5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 167 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1866 on and old-book passages.
The Sharon post office opened in 1810, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Leesville (1824), Sharon Centre (1840) and Engellville (1850), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,697216 years
How historic is Sharon?
A+
More historic than 98% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Sharon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Sharon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sharon is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sharon’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 Sharon’s 1,063 sits above most of its state (96% of New York towns have fewer) while its 176 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.8 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 Sharon’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town was first settled around 1780. It was called "New Dorlach" from a location in Germany known to the early settlers while still in Otsego County.
In 1781 during the American Revolution, the Battle of Sharon was fought in the town between small contingents of colonial forces and Tories.
Sharon was created in 1797 from the town of Schoharie during the early organization of Schoharie County.
The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 reduced road traffic on a major east-west turnpike through the town, leading to the decline of several early communities.
Sharon Springs was set apart from the town in 1871 through incorporation as a village.
Passages that mention Sharon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Schoharie County, and border wars of New York1845 · page 643Read the page →
Read the text
numerous fossils, among which I have procured good specimens of branch coral. Sharon has 4 post offices — Sharon, Leesville, Argusville, and Sharon Centre (the last mentioned being nearest the Sharon Springs); and 4 churches — ] Reformed Dutch, 1 Methodist, 1 Baptist, and 1 owned by the Lutherans and Baptists.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
1713. History of Schoharie County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1882 · page 275Read the page →
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The "Turlah church" stood in the town of Seward, but a new one was built within a few years, a short distance west, and is in the town of Sharon. Moeller officiated as pastor of both churches, and died here at an advanced age, and was buried in the Rhinebeck cemetery, and afterwards at Slate Hill. The epitaph upon his tombstone he wrote himself, and reads, "After
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
1713. History of Schoharie County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1882 · page 422Read the page →
Read the text
Mr. Kling is at present the veteran Lutheran minister of this section, having preached for the term of thirty-three years. He was bom in the town of Sharon, on the 6th day of January, 1820. He entered the Hartwick Seminary in 1842 and received his license to preach the Gospel in July, 1848. His first charge was Argusville, Little York and Centre Valley, and he held the same
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
Sharon, 1810 to 1925
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Sharon post office opened in 1810, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Sharon rank for history?
Sharon is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns. 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 Sharon?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the American Hotel (listed 1975, the first), and 1 historic district, the Sharon Springs Historic District, with 167 contributing buildings. 176 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Sharon?
46% of Sharon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1951.
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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
![numerous fossils, among which I have procured good specimens of branch coral. Sharon has 4 post offices — Sharon, Leesville, Argusville, and Sharon Centre (the last mentioned being nearest the Sharon Springs); and 4 churches — ] Reformed Dutch, 1 Methodist, 1 Baptist, and 1 owned by the Lutherans a…](https://images.townratings.com/story/28522/bk-3bdb18956d8ea63c-l.jpg)
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