More historic than 98% of U.S. towns · #38 of 758 in New York. What drives it
25 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 343 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1790.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Claverack is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #38 of 758 in New York. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Claverack’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 Claverack’s 676 sits above most of its state (94% of New York towns have fewer) while its 409 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% 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 (±7.9 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 Claverack’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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
Claverack’s post office has been open since 1786. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Claverack
1786–today
Smoky Hollow
1833–1865
Mellenville
1837–today
Churchtown
1849–1909
Martindale Depot
1852–1957
Philmont
1853–today
Hollowville
1865–today
17801900today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Brick TavernChurchtownCountry Estates EastDutch Village Mobile Home ParkHollowvilleHollowville Trailer ParkJutkosky CourtMartindaleMellenvillePhilmontRed MillsUpper Hollowville
Gone or out of use
Brick Tavern-Mount Ida Limestone QuarrymineCountry Club SchoolschoolHam MilllocaleStone Mill Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Claverack
Mellenville UnionSacred HeartSaint Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Claverack was originally approximately 60,000 acres (24,000 ha) in area and was known as the Lower Manor of Rensselaer, part of a vast estate on both sides of the Hudson River granted in the 17th century to an early prominent Dutch family.
During the American Revolution, the Town was formed in 1778 from the older District of Claverack. In 1782, some of the land was reassigned to the newly organized town of Hillsdale. Claverack was reduced again in 1785 to form the city of Hudson.
Passages that mention Claverack, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Columbia County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1878Read the page →
Read the text
Hudson and Boston railroad follows its general direction, and has stations at Claverack and Mellenvillc. The line has easy grades in town, and a well-ballasted road-bed The New York and Harlem railroad enters the town from Hillsdale, near the southeast corner, and has a northwesterly direction into the town of Ghent, where it converges with the former railroad. On the line there are stations at Philmont and Martindale, in the town of Claverack.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Columbia County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1878 · page 110Read the page →
Read the text
was descended from Holland ancestry, and was born in the town of Claverack, July 30, 1785. He received his education at the select academy in Claverack taught by Andrew Mayfield Carshore, an accomplished and successful teacher of that period. He studied law in the office of Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer, at Claverack, and was admitted to the bar about the year 1807, soon after which lie established himself in business at the village of Johnstown,
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
Claverack, 1744 to 1933
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Claverack is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #38 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 Claverack?
25 listings: 23 buildings, among them the Jan Van Hoesen House (listed 1979, the first), 1 historic district, the Philmont Historic District, with 343 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 409 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Claverack?
30% of Claverack’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.9 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (5), Wikidata (7), the National Register of Historic Places (25), 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 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.
1877
1933
