8 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 15 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1820.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Willsboro is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Willsboro’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 Willsboro’s 215 sits above most of its state (83% of New York towns have fewer) while its 41 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.2 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Willsboro’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
During the American Revolution, British troops under John Burgoyne camped on the Bouquet River.
The region was first settled by Europeans in 1765 by William Gilliland. Originally called "Milltown" by its founder (for the sawmill he located on the falls of the Bouquet River, located in the center of the town), it was renamed "Willsborough" (subsequently shortened to "Willsboro") shortly after the Revolutionary War, in honor of the founder.
of 1789, which place was then in the town of Willsboro, but now in the town of Essex. At that time all the country west of me for 100 miles was an entire wilderness. I remained in Brookfield until 1802. During that time a settlement commenced in Pleasant Valley, now Elizabethtown, also in the several towns of Chesterfield by Isaac Wright, in Jay by Nathaniel Malery, in Keene by Benjamin Payne, in Schroon by a Judge Pond. All commenced their improvements and pro-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
up his means. Abandoning his long cherished purpose of erecting his property into a manorial estate, he decided to sell his lands in fee. The first purchasers of land from Gilliland in what is now the town of Willsboro were Joseph Sheldon and Abraham Aiken from Dutchess County, N. Y., who went into occupation of their lots just before Major Hezekiah Barber brought into being Barber's Point. Fourteen other families soon came into Willsboro after Sheldon and Aiken.
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
Willsboro, 1778 to 1919
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.
Willsboro is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns. 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.
What is on the National Register in Willsboro?
8 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Willsboro Congregational Church (listed 1984, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Sheldon-Owens Farm and the Ligonier Point Historic District, with 15 contributing buildings. 41 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Willsboro?
34% of Willsboro’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1957.
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 (10), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (8), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
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