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B−History
History · Hamlin

Hamlin dates to 1852, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #686 of 758 in New York. What drives it

Its Register listing is the North Star School District No. 11. Its Register listing is the North Star School District No. 11. Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1860.

1852founded
1on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Michael C. Byrnes · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Hamlin began

When was Hamlin founded?

1852

Hamlin dates its founding to 1852 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 2,460 in 18602020 census: 8,725174 years

How historic is Hamlin?

B−

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1851.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Hamlin’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hamlin is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #686 of 758 in New York. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hamlin’s overall grade.
Founding era1852, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194015.1% of homes (±3.9) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 3.5 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 47%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 10%

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 Hamlin’s 3.5 sits below most of its state (30% of New York towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points). Two sources give 1852.

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 Hamlin’s past

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

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Hamlin, and 8 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Hamlin are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18994 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1971. Watch Hamlin change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Hamlin’s post office has been open since 1861. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

North Clarkson
1851–1874
Hamlin
1861–today
North Hamlin
1869–1902
East Hamlin
1874–1906
Walker
1906–1974
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Benedict BeachHarper ParkNorth HamlinOnteo BeachSandy Harbour BeachShore AcresTroutburgWalker
Gone or out of use
Brick SchoolschoolLakeside SchoolschoolNorth Star SchoolschoolOlive Branch SchoolschoolSchool Number 12schoolSchool Number 13schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 7school
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hamlin
Clarkson UnionLakeside

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

Help out

Start Hamlin’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Hamlin on the map, 1899 to 1971

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

Hamlin on the 1899 USGS mapHamlin on the 1932 USGS mapHamlin on the 1952 USGS mapHamlin on the 1971 USGS map1899Hamlin 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 Hamlin.

The story

How Hamlin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hamlin.

Read it all →

The town of Hamlin was created as the town of Union, and was renamed in 1861 as Hamlin in honor of Abraham Lincoln's first vice president, Hannibal Hamlin.

Hamlin was initially a part of the town of Northampton. The town of Murray was split from Northampton in 1807, and was split again into Union and Clarkson on December 14, 1852.

The North Star School District No. 11 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Hamlin, 1851–1908

Passages that mention Hamlin, cut from the printed page as they were published.

David R. Singleton, who has been closely associated with business interests in Hilton, is now owner of the Afton Farm, one of the valuable properties of the town of Hamlin. He is also president of the Hamlin Rural Telephone Company and has been associated with business interests of tliis locality i…
History of Rochester and Monroe county, New York1908 · page 723Read the page →
Read the text

David R. Singleton, who has been closely associated with business interests in Hilton, is now owner of the Afton Farm, one of the valuable properties of the town of Hamlin. He is also president of the Hamlin Rural Telephone Company and has been associated with business interests of tliis locality in other ways, belonging to that class of representative American men who promote pub-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Frank J. and Jay B. Murphy are well known residents of the town of Hamlin, where they are extensively engaged in the raising and shipping of fruit, making a specialty of apples and peaches.
History of Rochester and Monroe county, New York1908 · page 1363Read the page →
Read the text

Frank J. and Jay B. Murphy are well known residents of the town of Hamlin, where they are extensively engaged in the raising and shipping of fruit, making a specialty of apples and peaches.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Elijah Hamlin, Philo Hamlin, Cyprian Collins, Gideon King, Benjamin Chapman, Joel and Christopher Parks, Ephraim and Lot Rue, Alexander Emmons, Ashbel Beach, Nathan Waldron, Enos Hawley, Timothy Buel, were Pioneers in Bloomfield, but in reference to them, the author as in many other instances, has …
History of the pioneer settlement of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, and Morris' reserve1851 · page 190Read the page →
Read the text

Elijah Hamlin, Philo Hamlin, Cyprian Collins, Gideon King, Benjamin Chapman, Joel and Christopher Parks, Ephraim and Lot Rue, Alexander Emmons, Ashbel Beach, Nathan Waldron, Enos Hawley, Timothy Buel, were Pioneers in Bloomfield, but in reference to them, the author as in many other instances, has to regret the absence of datas to enable him to speak of them beyond the mention of their names. Elijah Hamlin, who was ahve a short time since, in Michigan, if alive now, is the only survivor of them. He was a contrac-

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.

Timeline

Hamlin, 1844 to 1902

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1844BuiltNorth Star School District No. 11 is built
  3. 1851Post officeThe North Clarkson post office opens
  4. 1852
    FoundingHamlin is established
  5. 1861Post officeThe Hamlin post office opens
  6. 1869Post officeThe North Hamlin post office opens
  7. 1874Post officeThe North Clarkson post office closes
  8. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 20th century
  10. 1902Post officeThe North Hamlin post office closes
By decade

Hamlin, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Lake Ontario State Pkwy. wb at mp 14, July 20232023Lake Ontario State Pkwy. wb at mp 14, July 2023Lake Ontario State Pkwy. wb at NY 260, July 20232023Lake Ontario State Pkwy. wb at NY 260, July 2023Lake Ontario State Pkwy. wb approaching NY 260, July 20232023Lake Ontario State Pkwy. wb approaching NY 260, July …Lake Ontario State Pkwy. wb approaching NY 19, July 20232023Lake Ontario State Pkwy. wb approaching NY 19, July 2…Hamlin, NY PO2014Hamlin, NY POHamlin, New York town hall2010Hamlin, New York town hallNorth end of NY 19 in2008North end of NY 19 inNY 18 west at NY 192008NY 18 west at NY 19Fork on NY 19 in2008Fork on NY 19 inFirst shield on NY 360 east2008First shield on NY 360 east
Every building

Hamlin, building by building, 1914

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 sheet.

Hamlin fire insurance map, 1914, sheet 11914Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Hamlin

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
2014
North Star School District No. 11
North Star School District No. 11, built 1844
Buildings
All 1 listings
North Star School District No. 11Building · listed 2014

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

People over time

Hamlin, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000190019502000Peak: 9,355

Between 1,999 and 9,355 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Clarkson1 historic placeAParma2 historic placesB+KendallIts storyB+

Questions about Hamlin’s history

What year was Hamlin founded?

In 1852, according to Wikidata. Hamlin’s post office opened in 1851, and the census of 1860 counted 2,460 people here.

How does Hamlin rank for history?

Hamlin is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #686 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 Hamlin?

One place: the North Star School District No. 11 (listed 2014).

How old are the homes in Hamlin?

15% of Hamlin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1976.

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 (10), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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, 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.