The story
Read it all →How North Harmony came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of North Harmony.
The town of North Harmony was established on December 19, 1918, from part of the town of Harmony.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
CHistory
History · North Harmony
North Harmony dates to 1918, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 1920.
1918founded
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How North Harmony began
When was North Harmony founded?
1918
North Harmony dates its founding to 1918 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1920.
First census: 1,235 in 19202020 census: 2,192108 years
How historic is North Harmony?
C
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives North Harmony’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Harmony is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of North Harmony’s overall grade.
Founding era1918, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194028.2% of homes (±6.5) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical NY town 12.3 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 29%
NewerOlder
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 Harmony’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.5 points). Two sources give 1918.
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 North Harmony’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s North Harmony, and 12 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of North Harmony are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of North Harmony’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Stedman
Open Meadows
Stow
Ashville
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AshvilleConnelly ParkElm TreeHadley BayLong ViewNiets CrestQuigley ParkStebbins CornersStedmanStowVictoriaWoodlawn
Gone or out of use
Baker Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside North Harmony
BlyMaple GroveNorth HarmonyOpen MeadowsWild Rose
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start North Harmony’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how North Harmony’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
North Harmony, 1854 to 1918
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1854Post officeThe Stedman post office opens
- 1878Post officeThe Open Meadows post office opens
- 1880Post officeThe Stow post office opens
- 20th century
- 1902Post officeThe Open Meadows post office closes
- 1904
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1905Post officeThe Stedman post office closes
- 1918FoundingNorth Harmony is established
By decade
North Harmony, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2023On the map
North Harmony on the map, 1904 to 1941
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of North Harmony. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1904Chautauqua sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of North Harmony.
People over time
North Harmony, census by census
Between 1,235 and 2,521 people in every census since 1920.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on North Harmony’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to North Harmony
Nobody well known was born in North Harmony itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about North Harmony’s history
What year was North Harmony founded?
In 1918, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. North Harmony’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1920 counted 1,235 people here.
How does North Harmony rank for history?
North Harmony is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. 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 North Harmony?
28% of North Harmony’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1959.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.