Founding year: the first Sea Cliff post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1883.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Sea Cliff’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sea Cliff is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #382 of 758 in New York. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sea Cliff’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 Sea Cliff’s 63.6 sits above most of its state (71% of New York towns have fewer) while its 32 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% 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 (±10.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1883 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Sea Cliff’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Sea Cliff incorporated as a village in 1883, with the growing community seeking to gain home rule powers and better control local affairs.
The community's public library initially opened in 1894. It formally became a village-administered agency in 1927, through a transfer of charter.
In 1968, the village moved its government offices and administrative facilities to its current location in the former Sea Cliff Methodist Church building and parsonage, which had been donated to the village by the church. The library followed suit in 1970, when it, too, moved into the building. The Sea Cliff Museum opened within the building later in the decade, following the United States Bicentennial.
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.
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.
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.
The Sea Cliff post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1883.
How does Sea Cliff rank for history?
Sea Cliff is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #382 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.
How old are the homes in Sea Cliff?
57% of Sea Cliff’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.0 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (8), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
1873
1914
2013
2007
