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A−History
History · Menands

Menands dates to 1842, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #373 of 758 in New York. What drives it

6 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1930.

1842founded
6on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Menands’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Menands began

When was Menands founded?

1842

Menands dates its founding to 1842 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 1,522 in 19302020 census: 4,554184 years

How historic is Menands?

A−

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Menands’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Menands is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #373 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Menands’ overall grade.
Founding era1842, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194015.4% of homes (±5.0) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register6 listings, 33 historic buildings, 73.3 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 83%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 51%

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 Menands’ 73.3 sits above most of its state (72% of New York towns have fewer) while its 33 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1842.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Menands’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18935 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1980. Watch Menands change.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.Deep rootsEstablished in 1842: 184 years of Menands.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Menands’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Menands’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAlbany Rural Cemetery - engraved and pr…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Menands on the map, 1893 to 1980

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

Menands on the 1893 USGS mapMenands on the 1928 USGS mapMenands on the 1953 USGS mapMenands on the 1978 USGS mapMenands on the 1980 USGS map1893Troy 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 Menands.

On the National Register

6 listings protect 33 historic buildings

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

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
33
each building in a district counts

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

The story

How Menands came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Menands.

Read it all →

Menands would have been first spotted by Europeans circa 1609, when Henry Hudson dropped anchor somewhere near Cuyler or Pleasure Island during his voyage on the river later to be named after him. This would be the furthest north on the river that Hudson would go in the Half Moon. Today, those islands are connected to the mainland, and are the site of Interstate 787 exits 6 and 7, which includes the cloverleaf interchange with NY 378 and the Troy-Menands Bridge.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Menands, 1842 to 1928

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1842
    FoundingMenands is established
  3. 1846In the archiveAlbany Rural Cemetery - engraved and printed by J.E. Gavit
  4. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1928Born hereGeorge Deukmejian is born here
By decade

Menands, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1840s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1840s1 item
Albany Rural Cemetery - engraved and printed by J.E. Gavit1846Albany Rural Cemetery - engraved and printed by J.E. …
Today15 recent
Ted's Fish Fry in Watervliet, New York2020Ted's Fish Fry in Watervliet, New YorkSubmarine sandwiches sign in2020Submarine sandwiches sign inStewart's Shop in2020Stewart's Shop inMorgan Linen sign2020Morgan Linen signMidland Farms Inc. in2020Midland Farms Inc. inMenands, New York village hall2020Menands, New York village hallMenands, New York village court2020Menands, New York village courtMenands, New York sign at Albany border2020Menands, New York sign at Albany borderBroadway Valuemart2020Broadway ValuemartMenands Bridge, Troy, NY2015Menands Bridge, Troy, NYAlbany Felt Company main building2015Albany Felt Company main buildingMhbhtpicnicsite2012MhbhtpicnicsiteMenands, New York2010Menands, New YorkI787South12009I787South1Norfolk Southern locomotive2005Norfolk Southern locomotive
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.

Albany Rural Cemetery - engraved and printed by J.E. Gavit
Retake this viewAlbany Rural Cemetery - engraved and printed by J.E. Gavit, 1846

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Menands, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,000194019601980200020204,554

Grew from 1,522 people in 1930 to 4,554 in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Loudonville13 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townColonie45 historic placesB−Albany72 historic placesA+North Greenbush3 historic placesC+

Questions about Menands’ history

What year was Menands founded?

In 1842, according to Wikidata. the census of 1930 counted 1,522 people here.

How does Menands rank for history?

Menands is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #373 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.

How old are the homes in Menands?

15% of Menands’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1973.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (16), Wikidata (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.