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A+History
History · Catskill

Catskill dates to 1788, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns · #61 of 758 in New York. What drives it

18 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Thomas Cole House, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 530 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 2000.

1788founded
18on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
24famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Catskill’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Catskill began

When was Catskill founded?

1788

Catskill dates its founding to 1788 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 2000.

First census: 11,849 in 20002020 census: 11,298238 years

How historic is Catskill?

A+

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1800.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Catskill’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Catskill is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #61 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Catskill’s overall grade.
Founding era1788, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194039.2% of homes (±4.1) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register18 listings, 549 historic buildings, 485 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 98%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 92%

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 Catskill’s 485 sits above most of its state (91% of New York towns have fewer) while its 549 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points). Two sources give 1788.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Catskill’s past

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

A historic districtThe East Side Historic District takes in 530 historic buildings.A National Historic Landmark18 places on the National Register, including Thomas Cole House, a National Historic Landmark.Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Catskill, and 17 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18955 editions of the USGS map, 1895 to 1980. Watch Catskill change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

18 listings protect 549 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
18
National Historic Landmark
1
Thomas Cole House
historic buildings protected
549
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Thomas Cole House
Salisbury ManorEast Side Historic DistrictUS Post Office-CatskillJohn Van Vechten HouseCommercial Building at 32 West Bridge StreetDistrict School No. 11Hop-O-Nose Knitting MillJoseph Hallock HouseWiley Hose Company BuildingWilliam Lampman HouseDuBois Stone HouseDuBois, Benjamin, Stone House-Captain Martin Stone House, built 1740Leeds Dutch Reformed ChurchDavid Van Gelder Octagon HouseRowena Memorial SchoolELEANOR (Sailing Sloop)Captain Joseph Allen HouseThomas Cole House, built 1999★
BuildingsDistrictsStructures★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival4
Queen Anne3
Italianate3
Romanesque3
Dutch Vernacular2
Colonial Revival2
★ Landmark
Thomas Cole HouseBuilt 1999
Salisbury ManorDutch Vernacular
East Side Historic DistrictVictorian
US Post Office-CatskillColonial Revival
John Van Vechten HouseQueen Anne
Commercial Building at 32 West Bridge StreetItalianate
District School No. 11Greek Revival
Hop-O-Nose Knitting MillRomanesque
All 18 listings
Joseph Hallock HouseBuilding · listed 1995Wiley Hose Company BuildingBuilding · listed 1995William Lampman HouseBuilding · listed 1995DuBois Stone HouseBuilding · listed 1995DuBois, Benjamin, Stone House-Captain Martin Stone HouseBuilding · listed 1995Leeds Dutch Reformed ChurchBuilding · listed 1996David Van Gelder Octagon HouseBuilding · listed 1998Rowena Memorial SchoolBuilding · listed 2002ELEANOR (Sailing Sloop)Structure · listed 1982Captain Joseph Allen HouseBuilding · listed 2022

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

Places that used to be

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

Catskill’s post office has been open since 1800. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Catskill
1800–today
Palenville
1826–today
Leeds
1827–today
Mill Village
1827–1827
Kiskatom
1843–1902
Smiths Landing
1875–1906
Alsen
1902–1947
Cementon
1906–today
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AlsenBrookside Green Mobile Home ParkCairo JunctionCauterskillCementonFeddes Mobile Home ParkForrest Hills Mobile Home ParkHamburgHigh FallsJefferson HeightsKiskatomKiskaton Mobile Home ParkLawrencevilleLedgewood ParkLeedsPalenvilleSmith Landing
Gone or out of use
Alsen Limestone QuarrymineBethel SchoolschoolCementon Limestone QuarrymineLawrenceville Sandstone QuarrymineLawrenceville SchoolschoolPine Grove SchoolschoolSaint Patrick's ConventchurchSchool Number 14schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 7school
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Catskill
Catskill VillageGoodwinJefferson RuralLeeds VillagePalenville VillageSaint Patricks

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

The story

How Catskill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Catskill.

Read it all →

The first settler was Derrick Teunis van Vechten, who built a house there in 1680. The town was established on March 7, 1788, as part of Albany County. When Greene County was formed on March 25, 1800, Catskill became part of the new county. The town was increased by an addition from the town of Woodstock in 1800, but was later decreased upon the formation of the towns of Cairo (1803) and Athens (1815). Catskill is the location of the story "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving.

On July 23, 2003, an F2 tornado ripped across the town. The worst of the damage occurred at the Kiskatom flats. The tornado crossed over New York Route 32 and went past the Friar Tuck Inn, causing two mobile homes to flip over.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Catskill, 1740 to 1999

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1740BuiltDuBois, Benjamin, Stone House-Captain Martin Stone House is built
  3. 1788
    FoundingCatskill is established
  4. 19th century
  5. 1800Born hereJames Bogardus is born here
  6. 1800Post officeThe Catskill post office opens
  7. 1826Post officeThe Palenville post office opens
  8. 1827Post officeThe Leeds post office opens
  9. 1831In the archiveCatskill Mountains House
  10. 1889In the archiveCatskill, N.Y
  11. 1895On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1898In the archiveKaaterskill Hotel, Catskills, N. Y
  13. 20th century
  14. 1900Born hereS.L.A. Marshall is born here
  15. 1902Born hereGeorge Decker is born here
  16. 1961Born hereMickey Brantley is born here
  17. 1965LandmarkThomas Cole House named a National Historic Landmark
  18. 1970In the archiveHardenbergh Patent Map Survey
  19. 1999BuiltThomas Cole House is built
By decade

