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Westchester County is a suburban county with about 940,000 residents located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. It was named after Chester, in England. The county seat is White Plains.

History

The first Europeans to explore Westchester were Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524 and Henry Hudson in 1609. The first white settlers were sponsored by the Dutch West India Company in the 1620s and 1630s. English settlers arrived from New England in the 1640s.

Westchester County was an original county of the Province of New York, one of twelve created in 1683. At the time, it also included the present Bronx County, which constituted the Town of Westchester and portions of three other towns: Yonkers, Eastchester, and Pelham. In 1846, a new town, West Farms, was created by secession from Westchester; in turn, in 1855, the Town of Morrisania seceded from West Farms. In 1873, the Town of Kingsbridge seceded from Yonkers.

In 1874, the western portion of the present Bronx County, consisting of the then towns of Kingsbridge, West Farms, and Morrisania, was transferred to New York County, and in 1895 the remainder of the present Bronx County, consisting of the Town of Westchester and portions of the towns of Eastchester and Pelham, was transferred to New York County. By that time, the portion of the town of Eastchester immediately north of the transferred portion had seceded from the town of Eastchester (1892) to become the City of Mount Vernon so that the Town of Eastchester had no border with New York City. In 1914, those parts of the then New York County which had been annexed from Westchester County were constituted the new Bronx County.

At least in part due to the wealth of some of its residents, their manicured lawns and country clubs — the county has 25 — Westchester has acquired an image of affluence, homogeneity, insularity, and elitism. Like most stereotypes, this is a false generalization. Westchester is an economically and demographically diverse region, neither at peace nor a haven of snobs. It is home to a maximum security state prison, Sing Sing, and a nuclear power plant, Indian Point. Westchester is among the most densely populated counties in the U.S., and has a slightly higher crime rate than that of neighboring suburban counties.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,295 km² (500 mi²). 1,121 km² (433 mi²) of it is land and 174 km² (67 mi²) of it (13.45%) is water.

Westchester County is in the southeastern part of New York State. It is bordered to the south by the borough of The Bronx in New York City, to the west by the Hudson River (New Jersey is across the river from Yonkers; most of the rest of the county is across the Hudson from Rockland County), to the east by Connecticut and the Long Island Sound (Nassau County lies to the southeast across Long Island Sound), and to the north by Putnam County.

The highest elevation in the county is a U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey benchmark known as "Bailey" at 300 m (985 feet) above sea level in Mountain Lakes Park near the Connecticut state line. The lowest elevation is sea level, along both the Hudson and Long Island Sound.

In popular conception, Westchester County is generally divided into northern and southern areas. The northern portion (places north of Interstate 287/Cross Westchester Expressway) is often seen as rural and wealthy; the southern portion (White Plains and south) is more urban. These generalities, however, do not necessarily hold true in all communities. For example, Bronxville, Larchmont, Rye and Scarsdale in the southern portion are among the wealthiest communities in the entire U.S., and Peekskill in the northern portion is relatively urban and low-middle income. The Westchester County Department of planning divides the county into North, Central and South sub-regions*.

At the closest point, Westchester is only 2 miles north of Manhattan (from Broadway & Caryl Avenue in southern Yonkers to Broadway & West 228th Street in the Marble Hill section of Manhattan) One can walk this distance in about 40 minutes, the amount of time it would typically take to drive from Westchester to Manhattan. However, most places in Westchester are much farther from most places in Manhattan than this unusual example may suggest.

Cities

There are six cities in Westchester County.

Towns and Villages

There are 19 towns in Westchester County. Any land area in the county that is not contained in one of the cities is in a town. A town may contain zero, one or multiple villages. The towns of Harrison, Mount Kisco, and Scarsdale are coterminous with the village of the same name. Two villages are split between two towns—Briarcliff Manor crosses the border between Ossining town and Mount Pleasant, and Mamaroneck village straddles the boundary between Mamaroneck town and Rye town.

