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–Not graded
History · Roscoe

Roscoe’s post office opened in 1881, and 62% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1920 on.

1881first post office
2on the National Register
62%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Roscoe’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Roscoe began

When was Roscoe founded?

1881

The Roscoe post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 497145 years
Founding year: the first Roscoe post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Roscoe’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Roscoe’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Roscoe’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Roscoe’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 viewPostcardRoscoeNYBroadStreet1920: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Roscoe came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Roscoe.

Read it all →

In 1789 Roscoe was called Westfield Flats. It was the home of the Delaware Indians, where wolves roamed freely.

Roscoe, like most of the Catskills, was part of the Hardenbergh Patent in the early 18th century which in turn was purchased by the last Lord of the manor of Livingston Manor, Robert Livingston. The first settlers were brothers who bought the area around Roscoe from Livingston's son Jonathan Livingston. Stewart Street is one of the community's main streets.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Roscoe, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
PostcardRoscoeNYBroadStreet19201920PostcardRoscoeNYBroadStreet1920Postcard
1930s–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
Today5 recent
FLT M30 14.3 mi - Vista to south2010FLT M30 14.3 mi - Vista to southFLT M30 13.02 mi - Bivouac on mowed grassy lane on Jim Wheeler's property (ask permission^) near Holiday and Berry Broo…2010FLT M30 13.02 mi - Bivouac on mowed grassy lane on Ji…FLT M30 13.0 mi - DEC register and kiosk at Holiday and Berry Brook Road2010FLT M30 13.0 mi - DEC register and kiosk at Holiday a…New York State Route 2062009New York State Route 206Dundas Castle2004Dundas Castle
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.

PostcardRoscoeNYBroadStreet1920
Retake this viewPostcardRoscoeNYBroadStreet1920, 1920

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Roscoe

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts

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

Questions about Roscoe’s history

What year was Roscoe founded?

The Roscoe post office opened in 1881, 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 (6), Wikipedia and Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.