North Greenbush’s post office opened in 1865, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns · #704 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Most of North Greenbush was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Its Register listings are the Defreest Homestead, the John Evert Van Alen House and the Sharpe Homestead and Cemetery. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1860.
The North Greenbush post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Defriestville (1832), Defreestville (1870) and Snyders Corners (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 2,170 in 18602020 census: 13,292161 years
How historic is North Greenbush?
C+
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first North Greenbush post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives North Greenbush’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Greenbush is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #704 of 758 in New York. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of North Greenbush’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 Greenbush’s 3.8 sits below most of its state (31% 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 C to B−. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 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 Greenbush’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
North Greenbush was part of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck and Albany County prior to Rensselaer County's creation in 1791. North Greenbush was created on February 23, 1855, from the town of Greenbush at the same time as the town of Clinton (today East Greenbush). At this time, North Greenbush occupied more than what it does today; it also covered what is now the northern section of the city of Rensselaer and the southern section of the city of Troy.
Passages that mention North Greenbush, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Troy and Rensselaer county, New York1925 · page 463Read the page →
Read the text
view was inadequate to meet the demands for treatment of tuberculous cases in Rensselaer County. An active campaign was maintained until 1915 when the Board of Supervisors purchased a site of about 150 acresi in the town of North Greenbush, one mile east of the village of Wynantskill and two miles from the city limits of Troy. The site cost $11,500. No further progress was made during the next year, but in the fall of 1916, after a vigorous campaign by the Rensselaer County Tuberculosis Association, the people at a general election voted to ap-
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 Greenbush, 1765 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of North Greenbush. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893Troy 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 North Greenbush.
On the National Register
3 historic places in North Greenbush
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The North Greenbush post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does North Greenbush rank for history?
North Greenbush is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #704 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 Greenbush?
Three places: the Defreest Homestead (listed 1977), the John Evert Van Alen House (2004) and the Sharpe Homestead and Cemetery (2005).
How old are the homes in North Greenbush?
9% of North Greenbush’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (3), 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 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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