Yorktown, New York

Yorktown, New York
Town
Yorktown Flag
Nickname(s): Cornhuskers
Motto: Progress with Preservation
Location of Yorktown, New York
Coordinates: 41°16′56″N 73°48′33″W / 41.28222°N 73.80917°W / 41.28222; -73.80917
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Westchester
Government
• Justice	Gary J. Raniolo
• Supervisor	Michael Grace
Area
• Total	39.3 sq mi (101.7 km2)
• Land	36.7 sq mi (95.0 km2)
• Water	2.6 sq mi (6.7 km2)
Elevation	459 ft (140 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	36,081
• Density	920/sq mi (350/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	10598
Area code(s)	914
FIPS code	36-84077[1]
GNIS feature ID	0979663[2]
Website	www.yorktownny.org

Yorktown is a town that lies on the north border in Westchester County, New York, in a suburb approximately 38 miles (61 km) north of midtown Manhattan. The population was 36,081 at the 2010 census.

History

Yorktown has a rich historical heritage beginning with the earliest known inhabitants—Mohegan, Osceola, Amawalk, Kitchawan, and Mohansic peoples—after which local places were named. Most of Yorktown was part of the Manor of Cortlandt, a Royal Manor established by King William III for the Van Cortlandt family.

The Croton River, which runs through the southern part of Yorktown, was dammed by New York City to provide its first major source of clean and reliable water. The first Croton Dam was located in Yorktown and broke in 1842, causing significant damage to property and major loss of life.

First Presbyterian Church of Yorktown in Crompond on a vintage postcard

During the American Revolution, Yorktown was of strategic importance, with the Pines Bridge crossing guarded by a regiment of Rhode Island troops made up mostly of African Americans, who were massacred at the Davenport House in Croton Heights. A memorial to them was erected at the Presbyterian Church in Crompond, New York. Major John André, a British officer who communicated with Benedict Arnold, ate his final breakfast at the Underhill House on Hanover Street just before his capture and eventual hanging as a spy.

In 1788, the township was officially incorporated as Yorktown, commemorating the decisive Revolutionary War Battle of Yorktown, near Yorktown, Virginia, on October 19, 1781.

Moving north after the battle of Yorktown, the French army camped at the site of today's French Hill Elementary School, where cannonballs and other relics have been found. Although rumors claim that George Washington passed through Yorktown, no factual records confirm this.

During the town's bicentennial in 1988, Yorktowners honored their historic heritage, including that of the 19th and 20th centuries, and commemorated their community's participation in events that led up to the birth and growth of the United States. A Bicentennial Committee reviewed the town's remaining historic sites and determined which should be preserved as a link between the Yorktown of yesterday and the Yorktown of tomorrow.

Geography

The north town line is the border of Putnam County, New York. The town of Somers borders Yorktown on the east, and Cortlandt borders Yorktown on the west. New Castle borders Yorktown on the south.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 39.3 square miles (102 km²), of which 36.7 square miles (95 km²) is land and 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²), or 6.57%, is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 36,318 people, 12,556 households, and 9,831 families residing in the town. The population density was 989.7 people per square mile (382.1/km²). There were 12,852 housing units at an average density of 350.2 per square mile (135.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 90.64% White, 3.04% African American, 0.14% Native American, 3.44% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.30% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.82% of the population.

There were 12,556 households out of which 40.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.1% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.7% were non-families. 19.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the town the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $133,819, and the median income for a family was $154,984 (these figures had risen to $137,253 and $159,413 respectively as of a 2014 estimate^[5]). Males had a median income of $96,071 versus $75,899 for females. The per capita income for the town was $63,570. About 1.1% of families and 1.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

Events

The town hosts the yearly Greasestock festival, a showcase of alternative fuel vehicles.^{[6][7][8][9][10]}

Railroads

Yorktown once had five stations along the New York and Putnam Railroad — Kitchawan, Croton Lake, Croton Heights, Yorktown Heights, and Amawalk. The railroad failed, was purchased by the New York Central Railroad, and was finally abandoned. The old right of way is now part of the North County Trailway, which runs north as far as Carmel, New York. There is currently no rail service in Yorktown, but there are multiple Metro-North Railroad stations nearby.

Buildings

Jefferson Valley Mall, the area's major shopping center, is located in Yorktown, in the hamlet of Jefferson Valley.

