Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1866 on and old-book passages.
The Summit post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Lutheranville (1853) and Beards Hollow (1888), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Summit is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 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 Summit’s 41.0 sits above most of its state (66% of New York towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% 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.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Summit’s history is told.
Summit’s post office has been open since 1821. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveNorth Blenheim (Village); North Blenheim Business Directory.; Summit Business Directory.;…From Wikipedia’s history of Summit.
The first settlement began around 1794, after the end of the American Revolution.
Summit was created in 1819 from parts of the Towns of Jefferson and Cobleskill.
The House at 461 Spruce Lake Road was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Summit, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The Second Baptist Church was located at Summit village, and was organized in 1839 with twenty members, principally resident members of the Jefferson or parent church. The now deserted edifice was built in 1840, and regular meetings were there held for several years, but the society becoming small, in 1878 they were discontinued. But very few of the original
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In a foot-note they say : — " Thirty-nine members were dismissed from the Summit church to join the new constituted church in Jefferson." In another foot-note they say: — "The Jefferson church joined the Association this session," (1828). So the old Jefferson church was the parent of the Summit church, and the Summit church the parent of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In a foot-note they say : — " Thirty-nine members were dismissed from the Summit church to join the new constituted church in Jefferson." In another foot-note they say : — "The Jefferson church joined the Association this session," (1828). So the old Jefferson church was the parent of the Summit church, and the Summit church the parent of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The Charlotte Valley. — A short distance to the west of the village of Summit is a spring from which the Charlotte river proper takes its rise. Along its course several rivulets unite and form one of the main tributaries of the noble Susquehanna. The ancient Indian path to the Susquehanna from the Hudson and Schoharie rivers followed this stream and during the Revo-
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. 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 Summit’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.
Nobody well known was born in Summit itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Summit post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Summit is more historic than 81% 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.
Two places: the Bute-Warner-Truax Farm (listed 1985) and the House at 461 Spruce Lake Road (2015).
18% of Summit’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.
1866
