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History · Hawthorne

Hawthorne’s post office opened in 1901, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and old-book passages.

1901first post office
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hawthorne’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hawthorne began

When was Hawthorne founded?

1901

The Hawthorne post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 4,646125 years
Founding year: the first Hawthorne post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Hawthorne’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18927 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1979. Watch Hawthorne change.Old housesHalf of Hawthorne’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hawthorne’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPostcard image of Yankee Dam: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Hawthorne on the map, 1892 to 1979

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

Hawthorne on the 1892 USGS mapHawthorne on the 1902 USGS mapHawthorne on the 1932 USGS mapHawthorne on the 1947 USGS mapHawthorne on the 1957 USGS mapHawthorne on the 1967 USGS mapHawthorne on the 1979 USGS map1892Tarrytown 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 Hawthorne.

The story

How Hawthorne came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hawthorne.

Read it all →

The village was originally known as Hammond's Mills, and was part of Frederick Philipse's estate Philipsburgh. On September 23, 1780, Major John André stopped here on his way to New York to ask directions after meeting with Benedict Arnold.

After the Revolutionary War, the name of the village changed to Unionville. The hamlet's population consisted mostly of farmers. The Reformed Church of Unionville (Hawthorne Reformed Church) was built here in 1818. In 1832, a one-room school house was built. In 1847, a railroad station was established on New York Central's Harlem Division, with the name Unionville. A post office was established on February 10, 1851, and was designated Neperan after the Indian name for the Saw Mill River.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Hawthorne in 1891

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

Hawthorne was born July 4, 1804, and died May 19, 1864. The student of Hawthorne will find in G. P. Lathrop's A Study of Hawthorne, and Henry James, Jr.'s Hawthorne, in the series English Men of Letters, material which will assist him. Dr. Holmes published, shortly after Haw thorne's death, a paper…
Masterpieces of American literature1891 · page 90Read the page →
Read the text

Hawthorne was born July 4, 1804, and died May 19, 1864. The student of Hawthorne will find in G. P. Lathrop's A Study of Hawthorne, and Henry James, Jr.'s Hawthorne, in the series English Men of Letters, material which will assist him. Dr. Holmes published, shortly after Haw thorne's death, a paper of reminiscences which is included in Soundings from the Atlantic ; and Longfellow welcomed

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

Hawthorne, 1892 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1920In the archivePostcard image of Yankee Dam
  5. 1968In the archiveHAER NY-327 (sheet 8 of 22) - Bronx River Parkway Reservation, The Bronx to Kensico Dam, …
  6. 1997In the archiveAlbertVolk
By decade

Hawthorne, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
Postcard image of Yankee Dam1920sPostcard image of Yankee DamPostcard
1930s–1950snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1960s–1990s2 items
HAER NY-327 (sheet 8 of 22) - Bronx River Parkway Reservation, The Bronx to Kensico Dam, White Plains, Westchester Coun…1968HAER NY-327 (sheet 8 of 22) - Bronx River Parkway Res…AlbertVolk1997AlbertVolk
Today3 recent
TSPnRoad-ExitSMP2013TSPnRoad-ExitSMPIBM Hawthorne August 20122012IBM Hawthorne August 2012New York State Route 9A2011New York State Route 9A
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Postcard image of Yankee Dam
Retake this viewPostcard image of Yankee Dam, 1920s

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hawthorne’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

ThornwoodIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Hawthorne’s history

What year was Hawthorne founded?

The Hawthorne post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.