The story
Read it all →How Stone Ridge came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Stone Ridge.
The Main Street Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Stone Ridge
Stone Ridge’s post office opened in 1826, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940
2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1900 on and old-book passages.
1826first post office
2on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
2famous people
Quick answers
How Stone Ridge began
When was Stone Ridge founded?
1826
The Stone Ridge post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 1,234200 years
Founding year: the first Stone Ridge post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Stone Ridge’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Stone Ridge’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stone Ridge’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Stone Ridge, 1831 to 1916
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1831
Born hereWilliam Lounsbery is born here - 1833
Born hereJohn Monroe Van Vleck is born here - 20th century
- 1900
In the archiveRidgely Manor - 1916
In the archiveCantine Homestead
From the old history books
What they wrote about Stone Ridge in 1880
Passages that mention Stone Ridge, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Ulster County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers1880Read the page →
Read the text
above is the saw-mill of Simon Yan Leuven. On another branch farther east are the saw-mill and heading-mill of Cornelius Bogart. Upon the next branch east, and not far from Stone Ridge, is the paper-mil! of Newcomb A Buddington, and in connection with it a grist-mill. The gristmill is very old. It was run for many years by Abraham Ilardenbergh, and is still popularly known ns the Ilardenbergh mill.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Ulster County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers1880Read the page →
Read the text
The Rondout Creek crosses t he southeast part. The watershed between these two “ river systems” constitutes the highest land of the town, and the symmetrically-formed hill, on a portion of which the village of Stone Ridge is situated, is said to be the most elevated summit in this section. In the north part of the town there are three tributaries of the Esopus. There are also two or more streams from the south uniting with the Esopus. In the southwest
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.
By decade
Stone Ridge, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1900s–1910s2 items
1920s–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
2016
2016
2007
2007Then & 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.
Retake this viewRidgely Manor, 1900
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Stone Ridge’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
2 listings protect 86 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
86
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →2 famous people were born in Stone Ridge
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Questions about Stone Ridge’s history
What year was Stone Ridge founded?
The Stone Ridge post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people 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.