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Witherbee, New York from Belfry Mountain May 2021Photo: 420Traveler · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Witherbee

Witherbee’s post office opened in 1891, and 55% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1850 on.

1891first post office
0on the National Register
55%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Witherbee’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Witherbee began

When was Witherbee founded?

1891

The Witherbee post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 385135 years
Founding year: the first Witherbee post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Witherbee’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.Old housesHalf of Witherbee’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Witherbee’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Witherbee’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 view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Witherbee came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Witherbee.

Read it all →

Newport Pond, a 25 acre pond beside County Road 6 (Tracy Road) west of Witherbee, is namesake of a former royal fish pond in Newport, Essex, England, original manor of the Howland family ancestor John Howland, 1st Lord Newport Pond of Essex, England (1500–1546).

The Witherbee Memorial Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Witherbee, decade by decade

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

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New York - Essex County - ED 16-15, ED 16-16, ED 16-1718501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New Y…
Today1 recent
Witherbee, New York from Belfry Mountain May 20212021Witherbee, New York from Belfry Mountain May 2021
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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New York - Essex County - ED 16-15, ED 16-16, ED 16-17
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New York - Essex County - ED 16-15, ED 16-16, ED 16-17, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Mineville2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Witherbee’s history

What year was Witherbee founded?

The Witherbee post office opened in 1891, 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 (2), Wikipedia and Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.