On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Laurel Hollow is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Laurel Hollow’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 Laurel Hollow’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of New York towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1926.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.3 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Laurel Hollow’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost a third of its people between 1930 and 1940, then grew more than tenfold.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Laurel Hollow’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Laurel Hollow on the map, 1901 to 1979
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Laurel Hollow. 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 Laurel Hollow.
By decade
Laurel Hollow, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1830s to the 1960s. 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.
The settlement of what would later become Laurel Hollow began c. 1653, when European colonists purchased land from the local Matinecock Native Americans.
The village was incorporated in 1926 as "Lauralton," but the name was changed to "Laurel Hollow" in 1935, in order to avoid postal confusion with the Laurelton neighborhood of adjacent Queens. Today, Laurel Hollow is served by post offices in the hamlets of Syosset, Oyster Bay, Woodbury and Cold Spring Harbor.
The globally renowned Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is located in the village.
In 1926, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1930 counted 161 people here.
How does Laurel Hollow rank for history?
Laurel Hollow is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Laurel Hollow?
10% of Laurel Hollow’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 (12), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1834
1834
1967
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1967