North Castle’s post office opened in 1809, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #508 of 758 in New York. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 8 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1790.
The North Castle post office opened in 1809, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Sands Mills (1851), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 2,478 in 17902020 census: 12,408217 years
How historic is North Castle?
B+
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first North Castle post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives North Castle’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Castle is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #508 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of North Castle’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 North Castle’s 9.0 sits near the middle of its state (44% of New York towns have fewer) while its 11 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% 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 (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. 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 North Castle’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost half of its people between 1790 and 1820, then grew more than tenfold.
22 censuses, 1790–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on North Castle’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
North Castle had its own post office from 1809 to 1906. Another post office, Sands Mills, opened and closed inside today’s town.
North Castle
1809–1906
Sands Mills
1851–1853
Armonk
1853–today
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ArmonkNorth White PlainsWindmill Farm
Gone or out of use
Corman Hill SchoolschoolNumber 10 Fire TowertowerWestchester Aviation Country ClubairportWestchester Embassy Clublocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside North Castle
Middle Patent RuralOld Quaker
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
North Castle, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of North Castle yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
North Castle is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 12,408 at the 2020 census. It has three hamlets: Armonk, Banksville, and North White Plains.
Its first post office opened in 1809. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 11,841 to 12,408 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about North Castle, 1871–1900
Passages that mention North Castle, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Westchester County, New York, from its earliest settlement to the year 19001900 · page 457Read the page →
Read the text
the place was a quite wanton deed. The Presbyterian Church was destroyed, and indeed the tradition is that only one house was left standing. Thus the ancient settlement of Bedford was practically swept out of existence. Barrett, in his History of North Castle, says that many houses in that locality were burned by Tarleton on his way down from Bedford. Certainly there was no inveteracy of militia at North Castle.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
2 The date, 1719, shows that this 'new settlement' was not 'North Castle, a new settlement in the woods ' in 1728 (p. 248), nor ' New Castle, a new settlement in the woods' in 1729 (p. 255).
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Westchester County, New York, from its earliest settlement to the year 19001900 · page 482Read the page →
Read the text
As related by Mr. Conch, the capturing party took Andre to the nearest American post, in the Town of North Castle, where Lieutenant-Colonel Jameson was in command. This officer, though brave and honest, seems to have possessed none too much intelligence, and, moreover, was easily hoodwinked by the courtly Andre. He examined the papers, and sent them by messenger to Washington; but harboring no suspicion against Arnold, he not only wrote a letter to that genera] describing the capture, bat at the same time turned
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
North Castle, 1809 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 North Castle post office opened in 1809, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does North Castle rank for history?
North Castle is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #508 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 North Castle?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Miller House (listed 1976, the first), and 1 historic district, the Bedford Road Historic District, with 8 contributing buildings. 11 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in North Castle?
12% of North Castle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1971.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.
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