, who, in 1691, sold the property to Dutch traders. In 1697, a wealthy New York merchant, Adolphus Philipse, purchased their deed and was granted a patent from King William III of England for the entire tract of land which is now Putnam County. The town was settled around 1740 by George Hughson.

ChaptersPutnam County Court House Significant events

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Carmel in 1886

Passages that mention Carmel, cut from the printed page as they were published.

"I. All that part of the town of Carmel, in the County of Putnam, lying westerly of the Peekskill Hollow Creek in said town, is hereby annexed to and shall hereafter form a part of the town of Putnam Valley in said County, and said creek from the north line of the town of Carmel to the point where … — **History of Putnam County, New York**1886 · page 732Read the page →
Read the text
"I. All that part of the town of Carmel, in the County of Putnam, lying westerly of the Peekskill Hollow Creek in said town, is hereby annexed to and shall hereafter form a part of the town of Putnam Valley in said County, and said creek from the north line of the town of Carmel to the point where said creek crosses the present line between the said towns of Carmel and Putnam Valley shall hereafter form so much of the line between said towns."
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

with all the settlements that had been made in these parts within twenty-five years, it is evident that he must have been here as early as 1742, and he doubtless has the honor of being the first settler in the present village of Carmel. The Myrrick family were also here at an early date, though the… — **History of Putnam County, New York**1886 · page 282Read the page →
Read the text
with all the settlements that had been made in these parts within twenty-five years, it is evident that he must have been here as early as 1742, and he doubtless has the honor of being the first settler in the present village of Carmel. The Myrrick family were also here at an early date, though the first of whom anything definite is known were Isaac* and 'See Chapter on Wappinger Indians.
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

Carmel, 1740 to 1995

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

18th century
1740
FoundingCarmel is established
1766BuiltGilead Cemetery is built
19th century
1815Post officeThe Carmel post office opens
1826Post officeThe Red Mills post office opens
1849Post officeThe Mahopac post office opens
1855In the archiveN.Y. & B. R.R. btw Carmel and Mahopac
1866Post officeThe Red Mills post office closes
1868In the archivePlate 68- Town of Carmel, Putnam Co. N.Y
1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
20th century
1975Born hereJulia Nesheiwat is born here
1991Born hereRyan Kelly is born here
1993Born hereMarcus Carl Franklin is born here
1995Born hereSabrina Vega is born here

By decade

Carmel, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

Every building

Carmel, building by building, 1887–1910

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.

Carmel fire insurance map, 1887, sheet 1

1887Sheet 1 of 2

Edition

Sheets

+1 more at the Library of Congress

BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Retake this viewN.Y. & B. R.R. btw Carmel and Mahopac, c. 1855

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Carmel’s page.

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

3 historic places in Carmel

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

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1976

Putnam County Courthouse

BuildingsSites

Architectural styles listings

Tudor Revival1

Putnam County CourthouseBuilding

Reed Memorial LibraryTudor Revival

Gilead CemeteryBuilt 1766

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

People over time

Carmel, census by census

Between 33,006 and 34,305 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

16 famous people were born in Carmel

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

Ryan KellyAmerican basketball player · b. 1991

Julia NesheiwatAmerican politician · b. 1975

Marcus Carl FranklinAmerican actor · b. 1993

Sabrina VegaAmerican gymnast · b. 1995

Daniel DrewAmerican businessman · b. 1797

Janette NesheiwatAmerican physician · b. 1976

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Putnam Valley1 historic placeB⁺Southeast5 historic placesB KentIts storyB⁻Somers7 historic placesB⁺MahopacIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Lake CarmelIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Carmel’s history

What year was Carmel founded?

In 1740, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Carmel’s post office opened in 1815, and the census of 2000 counted 33,006 people here.

How does Carmel rank for history?

Carmel is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #489 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 Carmel?

Three places: the Putnam County Courthouse (listed 1976), the Reed Memorial Library (1980) and the Gilead Cemetery (1988).

How old are the homes in Carmel?

12% of Carmel’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1970.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (23), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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, 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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