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History · Newburgh

Newburgh dates to 1709, and 11 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Newburgh was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. 11 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 16 buildings between them. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1860.

1709founded
11on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
37famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Newburgh’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Newburgh began

When was Newburgh founded?

1709

Newburgh dates its founding to 1709 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 12,578 in 18602020 census: 31,985317 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1832.The full story ↓

What stands out about Newburgh’s past

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

Lost villages11 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Newburgh, and 18 old place names are still on the map.A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1821–1875.Older than the countryEstablished in 1709, 67 years before the Declaration of Independence.On the map since 19033 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1957. Watch Newburgh change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

11 other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Middle Hope
1832–1937
Savill
1854–1892
Orange Lake
1869–1931
East Coldenham
1872–1902
Cronomer Valley
1874–1908
Leptondale
1881–1915
Roseton
1885–1973
Gardentown
1890–1891
Savilton
1892–1920
Gardnertown
1897–1902
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BalmvilleCandlestick Mobile Home ParkCedar CliffChadwick EstatesCronomer ValleyDogwood HillsEast ColdenhamFostertownGardnertownGlenwood ParkHudson Valley Mobile Home ParkLeptondaleMeadow WindsMiddle HopeOrange LakeRosetonRossvilleSavilton
Gone or out of use
Balmville Public SchoolschoolBrookside Drive-InlocaleFostertown SchoolschoolLeptondale SchoolschoolMiddle Hope AirportairportMiddlehope Drive-InlocaleOrange Lake SchoolschoolOur Lady of Hope SeminaryschoolStewart Air Force Basemilitary
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Newburgh
BelknapCedar Hill Cemetery and MausoleumCosmanHighlandRossville

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

By decade

Newburgh, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1820s to the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1820s–1850s6 items
Newburgh1821NewburghHINTON(1834) 2.435 Newburgh (city), New York1834HINTON(1834) 2.435 Newburgh (city), New YorkDocumentHead quarters of Washington at Newburgh N.Y1850Head quarters of Washington at Newburgh N.YBeacon Hills on the Hudson River, Opposite Newburgh—Painted on the Spotc. 1852Beacon Hills on the Hudson River, Opposite Newburgh—P…Washington's head quarters near Newburgh1857Washington's head quarters near NewburghMeyers Universum Band 20 081859Meyers Universum Band 20 08
1860s8 items
Fishkill Landing, with Newburgh and Snake Hill in the distancec. 1860Fishkill Landing, with Newburgh and Snake Hill in the…Fishkill Landing, with Newburgh and Snake Hill in the distancec. 1860Fishkill Landing, with Newburgh and Snake Hill in the…Fishkill Landing, with Newburgh and Snake Hill in the distancec. 1860Fishkill Landing, with Newburgh and Snake Hill in the…Fishkill Landing, with Newburgh and Snake Hill in the distancec. 1860Fishkill Landing, with Newburgh and Snake Hill in the…Fishkill Landing, with Newburgh and Snake Hill in the distancec. 1860Fishkill Landing, with Newburgh and Snake Hill in the…Fishkill Landing, with Newburgh and Snake Hill in the distancec. 1860Fishkill Landing, with Newburgh and Snake Hill in the…Geo. Washington's headquarters1860Geo. Washington's headquartersOn the Hudson, View of Break Neck Hill, Newbury in Distance (Boston Public Library)1861–1897On the Hudson, View of Break Neck Hill, Newbury in Di…
1870s4 items
Newburgh on Hudson title QS:P1476,en:"Newburgh on Hudson "label QS:Len,"Newburgh on Hudson "1872Newburgh on Hudson title QS:P1476,en:"Newburgh on Hud…City of Newburgh N.Y. (Village)1875City of Newburgh N.Y. (Village)Washington's Headquaters, Newburgh, N.Y.; John Flanagan, Practical Plumber and Gas Fitter. , No. 20 Water St., next doo…1875Washington's Headquaters, Newburgh, N.Y.; John Flanag…Woodside" Stock Farm of Joel Snyder, Pine Bush. Orange County, N.Y.; The Journal Building, Newburgh, N.Y. The Journal, …1875Woodside" Stock Farm of Joel Snyder, Pine Bush. Orang…Document
Timeline

