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A−History
History · Farmingdale

Farmingdale dates to 1687, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #423 of 758 in New York. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1880.

1687founded
1on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Farmingdale’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Farmingdale began

When was Farmingdale founded?

1687

Farmingdale dates its founding to 1687 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 524 in 18802020 census: 8,466339 years

How historic is Farmingdale?

A−

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1845.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Farmingdale’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Farmingdale is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #423 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Farmingdale’s overall grade.
Founding era1687, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194021.3% of homes (±5.5) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 1.2 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 44%

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 Farmingdale’s 1.2 sits below most of its state (22% of New York towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1687.
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 (±5.5 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Farmingdale’s past

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

Older than the countryEstablished in 1687, 89 years before the Declaration of Independence.On the map since 19017 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1994. Watch Farmingdale change.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1920, drew every building in Farmingdale.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1878–1917.
★ What stands out · Timeline

Farmingdale, 1687 to 1975

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1687
    FoundingFarmingdale is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1848Born hereSusannah Lattin is born here
  5. 1878In the archiveHannah and Henry K. Lattin (1806-1894) in the Queens County Sentinel on August 1, 1878
  6. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - New York - Nassau County - Farmingdale - ED 30-28…
  7. 1890In the archiveJarvis Andrew Lattin (1853-1941) in The Brooklyn Daily Times of Brooklyn, New York on Sep…
  8. 20th century
  9. 1901In the archiveEva Ariel Lattin (1892-1939) in the The Brooklyn Daily Times of Brooklyn, New York on Nov…
  10. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1917In the archiveNew York
  12. 1936Born hereJack Lamabe is born here
  13. 1937Born hereGregory W. Carman is born here
  14. 1975Born hereJed Davis is born here
On the map

Farmingdale on the map, 1901 to 1994

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

Farmingdale on the 1901 USGS mapFarmingdale on the 1919 USGS mapFarmingdale on the 1947 USGS mapFarmingdale on the 1954 USGS mapFarmingdale on the 1969 USGS mapFarmingdale on the 1979 USGS mapFarmingdale on the 1994 USGS map1901Babylon 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 Farmingdale.

Every building

Farmingdale, building by building, 1893–1920

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.

Farmingdale fire insurance map, 1893, sheet 21893Sheet 2 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Farmingdale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Farmingdale.

Read it all →

The first European settler in the area was Thomas Powell, who arrived in 1687. On October 18, 1695, he purchased a 15-square-mile (39 km2) tract of land from three Native American tribes. This is known as the Bethpage Purchase and includes what is now Farmingdale – in addition to Bethpage, Melville, North Massapequa, Old Bethpage, Plainedge, and Plainview. One of two houses he erected in the area (built c. 1738) still stands on Merritts Road within Farmingdale.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Farmingdale, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1890s5 items
Hannah and Henry K. Lattin (1806-1894) in the Queens County Sentinel on August 1, 18781878Hannah and Henry K. Lattin (1806-1894) in the Queens …1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - New York - Nassau County - Farmingdale - ED 30-284, ED 30-285, ED 30-286, ED 30…18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - New York - Na…Jarvis Andrew Lattin (1853-1941) in The Brooklyn Daily Times of Brooklyn, New York on September 15, 18901890Jarvis Andrew Lattin (1853-1941) in The Brooklyn Dail…Henry K. Lattin (1806-1894) obituary from November 22, 18941894Henry K. Lattin (1806-1894) obituary from November 22…Farmingdale in the Long Islander News on March 22, 18971897Farmingdale in the Long Islander News on March 22, 18…
1900s6 items
Eva Ariel Lattin (1892-1939) in the The Brooklyn Daily Times of Brooklyn, New York on November 16, 19011901Eva Ariel Lattin (1892-1939) in the The Brooklyn Dail…Eva Ariel Lattin (1892-1939) in the The Brooklyn Daily Times of Brooklyn, New York on October 31, 19011901Eva Ariel Lattin (1892-1939) in the The Brooklyn Dail…Jarvis Andrew Lattin properties in Farmingdale, New York in 19061906Jarvis Andrew Lattin properties in Farmingdale, New Y…Farmingdale, L.I., Motts Pond1906Farmingdale, L.I., Motts PondNazareth Trade School, east wing1906Nazareth Trade School, east wingL.I.R.R. [Long Island Railroad] depot1906L.I.R.R. [Long Island Railroad] depot
1910s1 item
New York1917New York
1920s–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
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.

Hannah and Henry K. Lattin (1806-1894) in the Queens County Sentinel on August 1, 1878
Retake this viewHannah and Henry K. Lattin (1806-1894) in the Queens County Sentinel on August 1, 1878, 1878

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Farmingdale

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Farmingdale, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 9,297

Between 524 and 9,297 people in every census since 1880.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Farmingdale

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Gregory W. CarmanUnited States Judge · b. 1937
S
Susannah Lattin(1848-1868) died at an illegal adoption clinic · b. 1848
J
Jack LamabeAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1936
Jed DavisSinger, songwriter, keyboardist · b. 1975
R
Robert De CormierAmerican conductor and composer · b. 1922
T
Tom KennedyAmerican football wide receiver · b. 1996
Help out

Finish Farmingdale’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHannah and Henry K. Lattin (1806-1894) …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Old BethpageIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSouth FarmingdaleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBethpageIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPlainedgeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Farmingdale’s history

What year was Farmingdale founded?

In 1687, according to Wikidata. Farmingdale’s post office opened in 1845, and the census of 1880 counted 524 people here.

How does Farmingdale rank for history?

Farmingdale is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #423 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.

How old are the homes in Farmingdale?

21% of Farmingdale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1963.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.