Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1802.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Thurman’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Thurman is more historic than 72% 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.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Thurman’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 Thurman’s 20.5 sits near the middle of its state (56% of New York towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points). Two sources give 1792.
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 Thurman’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
John Thurman was one of a group of investors who started the town's settlement in 1790 at Elm Hill.
The town of Thurman was established on April 10, 1792, and consisted of over 800 square miles. By 1813, five towns had been set off: Bolton, Chester, Johnsburg, Hague, and Caldwell (now known as the village of Lake George). In 1813, what was left of Thurman was divided into two towns: lands east of the Hudson River became Warrensburg and lands west of the Hudson River became Athol. Thurman no longer existed.
On March 12, 1813, Athol became part of the newly formed Warren County.
In 1792, according to Wikidata. Thurman’s post office opened in 1802.
How does Thurman rank for history?
Thurman is more historic than 72% 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 Thurman?
Two places: the 369th Regiment Armory (listed 1994) and the Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, The (2011).
How old are the homes in Thurman?
13% of Thurman’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1985.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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