Newburgh, 1709 to 1947

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1709
    FoundingNewburgh is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1821In the archiveNewburgh
  5. 1832Post officeThe Middle Hope post office opens
  6. 1834In the archiveHINTON(1834) 2.435 Newburgh (city), New York
  7. 1850In the archiveHead quarters of Washington at Newburgh N.Y
  8. 1854Post officeThe Savill post office opens
  9. 1859BuiltMaple Lawn is built
  10. 1860In the archiveFishkill Landing, with Newburgh and Snake Hill in the distance
  11. 1869Post officeThe Orange Lake post office opens
  12. 1872In the archiveNewburgh on Hudson title QS:P1476,en:"Newburgh on Hudson "label QS:Len,"Newburgh on Hudso…
  13. 1892Post officeThe Savill post office closes
  14. 1893BuiltWalden United Methodist Church is built
  15. 20th century
  16. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  17. 1923Born hereEllsworth Kelly is born here
  18. 1931Post officeThe Orange Lake post office closes
  19. 1935Born hereGeraldine Ferraro is born here
  20. 1937Post officeThe Middle Hope post office closes
  21. 1947Born hereJames Patterson is born here
The story

How Newburgh came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Newburgh.

Read it all →

At the time of European contact the area of Newburgh was occupied by the Waoranek, a branch of the Lenape. The area that became Newburgh was first explored by Europeans when Henry Hudson stopped by during his 1609 expedition up the river that now bears his name. His navigator, Robert Juet, is said to have called the site "a pleasant place to build a town", although some later historians believe he may actually have been referring to the area where Cornwall-on-Hudson now stands.

ChaptersGrowth20th and 21st centuries

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Newburgh on the map, 1903 to 1957

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

Newburgh on the 1903 USGS mapNewburgh on the 1947 USGS mapNewburgh on the 1957 USGS map1903Newburgh 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 Newburgh.

Every building

Newburgh, building by building, 1884–1913

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.

Newburgh fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 21
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Newburgh
Retake this viewNewburgh, 1821

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

11 historic places in Newburgh

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

places listed
11
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
30
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Mill House
Mill HouseSilas Gardner HouseMaple Lawn, built 1859Orange Mill Historic DistrictPowelton ClubBloomer-Dailey House and Balmville TreeBelknap Stone HouseCosman Family CemeteryWalden United Methodist Church, built 1893Echo Lawn EstateBalmville Cemetery
BuildingsDistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian3
Early Republic2
Federal2
Picturesque2
Vernacular1
Gothic Revival1
Mill HouseBuilding
Silas Gardner HouseVernacular
Maple LawnGothic Revival · Built 1859
Orange Mill Historic DistrictEarly Republic
Powelton ClubPalladian
Bloomer-Dailey House and Balmville TreeColonial
Belknap Stone HouseEarly Republic
Cosman Family CemeterySite
All 11 listings
Walden United Methodist ChurchBuilding · listed 2008Echo Lawn EstateBuilding · listed 2009Balmville CemeterySite · listed 2010

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

People over time

Newburgh, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,000190019502000Peak: 31,956

Between 12,578 and 31,956 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

37 famous people were born in Newburgh

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
James PattersonAmerican author · b. 1947
Geraldine FerraroAmerican politician · b. 1935
Ellsworth KellyAmerican painter, sculptor, and printmaker · b. 1923
S
Saul WilliamsAmerican singer, musician, poet, writer, and ac… · b. 1972
Douglas McIlroyAmerican computer scientist, mathematician, eng… · b. 1932
Andrew Jackson DowningAmerican horticulturist, nurseryman and landsca… · b. 1815
Help out

Finish Newburgh’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNewburgh: 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.

Montgomery35 historic placesA+Gardnertown2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBalmville3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWappinger10 historic placesBPlattekill5 historic placesA−Fishkill10 historic placesB+New Windsor8 historic placesB+Marlborough7 historic placesAMarlboro5 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Newburgh’s history

What year was Newburgh founded?

In 1709, according to Wikidata. Newburgh’s post office opened in 1832, and the census of 1860 counted 12,578 people here.

What is on the National Register in Newburgh?

11 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Mill House (listed 1973, the first), 2 historic districts, the Orange Mill Historic District and the Bloomer-Dailey House and Balmville Tree, with 16 contributing buildings, and 3 sites. 30 historic buildings in all.

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 (14), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (11), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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 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.