Business

IBM's Watson computer at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center

The headquarters for Contractors Register is located in the Hamlet of Jefferson Valley. Contractors Register publishes The Blue Book for Building & Construction: www.thebluebook.com.^[11]

Yorktown Heights is home to the main site of the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center.

The law office of Schoen & Peters Law, which represents Apple, Inc., is located in Yorktown.

Notable people

• Roy Colsey, Major League Lacrosse player, grew up in Yorktown
• Nargis Fakhri, Bollywood actress

Ryan Baker, born and raised in Yorktown. Captain of Lacrosse and Football team. He is known as the "goat" in Yorktown.

• Susan Faludi, American feminist, journalist, author, and Pulitzer Prize winner grew up in Yorktown.
• Robert Hannsen, convicted Russian spy, lived with his family in Yorktown at 2861 Mead St. in the mid-1980s
• Margaret Illington, stage actress popular in the first decade of the 20th century, lived on her Dreamlake estate in Yorktown^[12]
• Consuelo Kanaga, photographer and writer who became well known for her photographs of African-Americans
• Andrew Kavovit, actor, grew up in Yorktown
• Dave Matthews, singer/songwriter, lived with his family in Yorktown before he moved to Virginia
• William Keepers Maxwell, Jr., fiction editor for the The New Yorker and novelist^[13][14]
• Terrence Murphy, New York State Senator
• Buster Olney, ESPN baseball analyst and former New York Yankees beat writer
• Clifford A. Pickover, writer. In his book, The Mobius Strip, he models the fictional New Devonshire on Yorktown. Pickover has used the Jefferson Valley Mall as the locale for his book The Heaven Virus.
• Al Roker, meteorologist, used to live in Yorktown while he was married to the town clerk, Alice Roker. The Town Board selected Alice Roker to be the town supervisor for the last three months of 2007, following the resignation of supervisor Linda Cooper.
• Aaron Sabater, comedian and actor famous for the urban film Life Gap.^[15][16]
• Anthony "Romeo" Santos, Dominican-American born, Grammy Award winning artist.
• Lawrence Treat, mystery writer and pioneer of the genre of novels police procedurals^[17]
• Halsey (H.W.) Wilson, founder of the H. W. Wilson Company, a publisher, lived in the Croton Heights section of Yorktown^[18]

Communities and locations in Yorktown

Hamlets

• Crompond
• Jefferson Valley
• Mohegan Lake (not completely in the town of Yorktown)
• Shrub Oak
• Yorktown Heights

Neighborhoods

• Croton Heights
• Crow Hill
• Huntersville
• Kitchawan
• Osceola Lake
• Sparkle Lake
• Teatown (not completely in the town of Yorktown)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yorktown, New York.

• Citizens for an Informed Yorktown
• Town of Yorktown official website
• Yorktown (New York) at DMOZ
• Yorktown Heights Fire Department

Municipalities and communities of Westchester County, New York, United States
County seat: White Plains
Cities	Mount Vernon New Rochelle Peekskill Rye White Plains Yonkers
Towns	Bedford Cortlandt Eastchester Greenburgh Harrison Lewisboro Mamaroneck Mount Kisco Mount Pleasant New Castle North Castle North Salem Ossining Pelham Pound Ridge Rye Scarsdale Somers Yorktown
Villages	Ardsley Briarcliff Manor Bronxville Buchanan Croton-on-Hudson Dobbs Ferry Elmsford Harrison Hastings-on-Hudson Irvington Larchmont Mamaroneck Mount Kisco Ossining Pelham Pelham Manor Pleasantville Port Chester Rye Brook Scarsdale Sleepy Hollow Tarrytown Tuckahoe
CDPs	Armonk Bedford Bedford Hills Chappaqua Crompond Crugers Eastchester Fairview Golden's Bridge Greenville Hartsdale Hawthorne Heritage Hills Jefferson Valley–Yorktown Katonah Lake Mohegan Lincolndale Montrose Peach Lake‡ Scotts Corners Shenorock Shrub Oak Thornwood Valhalla Verplanck Yorktown Heights
Other hamlets	Archville Banksville Bedford Corners Cortlandt Manor Eastview Granite Springs Millwood Pocantico Hills Purchase Scarborough South Salem Sparta Waccabuc Wykagyl
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

Coordinates: 41°17′44″N 73°48′29″W / 41.29556°N 73.80806°W / 41.29556; -73.80806