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.
Hammondsport was settled beginning in 1792 by Samuel Baker, Mr. Aulls and Capt. Amos Stone, and was originally called "Cold Spring Valley", due to its icy-cold spring that emptied into Keuka Lake (then called Crooked Lake) It was also known as Pleasant Valley.
Peaked at 1,254 in 1910; 583 people lived here in 2020.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hammondsport’s Wikipedia page.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Hammondsport, 1879–1911
Passages that mention Hammondsport, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people1911 · page 225Read the page →
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The Hammondsport Herald is published at the village of Hammondsport, town of Urbana, and is a weekly paper founded by Mrs. Benjamin Bennett and Mrs. E. B. Pairchild in the spring of 1874.
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A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people1911 · page 287Read the page →
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Hammondsport, in the town of Urbana, for a few years had the advantage of two banks; within the last two years one has been discontinued. The Bank of Hammondsport has been in business since about 1876, during all this period maintaining a good reputation in its line. Known as the Bank of Hammondsport, it was begun by H. C. Ainsworth, who had a like business at . Prattsburg. In 1891 the business was sold to John J. Frey, who still continues it and maintains its good standing.
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History of Steuben county, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1879 · page 408Read the page →
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Capt. John Sheathar was the original purchaser and first settler on lands where the village of Hammondsport now stands. He bought of Charles Williamson 145 acres, described as follows : " Beginning at a post on the bank of the inlet of Crooked Lake ; thence north two degrees east one hundred and sixty perches to a post ; thence west one hundred and forty-four perches and five links to a post; thence south two degrees west to a thorn-tree on the bank
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History of Steuben county, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1879 · page 409Read the page →
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Mr. Lazarus Hammond, the founder of Hammondsport, removed from Dansville to Cold Spring in 1810. He afterwards settled at Hammondsport, where he resided till his death. He was the first town clerk, elected upon the organization of the town in 1823. He was sheriflF of the county in 1814, and afterwards associate judge of the county court.
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Hammondsport, 1792 to 1926
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (7), 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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