Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #720 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1930.
Lindenhurst dates its founding to 1873 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1930.
More historic than 33% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lindenhurst is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #720 of 758 in New York. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Lindenhurst’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lindenhurst. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lindenhurst.
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.
1902Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Lindenhurst.
The village was originally named "Breslau" because the town's original German settlers were from the city of Breslau in Silesia (present-day Wrocław, Poland.) The town was founded in 1873 and was renamed Lindenhurst in 1891.
In 1923, Lindenhurst residents voted to incorporate the community as a village.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveBreslau. (Village)
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveSuffolk County, V. 1, Double Page Plate No. 1 (Map bounded by Town of Huntington, Town of…
Born hereJack Barry is born here
Born hereHal Hartley is born here
In the archiveThe Long Island Rail Road - p42
Born hereMark Whitfield is born here3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
2025Old vintage car in Lindenhurst, NY - February 2025
2025Old rusty bus in Lindenhurst, NY - February 2025 - 02
2025Old rusty bus in Lindenhurst, NY - February 2025 - 01
2024South side R.R. Historic Marker 20240814 115416
2024City of Breslau Historic Marker 20240920 134947
2023Wanamaker Mansion
2012LindenhurstHurricaneSandy
2010LmlbotNo then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lindenhurst’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 4,040 and 28,359 people in every census since 1930.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lindenhurst’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lindenhurst’s history is told.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1873, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Lindenhurst’s post office opened in 1870, and the census of 1930 counted 4,040 people here.
Lindenhurst is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #720 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.
16% of Lindenhurst’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1957.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (14), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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