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A−History
History · Parishville

Parishville dates to 1809, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Luke Brown House. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1820.

1809founded
1on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Parishville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Parishville began

When was Parishville founded?

1809

Parishville dates its founding to 1809 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 594 in 18202020 census: 2,038217 years

How historic is Parishville?

A−

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1813.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Parishville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Parishville is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Parishville’s overall grade.
Founding era1809, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194026.5% of homes (±8.3) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 6.0 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%
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 Parishville’s 6.0 sits near the middle of its state (38% of New York towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.3 points). Two sources give 1809.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Parishville’s past

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

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Parishville, and 6 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19083 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1964. Watch Parishville change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1809: 217 years of Parishville.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Parishville’s post office has been open since 1813. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Parishville
1813–today
Parisville Centre
1861–1904
West Parishville
1879–1904
Highflats
1892–1911
Wick
1893–1910
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
High FlatsParishville CenterPickettvilleSinclair CornerWest ParishvilleWillisville
Gone or out of use
Blake Falls AirportairportSchool Number 11schoolSchool Number 13schoolSchool Number 13schoolSchool Number 14schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 7schoolSchool Number 9schoolWick Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Parishville
Chapel HillCoulonFairviewHillcrestWillisville

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

Help out

Start Parishville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Parishville on the map, 1908 to 1964

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

Parishville on the 1908 USGS mapParishville on the 1943 USGS mapParishville on the 1964 USGS map1908Potsdam 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 Parishville.

The story

How Parishville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Parishville.

Read it all →

The town was laid out in 1809 on a tract of land that David Parish had purchased from J. D. Le Ray de Chaumont in 1808. The first settlers arrived around 1810.

The town was formed in 1814 from the town of Hopkinton. The town was named for David Parish. In 1843, part of Parishville was used to form the town of Colton.

The Luke Brown House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Parishville, 1809 to 1908

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1809
    FoundingParishville is established
  3. 1813Post officeThe Parishville post office opens
  4. 1844Born hereCharles W. Dolloff is born here
  5. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New York - St. Lawrence County - ED 45-93…
  6. 1861Post officeThe Parisville Centre post office opens
  7. 1865In the archiveParishville (Village); Parishville including the original Township of Cookham, and Part o…
  8. 1879Post officeThe West Parishville post office opens
  9. 20th century
  10. 1904Post officeThe Parisville Centre post office closes
  11. 1904Post officeThe West Parishville post office closes
  12. 1908On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Parishville, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s–1860s2 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New York - St. Lawrence County - ED 45-93, ED 45-94, ED 45-9518501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New Y…Parishville (Village); Parishville including the original Township of Cookham, and Part of Catharineville. (Township); …1865Parishville (Village); Parishville including the orig…
Today1 recent
Post0288 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library2007Post0288 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library
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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New York - St. Lawrence County - ED 45-93, ED 45-94, ED 45-95
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New York - St. Lawrence County - ED 45-93, ED 45-94, ED 45-95, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Parishville

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2003
Luke Brown House
Luke Brown House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
All 1 listings
Luke Brown HouseBuilding · listed 2003

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

People over time

Parishville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001850190019502000Peak: 2,384

Between 594 and 2,384 people in every census since 1820.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Colton3 historic placesA−Pierrepont2 historic placesA−Hopkinton1 historic placeAStockholm1 historic placeA−Potsdam15 historic placesA

Questions about Parishville’s history

What year was Parishville founded?

In 1809, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Parishville’s post office opened in 1813, and the census of 1820 counted 594 people here.

How does Parishville rank for history?

Parishville is more historic than 78% 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.

What is on the National Register in Parishville?

One place: the Luke Brown House (listed 2003).

How old are the homes in Parishville?

27% of Parishville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.3 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1969.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.