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History · Sparkill

Sparkill’s post office opened in 1872, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

1872first post office
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Taurus876 at en.wikipedia · Public domain
Quick answers

How Sparkill began

When was Sparkill founded?

1872

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

2020 census: 1,581154 years
Founding year: the first Sparkill post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Sparkill’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 Sparkill are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Sparkill’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sparkill’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sparkill’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
The story so far

Sparkill, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sparkill yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Sparkill (English pronunciation: /ˈspɑːɹkɪl/ ), formerly known as Tappan Sloat, is a suburban hamlet and census-designated place in Orangetown, New York, United States located north of Palisades; east of Tappan; south of Piermont and west of the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, Sparkill had a population of 1,581. The hamlet is home to St. Thomas Aquinas College and the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill.

Its first post office opened in 1872. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,565 in 2010, 1,581 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Sparkill, 1901 to 1913

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1901Born hereGeorgia Pellegrini is born here
  3. 1911Born hereDonald Collier is born here
  4. 1913Born hereJohn Collier Jr. is born here
By decade

Sparkill, decade by decade

Today6 recent
NY 340 eb at first US 9W jct, Feb. 20232023NY 340 eb at first US 9W jct, Feb. 2023CHRIST CHURCH2016CHRIST CHURCH1HOPSON-SWAN ESTATE20161HOPSON-SWAN ESTATENY340Sparkill2009NY340SparkillSparkill depot square2008Sparkill depot square9W Sparkill jeh20089W Sparkill jeh
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Sparkill

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

See all →
John Collier Jr.American anthropologist and photographer · b. 1913
D
Donald CollierAmerican anthropologist · b. 1911
G
Georgia PellegriniAmerican chef · b. 1901
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

OrangeburgIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTappan3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPiermont10 historic placesA

Questions about Sparkill’s history

What year was Sparkill founded?

The Sparkill 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) and Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.