Most of Westmere was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1970.
Westmere as a settled place is of recent origin, though being along the Great Western Turnpike, built in 1799, it was always a place migrants passed through on their way from Albany and New England to the western frontier. A toll gate existed on the turnpike roughly where Highland Estates is located. Even before the turnpike was built, 300 wagons (and sleighs in the winter) passed through in 1796 what would later become Westmere. After World War I, development began to encroach on the rural wooded area with mostly bungalows and cottages. This would accelerate in the post-war era after World War II, and in the 1940s is when the name Westmere would be given to this area. Westmere was the fastest growing section of the town of Guilderland in this period.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
