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History · Northville

Northville’s post office opened in 1827, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1880.

1827first post office
1on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Northville began

When was Northville founded?

1827

The Northville post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 763 in 18802020 census: 993199 years
Founding year: the first Northville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Northville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Northville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18994 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1970. Watch Northville change.Old housesHalf of Northville’s homes were built before 1954.Deep rootsA post office since 1827: 199 years of Northville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Northville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Northville on the map, 1899 to 1970

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

Northville on the 1899 USGS mapNorthville on the 1902 USGS mapNorthville on the 1945 USGS mapNorthville on the 1970 USGS map1899Broadalbin 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 Northville.

The story

How Northville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Northville.

Read it all →

The site of the village was first settled around 1786, but areas south of the village were settled around 1762. The village was once on high ground between the Sacandaga River and Hunters Creek. When the river was dammed in 1930 to form the Sacandaga Reservoir, now called Great Sacandaga Lake, the river valley became an arm of the lake. The village now lies on a peninsula surrounded by the lake, with three bridges connecting it on the west, east and south. The arm of the Great Sacandaga Lake to the east is known locally as Northville Lake or the "Little Lake".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the National Register

1 listing protects 176 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
176
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Northville, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,304

Between 763 and 1,304 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Northville’s history

What year was Northville founded?

The Northville post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 Wikidata (1), 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.