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–Not graded
History · Point Lookout

Point Lookout’s post office opened in 1906, and 65% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers and maps from 1897 on.

1906first post office
0on the National Register
65%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Point Lookout’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Point Lookout began

When was Point Lookout founded?

1906

The Point Lookout post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,527120 years
Founding year: the first Point Lookout post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Point Lookout’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18975 editions of the USGS map, 1897 to 1967. Watch Point Lookout change.Old housesHalf of Point Lookout’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Point Lookout’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Point Lookout’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 viewPoint Lookout Station of U.S. Coast Gua…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Point Lookout on the map, 1897 to 1967

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

Point Lookout on the 1897 USGS mapPoint Lookout on the 1903 USGS mapPoint Lookout on the 1947 USGS mapPoint Lookout on the 1954 USGS mapPoint Lookout on the 1967 USGS map1897Hempstead 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 Point Lookout.

The story

How Point Lookout came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Point Lookout.

Read it all →

Point Lookout's first known inhabitants were Merrick (Meroke) Native Americans, a tribe of the Algonquin people. The first European settlers in Point Lookout were Dutch, who arrived in the 1640s, followed by the English, in the 1660s.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Point Lookout, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s3 items
Point Lookout Station of U.S. Coast Guard1890Point Lookout Station of U.S. Coast GuardBeach scene1890Beach sceneView from U.S. Coast Guard Watch Tower1890View from U.S. Coast Guard Watch Tower
1900s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today9 recent
Long Beach, NY aerial from the west 01 - equalized2013Long Beach, NY aerial from the west 01 - equalizedLong Beach, NY aerial from the west 012013Long Beach, NY aerial from the west 01Flag of2013Flag ofBeach at Point Lookout 032013Beach at Point Lookout 03Beach at Point Lookout 022013Beach at Point Lookout 02Beach at Point Lookout 012013Beach at Point Lookout 01Beach across Reynolds Channel from Point Lookout 01A2013Beach across Reynolds Channel from Point Lookout 01ADecember 4, 2012 Odd resting place2012December 4, 2012 Odd resting placePoint Lookout NY Sign2007Point Lookout NY Sign
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.

Point Lookout Station of U.S. Coast Guard
Retake this viewPoint Lookout Station of U.S. Coast Guard, 1890

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

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lido BeachIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Point Lookout’s history

What year was Point Lookout founded?

The Point Lookout post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.