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History · Kauneonga Lake

Kauneonga Lake’s post office opened in 1931, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1922 on.

1931first post office
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Kauneonga Lake’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Kauneonga Lake began

When was Kauneonga Lake founded?

1931

The Kauneonga Lake post office opened in 1931, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 30595 years
Founding year: the first Kauneonga Lake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Kauneonga Lake’s past

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

On the map since 19224 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1982. Watch Kauneonga Lake change.Old housesHalf of Kauneonga Lake’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · On the map

Kauneonga Lake on the map, 1922 to 1982

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

Kauneonga Lake on the 1922 USGS mapKauneonga Lake on the 1942 USGS mapKauneonga Lake on the 1967 USGS mapKauneonga Lake on the 1982 USGS map1922White Lake 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 Kauneonga Lake.

The story so far

Kauneonga Lake, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Kauneonga Lake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Kauneonga Lake is a hamlet in the Town of Bethel, Sullivan County, New York, United States. The community is located along New York State Route 55, 8 miles (13 km) west-northwest of Monticello. Kauneonga Lake has a post office with ZIP code 12749.

Its first post office opened in 1931.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Kauneonga Lake, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s6 items
Kenmore Motel, Cty Route 141976Kenmore Motel, Cty Route 14Kenmore Motel, Cty Route 14, closed and deserted1976Kenmore Motel, Cty Route 14, closed and desertedNew Empire Hotel, White Lake1976New Empire Hotel, White LakeOld hotel I, Woodlawn Villa?, Cty Rt 1A1976Old hotel I, Woodlawn Villa?, Cty Rt 1AOld hotel II Cty Rt 1A1976Old hotel II Cty Rt 1AWoodlawn Villa Showboat, Cty Route 1411976Woodlawn Villa Showboat, Cty Route 141
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
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.

Kenmore Motel, Cty Route 14
Retake this viewKenmore Motel, Cty Route 14, 1976

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Kauneonga Lake

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

See all →
Frederick CookAmerican explorer · b. 1865
Gavin DeGrawAmerican singer · b. 1977
Queen HarrisonAmerican hurdler and sprinter · b. 1988
Randall BatinkoffAmerican actor · b. 1968
Stanley FinchFirst director of the FBI · b. 1872
Z
Zoe LeonardAmerican photographer · b. 1961
Help out

Finish Kauneonga Lake’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewKenmore Motel, Cty Route 14: 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.

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

Questions about Kauneonga Lake’s history

What year was Kauneonga Lake founded?

The Kauneonga Lake post office opened in 1931, 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) and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.