Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Wainscott

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Wainscott

Wainscott’s post office opened in 1894, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1903 on.

1894first post office
2on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wainscott’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wainscott began

When was Wainscott founded?

1894

The Wainscott post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 904132 years
Founding year: the first Wainscott post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Wainscott’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.On the map since 19033 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1956. Watch Wainscott change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wainscott’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wainscott’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 viewPart of Town of Southampton: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Wainscott on the map, 1903 to 1956

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

Wainscott on the 1903 USGS mapWainscott on the 1946 USGS mapWainscott on the 1956 USGS map1903Sag Harbor 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 Wainscott.

The story so far

Wainscott, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wainscott yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Wainscott is a hamlet in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 census, Wainscott had a population of 904. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau defined a census-designated place (CDP) for the 2000 census that roughly corresponds to the same area.

Its first post office opened in 1894. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 650 to 904 (+39%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Wainscott, 1873 to 1915

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873In the archiveEast Hampton Suffolk Co. L.I
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1915In the archivePart of Town of Southampton
By decade

Wainscott, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
East Hampton Suffolk Co. L.I1873East Hampton Suffolk Co. L.IMap
1910s1 item
Part of Town of Southampton1915Part of Town of Southampton
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
Today4 recent
EB NY 27 Wainscott Parking Area 1000 Feet2015EB NY 27 Wainscott Parking Area 1000 FeetThomas-strong-house2008Thomas-strong-houseWainscott-school2007Wainscott-schoolWainscott-post-office2006Wainscott-post-office
Then & 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.

Part of Town of Southampton
Retake this viewPart of Town of Southampton, 1915

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Wainscott’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Wainscott

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
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

Famous people close to Wainscott

Nobody well known was born in Wainscott itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jacqueline Kennedy OnassisFirst Lady of the United States from 1961 to 19… · b. 1929
Howard DeanAmerican politician · b. 1948
Mary L. CleaveAmerican engineer and NASA astronaut · b. 1947
George HuntingtonAmerican physician (1850–1916); discoverer of H… · b. 1850
Catharine BeecherUnited States educator · b. 1800
Paul AnnaconeAmerican tennis player and coach · b. 1963
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

East Hampton13 historic placesA+Northwest Harbor3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEast Hampton North1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSouthampton37 historic placesAEast Hampton33 historic placesASagaponack1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNoyack1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSag Harbor5 historic placesA+

Questions about Wainscott’s history

What year was Wainscott founded?

The Wainscott post office opened in 1894, 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 →
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) 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.