Yorktown’s post office opened in 1820, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #633 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Most of Yorktown was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. Its Register listings are the Yorktown Heights Railroad Station and the St. George's Church. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1790.
The Yorktown post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Underhill (1881), Cornell (1882) and Kitchawan (1894), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,609 in 17902020 census: 36,569206 years
How historic is Yorktown?
B
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Yorktown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Yorktown’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Yorktown is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #633 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Yorktown’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 Yorktown’s 0.6 sits below most of its state (21% of New York towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Yorktown’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Yorktown has a rich historical heritage. The area was originally inhabited by one or more bands of Wappinger people, including the Kitchawank. Most of Yorktown, then called Hanover, was part of the Van Cortlandt Manor, a royal manor granted by King William III for the Van Cortlandt family.
The Croton River, which runs through the southern part of Yorktown, was dammed by the New York City water supply system to provide the city with its first major source of clean and reliable water. The first Croton Dam was located in Yorktown and broke in 1842, causing significant damage to property and major loss of life.
Passages that mention Yorktown, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Banquet given by the Chamber of commerce of the state of New York in honor of the guests of the nation to the centennial celebration of the victory at Yorktown. New York, November 5th, 18811881Read the page →
Read the text
It may be pardoned me, on an occasion of this character, an avowal of personal satisfaction and pride, in the presence of the descendants of the gallant officers who fought at Yorktown, and of the family of Lafayette, in recalling to mind that it was my grandfather who commanded all the artillery at Saratoga, was the active officer in command of the same arm at Yorktown, and that it was he who was selected by Lafayette as Chief of Artillery, of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
a select committee of that body, consisting of thirteen members, to act conjointly with a similar one of the same number to be appointed from the Senate. The duties of this joint committee were to inquire into the expediency of erecting at Yorktown the memorial monument originally ordered by Congress in 1781, but never accomplished, and " to make all the necessary arrangements for such a celebration by the American people of the centennial anniversary of the battle of Yorktown, on the 19th of October, 18S1, as shall befit the historical significance of that event and the present greatness
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Banquet given by the Chamber of commerce of the state of New York in honor of the guests of the nation to the centennial celebration of the victory at Yorktown. New York, November 5th, 18811881Read the page →
Read the text
Commerce. On the satin surrounding the Menu, which was printed upon a scroll held by the eagle, were represented in color at the top the seal of the Chamber of Commerce, a view of Yorktown, the dates, 1781 and 1881 ; on the side, the flags of France and the United States, with a French and American soldier in the costume of the last century ; under this a view of the Giant' s Gap, on the Union Pacific Railroad, with a locomotive and train of cars in motion,
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
Yorktown, 1814 to 2020
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.
The Yorktown post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Yorktown rank for history?
Yorktown is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #633 of 758 in New York. 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 Yorktown?
Two places: the Yorktown Heights Railroad Station (listed 1981) and the St. George's Church (2012).
How old are the homes in Yorktown?
9% of Yorktown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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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