With the exception of the towns of Rye and Pelham, all the towns contain area and residents which do not belong to any village. These areas may contain communities referred to as hamlets. Hamlets have no legal status and depend upon the town for all municipal government and services. There are also areas called census-designated places (CDPs), which are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. A CDP may or may not correspond to a hamlet.

Because some municipalities have the same name, it is often necessary to indicate whether one is referring to the city, town, village, or hamlet. For example, the town of Rye is completely separate from the city of Rye. Pelham is the name of a town and also of a village in the town. The village of Mamaroneck is located partially in the town of Mamaroneck and partially in the town of Rye, but has nothing to do with the city of Rye.

The towns are listed as follows:

  • Town
    • Villages (if any), one per bullet
    • CDPs (if any), all listed on a single bullet
    • Communities not in a village or CDP (if any), all listed on a single bullet

(The list of towns, villages and CDPs is complete. The listing of additional communities should not be considered complete.)

Government

The county executive is Andrew J. Spano (D). The district attorney is Janet DiFiore (R). The county clerk is Timothy C. Idoni (D).

The Board of Legislators has seventeen members, each representing a district in the county; eleven of them are Democrats and six are Republicans :

  1. George Oros (R) minority leader
  2. Ursula G. LaMotte (R)
  3. Suzanne R. Swanson (R)
  4. Michael B. Kaplowitz (D)
  5. William J. Ryan (D)
  6. Martin Rogowsky (D) majority leader
  7. Judith A. Myers (D)
  8. Lois T. Bronz (D)
  9. William Burton (D)
  10. Vito J. Pinto (D)
  11. James Maisano (R)
  12. Thomas J. Abinanti (D)
  13. Clinton I. Young, Jr. (D)
  14. Bernice Spreckman (R)
  15. Gordon A. Burrows (R)
  16. Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D)
  17. José I. Alvarado (D)

Politics

Presidential elections results
Year Republican Democrat
2004 40.3% ''159,628 58.1% ''229,849
2000 37.5% ''139,278 58.6% ''218,010
1996 35.9% ''123,719 56.9% ''196,310
1992 40.1% ''151,990 48.6% ''184,300
1988 53.4% ''197,956 45.8% ''169,860
1984 58.7% ''160,225 41.1% ''229,005
1980 54.4% ''198,552 35.6% ''130,136
1976 54.3% ''208,527 45.1% ''173,153
1972 62.8% ''262,901 36.9% ''154,412
1968 50.3% ''201,652 43.4% ''173,954
1964 37.9% ''149,052 62.0% ''243,723
1960 56.6% ''224,562 43.2% ''171,410
Although the county used to lean Republican, it swung Democratic in the early 1990s much like other New York City suburbs, and nowadays Westchester voters tend to be far more Democratic than the rest of the nation. In fact, Westchester, after New York City and Albany, has produced the biggest margins for statewide Democrats in recent years. Democratic voters are mainly in the southern and central parts of the county. 58% of Westchester County voters chose John Kerry in the U.S. presidential election of November 2004, the highest total of any New York county outside New York City, Albany, or Tompkins (Ithaca, New York).

However, Westchester County is less Democratic in state and local elections, as well as in the northern part of the county. Hence, it voted for Pataki with a margin of 23.07% against his Democratic opponent in the gubernatorial race of 2002, and of 26.22% in 1998. Governor Pataki hails from Westchester, where he previously served as mayor of Peekskill prior to being elected governor. Peekskill and the northern part of the county are also part of the congressional district currently represented by Sue Kelly, a moderately conservative Republican. Nita Lowey or Eliot Engel, both of whom are Democrats, represents most of the rest of the county (Engel's district also includes parts of the Bronx). Additionally, Jeanine Pirro, a prominent New York Republican who ran a short-lived campaign against Hillary Rodham Clinton for the U.S. Senate in 2006 served as district attorney of Westchester County. County Executive Spano is just the second Democrat to hold the post in at least a half-century.

