The Putnam Valley post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Adams Corners (1878) and Tompkins Corners (1878), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,659 in 18402020 census: 11,762186 years
How historic is Putnam Valley?
B+
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Putnam Valley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Putnam Valley’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Putnam Valley is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #507 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Putnam Valley’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 Putnam Valley’s 1.7 sits below most of its state (24% of New York towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 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 Putnam Valley’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The retreating glaciers of the last ice age did much to shape the landscape of Putnam Valley, including the shearing of hills to expose springs (creating, for example, Bryant Pond) and leaving the glacial deposits of stone and large boulders. The current area of Putnam Valley was occupied by paleo-Indians, followed by the historic Wappinger Indians who lived by the many lakes. Dutch and English farmers moved into the area toward the end of the 17th Century.
Passages that mention Putnam Valley, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Putnam County, New York1886 · page 732Read the page →
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"I. All that part of the town of Carmel, in the County of Putnam, lying westerly of the Peekskill Hollow Creek in said town, is hereby annexed to and shall hereafter form a part of the town of Putnam Valley in said County, and said creek from the north line of the town of Carmel to the point where said creek crosses the present line between the said towns of Carmel and Putnam Valley shall hereafter form so much of the line between said towns."
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Putnam County, N.Y.1849 · page 152Read the page →
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town of Putnam Valley, a family of the name of Dusenbery and Adams, made a settlement, but at what period of time, we have not been able to ascertain.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
town of Putnam Valley, a family of the name of Du< senbery and Adams, made a settlement, but at what period of time, we have not been able to ascertain.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Putnam County, New York1886 · page 702Read the page →
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'• I. Tlie boundary line between the towns of Kent and Philipstown is altered so as to be run as follows : Beginning at what is known as the Sunk bridge, on the Putnam county road, adjoining the northern boundary line of Putnam Valley, and thence running northerly, on a line parallel wath the now westerly boundary of the town of Kent, to the Dutchess County line; thence easterly with the said Dutchess County line to the present northwest corner of the boundary line of the said town of
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
Putnam Valley, 1840 to 2010
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Putnam Valley. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892West Point 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 Putnam Valley.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Putnam Valley
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Putnam Valley post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Putnam Valley rank for history?
Putnam Valley is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #507 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.
What is on the National Register in Putnam Valley?
One place: the Tompkins Corners United Methodist Church (listed 1983).
How old are the homes in Putnam Valley?
21% of Putnam Valley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1963.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (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.
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