Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Pearl River

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Pearl River

Pearl River’s post office opened in 1872, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1909 on.

1872first post office
4on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pearl River’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pearl River began

When was Pearl River founded?

1872

The Pearl River post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 16,567154 years
Founding year: the first Pearl River post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Pearl River’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1909 to 1927, drew every building in Pearl River.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.Old housesHalf of Pearl River’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Every building

Pearl River, building by building, 1909–1927

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 year, then a sheet.

Pearl River fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
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

4 historic places in Pearl River

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts

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

The story

How Pearl River came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pearl River.

Read it all →

In 1696, Pearl River was part of a larger piece of land known as the Kakiat Patent that was granted to Daniel Honan and Michael Hawdon. In 1713, the land was split into north and south plots. After the Revolutionary War, the land was further divided and sold. Pearl River was a piece of land made up of woods and swamps originally called Muddy Creek.

In the early 1870s, the town was divided into five different parts: Middletown, Sickletown, Pascack, Muddy Brook, and Naurashaun.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pearl River, 1923 to 1947

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1923Born hereAline Griffith, Countess of Romanones is born here
  3. 1924In the archiveAero-view of Pearl River, New York, 1924
  4. 1930Born hereAlan Reich is born here
  5. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1941In the archiveD.S. Schaab, residence in Pearl River, New York. LOC gsc.5a07463
  7. 1946Born hereMichael Margotta is born here
  8. 1947Born hereMacduff Everton is born here
By decade

Pearl River, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s–1940s6 items
Aero-view of Pearl River, New York, 19241924Aero-view of Pearl River, New York, 1924D.S. Schaab, residence in Pearl River, New York. LOC gsc.5a074631941D.S. Schaab, residence in Pearl River, New York. LOC …D.S. Schaab, residence in Pearl River, New York. LOC gsc.5a074641941D.S. Schaab, residence in Pearl River, New York. LOC …D.S. Schaab, residence in Pearl River, New York. LOC gsc.5a074651941D.S. Schaab, residence in Pearl River, New York. LOC …D.S. Schaab, residence in Pearl River, New York. LOC gsc.5a074671941D.S. Schaab, residence in Pearl River, New York. LOC …D.S. Schaab, residence in Pearl River, New York. LOC gsc.5a074681941D.S. Schaab, residence in Pearl River, New York. LOC …
1950s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
On the map

Pearl River on the map, 1934 to 1995

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

Pearl River on the 1934 USGS mapPearl River on the 1945 USGS mapPearl River on the 1955 USGS mapPearl River on the 1995 USGS map1934Park Ridge sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pearl River.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Aero-view of Pearl River, New York, 1924
Retake this viewAero-view of Pearl River, New York, 1924, 1924

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Pearl River’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

5 famous people were born in Pearl River

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

See all →
A
Aline Griffith, Countess of RomanonesAristocrat, socialite and writer · b. 1923
M
Michael MargottaAmerican actor · b. 1946
M
Macduff EvertonAmerican photographer · b. 1947
A
Alan ReichAmerican activist · b. 1930
Brian GaineAmerican football executive
Help out

Finish Pearl River’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAero-view of Pearl River, New York, 1924: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

BlauveltIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOrangetown36 historic placesA−Clarkstown17 historic placesB+Tappan3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNanuetIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townChestnut RidgeIts storyDRamapo22 historic placesBWest Nyack3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Pearl River’s history

What year was Pearl River founded?

The Pearl River post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.