Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0
What stands out about Hillcrest’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In the early 1900s, Hillcrest became a summer retreat for working-class families from New York City; the families could access Hillcrest by train from New Jersey (after ferrying across to the western shore of the Hudson). In 1955, the Tappan Zee Bridge opened (connecting Tarrytown in Westchester County with Nyack in Rockland County), increasing traffic into the community and making access to New York City easier for the local population. Along with many other communities in the lower Hudson Valley, Hillcrest became a destination for White Flight from New York City in the 1950s through 1970s. Craig H. Long, the Town of Ramapo historian, said that many secular Jews were part of the first wave of settlers into Hillcrest after the opening of the Tappan Zee. In the 1960s, Hillcrest attracted Jews from the boroughs of Brooklyn and The Bronx in New York City; the Jewish people going to Hillcr…
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 Wikipedia. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
