Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1822.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Walden’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Walden is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #169 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Walden’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 Walden’s 10.2 sits near the middle of its state (46% of New York towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1736.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.9 points).
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 Walden’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The first Europeans began to arrive in the region around the 1650s, and began establishing permanent settlements in the area by the early 18th century.
The area around present-day Walden was purchased in 1736 by Alexander Kidd, and settlers of Scots-Irish, English and German descent started arriving not long afterwards. It was the first settlement west of the Wallkill River, known at the time as Kidd's Town.
Passages that mention Walden, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Orange County, New York1908 · page 302Read the page →
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tary of the Wallkill is the Tinn Brook, which begins in the town of New Windsor, pursues a sinuous career, and finally tumbles into the Wallkill near the village of Walden. The Beaver Dam stream rises in the southeastern part of the town and flows nearly south into the Otterkill, in the town of Hamptonburgh. The source of this stream is a large
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Orange County, New York1881 · page 394Read the page →
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This church is distant ten miles from the village of Newburgh, and three miles from the villages of Montgomery and Walden. The church was organized under the statute of the State by the name of Berea, which was suggested by Elder Thomas McKissock, and adopted by the congregation. The church was a secession from the Presbyterian Church of Groodwill, caused by difficulties which originated in the settle-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Orange County, New York1881 · page 373Read the page →
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Of the Wilenian settlement, already mentioned, the following particulars are added : The location was on the east bank of the Wallkill, a mile below the village of Walden, at the mouth of theTinn Brock. The patent was divided into lots in 1712. In the history of St. Andrew's Church it appears that Mr. Wileman was a member of that congregation as early as 1733. This church is said to have been built on his land, of logs,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
One old hunter who has a dry tongue, who used te come to bathe in Walden once every year when the water w’ 3 warmest, and at such times looked in upon — me, to’ .me, that many years ago he took his gun one afternoon and went out for a cruise in Walden Woods; and as he walked the Wayland road he heard the cry of hounds approaching, and ere long a fox leaped the wall into the road, and as quick as
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.
Timeline
Walden, 1736 to 1950
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Walden, census by census
Between 1,254 and 6,978 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Walden’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Walden’s history
What year was Walden founded?
In 1736, according to Wikidata. Walden’s post office opened in 1822, and the census of 1870 counted 1,254 people here.
How does Walden rank for history?
Walden is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #169 of 758 in New York. 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.
How old are the homes in Walden?
36% of Walden’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.9 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1955.
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 (4), Wikidata (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
2005