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History · Port Washington

Port Washington’s post office opened in 1859, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 2000.

1859first post office
2on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
20famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Port Washington’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Port Washington began, and where its name came from

When was Port Washington founded?

1859

The Port Washington post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 15,215 in 20002020 census: 16,753167 years

How did Port Washington get its name?

Port Washington is named for Founding Father and first President of the United States George Washington.

Founding year: the first Port Washington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Port Washington’s past

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

On the map since 18976 editions of the USGS map, 1897 to 1979. Watch Port Washington change.Old housesHalf of Port Washington’s homes were built before 1953.Famous sons and daughtersAnn Murdock, Marcel Freeman and 18 more were born here.
★ What stands out · On the map

Port Washington on the map, 1897 to 1979

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

Port Washington on the 1897 USGS mapPort Washington on the 1900 USGS mapPort Washington on the 1947 USGS mapPort Washington on the 1954 USGS mapPort Washington on the 1968 USGS mapPort Washington on the 1979 USGS map1897Oyster Bay 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 Port Washington.

The story

How Port Washington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Port Washington.

Read it all →

What is now Port Washington was originally inhabited by the Matinecock Native Americans. European colonists – namely, Dutchmen and Englishmen – settled in the area in 1644, after they purchased land from the Matinecocks. Many of these settlers in modern-day Port Washington and across Cow Neck established farms or large colonial estates. Some of these early settlers belonged to prominent, early Long Island families – including members of the Hewlett, Sands, and Willets families, among others.

ChaptersEtymology

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Famous people

20 famous people were born in Port Washington

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Ann MurdockAmerican actress · b. 1890
M
Marcel FreemanUS tennis player · b. 1960
Mark WoodAmerican rock violinist · b. 1957
D
Doug BlockAmerican independent director, cameraman and pr… · b. 1953
L
Leland PalmerAmerican actress, dancer and singer (b. 1945) · b. 1945
Gretchen DriskellAmerican politician · b. 1958
Timeline

Port Washington, 1834 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1834In the archiveUntitled photo
  3. 1890Born hereAnn Murdock is born here
  4. 1897On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1916In the archiveAviation School
  7. 1953Born hereDoug Block is born here
  8. 1957Born hereMark Wood is born here
  9. 1960Born hereMarcel Freeman is born here
By decade

Port Washington, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1830s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1830s1 item
Untitled photo1834Untitled photoDocument
1910s4 items
Aviation School1916Aviation SchoolJanuary 1916 QST J. Weiss Transmitting Set1916January 1916 QST J. Weiss Transmitting SetNew Versailles Brooklyn Daily Eagle May 14 19161916New Versailles Brooklyn Daily Eagle May 14 1916Motor Vehicles - Tractors - Types - Miscellaneous - A universal tractor cultivator type used by Government, made by Eld…1917Motor Vehicles - Tractors - Types - Miscellaneous - A…
1920s–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
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.

Aviation School
Retake this viewAviation School, 1916

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Port Washington

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Port Washington, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00018,00020002020Peak: 16,753

Between 15,215 and 16,753 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Port Washington’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAviation School: stand where they stood+15Share 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.

Port Washington NorthIts storyDBaxter Estates1 historic placeA−Sands Point4 historic placesB+Flower Hill2 historic placesCPlandome ManorIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townManorhavenIts storyDNorth Hempstead52 historic placesAOyster Bay61 historic placesA−Sea Cliff28 historic placesA−

Questions about Port Washington’s history

What year was Port Washington founded?

The Port Washington post office opened in 1859, 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 (5), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.