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A−History
History · Red Hook

24% of Red Hook’s homes were built before 1940

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #368 of 758 in New York. What drives it

9 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1820.

9on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Red Hook’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Red Hook’s history

How historic is Red Hook?

A−

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Red Hook’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Red Hook is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #368 of 758 in New York. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Red Hook’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194023.6% of homes (±3.7) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register9 listings, 20 historic buildings, 18.0 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 84%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 52%

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 Red Hook’s 18.0 sits near the middle of its state (55% of New York towns have fewer) while its 20 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 points).

Founding year: our sources. 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 Red Hook’s past

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

Lost villages6 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Red Hook, and 15 old place names are still on the map.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1892 to 1923, drew every building in Red Hook.Landmarks on the Register9 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Red Hook’s post office has been open since 1792. Six other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Red Hook
1792–today
Upper Red Hook
1819–1934
Upper Red Hook Landing
1820–1821
Barrytown
1830–1976
Tivoli
1831–today
Madalin
1861–1949
Anandale
1864–1916
Cokertown
1882–1903
Annandale-On-Hudson
1916–today
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Annandale-on-HudsonBarrytownCokertownCollege ParkCruger VillageFraleighsKerleys CornersLamplight CourtLinden AcresMountain View Mobile EstatesNorthern Dutchess Mobile Home ParkRed Hook MillsRed Hook Mobile Home ParkTivoliUpper Red Hook
Gone or out of use
Elmendorf SchoolschoolSaint Josephs InstituteschoolWard Manorlocale
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Red Hook
Bard CollegeOld Red - Madalin ChurchRed Hook MethodistSacred HeartSaint John the Evangelist ChurchSaint John's ChurchSaint Paul's ChurchSaint Paul's Lutheran

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Every building

Red Hook, building by building, 1892–1923

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.

Red Hook fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

9 historic places in Red Hook

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

places listed
9
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
20
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Rokeby
RokebyElmendorph Inn, built 1750Heermance FarmhouseHalfway Diner, built 1925De Peyster, Watts, Fireman's Hall, built 1898St. Paul's (Zion's) Evangelical Lutheran Church, built 1890St. Margaret's HomeHendrick Martin HouseParker Training Academy Dutch Barn
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular2
Victorian1
Federal1
Romanesque1
Romanesque Revival1
Italian Villa1
RokebyDistrict
Elmendorph InnVictorian · Built 1750
Heermance FarmhouseBuilding
Halfway DinerBuilt 1925
De Peyster, Watts, Fireman's HallRomanesque · Built 1898
St. Paul's (Zion's) Evangelical Lutheran ChurchRomanesque Revival · Built 1890
St. Margaret's HomeItalian Villa
Hendrick Martin HouseVernacular
All 9 listings
Parker Training Academy Dutch BarnBuilding · listed 2007

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

The story

How Red Hook came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Red Hook.

Read it all →

The original inhabitants of this land were the Mohican, Munsee and Lenape people. During European settlement, Native American tribes played a fundamental role in the area's economy as they traded beaver skin with European settlers. European settlers imported several foreign goods, such as cattle, horses, and sheep. Enslaved African American individuals were also brought.

Through importing non-native species, the landscape and ecology of this region has been dramatically changed.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Red Hook, 1750 to 1934

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1750BuiltElmendorph Inn is built
  3. 1792Post officeThe Red Hook post office opens
  4. 1797In the archive1798 map of lower Saw Kill, Rhinebeck, NY
  5. 19th century
  6. 1809In the archiveUpper Red Hook
  7. 1809Born hereJoseph G. Masten is born here
  8. 1817In the archiveMr [Chambins?] Lower Red Hook near New York
  9. 1819Post officeThe Upper Red Hook post office opens
  10. 1820Post officeThe Upper Red Hook Landing post office opens
  11. 1821Post officeThe Upper Red Hook Landing post office closes
  12. 1822Born hereRobert Wilson Shufeldt is born here
  13. 1823Born hereAmos P. Catlin is born here
  14. 1867In the archiveRedfield (Township)
  15. 1876In the archiveAnnandale (Village); Red Hook (Village); Cedar Hill (Village)
  16. 1890BuiltSt. Paul's (Zion's) Evangelical Lutheran Church is built
  17. 1898BuiltDe Peyster, Watts, Fireman's Hall is built
  18. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  19. 20th century
  20. 1925BuiltHalfway Diner is built
  21. 1934Post officeThe Upper Red Hook post office closes
By decade

Red Hook, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1790s to the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1790s–1810s4 items
1798 map of lower Saw Kill, Rhinebeck, NY17971798 map of lower Saw Kill, Rhinebeck, NYMapUpper Red Hook1809Upper Red HookMr [Chambins?] Lower Red Hook near New York1817Mr [Chambins?] Lower Red Hook near New York[Chamberlins?] Lower Red Hook1817[Chamberlins?] Lower Red Hook
1860s–1870s2 items
Redfield (Township)1867Redfield (Township)Annandale (Village); Red Hook (Village); Cedar Hill (Village)1876Annandale (Village); Red Hook (Village); Cedar Hill (…
On the map

Red Hook on the map, 1898 to 1934

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

Red Hook on the 1898 USGS mapRed Hook on the 1934 USGS map1898Rhinebeck 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 Red Hook.

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.

Upper Red Hook
Retake this viewUpper Red Hook, 1809

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Red Hook, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,0001850190019502000Peak: 11,319

Between 2,714 and 11,319 people in every census since 1820.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Red Hook

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

See all →
Amos P. CatlinAmerican politician · b. 1823
Kyle MurphyAmerican soccer player · b. 1992
Robert Wilson ShufeldtAmerican naval officer and diplomat · b. 1822
Joseph G. MastenAmerican politician · b. 1809
Edward Robert AtwillBishop of West Missouri · b. 1840
H
Horatio Gates ArmstrongAmerican soldier who fought in the War of 1812 · b. 1790
Help out

Finish Red Hook’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewUpper Red Hook: 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.

Saugerties12 historic placesAGlascoIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townUlster1 historic placeC+MilanIts storyB−Saugerties SouthIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSaugerties6 historic placesA+Clermont12 historic placesA+Rhinebeck42 historic placesA+

Questions about Red Hook’s history

How does Red Hook rank for history?

Red Hook is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #368 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 Red Hook?

9 listings: 8 buildings and 1 historic district, the Rokeby, with 7 contributing buildings. 20 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Red Hook?

24% of Red Hook’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1970.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (9), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.