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History · Verplanck

Verplanck’s post office opened in 1838, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1936 on.

1838first post office
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Verplanck’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Verplanck began

When was Verplanck founded?

1838

The Verplanck post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,535188 years
Founding year: the first Verplanck post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Verplanck’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Verplanck’s homes were built before 1946.Deep rootsA post office since 1838: 188 years of Verplanck.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Verplanck’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPeekskill SPB: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Verplanck came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Verplanck.

Read it all →

Verplanck lies on a small peninsula in the extreme northwest of the town of Cortlandt. Tucked along the east bank of the Hudson River, it is bordered by Cortlandt's village of Buchanan and hamlet of Montrose.

ChaptersVerplanck's Point

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Verplanck, 1853 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853Born hereJohn Farrow is born here
  3. 1872In the archivePlates 48 and 49- Plan of Peekskill, Westchester Co. N.Y
  4. 20th century
  5. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1994In the archivePeekskill SPB
By decade

Verplanck, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Plates 48 and 49- Plan of Peekskill, Westchester Co. N.Y1872Plates 48 and 49- Plan of Peekskill, Westchester Co. …Map
1990s1 item
Peekskill SPB1994Peekskill SPB
On the map

Verplanck on the map, 1936 to 1981

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

Verplanck on the 1936 USGS mapVerplanck on the 1957 USGS mapVerplanck on the 1981 USGS map1936West Point 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 Verplanck.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

BuchananIts storyC+Stony Point8 historic placesB−Cortlandt14 historic placesA−MontroseIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Verplanck’s history

What year was Verplanck founded?

The Verplanck post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.