Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 97% of U.S. towns. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1820.
The Stamford post office opened in 1801, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 97% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stamford is more historic than 97% 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.
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 Stamford’s 513 sits above most of its state (92% of New York towns have fewer) while its 54 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Stamford. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Stamford.
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.
1891Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Stamford yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Its first post office opened in 1801. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,119 to 1,040 (-7%).
Passages that mention Stamford, cut from the printed page as they were published.
There are a few incidents, most human In their character, which will serve to lengthen the perspective of the history of the town of Stamford, and perchance, reveal something of the fundarnental things that lie below the surface and link Stamford folk with the larger life of America. Remembering that the settlers of Stamford came through the doorway of WatertOAvn, Mass., there are three paragraphs from the pages of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Hobart is a small village in the town of Stamford and aliout four miles west of the latter village. It has a po})ulation of ahout 650 and is the oldest portion of the town of Stamford. The place -was ori-jinally known as "Waterville, presumably taking its name from the excellent water power which the Delaware river atfords at this point. The settlement was at one time called " Tiukertown " from the fact that a man liviuir here ajiprojtriated to his use a fidl •set of tinker's tools belonging to another man. The Rev. Philander
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
He was not the only Loyalist In this category. There were others from Stamford and the neighborhood and many from other towns who sought homes under the British flag In Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and elsewhere in Canada. In 1783 the town of Stamford
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archive"Res. of Wm. Youmans Jr. Delhi N.Y.; Christ Church and Parsonage, Walton N.Y.; Presbyteri…
Born hereAlfred Newton Richards is born here
Born hereBobby Vaughn is born here
In the archiveStamford, N.Y
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveView of Stamford, New York, circa 1911
Born hereMike Barlow is born here3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Stamford’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 1,495 and 2,267 people in every census since 1820.
21 censuses, 1820–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Stamford’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Stamford post office opened in 1801, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Stamford is more historic than 97% 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.
49% of Stamford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1945.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (6), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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