History · Philipstown

Philipstown dates to 1715, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns · #55 of 758 in New York. What drives it

39 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Manitoga, a National Historic Landmark, and eight historic districts with 306 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1820.

1715founded

39on the National Register

29%homes built before 1940

2old photos & papers

1famous people

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From Philipstown’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Philipstown began

When was Philipstown founded?

1715

Philipstown dates its founding to 1715 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 3,733 in 18202020 census: 9,831311 years

How historic is Philipstown?

A⁺

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1826.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Philipstown’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Philipstown is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #55 of 758 in New York. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A⁺

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Philipstown’s overall grade.

Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194028.8% of homes (±3.5) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A⁻National Register39 listings, 398 historic buildings, 403 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4A

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 98%

NewerOlder

New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 93%

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 Philipstown’s 403 sits above most of its state (89% of New York towns have fewer) while its 398 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1715.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points).

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 Philipstown’s past

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

A National Historic Landmark39 places on the National Register, including Manitoga, a National Historic Landmark.A historic districtThe Cold Spring Historic District takes in 218 historic buildings.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Philipstown, and 14 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.

★ What stands out · On the National Register

39 listings protect 398 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed

National Historic Landmark

Manitoga

historic buildings protected

398

each building in a district counts

first listed

1973

West Point Foundry

BuildingsDistrictsStructures★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival5

Italianate5

Colonial Revival3

Greek Revival2

Gothic2

Colonial2

★ Landmark

ManitogaModern Movement · Built 1960

West Point FoundryDistrict

BoscobelAdamesque

Castle RockBuilt 1881

DeRham FarmGreek Revival

Old Albany Post RoadStructure

Birches, TheGothic · Built 1882

Champlin, H. D., & Son Horseshoeing and WagonmakingBuilding

All 39 listings

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

Places that used to be

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

Philipstown had its own post office from 1829 to 1829. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cold Spring

1826–today

Garrison

1829–today

Philipstown

1829–1829

Highlands Station

1874–1908

Nelsonville

1888–1960

Manitou

1908–1924

18201920today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Brookside Senior Citizen CooperativeCold SpringCold Spring Mobile Home ParkContinental VillageForsonvilleGarrisonGlenclyffeGraymoorManitouMcKeel CornersNelson CornersNelsonvilleNorth HighlandSouth Highland

Gone or out of use

West Point Foundrylocale

5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Philipstown

Cold SpringFriars Cemetery at GraymoorNelsonvilleNorth HighlandOld Cold Spring

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

The story

How Philipstown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Philipstown.

Read it all →

In 1697 Adolphus Philipse, a wealthy Province of New York landowner and merchant, purchased a tract from Dutch traders which received British Royal sanction as the Highland Patent. Comprising roughly 250 square miles, it extended approximately 13 miles along the eastern shore of the Hudson River, from Annsville Creek to the Fishkill Creek, and eastward some 20 or so miles to the border of the Colony of Connecticut.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Philipstown, 1849–1886

Passages that mention Philipstown, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The Philipstown Turnpike Comi^any was incorporated bv an act passed April 14th, 1815. By this act, Samuel Gouverneur, Amos Belden, David Knapp, Samuel Townsend, John Haight and others were incorporated as a company, "for the purpose of making a good and sufBcient road from Cold Spring landing, in t… — **History of Putnam County, New York**1886 · page 139Read the page →
Read the text
The Philipstown Turnpike Comi^any was incorporated bv an act passed April 14th, 1815. By this act, Samuel Gouverneur, Amos Belden, David Knapp, Samuel Townsend, John Haight and others were incorporated as a company, "for the purpose of making a good and sufBcient road from Cold Spring landing, in the town of Philipstown, and running from thence' the most direct and common route, in a northeasterly direction, by way of the ore bed, Milltown', Abel Peak's tavern*, and Joseph
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

" II. All the remaining jiart of said town of Philipstown shall be and remain a separate town by the name of Philipstown and the next town meeting shall be held at the place where it was last voted to be held, in said town, on the first Tuesday in April next and annually thereafter the said town me… — **History of Putnam County, New York**1886 · page 715Read the page →
Read the text
" II. All the remaining jiart of said town of Philipstown shall be and remain a separate town by the name of Philipstown and the next town meeting shall be held at the place where it was last voted to be held, in said town, on the first Tuesday in April next and annually thereafter the said town meetings shall be held at such place as a majority of the electors of said town shall fix upon, in pursuance of the Revised Statutes. This Act shall take effect immediately."
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

part of October, 1777, after forts Clinton and Montgomery had been taken by Sir Henry Clinton. John Meeks was the first settler at this place. The first grist-mill in Philipstown was built at this place by Col. Beverly Robinson, about 1702, and stood a few rods east of where the paper-mill now stan… — **The history of Putnam County, N.Y.**1849Read the page →
Read the text
part of October, 1777, after forts Clinton and Montgomery had been taken by Sir Henry Clinton. John Meeks was the first settler at this place. The first grist-mill in Philipstown was built at this place by Col. Beverly Robinson, about 1702, and stood a few rods east of where the paper-mill now stands, on the same stream. He also erected a saw-mill and fullingmill there. Gallows Hill lies to the south of it, in
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

Philipstown, 1715 to 2020

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

18th century
1715
FoundingPhilipstown is established
1790Born hereCornelius Warren is born here
19th century
1826Post officeThe Cold Spring post office opens
1829Post officeThe Garrison post office opens
1829Post officeThe Philipstown post office opens
1829Post officeThe Philipstown post office closes
1831In the archiveWest Point, from Phillipstown
1855In the archiveView from Indian Fall, looking down the stream
1862BuiltCold Spring Cemetery Gatehouse is built
1881BuiltCastle Rock is built
1882BuiltBirches, The is built
1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
20th century
1960BuiltManitoga is built
21st century
2006LandmarkManitoga named a National Historic Landmark
2020CensusPopulation peaks at 9,831

By decade

Philipstown, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1830s to the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1830s–1850s2 items

1831West Point, from PhillipstownDocument

c. 1855View from Indian Fall, looking down the stream

Today8 recent

2010Metro North

2009US9NY301Intersection

2009NY9DSouthernBegin

2009Dragon Rock, Manitoga, 2009

2007Dragon Rock, Manitoga

2006Bull Hill

2006Breakneck Ridge panorama

2005View from Bull Hill

On the map

Philipstown on the map, 1892 to 1981

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

1892West Point 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 Philipstown.

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.

Retake this viewView from Indian Fall, looking down the stream, c. 1855

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

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Philipstown, census by census

Lost a third of its people between 1910 and 1920, then grew 3-fold.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Help out

Start Philipstown’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Philipstown’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 viewView from Indian Fall, looking down the…: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Highlands15 historic placesA Putnam Valley1 historic placeB⁺Fishkill10 historic placesB⁺KentIts storyB⁻Cortlandt14 historic placesA⁻Cornwall36 historic placesA⁺Stony Point8 historic placesB⁻

Questions about Philipstown’s history

What year was Philipstown founded?

In 1715, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Philipstown’s post office opened in 1826, and the census of 1820 counted 3,733 people here.

How does Philipstown rank for history?

Philipstown is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #55 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 Philipstown?

39 listings: 30 buildings, 8 historic districts with 306 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 398 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Philipstown?

29% of Philipstown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1963.

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 (10), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (39), 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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