Westchester County is the home of former president Bill Clinton and New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who live in Chappaqua, New York.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 923,459 people, 337,142 households, and 235,325 families residing in the county. The population density was 824/km² (2,134/mi²). There were 349,445 housing units at an average density of 312/km² (807/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 71.35% White, 14.20% African American, 0.25% Native American, 4.48% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 6.63% from other races, and 3.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.61% of the population. 64.1% were Whites, not of Hispanic origins.

There were 337,142 households out of which 34.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.90% were married couples living together, 12.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.20% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.00% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.30 males.

According to 2006 HUD data, he median income for a household of one person in the county was $67,555 and the median income for a family of four was $96,500.

The per capita income for the county was $36,726. About 6.40% of families and 8.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.00% of those under age 18 and 7.60% of those age 65 or over.

The Census Bureau estimates 2003 population at 940,302*.

The largest census reviewed area in Westchester County is the City of Yonkers, New York's fourth-largest city, with a population of almost 200,000. The smallest is the community of Scotts Corners in the town of Pound Ridge with a population of 624.

Population time line

Transportation

Westchester County is served by Interstate 87 (the New York State Thruway), Interstate 95, Interstate 287 and Interstate 684. Parkways in the county include the Bronx River Parkway, the Cross County Parkway, the Hutchinson River Parkway, the Saw Mill River Parkway, the Sprain Brook Parkway and the Taconic State Parkway. The Tappan Zee Bridge connects Tarrytown to Rockland County across the Hudson River. The Bear Mountain Bridge crosses the Hudson from Cortlandt to Orange County.

The development corridors in the county have defined sections and follow transportation corridors. The main north-south corridors are, from west to east, the Route 9/Albany Post Rd/Broadway Corridor along the Hudson River from Yonkers in the South to Peekskill/Cortlandt in the North. The Saw Mill River Parkway Corridor traverses the country in a north-eastern path, beginning in Yonkers, and terminating at I-684 in Bedford, mostly following the path of the Putnam Branch of the New York Central Railroad, which was abandoned in March 1970 (and which has largely been replaced by a paved path known as the South County and North County Trailways). The Sprain Brook Parkway traverses the county's midsection from a point in Yonkers where it breaks off from the Bronx River Parkway until Hawthorne about 15 miles north where it merges with the Taconic State Parkway and continues until I-90 near Albany. The Hutchinson River Parkway lines the eastern county, from the Bronx (terminating at the Long Island crossing - the Whitestone Bridge) until the Connecticut state line in Greenwich, where it becomes the Merritt Parkway. I-684 begins at a junction with the Hutchinson River Parkway and I-287 in Harrison, and continues north into Putnam County (with a brief stretch in Greenwich, Connecticut) through Bedford and North Salem. The eastern most corridor is the I-95/New England Thruway which traverses the county on the Long Island Sound, from the Pelhams through the Town of Rye and into Connecticut. The East-West corridors are the Cross County Parkway, which traverses the southern county from Yonkers in the west through New Rochelle in the east, terminating at the Hutchinson River Parkway. The Cross Westchester Expressway/I-287 is the mid-county corridor spanning from the Tappan-Zee Bridge in Tarrytown to the west to I-95/New England Thruway in the east. The northern-most corridor is that approximating the US-202 route from Cortlandt, and the Bear Mountain Bridge, to Lewisboro and the Connecticut border. But unlike the more southerly corridors, US-202 is for the most part not a limited-access highway and has frequent traffic lights.

Robert Moses and others once proposed a bridge connecting Westchester with Nassau County, most likely using I-287 to do so. Public opposition was fierce, and the New York state government abandoned the plan.

Commuter train service in Westchester is provided by Metro-North Railroad (operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority). Metro-North operate three lines in the county; west to east, they are the Hudson, the Harlem and the New Haven lines, each of which stops in the Bronx between Westcheter and Manhattan. Amtrak serves Croton-Harmon, New Rochelle and Yonkers.

Bus service is provided by the Bee-Line Bus System (operated by the Westchester County Department of Transportation) both within Westchester and to Manhattan (BxM4C). The MTA Bus Company also runs the BxM3 to and from Getty Square in Yonkers to Midtown Manhattan.

