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A−History
History · Hammond

Hammond’s post office opened in 1822, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Crossover Island Light Station. Below: maps from 1912 on and the census since 1830.

1822first post office
1on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hammond began

When was Hammond founded?

1822

The Hammond post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1827. Three smaller post offices, South Hammond (1833), Oak Point (1841) and North Hammond (1862), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 767 in 18302020 census: 1,258204 years

How historic is Hammond?

A−

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Hammond post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1827.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Hammond’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hammond is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hammond’s overall grade.
Founding era1822, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194029.0% of homes (±5.3) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 11.9 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 83%
NewerOlder

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 Hammond’s 11.9 sits near the middle of its state (49% of New York towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1827 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Hammond’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Hammond are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Hammond, and 6 old place names are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,968 in 1860; 1,258 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19124 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1961. Watch Hammond change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hammond’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hammond’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
Places that used to be

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

Hammond’s post office has been open since 1822. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hammond
1822–today
South Hammond
1833–1957
Oak Point
1841–1900
North Hammond
1862–1900
Chippewa Bay
1880–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Chippewa BayNorth HammondOak PointOakvaleSchermerhorn LandingSouth Hammond
Gone or out of use
Hammond AirportairportSchool Number 6schoolThird Brother Lighthouselocale
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hammond
FineviewHammondPleasant ValleyRarick

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

People over time

Hammond, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001850190019502000Peak: 1,968

Peaked at 1,968 in 1860; 1,258 people lived here in 2020.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

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

The story

How Hammond came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hammond.

Read it all →

The Town of Hammond was formed in 1827 when portions of the Town of Morristown and the Town of Rossie were combined. Subsequent small alterations in the town lines affected the neighboring towns of Rossie, Macomb, and Morristown.

Alexander Macomb bought land in this area, and this was known as the Macomb purchase. Later this land was bought by Abijah Hammond, a New York businessman. He in turn sold 28,871 acres (116.84 km2) of land to David Parish. A land office was opened in 1814 in Chippewa Bay, a sub-community of the Town of Hammond today.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hammond, 1822 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1822Post officeThe Hammond post office opens
  3. 1833Post officeThe South Hammond post office opens
  4. 1841Post officeThe Oak Point post office opens
  5. 1848BuiltCrossover Island Light Station is built
  6. 1852Born hereClarence A. Waldo is born here
  7. 1860CensusPopulation peaks at 1,968
  8. 20th century
  9. 1900Post officeThe Oak Point post office closes
  10. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1957Post officeThe South Hammond post office closes
By decade

Hammond, decade by decade

Today1 recent
NY 185 old alignment in2019NY 185 old alignment in
On the map

Hammond on the map, 1912 to 1961

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

Hammond on the 1912 USGS mapHammond on the 1944 USGS mapHammond on the 1951 USGS mapHammond on the 1961 USGS map1912Hammond 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 Hammond.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Hammond

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2007
Crossover Island Light Station
Crossover Island Light Station, built 1848
Structures
Crossover Island Light StationBuilt 1848

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Morristown9 historic placesAMacombIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRossieIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAlexandria7 historic placesA

Questions about Hammond’s history

What year was Hammond founded?

The Hammond post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1827.

How does Hammond rank for history?

Hammond is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns. 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 Hammond?

One place: the Crossover Island Light Station (listed 2007).

How old are the homes in Hammond?

29% of Hammond’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1969.

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