More historic than 97% of U.S. towns · #75 of 758 in New York. What drives it
18 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 229 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1820.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hounsfield is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #75 of 758 in New York. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hounsfield’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 Hounsfield’s 844 sits above most of its state (95% of New York towns have fewer) while its 275 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.5 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Hounsfield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
East Hounsfield StationlocaleGreens CrossinglocaleMadison BarracksmilitarySchool Number 13schoolSchool Number 15schoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 8school
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hounsfield
Fields SettlementMilitaryMuskalonge
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The land comprising the town was purchased by Augustus Sackett on 20 June 1801 from a foreclosure of two prior landowners. He took an active part in developing the town and increasing its population.
Hounsfield was formed from the town of Watertown in February 17, 1806. The town and its citizens were deeply involved in the War of 1812, primarily due to the two battles that took place at Sackets Harbor.
In 1814, the community of Sackets Harbor, by Black River Bay, set itself off from the town by becoming an incorporated village.
Passages that mention Hounsfield, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Jefferson County, New York1878 · page 401Read the page →
Read the text
"At a meeting convened by legal notice at Sacket's Harbor, in the town of Hounsfield and county of Jefferson, on January 12, 1816, for the purpose of forming a , religious society at the village of Sacket's Harbor, agreeably to the third section of an Act entitled ' An Act to Provide for the Incorporation of Religious Societies,' passed April 5, eighteen hundred and thirteen, Melanchthon T. Woolsey and Enoch Ely were unanimously nominated and elected
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Jefferson County, New York1878 · page 230Read the page →
Read the text
On February 17, 1806, the town of Hounsfield was formed from Watertown by the legislature, corresponding in size to survey-township number one, and reducing Watertown to the size which it retained up to the incorporation of the city in 1869.
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
Hounsfield, 1807 to 1901
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Hounsfield is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #75 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 Hounsfield?
18 listings: 13 buildings, among them the Union Hotel (listed 1972, the first), 2 historic districts, the Madison Barracks and the Sackets Harbor Village Historic District, with 229 contributing buildings, 2 sites, and 1 structure. 275 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Hounsfield?
25% of Hounsfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (18), 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 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.
2015
2009
