On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Princetown is more historic than 60% 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 Princetown’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 Princetown’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 A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.7 points). Two sources give 1798.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Princetown’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town of Princetown was established in 1798 by the New York State Legislature, combining lands formerly known as Corry's Bush and land belonging to the Dutch Reformed Church in Schenectady. It was named for John Prince, a New York State assemblyman from Albany County who lived in Schenectady proper at the time. Many of the early settlers of the town were from Scotland, and for almost all of its history, the town has been rural with an economy based in agriculture. Today the town is mostly a mix of farming and exurban development with a little light industry.
In 1884 he came to Schenectady County and settled in the town of Princetown, where he has since followed the occupation of farmer. He is a member of the Grange and of the United Presbyterian Church, and represented the town of Princetown on the Board of Supervisors for four years.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
DuANESBURGH IS the most western town of Schenectady County, and is bounded on the north by Montgomery County, on the east by the town of Princetown, on the south by Schoharie and Albany Counties and on the west by vSchoharie County. Duanesburgh has an area of about 42,000 acres. Its form is irregular, and its situation elevated from 400 to 500 feet above the level of the Hudson at Albany. Its surface consists of upland broken by the narrow valleys and gullies of small streams. Schoharie Creek forms a small por-
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
Princetown, 1798 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1798, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Princetown’s post office opened in 1815, and the census of 1820 counted 1,075 people here.
How does Princetown rank for history?
Princetown is more historic than 60% 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 Princetown?
23% of Princetown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.7 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (6), Wikipedia, 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.
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