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History · Hillburn

Hillburn dates to 1893, and 53% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1910 on and the census since 1900.

1893founded
2on the National Register
53%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Mwanner at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Hillburn began

When was Hillburn founded?

1893

Hillburn dates its founding to 1893 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 824 in 19002020 census: 930133 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1882.The full story ↓

What stands out about Hillburn’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 Hillburn are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Hillburn’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,303 in 1930; 930 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19103 editions of the USGS map, 1910 to 1955. Watch Hillburn change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hillburn’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hillburn’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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The story

How Hillburn came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hillburn.

Read it all →

In addition to later European-American migrants, the area was settled early by descendants of Lenape and other remnant groups, who eventually intermarried with Afro-Dutch and other ethnicities after the Revolutionary War. These multiracial descendants were recognized in 1980 by the state as the Ramapough Mountain Indians; they also have centers of population in Mahwah and Ringwood, New Jersey, which were areas of frontier in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. For many years they lived by farming, hunting and fishing. They tended to marry within their community until the mid-twentieth century.

The village of Hillburn was founded in 1893; that year the first school in Hillburn was built on a plot of ground donated by J.B. Suffern.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Hillburn, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,303

Peaked at 1,303 in 1930; 930 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Hillburn in 1884

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

About one mile southeast of Ramapo Works, as we journey along the Orange Turnpike, our eyes catch sight of the beautiful village of Hillburn, nestled among the hills, about one-fourth of a mile to the south. This spot was originally the home of William Suffern,* who inherited it from his father, Jo…
History of Rockland County, New York1884Read the page →
Read the text

About one mile southeast of Ramapo Works, as we journey along the Orange Turnpike, our eyes catch sight of the beautiful village of Hillburn, nestled among the hills, about one-fourth of a mile to the south. This spot was originally the home of William Suffern,* who inherited it from his father, John. The old homestead built in 1822, but moved and enlarged in i860, is now occupied by his son, James.

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

Hillburn, 1893 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893
    FoundingHillburn is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 1,303
By decade

Hillburn, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Former Main School building - Hillburn, NY (2010)2010Former Main School building - Hillburn, NY (2010)NY59bridge2008NY59bridgeEND! NY 592007END! NY 59Village of2006Village ofHillburnNewYork2005HillburnNewYork
On the map

Hillburn on the map, 1910 to 1955

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

Hillburn on the 1910 USGS mapHillburn on the 1931 USGS mapHillburn on the 1955 USGS map1910Ramapo 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 Hillburn.

Every building

Hillburn, building by building, 1921

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Hillburn fire insurance map, 1921, sheet 11921Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Hillburn

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

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

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Hillburn

Nobody well known was born in Hillburn itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Richard MathesonAmerican fiction writer · b. 1926
Jeremy ZuckerAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1996
J
Julianna MarguliesAmerican actress · b. 1966
Valerie HarperAmerican actress · b. 1939
Dave AnnableAmerican actor · b. 1979
Jean MuirAmerican actress and educator · b. 1911
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Suffern2 historic placesA−

Questions about Hillburn’s history

What year was Hillburn founded?

In 1893, according to Wikidata. Hillburn’s post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1900 counted 824 people here.

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 (5), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.