The Champlain post office opened in 1810, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Corbean (1830), Perrys Mills (1831) and Coopersville (1841), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,618 in 18202020 census: 5,745216 years
How historic is Champlain?
A−
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Champlain post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Champlain’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Champlain is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #361 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Champlain’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 Champlain’s 7.1 sits near the middle of its state (40% of New York towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Champlain’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Nearby Lake Champlain was an important military and trade route during the colonial period. The lake and the town were named in honor of Samuel de Champlain, who first surveyed the area in 1609. It was part of Canada until 1763 and became part of the United States in 1783.
The town was formed in 1788, the same year the county was established. In 1799, the town was reduced by the formation of the town of Chateaugay (now in Franklin County). The founding of the towns of Chazy and Mooers, in 1804, further reduced Champlain.
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.
The Champlain post office opened in 1810, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Champlain rank for history?
Champlain is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #361 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 Champlain?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Rouses Point Railroad Station (listed 2005, the first).
How old are the homes in Champlain?
31% of Champlain’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1961.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (20), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.
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