Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1832.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Greenport’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Greenport is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #4 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs put Greenport near the top nationally; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Greenport’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 Greenport’s 1,002 sits above most of its state (96% of New York towns have fewer) while its 258 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.3 points). Two sources give 1682.
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 Greenport’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
1885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Greenport was first settled in 1682 and incorporated in 1838. Greenport was once a whaling and ship building village, and since 1844, has been the eastern terminal station on the north fork for the Long Island Rail Road.
During Prohibition, rum running and speakeasies became a significant part of Greenport's economy. Greenport's residents knew the waters well and could outrun the coastguard. Restaurants on the east end, including Claudio's in Greenport, served the illegal booze. Many of the village's older structures are included in the Greenport Village Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Passages that mention Greenport, cut from the printed page as they were published.
...History of Suffolk county, New York1882 · page 81Read the page →
Read the text
ing a terminus at Hicksville for about four years entered this county at Farmingdale and reached Suffolk Station, near Central Islip, in 184c. Three years later it was completed to Greenport, its present terminus, and the first train ran over it July 25 th 1844. This road runs 64 miles in this county. A branch from Hicksville, having been built to Syosset in 1854, was continued into this county as far as Northport in 1868. From a point on this line a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
...History of Suffolk county, New York1882 · page 41Read the page →
Read the text
veyor he has at various times had occasion to become acquainted with the divisions of real estate in all parts of the town; and there are few parts with which he is not perfectly familiar. The village of Greenport has spread out and covered building lots and farms which were laid out by him. But the work which will be a monument to his memory more lasting than marble is the printed " Records of Southold;" and the notes and sketches
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
Greenport, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1920s. 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.
In 1682, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Greenport’s post office opened in 1832, and the census of 1870 counted 1,819 people here.
How does Greenport rank for history?
Greenport is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #4 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 Greenport?
58% of Greenport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.3 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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