Catskill, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1830s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1830s1 item
Catskill Mountains House1831Catskill Mountains HouseDocument
1880s–1890s3 items
Catskill, N.Y1889Catskill, N.YCatskill, N.Y1889Catskill, N.YKaaterskill Hotel, Catskills, N. Y1898Kaaterskill Hotel, Catskills, N. Y
1900s–1960snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1970s1 item
Hardenbergh Patent Map Survey1970Hardenbergh Patent Map SurveyMap
1980s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today18 recent
2024-07-14 14 09 47 View south along Interstate 87 (New York State Thruway) from the overpass for the Exit 21 Ramp in20242024-07-14 14 09 47 View south along Interstate 87 (N…2024-07-14 10 26 07 View north along Forest Hills Avenue at Greene County Route 23B (Main Street-Mohican Trail) in20242024-07-14 10 26 07 View north along Forest Hills Ave…2024-07-14 10 25 19 "Suggested Speed Limit 20 mph" sign along northbound Forest Hills Avenue at Greene County Route 23B…20242024-07-14 10 25 19 "Suggested Speed Limit 20 mph" si…2024-07-14 10 22 00 View north along Interstate 87 (New York State Thruway) from the overpass for Greene County Route 2…20242024-07-14 10 22 00 View north along Interstate 87 (N…2024-07-14 10 15 25 View south along Interstate 87 (New York State Thruway) from the overpass for Greene County Route 2…20242024-07-14 10 15 25 View south along Interstate 87 (N…2024-07-11 11 20 06 View north along Interstate 87 (New York State Thruway) from the overpass for New York State Route …20242024-07-11 11 20 06 View north along Interstate 87 (N…2024-07-11 11 19 09 View south along Interstate 87 (New York State Thruway) from the overpass for New York State Route …20242024-07-11 11 19 09 View south along Interstate 87 (N…2024-07-11 11 01 32 View north along Interstate 87 (New York State Thruway) from the overpass for New York State Route …20242024-07-11 11 01 32 View north along Interstate 87 (N…2024-07-11 11 01 06 View south along Interstate 87 (New York State Thruway) from the overpass for New York State Route …20242024-07-11 11 01 06 View south along Interstate 87 (N…2024-07-08 15 56 03 View north along Interstate 87 (New York State Thruway) from the overpass for Brick School House Ro…20242024-07-08 15 56 03 View north along Interstate 87 (N…2024-07-08 15 55 47 View south along Interstate 87 (New York State Thruway) from the overpass for Brick School House Ro…20242024-07-08 15 55 47 View south along Interstate 87 (N…2024-06-20 11 57 25 View north along Interstate 87 (New York State Thruway) at Exit 21 (New York State Route 23, Catski…20242024-06-20 11 57 25 View north along Interstate 87 (N…Int87sRoadNY-Exit21-NY232012Int87sRoadNY-Exit21-NY23District school no 112008District school no 11CatskillPO2008CatskillPOCatskill Escarpment from Olana2008Catskill Escarpment from OlanaCatskill Region2007Catskill RegionCRW 5855 - Flickr - See-ming Lee (SML)2005CRW 5855 - Flickr - See-ming Lee (SML)
On the map

Catskill on the map, 1895 to 1980

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

Catskill on the 1895 USGS mapCatskill on the 1934 USGS mapCatskill on the 1941 USGS mapCatskill on the 1963 USGS mapCatskill on the 1980 USGS map1895Catskill 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 Catskill.

Every building

Catskill, building by building, 1884–1923

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.

Catskill fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 6
Edition
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.

Catskill, N.Y
Retake this viewCatskill, N.Y, 1889

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Catskill, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00020002020Peak: 11,849

Between 11,298 and 11,849 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

24 famous people were born in Catskill

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

See all →
James BogardusAmerican inventor and architect · b. 1800
George Decker22nd Chief of Staff of the United States Army · b. 1902
S.L.A. MarshallUnited States Army general and military histori… · b. 1900
Mickey BrantleyAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1961
Abraham Van VechtenAmerican politician · b. 1762
Bill StaffordAmerican professional baseball player · b. 1939
Help out

Finish Catskill’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCatskill, N.Y: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Athens10 historic placesA+Hunter16 historic placesA+Germantown5 historic placesAPalenville1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSaugerties12 historic placesASouth CairoIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGreenport7 historic placesA−CairoIts storyB−Livingston10 historic placesA

Questions about Catskill’s history

What year was Catskill founded?

In 1788, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Catskill’s post office opened in 1800, and the census of 2000 counted 11,849 people here.

How does Catskill rank for history?

Catskill is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #61 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 Catskill?

18 listings: 16 buildings, among them the Thomas Cole House (a National Historic Landmark since 1965), 1 historic district, the East Side Historic District, with 530 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 549 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Catskill?

39% of Catskill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1953.

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 (18), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.