Westchester County Airport is adjacent to White Plains.

Education

Public School Districts

There are forty public school districts in Westchester County*. Most school districts do not adhere to municipal boundaries, although the six city school districts do have the same boundaries as their cities.

  • Ardsley Union Free School District
  • Bedford Central School District
  • Blind Brook-Rye School District
  • Briarcliff Manor UFS
  • Bronxville UFSD
  • Byram Hills Central School
  • Chappaqua Central School
  • Croton Harmon UFSD
  • Dobbs Ferry UFSD
  • Eastchester UFSD
  • Edgemont UFSD - Greenburgh
  • Elmsford UFSD
  • Greenburgh Central School
  • Harrison Central School
  • Hastings Central School
  • Hendrick Hudson Central School
  • Irvington Union Free School
  • Katonah Lewisboro UFSD
  • Lakeland Cent. Sch. Shrub Oak
  • Mamaroneck UFSD
  • Mount Pleasant Central School
  • Mount Vernon City School
  • New Rochelle City School
  • North Salem Central School
  • Ossining Union Free School
  • Peekskill City School
  • Pelham Union Free School
  • Pleasantville UFS
  • Pocantico Hills
  • Port Chester - Rye UFS
  • Rye City Schools
  • Rye Neck UFS
  • Scarsdale UFS
  • Somers Central School District
  • Tarrytown UFSD
  • Tuckahoe UFS
  • Valhalla UFS
  • White Plains City Schools
  • Yonkers City Schools
  • Yorktown Central School

This list excludes Special Act Grade Organization districts, which overlap the districts listed above.

Private Schools

High Schools
  • Academy of Our Lady of Good Counsel,White Plains
  • Archbishop Stepinac HS, White Plains
  • Blessed Sacrament - St. Gabriel HS, New Rochelle
  • Cathedral Prep Seminary, Rye
  • Daytop Village Secondary School, Hartsdale
  • German School of New York, White Plains
  • Hackley School, Tarrytown
  • Hallen Center, Mamaroneck
  • The Harvey School, Katonah
  • Iona Prep School, New Rochelle
  • John F. Kennedy Catholic HS, Lincolndale
  • The Karafin School, Inc., Somers
  • Keio Academy of New York, Purchase
  • Maria Regina HS, Hartsdale
  • The Masters School, Dobbs Ferry
  • NY School of the Deaf, White Plains
  • Our Lady of Victory Academy, Dobbs Ferry
  • Rye Country Day School, Rye
  • Sacred Heart HS, Yonkers
  • Salesian HS, New Rochelle
  • School of the Holy Child HS, Rye
  • Soundview Prep School, North Tarrytown
  • Thornton Donovan School, New Rochelle
  • Ursuline School, New Rochelle
  • Westchester Hebrew, HS Mamaroneck
  • Yeshiva Farm Settlement School, Mount Kisco
  • Yeshivath Ohr Hameir, Peekskill

