The Le Ray post office opened in 1807, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Leray (1807), Leraysville (1808) and Sanford Corners (1829), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 2,944 in 18202020 census: 25,574219 years
How historic is Le Ray?
B
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Le Ray post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Le Ray’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Le Ray is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #571 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Le Ray’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 Le Ray’s 2.0 sits below most of its state (25% of New York towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Le Ray’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Leray
1807–1808
Leraysville
1808–1901
Evans Mills
1823–today
Sanford Corners
1829–1911
Calcium
1911–today
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Black RiverCalciumDoolins CrossingDutch SettlementEvans MillsLeray Trailer ParkNorthwoods Estates Mobile Home ParkRidgedale Mobile Home ParkSanfords Four Corners
Gone or out of use
Dutch Settlement SchoolschoolKiser SchoolhouseschoolLa RaysvilleschoolSchool Number 1schoolSchool Number 13schoolSchool Number 15schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 7school
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Le Ray
HooverNew BostonQuakerSaint MarysSanford CornersSheepfoldVan Allen
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Le Ray’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Le Ray’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Archaeological remains show the presence of aboriginal natives in the town.
The region was part of Macomb's Purchase and was acquired by Gouverneur Morris and James Le Ray in 1800. Settlement began around 1802.
The town was formed in 1806 from the town of Brownville and included a large portion of northern Jefferson County. Parts of the town were used to create the towns of Wilna, Alexandria, Theresa, Antwerp, and Philadelphia.
Many of the historic settlements of the town were abandoned due to the formation of Fort Drum, which occupies the eastern half of the town.
The LeRaysville Archeological District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
Passages that mention Le Ray, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Jefferson County in the state of New York1854 · page 225Read the page →
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In 1807, a saw mill, known as the De Launey* Mill, was built for Le Ray, on Black Creek, a mile and a half above the present village of Sterlingville, and in 1824, a saw mill was erected at the latter place, for Edmund Tucker, by Harablin and Crofoot, which was the first improvement here. About 1834, a second saw mill was built, adjacent to the present forge, and in 1836, there were but three dwellings in this vicinity.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Jefferson County, New York1878 · page 420Read the page →
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Benjamin was then a bachelor, he made further preparations for the reception of a prospective Mrs. Brown. She arrived in July, a newly-made wife, and the first white woman who set foot in the present town of Le Ray. Meanwhile good progress had been made in the construction of a saw-mill upon the creek, an enterprise which had chiefly lU; duced Brown's settlement at this place. It is related that at the "raising" of the frame men came from a longdis-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Jefferson County, New York1878 · page 435Read the page →
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and Melvin A., both of whom reside at home. Mr. Dunten with his family returned to the town of Le Ray in 1839, and after a year settled in Antwerp ; but in about three years purchased the old homestead in Le Ray, upon which he has since resided ; and an illustration of which, with its buildings, under the portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Dunten, will be found on another page in this work. The farm has been in the family since its first occupation in 1817. He united
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Jefferson County in the state of New York1854 · page 395Read the page →
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Religious Associations. 395 for some time discontinued meetings. The property of the society belonged to the Orthodox branch, although the Plicksites used the meeting houses for their worship. That at Le Ray (between Le Raysville and Evans' Mills) was built in 1816, and that at Friends Settlement in 1828. The Le Ray Preparative numbers 25 families and parts of families, and that of Indian River less.
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.
Timeline
Le Ray, 1807 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 Le Ray post office opened in 1807, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Le Ray rank for history?
Le Ray is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #571 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 Le Ray?
Two places: the LeRay Mansion (listed 1974) and the LeRay Hotel (1982).
How old are the homes in Le Ray?
11% of Le Ray’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1999.
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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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 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.
1941
2010
