On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Upper Brookville is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Upper Brookville’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 Upper Brookville’s 89.8 sits above most of its state (74% of New York towns have fewer) while its 18 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Upper Brookville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The village is named for the brook that once ran along its main road, Wolver Hollow. Although the village is physically lower than the surrounding areas, resident Hope Goddard Iselin opposed the name of Lower Brookville, stating, "I refuse to live in lower anything. If you must call it something, and I suppose you must, call it Upper Brookville." Subsequently, Upper Brookville became its name.
Upper Brookville incorporated as a village in on July 28, 1932, when eight taxpaying residents within its boundaries unanimously voted in favor of incorporation at the July 16 referendum on the matter. It was the last village in Nassau County to incorporate until Atlantic Beach – located in the Town of Hempstead – incorporated in 1962.
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.
Upper Brookville is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns. 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 Upper Brookville?
14% of Upper Brookville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 (6), Wikipedia 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.
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