New York's Most Historic Towns

New York State's history stretches from Iroquois Confederacy governance to colonial settlement to the birth of American industry. Its smaller cities and towns often reveal this history better than New York City.

Cooperstown
Founded by James Fenimore Cooper's father in 1786 on the southern tip of Otsego Lake. Cooperstown is a remarkably well-preserved 19th-century village and home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum — the essential pilgrimage for baseball fans. The Fenimore Art Museum (American folk art and the James Fenimore Cooper collection) and the Farmers' Museum (living history farm) make Cooperstown a full cultural destination.

Saratoga Springs
A 19th-century resort town famous for its mineral springs (once thought to have medicinal properties) and the Saratoga Race Course — the oldest continuously operating thoroughbred horse racing facility in the US (founded 1863). The grand Victorian hotels and Congress Park with its mineral spring pavilions give Saratoga a distinctive character. The Saratoga National Historical Park preserves the 1777 battlefield where British General Burgoyne's defeat marked the turning point of the American Revolution.

Kingston
New York's first capital (briefly, in 1777 before the British burned it), Kingston has two distinct historic districts: the Stockade area (the original 17th-century Dutch settlement with stone houses dating to the 1660s) and the Rondout waterfront district (a 19th-century industrial port). The combination makes Kingston one of the richest small cities for historic architecture in the state.

Cold Spring
A Hudson River town with an intact 19th-century commercial street, excellent antique shops, and immediate access to the Hudson Highlands hiking trails. The West Point Museum and Military Academy is 4 miles south. Cold Spring represents the Hudson Valley's small-town character at its most perfect.

Sag Harbor
A whaling port that once rivaled Nantucket and New Bedford. Sag Harbor's Main Street retains its Federal and Greek Revival whaling-era architecture almost entirely intact. The Custom House (1790) and the Old Whalers' Church (1844) are landmarks. Unlike the celebrity-saturated Hamptons, Sag Harbor still feels like a real town.