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History · Monsey

Half of Monsey’s homes were built after 2003

Most of Monsey was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Below: maps from 1910 on and the census since 1970.

0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Monsey’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 Monsey are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19105 editions of the USGS map, 1910 to 1995. Watch Monsey change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Monsey’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Monsey on the map, 1910 to 1995

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

Monsey on the 1910 USGS mapMonsey on the 1934 USGS mapMonsey on the 1945 USGS mapMonsey on the 1955 USGS mapMonsey on the 1995 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 Monsey.

The story

How Monsey came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Monsey.

Read it all →

Rockland County was inhabited by the Munsee band of Lenape Native Americans, who were speakers of the Algonquian languages. Monsey Glen, a Native American encampment, is west of the intersection of State Route 59 and State Route 306. Numerous artifacts have been found there and some rock shelters are still visible. The Monsey railroad station, named from an alternate spelling of the Munsee Lenape, was built when the New York & Erie Railroad passed through the glen in 1841.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Monsey in 1884

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

New York, a conference of Indians is described, at which, classed along with the Cayugas, Senecas, and Oneidas, a tribe of Munsies is mentioned. It may have been after this tribe that the village of Monsey is named (See History of Monsey .j Tradition says that a tribe of Ramapaughs “of sufficient i…
History of Rockland County, New York1884Read the page →
Read the text

New York, a conference of Indians is described, at which, classed along with the Cayugas, Senecas, and Oneidas, a tribe of Munsies is mentioned. It may have been after this tribe that the village of Monsey is named (See History of Monsey .j Tradition says that a tribe of Ramapaughs “of sufficient importance to compete with the Mohawks,” dwelt in the “ Ramapo Pass.” Of this we cannot speak with as-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Monsey, and was the first postmaster and station agent.* At the opening of the railroad an ordinary log pump was sunk by the authorities in the brook a few yards east of Spring Valley depot, around which a small platform was built, upon which two men used to stand while they pumped water into the e…
History of Rockland County, New York1884Read the page →
Read the text

Monsey, and was the first postmaster and station agent.* At the opening of the railroad an ordinary log pump was sunk by the authorities in the brook a few yards east of Spring Valley depot, around which a small platform was built, upon which two men used to stand while they pumped water into the engine.

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

Monsey, 1910 to 1993

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1947Born hereDovid Schustal is born here
  4. 1984Born hereAkiva Weingarten is born here
  5. 1991Born hereLeah Gottfried is born here
  6. 1993Born hereEli Rozenberg is born here
By decade

Monsey, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Monsey Map 1859 Photo2011Monsey Map 1859 PhotoMapCentennial Map of Monsey (1876)2011Centennial Map of Monsey (1876)MapNY306SouthernTerminus2009NY306SouthernTerminusYiddishsign2008YiddishsignCommunity synagogue2008Community synagogueMonsey NY2007Monsey NY
People over time

Monsey, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00019802000202026,954

Grew from 8,797 people in 1970 to 26,954 in 2020, 3 times over.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Monsey

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
A
Akiva WeingartenAmerican-born liberal rabbi, raised a Satmar Ha… · b. 1984
D
Dovid SchustalRosh yeshiva, Beth Medrash Govoha · b. 1947
E
Eli RozenbergIsraeli American entrepreneur · b. 1993
L
Leah GottfriedAmerican actress and filmmaker · b. 1991
Mordechai ShapiroAmerican singer, songwriter and entertainer · b. 1990
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Spring Valley3 historic placesB−ViolaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAirmont1 historic placeC+New Hempstead2 historic placesC−Chestnut RidgeIts storyD

Questions about Monsey’s history

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), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.