Plattsburgh dates to 1785, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #229 of 758 in New York. What drives it
25 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 91 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1797.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Plattsburgh’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Plattsburgh is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #229 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Plattsburgh’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 Plattsburgh’s 76.1 sits above most of its state (72% of New York towns have fewer) while its 151 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 points). Two sources give 1785.
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 Plattsburgh’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Plattsburgh was founded by Zephaniah Platt in 1785 after he was granted the land by George Clinton. Platt, who was from Poughkeepsie, New York, established the new city of Plattsburgh to buffer emerging American interests in the Saint Lawrence River valley and Lake Champlain valley after the American victory in the American Revolutionary War. The centralized American authority proclaimed Plattsburgh in 1785.
On March 3, 1815, an act was passed by the New York State legislature incorporating the Village of Plattsburgh out of an area that was formerly the eastern part of the town. The first village elections were held on May 2 of that year.
In 1785, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Plattsburgh’s post office opened in 1797, and the census of 1860 counted 3,032 people here.
How does Plattsburgh rank for history?
Plattsburgh is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #229 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 Plattsburgh?
25 listings: 21 buildings, among them the Kent-Delord House (listed 1971, the first), 3 historic districts, the Brinkerhoff Street Historic District, the Court Street Historic District and the United States Oval Historic District, with 91 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 151 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Plattsburgh?
26% of Plattsburgh’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1962.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (25), 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.
1816
1869