Founding year: the first East Hampton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives East Hampton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, East Hampton is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns. 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 East Hampton’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 East Hampton’s 2,968 sits above most of its state (100% of New York towns have fewer) while its 385 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% 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 (±5.0 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 East Hampton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
This area had been inhabited for thousands of years by wandering tribes of indigenous peoples. At the time of European contact, East Hampton was home to the Pequot people, part of the culture that also occupied territory on the northern side of Long Island Sound, in what is now Connecticut of southern New England. They belong to the large Algonquian-speaking language family. Bands on Long Island were identified by their geographic locations. The historical people known to the colonists as the Montaukett, who were Pequot, controlled most of the territory at the east end of Long Island.
Passages that mention East Hampton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
...History of Suffolk county, New York1882 · page 19Read the page →
Read the text
In the town of East Hampton the idea of liberty from the earliest days seemed a thing woven into the hearts of men. The same spirit that prompted the inhabitants in 1686 to send answer to the high sheriff of Yorkshire that they sent delegates to the first provincial Assembly, called by Governor Dongan, " not in obedience to his order but that they might neglect no opportunity to assert their rights," still burned in the bosoms of their de-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
...History of Suffolk county, New York1882 · page 10Read the page →
Read the text
vicinity, was laid out the same year. The 30-acre division at Mecox was made in 1677. The Great North and Great South divisions were the large extent of woodland lying between the East Hampton line and the Shinecock Hills, laid out in 1738. The Little South division consisted of small parcels of land lying at different places, from the East Hampton line to the Shinecock Hills, laid out in 1763. The Sag Harbor little division was laid
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.
By decade
East Hampton, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
The East Hampton post office opened in 1816, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does East Hampton rank for history?
East Hampton is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in East Hampton?
31% of East Hampton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 the Library of Congress (7), Wikidata (5), 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.
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