Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #106 of 758 in New York. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1870.
Hudson Falls dates its founding to 1810 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hudson Falls is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #106 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
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 Hudson Falls’ 200 sits above most of its state (82% of New York towns have fewer) while its 148 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hudson Falls. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hudson Falls.
4 decades in the archive, from the 1820s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1884Sandy Hill, N.Y
1917Industries of War - Paper - Paper manufacturing plant…
1917Industries of War - Paper - Paper manufacturing plant…
1917Industries of War - Paper - Paper manufacturing plant…
1917Industries of War - Paper - Paper manufacturing plant…
1917Industries of War - Paper - Paper manufacturing plant…From Wikipedia’s history of Hudson Falls.
In 1764, Albert Baker built Kingsbury's first sawmill near what is known today as Baker's Falls. As early as 1792, the area of Kingsbury near Baker's Falls was referred to as Sandy Hill. In 1810, the hamlet incorporated as a village, keeping the name Sandy Hill. Its boundaries expanded to their current limits in the 1840s.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereJohn H. Martindale is born here
In the archiveBaker's FallsIn the archiveSandy Hill, N.Y
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyIn the archiveIndustries of War - Paper - Paper manufacturing plants. Corner of stock room, bag factory
In the archiveDETAIL, EAST ABUTMENT, NORTH SIDE, VIEW TO SOUTHEAST - Sandy Hill Bridge, Bridge Street, …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.
1913Sheet 1 of 21Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hudson Falls’ page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 2,347 and 7,917 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hudson Falls’ Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1810, according to Wikidata. Hudson Falls’ post office opened in 1797, and the census of 1870 counted 2,347 people here.
Hudson Falls is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #106 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.
40% of Hudson Falls’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.6 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1947.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (11), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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