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History · West Nyack

West Nyack’s post office opened in 1891, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

Most of West Nyack was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1958. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1868 on.

1891first post office
3on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
From West Nyack’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How West Nyack began

When was West Nyack founded?

1891

The West Nyack post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 3,649135 years
Founding year: the first West Nyack post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about West Nyack’s past

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

★ What stands out · Help out

Start West Nyack’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Nyack’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
The story

How West Nyack came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of West Nyack.

Read it all →

The hamlet was originally known as Clarksville and subsequently MontMoor. It was subsequently merged with the small village located adjacent to the West Shore Railroad station where the Nyack Water Works were also located and became known as West Nyack in 1891.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

West Nyack, 1868 to 1993

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868In the archiveWest Nyack, New York
  3. 20th century
  4. 1930Born hereHarry Babcock is born here
  5. 1986Born hereAdam Chanler-Berat is born here
  6. 1991Born hereThomas McNamara is born here
  7. 1993Born hereJason Vosler is born here
By decade

West Nyack, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

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.

West Nyack, New York
Retake this viewWest Nyack, New York, 1868

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in West Nyack

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in West Nyack

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

See all →
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Questions about West Nyack’s history

What year was West Nyack founded?

The West Nyack post office opened in 1891, 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 (3), 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.