The Community was founded in the rural town of Monroe, New York by the Grand Rebbe, Joel Teitelbaum. He died in 1979, but as of the 2000 census, the town continued to thrive with a reported population of 13,138. This is a photograph from the Grand Rebbe’s funeral.

The community strives to preserve the separate religious identity of Satmar Hasidic Jews. Women do not drive cars or work after the birth of their second child; high birth rates are encouraged; members adhere to an orthodox Jewish lifestyle and the primary language spoken is Yiddish. The burden this community places on the local welfare system generates friction with other local municipalities.

In 1994, the Supreme Court ruled that the Kiryas Joel school district, which covered only the village, was designed in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because it accommodated a single religious group. Subsequently, the New York State Legislature reestablished a similar, but constitutionally valid, school district for the community.