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History · Cortlandt Township

Cortlandt Township’s post office opened in 1883

Most of Cortlandt Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1899 on.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Cortlandt Township began

When was Cortlandt Township founded?

1883

The Cortlandt Township post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Cortlandt (1883) and Mina (1909), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 601143 years
Founding year: the first Cortlandt Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Cortlandt Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Cortlandt Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18993 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1985. Watch Cortlandt Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Cortlandt Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cortlandt Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Cortlandt Township on the map, 1899 to 1985

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

Cortlandt Township on the 1899 USGS mapCortlandt Township on the 1970 USGS mapCortlandt Township on the 1985 USGS map1899Northville sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cortlandt Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cortlandt
1883–1909
Mina
1909–1983
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Mina

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Cortlandt Township, in brief

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

Its first post office opened in 1883. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 628 to 601 (-4%).

Timeline

Cortlandt Township, 1883 to 1983

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Cortlandt post office opens
  3. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1909Post officeThe Cortlandt post office closes
  6. 1909Post officeThe Mina post office opens
  7. 1983Post officeThe Mina post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Mercier TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFountain TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRichland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMinaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPembrook Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cortlandt Township’s history

What year was Cortlandt Township founded?

The Cortlandt Township post office opened in 1883, 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 →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.