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History · Whitney Point

Whitney Point’s post office opened in 1824, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Henry Whitney House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1870.

1824first post office
2on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Whitney Point’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Whitney Point began

When was Whitney Point founded?

1824

The Whitney Point post office opened in 1824, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 480 in 18702020 census: 960202 years
Founding year: the first Whitney Point post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Whitney Point’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19043 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1951. Watch Whitney Point change.Old housesHalf of Whitney Point’s homes were built before 1954.Deep rootsA post office since 1824: 202 years of Whitney Point.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Whitney Point’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPlan-of-Whitneys-Point-Broome-County-18…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Whitney Point on the map, 1904 to 1951

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

Whitney Point on the 1904 USGS mapWhitney Point on the 1949 USGS mapWhitney Point on the 1951 USGS map1904Greene 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 Whitney Point.

The story

How Whitney Point came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Whitney Point.

Read it all →

The village area was first settled around 1791 and began to flourish after the arrival of the Whitney family around 1800.

The village of Whitney Point (originally called "Whitney's Point") was incorporated in 1871. A catastrophic fire almost destroyed the village in 1897. After serious flooding in 1935 and 1936, work began on a dam north of the village on the Otselic River. It was completed in 1942 and — after decisions were later made to impound water on a year-round basis for recreational purposes — formed the Whitney Point Lake (Reservoir).

The village has been the site of the Broome County Fair since 1874.

The Whitney automobile was briefly manufactured in this village around 1902.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Whitney Point, 1855 to 1904

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855In the archivePlan-of-Whitneys-Point-Broome-County-1855-Gifford-Wenig-g3803b-la000476
  3. 1875Born hereEthel Newcomb is born here
  4. 1877Born hereL. W. Boynton is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Whitney Point, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
Plan-of-Whitneys-Point-Broome-County-1855-Gifford-Wenig-g3803b-la0004761855Plan-of-Whitneys-Point-Broome-County-1855-Gifford-Wen…
Today5 recent
Whitney Point, New York2010Whitney Point, New YorkWhitney Point, New York2010Whitney Point, New YorkGrace Episcopal Church Whitney Point NY Feb 102010Grace Episcopal Church Whitney Point NY Feb 10Whitney Point, New York 22009Whitney Point, New York 2The western terminus of NY 206 in2009The western terminus of NY 206 in
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.

Plan-of-Whitneys-Point-Broome-County-1855-Gifford-Wenig-g3803b-la000476
Retake this viewPlan-of-Whitneys-Point-Broome-County-1855-Gifford-Wenig-g3803b-la000476, 1855

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Whitney Point

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
first listed
2017
Henry Whitney House
All 1 listings
Henry Whitney HouseBuilding · listed 2017

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Whitney Point, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,093

Between 480 and 1,093 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Whitney Point’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Whitney Point

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
L. W. BoyntonAmerican football player and coach, lawyer · b. 1877
Ethel NewcombAmerican pianist · b. 1875

Questions about Whitney Point’s history

What year was Whitney Point founded?

The Whitney Point post office opened in 1824, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Whitney Point?

2 listings: 1 building, among them the Henry Whitney House (listed 2017, the first).

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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.