Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1816.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Port Chester’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Port Chester is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #222 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Port Chester’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 Port Chester’s 2.9 sits below most of its state (29% of New York towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1660.
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 (±4.1 points).
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 Port Chester’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1660, three settlers from Greenwidge (now Greenwich, Connecticut)—Thomas Studwell, John Coe, and Peter Disbrow—arranged to buy Manursing Island and the land near the Byram River from the Native Americans. This First Purchase on Peningo Neck comprised the lower part of the present town of Rye, on the east side of Blind Brook. Over the next decade, additional purchases filled in the shoreline from Rye to Greenwich, made via land agreements with the Native Americans in the area.
Passages that mention Port Chester, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Westchester County, New York, from its earliest settlement to the year 19001900 · page 575Read the page →
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railways now existing — the Harlem River Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford, and the New York and Putnam — were noi built until many years later. The former, at first called the Harlem River and Port Chester Railroad, running on its own line from Morrisania to Now Rochelle, and thence over the New Haven track to Port Chester, was undertaken in 1872, and was from the beginning leased by the Now York, New Haven, and Hartford Company. The present New York and Putnam Railroad at its inception (1871) was designed
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 603Read the page →
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In 180)8 (May 14) Port Chester received a village charter. This place was originally called Saw Pit. kk That very inelegant name,'" says Baird, tk had its origin in the fact that a spot on Lyon's Point, now part of the Village of Port Chester, was occupied in ancient' times for the building of boats." The present name was adopted in 1837. Port Chester's growth has been rapid, owing to the development of its manufacturing industries, and, with the exception of New Rochelle, it is now the largest community of Westchester County
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History of Westchester county, New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York city1886 · page 807Read the page →
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mediate vicinity is old St. Ann's Church, described in another chapter. Just on the banks of the Harlem Kills stands the house formerly of Gouverneur Morris, and not far distant, near the Port Chester Railroad depot, was the site of Bronx's house, where, as we have already seen, the first treaty of peace with the Indians was signed. To return to Fordham and describe the valley of the Mill Brook, as it used to appear before
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and remained there twelve years. Resigning this charge, he spent about a year in Europe (1852), and on his return was settled over the Presbyterian Churcli at Port Chester, where he continued until 1863, when advancing years induced him to lay aside his duties as pastor. He continued to reside at Port Chester, ministering occasionally there, and in neighboring churches, until his decease, which occurred at Saratoga Springs, July 18, 1868. The foregoing is a brief record of a useful life, held in grateful remembrance in many households where the fragrance of his loving words and deeds still lingers.' {The Genealogi/ of the Benedicts in America. By Henry
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.
By decade
Port Chester, decade by decade
3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
In 1660, according to Wikidata. Port Chester’s post office opened in 1816, and the census of 1870 counted 3,797 people here.
How does Port Chester rank for history?
Port Chester is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #222 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 Port Chester?
35% of Port Chester’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1954.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
1916
1916
