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History · Albany

Albany dates to 1782, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the William Hayden House. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1928 on, and the census since 1800.

1782founded
1on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Albany’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Albany began

When was Albany founded?

1782

Albany dates its founding to 1782 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1800.

First census: 12 in 18002020 census: 976244 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1824.The full story ↓

What stands out about Albany’s past

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

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Albany, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1782: 244 years of Albany.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Albany’s post office has been open since 1824. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Albany
1824–today
West Albany
1858–1865
East Albany
1861–1907
South Albany
1863–1908
Albany Centre
1870–1907
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Albany CenterEast AlbanyMerrill CornerSouth Albany
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Albany
Albany CenterAlbany VillageCatholicChamberlain HillHoveyRowellSouth Albany

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

Timeline

Albany, 1782 to 1936

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1782
    FoundingAlbany is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1824Post officeThe Albany post office opens
  5. 1858Post officeThe West Albany post office opens
  6. 1861Post officeThe East Albany post office opens
  7. 1865Post officeThe West Albany post office closes
  8. 1866Born hereSy Sanborn is born here
  9. 20th century
  10. 1907Post officeThe East Albany post office closes
  11. 1928On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1936In the archiveCommunity hall at the fair, Albany, Vermont, by Carl Mydans, United States Resettlement A…
The story

How Albany came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Albany.

Read it all →

The original land grant was given to Col. Antipas Gilman and associates on June 26, 1782, and was named "Lutterloh." In 1815, the name of the town was changed to "Albany."

Albany resident Rev. George Putnam was an Underground Railroad agent before the Civil War.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Albany in 1882

Passages that mention Albany, cut from the printed page as they were published.

MR. WILLIAM HAYDEN was among the early settlers of Albany. He was a native of Braintree, Mass. He moved from Braintree to Covington, in the same State, and from there to Albany, Vt., in the year 1801. He commenced on that same lot now included in what is known as the Wm.
The history of Orleans county, Vermont. Civil, ecclesiastical, biographical and military1882 · page 59Read the page →
Read the text

MR. WILLIAM HAYDEN was among the early settlers of Albany. He was a native of Braintree, Mass. He moved from Braintree to Covington, in the same State, and from there to Albany, Vt., in the year 1801. He commenced on that same lot now included in what is known as the Wm.

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.

By decade

Albany, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s6 items
Community hall at the fair, Albany, Vermont, by Carl Mydans, United States Resettlement Adminstration, September 1936, …1936Community hall at the fair, Albany, Vermont, by Carl …Fair at Albany, Vermont, by Carl Mydans, United States Resettlement Administration, Sept. 1936, from the Library of Con…1936Fair at Albany, Vermont, by Carl Mydans, United State…Fair scene, Albany, Vermont, by Carl Mydans, United States Resettlement Administration, Sept. 1936, from the Library of…1936Fair scene, Albany, Vermont, by Carl Mydans, United S…Horse judging at the fair, Albany, Vermont, by Carl Mydans, United States Resettlement Adminstration, September 1936, f…1936Horse judging at the fair, Albany, Vermont, by Carl M…Parade at the fair, Albany, Vermont, by Carl Mydans, United States Resettlement Adminstration, September 1936, from the…1936Parade at the fair, Albany, Vermont, by Carl Mydans, …Start of the three-legged race. Fair at Albany, Vermont, by Carl Mydans, United States Office of War Information, Septe…1936Start of the three-legged race. Fair at Albany, Vermo…
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
On the map

Albany on the map, 1928 to 1986

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

Albany on the 1928 USGS mapAlbany on the 1938 USGS mapAlbany on the 1951 USGS mapAlbany on the 1986 USGS map1928Hardwick 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 Albany.

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.

Community hall at the fair, Albany, Vermont, by Carl Mydans, United States Resettlement Adminstration, September 1936, …
Retake this viewCommunity hall at the fair, Albany, Vermont, by Carl Mydans, United States Resettlement Adminstration, September 1936, …, 1936

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Albany

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
William Hayden House
William Hayden House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Georgian1
William Hayden HouseGreek Revival

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

People over time

Albany, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20018001850190019502000Peak: 1,224

Between 12 and 1,224 people in every census since 1800.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Albany’s Wikipedia page.

Help out

Finish Albany’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCommunity hall at the fair, Albany, Ver…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Craftsbury2 historic placesA−LowellIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEdenIts storyB−Irasburg2 historic placesB+

Questions about Albany’s history

What year was Albany founded?

In 1782, according to Wikidata. Albany’s post office opened in 1824, and the census of 1800 counted 12 people here.

What is on the National Register in Albany?

One place: the William Hayden House (listed 1978).

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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.