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History · Georgetown

Georgetown dates to 1815, and 49% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1820.

1815founded
0on the National Register
49%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Georgetown’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Georgetown began

When was Georgetown founded?

1815

Georgetown dates its founding to 1815 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 824 in 18202020 census: 648211 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1819.The full story ↓

What stands out about Georgetown’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 1,490 in 1880; 648 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Georgetown’s homes were built before 1951.Deep rootsEstablished in 1815: 211 years of Georgetown.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Georgetown’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewTown of Georgetown Business Notices.; G…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Georgetown, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001850190019502000Peak: 1,490

Peaked at 1,490 in 1880; 648 people lived here in 2020.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

The story

How Georgetown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Georgetown.

Read it all →

The town was one of the Twenty Townships, and in 1793 ownership of the tract was patented to Thomas Ludlow Jr. It was first settled in 1803, and for its first years was known as "Slab City". Georgetown was formally organized from part of the town of DeRuyter in 1815.

A reputed French nobleman constructed a house near Georgetown in 1808, on what became known as Muller Hill, before he abandoned the land in 1816. The house burnt down in the early 20th-century, and the land was later developed as a State Forest.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Georgetown, 1815 to 1936

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1815
    FoundingGeorgetown is established
  3. 1819Post officeThe Georgetown post office opens
  4. 1875In the archiveTown of Georgetown Business Notices.; Georgetown (Township)
  5. 1880CensusPopulation peaks at 1,490
  6. 1882Post officeThe Georgetown Station post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1936Post officeThe Georgetown Station post office closes
By decade

Georgetown, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Town of Georgetown Business Notices.; Georgetown (Township)1875Town of Georgetown Business Notices.; Georgetown (Tow…
Date unknown1 to date
Timothy Brown House, South Main Street & State Route 26Date?Timothy Brown House, South Main Street & State Route …
Today2 recent
Georgetown, New York streetscape2026Georgetown, New York streetscapeGeorgetown, New York2010Georgetown, New York
On the map

Georgetown on the map, 1902 to 1943

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

Georgetown on the 1902 USGS mapGeorgetown on the 1943 USGS map1902Morrisville 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 Georgetown.

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.

Town of Georgetown Business Notices.; Georgetown (Township)
Retake this viewTown of Georgetown Business Notices.; Georgetown (Township), 1875

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Georgetown

Nobody well known was born in Georgetown itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
John Vincent AtanasoffAmerican computer pioneer · b. 1903
Horatio SeymourAmerican politician · b. 1810
James W. NyeAmerican judge · b. 1815
Charles Stebbins FairchildAmerican lawyer, politician · b. 1842
Hubert Anson NewtonAmerican astronomer and scientist · b. 1830
Bill HorrAmerican discus thrower and football coach · b. 1880
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Georgetown’s post office has been open since 1819. Another post office, Georgetown Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Georgetown
1819–today
Georgetown Station
1882–1936
18101920today
Gone or out of use
Camp Georgetownbuilding
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Georgetown
AllardHawksHillsideNiles

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

DeRuyter1 historic placeA−LebanonIts storyB+Nelson2 historic placesAOtselic4 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Georgetown’s history

What year was Georgetown founded?

In 1815, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Georgetown’s post office opened in 1819, and the census of 1820 counted 824 people here.

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 Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.