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History · Copenhagen

Copenhagen’s post office opened in 1822, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1870.

1822first post office
0on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Copenhagen’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Copenhagen began

When was Copenhagen founded?

1822

The Copenhagen post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 575 in 18702020 census: 631204 years
Founding year: the first Copenhagen post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Copenhagen’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 876 in 1990; 631 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Copenhagen’s homes were built before 1944.Deep rootsA post office since 1822: 204 years of Copenhagen.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Copenhagen’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMr. Warren Loadwick and truckmen moving…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Copenhagen, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 876

Peaked at 876 in 1990; 631 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

The story

How Copenhagen came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Copenhagen.

Read it all →

Copenhagen was formerly known as "Mungers Mills" until 1807 when the locals elected to change their name to Copenhagen out of sympathy for the Danish capital, which was facing bombardment at the time by the British Royal Navy. Copenhagen was incorporated on February 22, 1896, and celebrated its 150th anniversary in August 2019 with 3 days of festivities.

Pinckney Corners Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Copenhagen in 1883

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

The first school in Copenhagen, was taught by Tyrannus A. Wright, and the first school house in town was built near the inn of Freedom Wright, in Denmark village. The first school commissioners were Lewis Graves, Charles Wright, Jr., and Stephen Parsons ; and the first school inspectors were John C…
History of Lewis County, New York1883 · page 189Read the page →
Read the text

The first school in Copenhagen, was taught by Tyrannus A. Wright, and the first school house in town was built near the inn of Freedom Wright, in Denmark village. The first school commissioners were Lewis Graves, Charles Wright, Jr., and Stephen Parsons ; and the first school inspectors were John Canfield,

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
and located a farm of 125 acres, in the town of Lowville, now Denmark, about three-fourths of a mile southeast of the present village of Copenhagen, at the junction of what are now known as Number Three and West roads. The land was held at three and one-half dollars per acre. He paid one-half of the
History of Lewis County, New York1883 · page 197Read the page →
Read the text

and located a farm of 125 acres, in the town of Lowville, now Denmark, about three-fourths of a mile southeast of the present village of Copenhagen, at the junction of what are now known as Number Three and West roads. The land was held at three and one-half dollars per acre. He paid one-half of the

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

Copenhagen, 1794 to 1990

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1794Born hereAshley Davenport is born here
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1935In the archiveMr. Warren Loadwick and truckmen moving some of Mr. Loadwick's cows from his farm which i…
  6. 1941In the archiveMr. Warren Loadwick and truckmen moving some of Mr. Loadwick's cows from his farm which i…
  7. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 876
By decade

Copenhagen, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1940s2 items
Mr. Warren Loadwick and truckmen moving some of Mr. Loadwick's cows from his farm which is in the Army camp area. With …1935Mr. Warren Loadwick and truckmen moving some of Mr. L…Mr. Warren Loadwick and truckmen moving some of Mr. Loadwick's cows from his farm which is in the Army camp area. With …1941Mr. Warren Loadwick and truckmen moving some of Mr. L…
1950s–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
On the map

Copenhagen on the map, 1902 to 1942

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

Copenhagen on the 1902 USGS mapCopenhagen on the 1942 USGS map1902Carthage 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 Copenhagen.

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.

Mr. Warren Loadwick and truckmen moving some of Mr. Loadwick's cows from his farm which is in the Army camp area. With …
Retake this viewMr. Warren Loadwick and truckmen moving some of Mr. Loadwick's cows from his farm which is in the Army camp area. With …, 1935

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

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Copenhagen’s history

What year was Copenhagen founded?

The Copenhagen post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.