The Plymouth post office opened in 1811, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Sherburne Four Corners (1870) and Kirk (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,496 in 18202020 census: 1,619215 years
How historic is Plymouth?
B−
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Plymouth post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Plymouth’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Plymouth is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Plymouth’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 Plymouth’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of New York towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 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 Plymouth’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost half of its people between 1860 and 1950, then more than doubled.
20 censuses, 1820–2010.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Plymouth’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Plymouth’s post office has been open since 1811. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Plymouth
1811–today
South Plymouth
1848–today
Sherburne Four Corners
1870–1934
Kirk
1891–1915
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
KirkSherburne Four CornersSouth Plymouth
Gone or out of use
School Number 1schoolSchool Number 10schoolSchool Number 12schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 9school
Families began to settle Plymouth circa 1794. The town was formed from the town of Norwich on April 7, 1806. Plymouth was also referred to as Frenchtown, Frank Town, or Francistown in honor of its early French inhabitants. In 1799, South Plymouth was settled by Ebenezer and Patience Frink, giving it the name Frinkville. John Young, the father of Brigham Young, lived in a cabin in the area; an abandoned saw mill sits there now.
Passages that mention Plymouth, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The Tilson genealogy, from Edmond Tilson at Plymouth, N.E., 1638 to 19111911 · page 469Read the page →
Read the text
Plymouth Colony embraced the territory now included in the three counties of Plymouth, Barnstable and Bristol, formed in 1685. The union of the Plymouth colony, with the Massachusetts colony in 1692, terminated its independent existence, which had continued for 71 3^ears. For the first ten years of its settlement the colonists were confined almost wholly to the town of Plymouth, and at the end of that period numbered only three hundred. Ten years later there were eight towns in the colony, of which four were within the limits of the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Plymouth plantation, 1620-16471912 · page 115Read the page →
Read the text
"The church at New-Plymouth was as I am informed, one of the first churches that was settled in New-England, having been a part of Mr. Robinsons church in Holland, that famous Brownist, from whence they brought their church-opinions and practises; and which they there still hold without any alteration, so far as ever I could learn. Master W[inslow?] an eminent man of the church at Plymouth, told W, R[athband] that the rest of the churches of New England came at first to them at Plymouth, to crave their direction in church courses, and made them their patern."
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Plymouth plantation, 1620-16471912 · page 271Read the page →
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^ The bounds of a growing settlement like that of Plymouth were difficult to mark, even for administrative matters. In 1638 a question of the extent of the town of Plymouth arose. James Sherley had given some head of cattle to the town, on condition that the increase should be used for the aid of the poor of the town. He "had playnely declared by severall letters in his owne hand writing that his intent therein was wholly to the poore of the Town of New Plymouth wordes of the said letters recorded it doth most playnely appear." To determine the question a meeting of townsmen was called on July 16, 1638, all the inhabitants from Jones River to the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The Tilson genealogy, from Edmond Tilson at Plymouth, N.E., 1638 to 19111911 · page 33Read the page →
Read the text
1674. Ephraim Tilson, surveyor of highways of Plymouth. 1676. Ephraim Tilson, surveyor of highways of Plymouth. 1680. Ephraim Tilson, surveyor of highways of Plymouth.
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
Plymouth, 1811 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Plymouth post office opened in 1811, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Plymouth rank for history?
Plymouth is more historic than 50% 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.
How old are the homes in Plymouth?
14% of Plymouth’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (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), 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.
