Founding year: the first Pelham Manor post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pelham Manor’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pelham Manor is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #501 of 758 in New York. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pelham Manor’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 Pelham Manor’s 7.1 sits near the middle of its state (40% of New York towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.3 points). 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 Pelham Manor’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1873, the opening of Pelham Manor station on the Harlem River Branch of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad led to real estate development in the surrounding area, including Chestnut Grove between Boston Post Road and the train station and Manor Circle to the east of the station. After train service to Pelham Manor station was discontinued in 1930, the Cass Gilbert–designed station house was used by the Westchester Model Club until the building was demolished in 1955 to make way for the New England Thruway.
The Bolton Priory, Edgewood House, Manor Club, and Pelhamdale are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Passages that mention Pelham Manor, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Westchester county, New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York city1886 · page 708Read the page →
Read the text
The Pelham Manor and Huguenot Heights Association is an incorporated company, formed about the year 1875, for the improvement of that part of the town lying between the station of the Harlem Branch of the New York and New Haven Railroad and the Boston turnpike road. The new village thus formed has grown rapidly, and is for many reasons a very desirable place of residence. It is easily accessible
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 174Read the page →
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lishment of a Huguenot colony. It happened that a number of the Huguenot immigrants in New York City, looking about them for suitable places of residence, had in 1686 and 1687 chosen and secured from John Pell parcels of land in that portion of Pelham Manor now occupied by the present City of New Rochelle. From this circumstance Leisler, as the constituted agent of the Huguenots, was led to locate the settlement at that place. He entered into negotiations with Pell, and on the 20th of September, 1689, " John Pell and
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 634Read the page →
Read the text
Pelham Manor (incorporated village), 627. IN 4 ha m Neck. 5. 92. 142. 366, 375. 622. Pell, John, 129. 173, 209.
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
Pelham Manor, 1818 to 1915
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 Pelham Manor post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Pelham Manor rank for history?
Pelham Manor is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #501 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.
How old are the homes in Pelham Manor?
72% of Pelham Manor’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.3 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
1907