Huntington dates to 1653, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns · #327 of 758 in New York. What drives it
99 places in town are on the National Register, among them ten historic districts with 186 buildings between them. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1794.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Huntington’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Huntington is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #327 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Huntington’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Huntington ranks #96 on History.
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 Huntington’s 19.5 sits near the middle of its state (56% of New York towns have fewer) while its 397 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1653.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size.
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 →
What stands out about Huntington’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Huntington’s post office has been open since 1794. Eight other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Huntington
1794–today
Dix Hills
1799–1871
Crab Meadow
1820–1840
Cold Spring Harbor
1825–today
West Hills
1826–1859
Cow Harbour
1831–1835
Centreport
1835–today
Northport
1840–today
Melville
1852–1906
Elwood
1870–1902
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AsharokenCenterportCold Spring HarborCommackCrab MeadowDix HillsEast NorthportEatons NeckElwoodFort HillGreenlawnHalesiteHalf HollowHuntington BayHuntington BeachHuntington StationLefferts MillLittle PlainsLloyd HarborLower MelvilleMelvilleNorthportSouth HuntingtonVernon Valley
Gone or out of use
Alice B Doscher EstatelocaleAnna Gould EstatelocaleBurrs Lane Junior High SchoolschoolCarls And Son HatcherylocaleCenterport SchoolschoolCentral Elementary SchoolschoolCentury's 110 Drive-InlocaleCoindre HallschoolCold Spring Harbor SchoolschoolCommack Grade SchoolschoolCross Roads FarmlocaleDeer Park SpeedwaylocaleDistrict 16 SchoolschoolDistrict Number 17 SchoolschoolEast Northport SchoolschoolEastern Military AcademyschoolElwood Grade SchoolschoolFriends World Collegeschool
18cemeteries and burying grounds inside Huntington
In 1653, three men from Oyster Bay – Richard Holbrook, Robert Williams, and Daniel Whitehead – purchased a parcel of land from the Matinecock tribe. This parcel has since come to be known as the "First Purchase" and included land bordered by Cold Spring Harbor on the west, Northport Harbor on the east, what is now known as Old Country Road to the south, and the Long Island Sound to the north. The three men immediately turned the land over to the settlers who had already been living there.
Passages that mention Huntington, cut from the printed page as they were published.
An opinion upon the powers and duties of the trustees of the freeholders and commonalty of the town of Huntington1872 · page 27Read the page →
Read the text
We come now to the main <piestion : Has the town title in lamls under tide waters? Ff 80, where is the outermost limit of siu-h title? and what is the nature of that title ? The public statutes describe the boundaries of the Town as follows: "The Town of Huntington shall contain all that part of said County (Suffolk) called and knowfi by the name of Huntington, including Katon's Neck and Crab Meadow."
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
An opinion upon the powers and duties of the trustees of the freeholders and commonalty of the town of Huntington1872 · page 37Read the page →
Read the text
In conformity to the opinion heretofore expressed, that the King of Kngland had power to grant, and did, through his subordinates, grant by virtue of the several charters and patents heretofore mentioned, to the Town of Huntington, title to the soil under nil the tide waters within
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of the town of Murrayfield1892 · page 156Read the page →
Read the text
deg. S. 18 rods to Hampton line on Westfield mountain from Worthington line through Murrayfield eleven miles and one hundred and seventy-six rods to trees marked on the east side of the highway." The present highway from Norwich Bridge in Huntington to Westfield through Montgomery past the meeting-house is a part of the same highway.
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.
By decade
Huntington, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1830s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Huntington. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1901Northport 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 Huntington.
Every building
Huntington, building by building, 1886–1922
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.
In 1653, according to Wikidata. Huntington’s post office opened in 1794, and the first U.S. census counted 3,260 people here in 1790.
How does Huntington rank for history?
Huntington is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #327 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 Huntington?
99 listings: 84 buildings, among them the Eatons Neck Light (listed 1973, the first), 12 historic districts with 186 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 2 structures. 397 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Huntington?
11% of Huntington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1963.
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 (21), the Library of Congress (15), Wikidata (7), the National Register of Historic Places (99), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, 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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