More historic than 2% of U.S. towns · #755 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Most of New Square was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Below: maps from 1910 on and the census since 1970.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Square is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #755 of 758 in New York. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Square’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so New Square’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of New York towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1954.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about New Square’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
New Square is named after the Ukrainian town Skvyra, where the Skverer Hasidic group originated. The founders intended to name the settlement New Skvir, but a typist's error anglicized the name. New Square was established in 1954, when the Zemach David Corporation, representing Skverer Grand Rabbi Yakov Yosef Twersky, purchased a 130-acre (0.53 km2) dairy farm near Spring Valley, New York, in the town of Ramapo. At that time, most Skverer members lived in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. New Square's founders had felt that the Hasidic community in Williamsburg was being "threatened by assimilation", as The New York Times later described it. Construction began in 1956, and the first four families moved to New Square in December 1956. In 1958, the settlement had 68 houses.
In 1954, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1970 counted 1,156 people here.
How does New Square rank for history?
New Square is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #755 of 758 in New York. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in New Square?
2% of New Square’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 2000.
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).
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
