The Glen Cove post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Moscheto Cove (1818), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 8,664 in 19202020 census: 28,365192 years
How historic is Glen Cove?
A−
More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Glen Cove post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Glen Cove’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Glen Cove is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #473 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Glen Cove’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 Glen Cove’s 3.6 sits below most of its state (30% of New York towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. 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 Glen Cove’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Glen Cove. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1897Oyster Bay 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 Glen Cove.
Every building
Glen Cove, building by building, 1893–1925
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.
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.
Ancient cultures of Indigenous peoples had lived in the area for thousands of years. At the time of European contact, bands of the Lenape (Delaware) nation inhabited western Long Island and the areas along today's New York Harbor and adjacent New Jersey, as well as further south down the coast, through present-day Pennsylvania and Delaware, and along the Delaware River. They spoke an Algonquian language. By 1600, however, the band inhabiting this local area was called the Matinecock, after their location.
The Glen Cove post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Glen Cove rank for history?
Glen Cove is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #473 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.
What is on the National Register in Glen Cove?
6 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Woolworth Estate (listed 1979, the first). 10 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Glen Cove?
19% of Glen Cove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1960.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (14), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
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1890![Fleet of N.Y.Y.C. [New York Yacht Club], Glencove [sic]](https://images.townratings.com/story/11869/e32ce60f61e4602b8709-s.jpg)
1897![Kanawha, Glencove [sic], N.Y.Y.C. [New York Yacht Club]](https://images.townratings.com/story/11869/ebdc0cb2e26b5d7ed2f7-s.jpg)
1897![Corsair, Glencove [sic]](https://images.townratings.com/story/11869/919a8e7c00cbc2bd646b-s.jpg)
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