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–Not graded
History · Inlet

Inlet’s post office opened in 1898, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Dollar Island Camp. Below: 13 old photos and papers, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1910.

1898first post office
1on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
13old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Inlet’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Inlet began

When was Inlet founded?

1898

The Inlet post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 197 in 19102020 census: 355128 years
Founding year: the first Inlet post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Inlet’s past

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

On the map since 19033 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1989. Watch Inlet change.A town in old photos13 old photos, postcards and papers, 1910–1973.Old housesHalf of Inlet’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · On the map

Inlet on the map, 1903 to 1989

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

Inlet on the 1903 USGS mapInlet on the 1954 USGS mapInlet on the 1989 USGS map1903Big Moose 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 Inlet.

By decade

Inlet, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s5 items
Searl's garage and service station1910Searl's garage and service stationB.I.V. from Black Bear Mountain, F. Chain, N.Y1911B.I.V. from Black Bear Mountain, F. Chain, N.YEvergreen cottages, Rocky Point Inn1913Evergreen cottages, Rocky Point InnVeranda and lake, Rocky Point Inn1913Veranda and lake, Rocky Point InnLake view from the Bluff, Rocky Point Inn1913Lake view from the Bluff, Rocky Point Inn
1920s–1960snothing 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
1970s8 items
AERIAL VIEW OF THE VILLAGE OF INLET, NEW YORK, TYPICAL SMALL ADIRONDACK FOREST PRESERVE HAMLET WITH ONE MAIN STREET1973AERIAL VIEW OF THE VILLAGE OF INLET, NEW YORK, TYPICA…BOY SCOUT TROOPS READY FOR MEMORIAL DAY PARADE AT THE LITTLE TOWN OF INLET NEAR THE FULTON CHAIN LAKES1973BOY SCOUT TROOPS READY FOR MEMORIAL DAY PARADE AT THE…CHEERLEADER CHATS WITH HIGH SCHOOL BAND LEADER BEFORE MEMORIAL DAY PARADE AT THE LITTLE TOWN OF INLET NEAR THE FULTON C…1973CHEERLEADER CHATS WITH HIGH SCHOOL BAND LEADER BEFORE…CITIZENS OF INLET, NEW YORK, PREPARE FOR MEMORIAL DAY PARADE1973CITIZENS OF INLET, NEW YORK, PREPARE FOR MEMORIAL DAY…CLOWN-TOPPED GARBAGE CAN IS USED AT AN ICE CREAM STAND IN INLET, TO ENCOURAGE ITS USE AND CUT DOWN ON LITTER, IN THE...…1973CLOWN-TOPPED GARBAGE CAN IS USED AT AN ICE CREAM STAN…Citizens of Inlet New York Prepare for Memorial Day Parade 19731973Citizens of Inlet New York Prepare for Memorial Day P…Clown Top Garbage Can Inlet New York 19731973Clown Top Garbage Can Inlet New York 1973YOUNG MAJORETTES RUN TO JOIN MEMORIAL DAY PARADE AT INLET NEAR THE FULTON CHAIN LAKES1973YOUNG MAJORETTES RUN TO JOIN MEMORIAL DAY PARADE AT I…
1980s–1990snothing 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
Today5 recent
St. Anthony of Padua Church2024St. Anthony of Padua ChurchChurch of the Lakes2024Church of the LakesGreetings from Inlet, New York - Large Letter Postcard2013Greetings from Inlet, New York - Large Letter PostcardDocumentForth Lake2012Forth LakeFourth Lake2011Fourth Lake
The story

How Inlet came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Inlet.

Read it all →

The area developed to serve the needs of sportsmen after the middle of the 19th century, and was known as the "Inlet on Fourth Lake". The town of Inlet was formed in 1901 from the north part of the town of Morehouse. In 1901, the community of Inlet set itself off as a village by incorporation but has since abandoned that status.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Inlet, 1898 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898Post officeThe Inlet post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1910In the archiveSearl's garage and service station
  6. 1973In the archiveAERIAL VIEW OF THE VILLAGE OF INLET, NEW YORK, TYPICAL SMALL ADIRONDACK FOREST PRESERVE H…
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.

Searl's garage and service station
Retake this viewSearl's garage and service station, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Inlet

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2017
Dollar Island Camp
Dollar Island Camp
Buildings
All 1 listings
Dollar Island CampBuilding · listed 2017

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Inlet, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 406

Between 171 and 406 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Inlet’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Inlet

Nobody well known was born in Inlet itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Solomon NorthupFree-born African American kidnapped by slave-t… · b. 1808
James Willard Schultz(1859-1947) American historian · b. 1859
Wilbur Olin AtwaterAmerican agricultural chemist (1844–1907); deve… · b. 1844
Caleb LyonAmerican politician · b. 1822
Cleveland MoffettAmerican journalist and writer · b. 1863
Eben E. RexfordAmerican lyricist and horticulturist · b. 1848
Help out

Finish Inlet’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSearl's garage and service station: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

MorehouseIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLong Lake9 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWebb6 historic placesAAriettaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Inlet’s history

What year was Inlet founded?

The Inlet post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Inlet?

One place: the Dollar Island Camp (listed 2017).

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 (14), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.