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History · Richmondville

Richmondville’s post office opened in 1824, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1850.

1824first post office
2on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Richmondville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Richmondville began

When was Richmondville founded?

1824

The Richmondville post office opened in 1824, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,666 in 18502020 census: 858202 years
Founding year: the first Richmondville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Richmondville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19044 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1994. Watch Richmondville change.Deep rootsA post office since 1824: 202 years of Richmondville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Richmondville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Richmondville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewJefferson (Village); Jefferson Business…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Richmondville on the map, 1904 to 1994

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

Richmondville on the 1904 USGS mapRichmondville on the 1944 USGS mapRichmondville on the 1982 USGS mapRichmondville on the 1994 USGS map1904Richmondville 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 Richmondville.

Timeline

Richmondville, 1827 to 1943

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1827Born hereThomas J. Van Alstyne is born here
  3. 1844Born hereJames R. Tanner is born here
  4. 1866In the archiveJefferson (Village); Jefferson Business Directory.; Warnerville (Village); Warnerville Bu…
  5. 20th century
  6. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1943In the archiveRichmondville, New York. Farmland in the Catskill Mountains
The story

How Richmondville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Richmondville.

Read it all →

The town was first settled circa 1764, near the community of Warnerville.

The "Battle of Cobleskill", fought during the American Revolution, actually took place in Richmondville.

The town was formed from part of the territory of Cobleskill in 1849. In 1851, the town added territory from the town of Seward.

In 1881, the community of Richmondville set itself off from the town by incorporating as a village.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Richmondville in 1882

Passages that mention Richmondville, cut from the printed page as they were published.

He was elected by the people of the old town of Cobleskill, in 1829, justice of the peace, and filled the position in that town and the town of Richmondville, for the long period of thirty-eight years. He succeeded in his first election, his brother, Jonah Westover, Jr., who held the office twenty-…
1713. History of Schoharie County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1882 · page 299Read the page →
Read the text

He was elected by the people of the old town of Cobleskill, in 1829, justice of the peace, and filled the position in that town and the town of Richmondville, for the long period of thirty-eight years. He succeeded in his first election, his brother, Jonah Westover, Jr., who held the office twenty-one years, making fiftynine years the office was held in the family, a

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
One was built from Middleburgh, through Schoharie and Gallupville, to intersect the Western Turnpike nine miles from Albany, and one also from Schoharie to Richmondville, through Mineral Springs and Warnerville, also from Richmondville to Summit and Charlottesville. The road leading from Central Br…
1713. History of Schoharie County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1882 · page 70Read the page →
Read the text

One was built from Middleburgh, through Schoharie and Gallupville, to intersect the Western Turnpike nine miles from Albany, and one also from Schoharie to Richmondville, through Mineral Springs and Warnerville, also from Richmondville to Summit and Charlottesville. The road leading from Central Bridge to Schoharie was planked to intersect the Albany

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The following items were furnished through the kindness of J. B. Olmstead, Esq. : — The village of Richmondville was incorporated in 1881, and is now officered by a Board of three trustees, police justice, constable, collector, etc.
History of Schoharie County, New York, 1713-18821882 · page 297Read the page →
Read the text

The following items were furnished through the kindness of J. B. Olmstead, Esq. : — The village of Richmondville was incorporated in 1881, and is now officered by a Board of three trustees, police justice, constable, collector, etc.

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

Richmondville, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s2 items
Jefferson (Village); Jefferson Business Directory.; Warnerville (Village); Warnerville Business Directory.; Richmondvil…1866Jefferson (Village); Jefferson Business Directory.; W…Richmondville (Township)1866Richmondville (Township)
1940s2 items
Richmondville, New York. Farmland in the Catskill Mountains1943Richmondville, New York. Farmland in the Catskill Mou…Richmondville, New York. Farmland in the Catskill Mountains1943Richmondville, New York. Farmland in the Catskill Mou…
1950s–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
Today1 recent
Schoharie County, New York 070407 3692009Schoharie County, New York 070407 369
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.

Jefferson (Village); Jefferson Business Directory.; Warnerville (Village); Warnerville Business Directory.; Richmondvil…
Retake this viewJefferson (Village); Jefferson Business Directory.; Warnerville (Village); Warnerville Business Directory.; Richmondvil…, 1866

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Richmondville

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
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

Richmondville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001850190019502000Peak: 2,610

Between 1,378 and 2,610 people in every census since 1850.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Richmondville

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

See all →
Thomas J. Van AlstyneAmerican politician · b. 1827
James R. TannerUnion Army soldier, lawyer, and politician · b. 1844

Questions about Richmondville’s history

What year was Richmondville founded?

The Richmondville post office opened in 1824, 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 (3), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.