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AHistory
History · Shawangunk

Shawangunk dates to 1670, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #285 of 758 in New York. What drives it

14 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1790.

1670founded
14on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Shawangunk began

When was Shawangunk founded?

1670

Shawangunk dates its founding to 1670 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 2,128 in 17902020 census: 13,563356 years

How historic is Shawangunk?

A

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1792.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Shawangunk’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Shawangunk is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #285 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Shawangunk’s overall grade.
Founding era1670, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194014.5% of homes (±4.6) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register14 listings, 45 historic buildings, 33.7 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 89%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 62%

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 Shawangunk’s 33.7 sits near the middle of its state (63% of New York towns have fewer) while its 45 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1670.
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 (±4.6 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Shawangunk’s past

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

Lost villages9 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Shawangunk, and 12 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1850 and 1920, then grew 6-fold.Older than the countryEstablished in 1670, 106 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Shawangunk had its own post office from 1792 to 1882. Nine other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Shawangunk
1792–1882
Bruynswick
1821–1907
Ulsterville
1828–1918
Galeville Mills
1852–1893
Jamesburgh
1852–1862
Reeveton
1853–1854
Dwaar Kill
1857–1916
Walker Valley
1862–today
Crawford
1881–1916
Wallkill
1882–today
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AwostingBorden EstateBruynswickCrawfordDwaarkillGalevilleRed MillsSaint ElmoUlstervilleWalker ValleyWallkillWatchtower
Gone or out of use
Bruynswick SchoolschoolCrawford SchoolschoolGaleville AirportairportGaleville SchoolschoolPearl Street SchoolschoolUlsterville SchoolschoolUnion District SchoolschoolWalker Valley Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Shawangunk
Bruynswick RuralMulford

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

Help out

Start Shawangunk’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Shawangunk, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,000180018501900195020004,036 in 1850Low: 2,087

Lost half of its people between 1850 and 1920, then grew 6-fold.

22 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

The story

How Shawangunk came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Shawangunk.

Read it all →

Shawangunk was first settled by Europeans during the 1680s. The region was first designated a precinct about 1710, and became the township of Shawangunk in 1788. The town's name comes from the Dutch transliteration of the Munsee Lenape name or phrase. The approximate Lenape pronunciation was "Sha-WAN-gunk," probably meaning "in the smoky air." The name first appears in the 1682 Indian deed to Gertrude Bruyn. It is uncertain if this was the Indians' actual proper name for their nearby village and "New Fort," destroyed by the Dutch on September 5, 1663, during the Second Esopus War, or if the name was merely a phrase invented by the Indians in connection with the Bruyn land purchase, possibly describing some temporary feature of the landscape. Suggestions as to whether the name may have referred to smoky conditions on the day of Bruyn's first tour of the land with the Indians in the 1…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Shawangunk, 1670 to 2010

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1670
    FoundingShawangunk is established
  3. 18th century
  4. 1749Born hereJacobus S. Bruyn is born here
  5. 1750Born hereJohannes Bruyn is born here
  6. 1760BuiltAndries DuBois House is built
  7. 1784Born hereCharles DeWitt Bruyn is born here
  8. 1792Post officeThe Shawangunk post office opens
  9. 19th century
  10. 1821Post officeThe Bruynswick post office opens
  11. 1828Born hereWilliam Henry Stone is born here
  12. 1828Post officeThe Ulsterville post office opens
  13. 1875In the archiveBeers Ulster County Atlas Page120
  14. 1882Post officeThe Shawangunk post office closes
  15. 20th century
  16. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  17. 1907Post officeThe Bruynswick post office closes
  18. 1918Post officeThe Ulsterville post office closes
  19. 21st century
  20. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 14,332
By decade

Shawangunk, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s2 items
Beers Ulster County Atlas Page1201875Beers Ulster County Atlas Page120MapBeers Ulster County Atlas Page121-1221875Beers Ulster County Atlas Page121-122Map
Today15 recent
Dwaar Kill from Bruyn Turnpike2008Dwaar Kill from Bruyn TurnpikeDill Farm2008Dill FarmWilliam Decker House2007William Decker HouseWalker Valley, NY2007Walker Valley, NYThomas Jansen House2007Thomas Jansen HouseTerwilliger House2007Terwilliger HouseShawangunk Town Hall2007Shawangunk Town HallReformed Dutch Church of2007Reformed Dutch Church ofPearl Street Schoolhouse2007Pearl Street SchoolhouseJohannes Jansen House2007Johannes Jansen HouseCrowell Brick Mould Complex2007Crowell Brick Mould ComplexBruynswick School 82007Bruynswick School 8Benjamin Van Keuren House site2007Benjamin Van Keuren House siteShawangunk Kill2006Shawangunk KillOstrander Elementary School2006Ostrander Elementary School
On the map

Shawangunk on the map, 1903 to 1957

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

Shawangunk on the 1903 USGS mapShawangunk on the 1942 USGS mapShawangunk on the 1957 USGS map1903Newburgh 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 Shawangunk.

On the National Register

14 listings protect 45 historic buildings

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

places listed
14
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
45
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Johannes Decker Farm
Johannes Decker FarmReformed Church of Shawangunk ComplexCrowell, J. B., and Son Brick Mould Mill ComplexDill FarmJohannes Jansen House and Dutch BarnMiller's House at Red MillsPearl Street SchoolhouseTerwilliger HouseThomas Jansen HouseWilliam Decker HouseAndries DuBois House, built 1760Bruynswick School No. 8Van Keuren, Benjamin House RuinWalstein Childs House
BuildingsDistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival3
Colonial3
Federal2
Mid-19th Century1
Dutch Colonial1
Johannes Decker FarmDistrict
Reformed Church of Shawangunk ComplexGreek Revival
Crowell, J. B., and Son Brick Mould Mill ComplexBuilding
Dill FarmGreek Revival
Johannes Jansen House and Dutch BarnFederal
Miller's House at Red MillsGreek Revival
Pearl Street SchoolhouseBuilding
Terwilliger HouseFederal
All 14 listings
Thomas Jansen HouseBuilding · listed 1983William Decker HouseBuilding · listed 1983Andries DuBois HouseBuilding · listed 1998Bruynswick School No. 8Building · listed 2000Van Keuren, Benjamin House RuinSite · listed 2000Walstein Childs HouseBuilding · listed 2003

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Shawangunk

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

See all →
William Henry StoneAmerican politician, Missouri · b. 1828
C
Charles DeWitt BruynAmerican politician · b. 1784
J
Jacobus S. BruynAmerican politician · b. 1749
J
Johannes BruynAmerican politician · b. 1750
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Crawford8 historic placesAMamakating4 historic placesAWalker ValleyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPine Bush1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWawarsing12 historic placesA+Ellenville3 historic placesA+Montgomery35 historic placesA+Gardiner14 historic placesBPlattekill5 historic placesA−Newburgh11 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Shawangunk’s history

What year was Shawangunk founded?

In 1670, according to Wikidata. Shawangunk’s post office opened in 1792, and the first U.S. census counted 2,128 people here in 1790.

How does Shawangunk rank for history?

Shawangunk is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #285 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 Shawangunk?

14 listings: 12 buildings, 1 historic district, the Johannes Decker Farm, with 3 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 45 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Shawangunk?

15% of Shawangunk’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1979.

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 (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (14), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.