Elementary, Junior High and Special Schools

  • Academy of Our Lady of Good Counsel, White Plains
  • Annunciation School, Crestwood
  • Bedford Christian School, Bedford
  • Bereshith Cultural School, Mount Vernon
  • Berjan School, Mamaroneck
  • Cardinal McCloskey School, Ossining
  • The Caring Place, New Rochelle
  • The Chapel School, Bronxville
  • Christ the King School, Yonkers
  • The Clearview School, Scarborough
  • Corpus Christi School, Port Chester
  • Early Childhood - Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville
  • Eyes & Ears World, Inc., Yonkers
  • Ferncliff Manor, Yonkers
  • French-American School of New York
  • Holy Family School, New Rochelle
  • Holy Innocents School, Brewster
  • Holy Name of Jesus School, Valhalla
  • Holy Name of Jesus School, New Rochelle
  • Holy Rosary ES, Hawthorne
  • Holy Rosary School, Port Chester
  • Hudson Country Montessori School, New Rochelle
  • Immaculate Conception School, Irvington
  • Immaculate Conception School, Tuckahoe
  • Immaculate Heart of Mary School, Scarsdale
  • Immanuel Lutheran School, Mount Vernon
  • Iona Grammar School, New Rochelle
  • Leake & Watts Children’s Home School, Yonkers
  • Margaret Chapman School, Hawthorne
  • Martin Luther King Child Development Ctr., New Rochelle
  • Milestone School, Fleetwood
  • Mohawk Country Home School, White Plains
  • Montessori Children’s Room, Armonk
  • Mount Tom Day School, New Rochelle
  • Mt. Carmel St. Anthony School, Yonkers
  • New Rochelle Catholic ES, New Rochelle
  • The Northern Westchester Chinese School, Yorktown
  • Oakview Prep of SDA, Yonkers
  • Orchard School - Andrus Child Home, Yonkers
  • Our Lady of Assumption School, Peekskill
  • Our Lady of Fatima School, Scarsdale
  • Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School, Elmsford
  • Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, Pelham Manor
  • Our Lady of Sorrows School, White Plains
  • Our Lady of Victory School, Mount Vernon
  • Our Montessori School Yorktown, Heights
  • Resurrection School, Rye
  • Ridgeway Nursery School & Kindergarten, White Plains
  • Rippowam Cisqua School, Bedford
  • Sacred Heart, Yonkers
  • Sacred Heart School, Hartsdale
  • Sacred Heart / Mt. Carmel School - Arts, Mount Vernon
  • The Seed Day Care Center, Yorktown Heights
  • Solomon Schechter Day School, White Plains
  • SS John & Paul School, Larchmont
  • SS Peter & Paul School,Mount Vernon
  • St. Agnes Hospital - Early Childhood, White Plains
  • St. Ann School, Yonkers
  • St. Ann School, Ossining
  • St. Anthony School W., Harrison
  • St. Anthony School, Yonkers
  • St. Augustine School, Cortlandt Manor
  • St. Bartholomew School, Yonkers
  • St. Casimir School, Yonkers
  • St. Columbanus School, Cortlandt Manor
  • St. Denis School, Yonkers
  • St. Elizabeth Ann School, Shrub Oak
  • St. Eugene School, Yonkers
  • St. Gregory the Great School, Harrison
  • St. John the Baptist School, Yonkers
  • St. John the Evangelist School, White Plains
  • St. Joseph School, Bronxville
  • St. Joseph School, Croton Falls
  • St. Jude Habilitation Institute, Tarrytown
  • St. Mark Lutheran School, Yonkers
  • St. Mary School, Yonkers
  • St. Matthew’s School, Hastings-on-Hudson
  • St. Patrick School, Bedford Village
  • St. Patrick School, Yorktown Heights
  • St. Paul the Apostle, Yonkers
  • St. Peter School, Yonkers
  • St. Theresa School, Briarcliff Manor
  • St. Ursula’s Learning Center, Mount Vernon
  • Transfiguration School, Tarrytown
  • Transitional Learning Center, New Rochelle
  • UCP of Westchester, New Rochelle
  • Westchester Area School, New Rochelle
  • Westchester Day School, Mamaroneck
  • Westchester Exceptional Children Center, Purdys
  • Westchester School for Special Children, Yonkers
  • Windward School, White Plains
  • Yeshiva Day School of Lincoln Park, Yonkers
  • Yonkers Christian Academy, Yonkers

Colleges and universities

Libraries

Westchester County is served by the Westchester Library System*. Established in 1958, the Westchester Library System comprises 38 public libraries.

Historic and cultural attractions

Interesting facts

External links

North: Putnam County
West: Hudson River
Rockland County and Bergen County, New Jersey		 Westchester County East: Fairfield County, Connecticut
South: Bronx County

New York counties | Westchester County, New York | 1683 establishments

Westchester County | Comté de Westchester | Westchester County, New York | Condado de Westchester | Hrabstwo Westchester

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Westchester County, New York".

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