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History · Woodbourne

Woodbourne’s post office opened in 1828, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1910 on.

1828first post office
2on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Adam Moss · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Woodbourne began

When was Woodbourne founded?

1828

The Woodbourne post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 411198 years
Founding year: the first Woodbourne post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Woodbourne’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 19104 editions of the USGS map, 1910 to 1982. Watch Woodbourne change.Old housesHalf of Woodbourne’s homes were built before 1946.Deep rootsA post office since 1828: 198 years of Woodbourne.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Woodbourne’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Woodbourne on the map, 1910 to 1982

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

Woodbourne on the 1910 USGS mapWoodbourne on the 1942 USGS mapWoodbourne on the 1966 USGS mapWoodbourne on the 1982 USGS map1910Neversink 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 Woodbourne.

The story so far

Woodbourne, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Woodbourne yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Woodbourne is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in the town of Fallsburg in Sullivan County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, Woodbourne had a population of 411. Woodbourne is bordered by the town of Neversink, the hamlet of Grahamsville, the hamlet of Loch Sheldrake, the hamlet of Old Falls and the hamlet of Hasbrouck. The major thoroughfares of Woodbourne are New York State Routes 42 and 52. The center of the hamlet is where the two highways briefly overlap and cross the Neversink River. Woodbourne is in the Catskills Borscht Belt and in its heyday was home to many summer hotels, bungalow colonies and boarding houses, which are mainly uninhabited throughout most of the…

Its first post office opened in 1828.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Woodbourne, 1875 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875In the archiveCounty atlas of Sullivan, New York
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1940Born hereMichael Elias is born here
By decade

Woodbourne, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
County atlas of Sullivan, New York1875County atlas of Sullivan, New YorkMap
Today5 recent
Woodbourne, New York2009Woodbourne, New YorkWoodbourne, New York2009Woodbourne, New YorkWoodbourne, New York2009Woodbourne, New YorkCenter Theatre Woodbourne NY Dec 092009Center Theatre Woodbourne NY Dec 09New York State Route 42 091606 0802006New York State Route 42 091606 080
On the National Register

2 historic places in Woodbourne

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts

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

Questions about Woodbourne’s history

What year was Woodbourne founded?

The Woodbourne post office opened in 1828, 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 (6), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.