The Ellenburg post office opened in 1830, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Harrison (1807), Merrill (1885) and Star (1892), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,842196 years
How historic is Ellenburg?
B+
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Ellenburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ellenburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ellenburg is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ellenburg’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 Ellenburg’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of New York towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 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 Ellenburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area was first settled around 1800. Ellenburg is named for Ellen Murray, the daughter of John R. Murray, a landowner.
The town was formed from part of the town of Mooers in 1830. In 1845, part of the town was used to make the town of Clinton.
During the Cold War, Ellenburg was the location of two of the twelve Atlas ICBM missile silos under the 556th Strategic Missile Squadron based out of the Plattsburgh Air Force Base. These silos were operational from 1962 to 1965.
The Ellenburg post office opened in 1830, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Ellenburg rank for history?
Ellenburg is more historic than 66% 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 Ellenburg?
31% of Ellenburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
