Founding year: the first Old Westbury post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1924.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Old Westbury’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Old Westbury is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #602 of 758 in New York. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Old Westbury’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 Old Westbury’s 35.4 sits near the middle of its state (64% of New York towns have fewer) while its 15 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1924.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Old Westbury’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
What is now the Village of Old Westbury was originally inhabited by Matinecock Native Americans. It was first settled by European colonists – primarily Dutchmen and Englishmen – in the mid-17th century.
The community of Westbury was founded by Edmond Titus, and was later joined by Henry Willis – one of the first English settlers in the area. Westbury had been a Quaker community of isolated farms until the railroad came in 1836.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Old Westbury post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1924.
How does Old Westbury rank for history?
Old Westbury is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #602 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 Old Westbury?
15% of Old Westbury’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.1 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
1921
1921