Founding year: the first Sloatsburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Sloatsburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sloatsburg is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #365 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sloatsburg’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 Sloatsburg’s 26.3 sits near the middle of its state (60% of New York towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Sloatsburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The land that would become the village of Sloatsburg was part of the hunting grounds of the Minsi band of the Leni Lenape Indians, whose people occupied much of the mid-Atlantic area at the time of European encounter. The area was the site of a major Indian path through the Ramapo Mountains. The path was later improved as the New York to Albany road and, in 1800, the Orange Turnpike. It remains an important thoroughfare today as the New York State Thruway, New York State Route 17 and the Norfolk Southern Railway line run along its route.
This hamlet is located on the Orange Turnpike, about a mile south of Sloatsburg. It was first known as the Y, because that at this point, when the Erie Railroad was first opened, the engines were turned on a Y. Later it was known as Pierson’s Depot, the Erie Company having built and almost finished a station on the style “of the Egyptian monarchs,” possibly with the intention of consolidating here both the stations of Sloatsburg and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The western section of the middle part of the “ Ramapo Pass,” which includes the village of Sloatsburg, was (1.1 We may hero remark that the tract purchased by Van lllarcuin was claimed to extend beyond Sloutsluiru almost to Stony Ilrook and that the west is included within the limiteof the “ Vun Odder Tract" hereafter to be described.
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.
By decade
Sloatsburg, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 Sloatsburg post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Sloatsburg rank for history?
Sloatsburg is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #365 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 Sloatsburg?
22% of Sloatsburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.6 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 the Library of Congress (11), Wikidata (1), 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.
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