Chappaqua, New York

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This article is about the hamlet; for the film, see Chappaqua (film).

Chappaqua is a hamlet and census-designated place in northern Westchester County, New York. As of the 2000 census, the population was 9,468.

Chappaqua is located in the Town of New Castle. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton own a home in Chappaqua.

Nationwide, Chappaqua ranks 60th among the 100 highest-income places in the United States (with at least 1,000 households).

Contents

[edit] History

[1]

[edit] Origins of the Hamlet of Chappaqua

In the early 1730's a group of Quakers moved north from Purchase, NY to settle in present-day Chappaqua. They built their homes on Quaker Street and held their meetings at the home of Abel Weeks. Their meeting house was built in 1753 and still holds weekly meetings each Sunday. All sorts of spellings were used for the name they heard Native Americans use for their valley and hillside. It was an Algonquian word, "shah-pah-ka," and it meant "the rustling land" or "the rattling land," or a place where nothing is heard but the rustling of the wind in the leaves. The quakers spelled it Shapiqua, Shapaqua, Shapequa, Shappaqua, and, finally, Chappaqua. Their meeting was often referred to as the Shapequa Meeting as early as 1745.

[edit] Chappaqua and the American Revolution

From late 1776 to 1781, the main troop lines of the American Army moved back and forth between White Plains and Peekskill thirty miles to the North. As the American lines moved, the British lines also moved North and South, with a narrow "no man's land" always between the two sets of lines. It was well known that North Castle, and in particular, the Quaker village of Shapequa (the most common spelling of the time), were areas where pacifists and neutrals lived. Indeed, most of mid westchester was supposed to be "Neutral Ground." Rather than being left alone equally by both sides, though, it was raided by each side equally. The Quakers suffered terribly from this raiding. Crops and livestock were stolen and weapons were seized. The Chappaqua Quaker Meeting House on Quaker Street served as a hospitalm for Americans wounded after the Battle of White Plains in 1776 and again in 1778. It is probably true that General Washington visited his wounded troops there.

[edit] Creation of the Town of New Castle

On March 18, 1791, the government of New York decided to split the overly large town of North Castle (jokingly called "the two saddlebags") into two smaller towns, one of which was named New Castle. The border was drawn from the southwest corner of Bedford to the northeast edge of Mount Pleasant. New Castle's borders have remained the same since 1791, except for a small piece of land received from Somers in 1846.

[edit] Early businesses of Chappaqua

Chappaqua had great streams such as the Saw Mill River and the Roaring Brook. These bodies of water were used to power mills used to crush corn and press oil from beans. The eastern half of Chappaqua was very suitable for farming. The majority of the Quaker settlers of Chappaqua were farmers. The popular farming industry also helped give way to Chappaqua's high milk production. Other popular industries from Chappaqua include shoes, hardwear, vinegar, pickles, eyeglasses and furniture.

[edit] Railroad

In 1846 when the New York and Harlem Railroad extended through Chappaqua, business became centered around the new train station. These included, a hotel, livery stables, a public library, and various stores and small factories.

[edit] The First Rail Road Commuter, Horace Greeley

The coming of the railroad would mark the arrival of the commuter, the tireless person who travels to New York City and back everyday. One very famous commuter who would make his way back and forth from Chappaqua to NYC was Horace Greeley. Horace Greeley was a very successful editor of the New York Tribune, which he started in 1841 when he was only 30 years of age. This free-thinker and politician came to Chappaqua to live out the a quite and peaceful life of a country farmer. In 1853 he bought 78 acres of land just east of the railroad. His land included upland pastures near present-day Aldrich Road, Greeley Hill, and the marshy fields now the site of the Bell Middle School fields and the shopping area along South Greeley Avenue. Horace and his wife loved the streams, the large evergreen trees, and their clean, fresh, ice-cold spring. Horace Greeley's house resides behind the present-site of the Chappaqua Public Library

[edit] Schools

Today, the schools in Chappaqua are known as some of the best in the country. But this was not always so. With 18 student classes in 1890's and a one room schoolhouse, schools were less than accommodating. These shoolhouses were completely devoid of windows, creating an atmosphere that was restrictive to learning. By standards of today, these schoolhouses were the worst possible educational facilities. In the Chappaqua region there were eight such schoolhouses, each as devoid of sunlight and full of opressive air as the last. These small schools prevailed until around 1870, when the Quakers built a large school called the Chappaqua Mountain Institute on the aptly named Quaker Street. In the year 1885 the school caught fire, and much refurbishing was done, with the addition of two new wings. It was sold in 1908 and now belongs to the Children's Aid Society. Around 1928, Robert E. Bell Middle School, known at the time as Horace Greeley School, was built. The present day Horace Greeley High School was built in 1957, with Roaring Brook School being completed earlier in 1951, Grafflin being built in 1962, and next Westorchard in 1971. Finally, Seven Bridges Middle School was built in 2003 and added to the town's school system as a solution to the overcrowding of previously the only middle school in Chappaqua, Robert E. Bell. Before Seven Bridges was constructed, all students, regardless of which middle school they attended, would have moved on to Robert E. Bell. But, because of population growth, half now move up to Bell and half move up to Seven Bridges.

[edit] Geography

Chappaqua is located at 41°9′57″N, 73°45′55″W (41.165925, -73.765244)GR1.

Parts of the Chappaqua ZIP code area are located in the Towns of Mount Kisco, New Castle, Millwood, Mount Pleasant, Yorktown, and Bedford.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 24.4 km² (9.4 mi²). 24.3 km² (9.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.64%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 9,468 people, 3,118 households, and 2,687 families residing in the Census-designated place. The population density was 389.7/km² (1,009.8/mi²). There were 3,181 housing units at an average density of 130.9/km² (339.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.80% White, 0.94% African American, 0.03% Native American, 5.62% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 1.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.55% of the population.

There were 3,118 households out of which 52.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 79.1% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.8% were non-families. 11.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 32.8% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $163,201, and the median income for a family was $180,451. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $71,875 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $77,835. About 2.3% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Additional information

Substantially all of the hamlet of Chappaqua is included in the Chappaqua Central School District. The school district consists of Roaring Brook, Westorchard, and Douglas G. Grafflin Elementary Schools; Robert E. Bell and Seven Bridges Middle Schools; and Horace Greeley High School. Nearly all graduates attend 4-year colleges.

Chappaqua's above-average house prices have been linked to the quality of its public schools. [2]

Like in many suburbs and rural areas in the Northeast, Emergency Medical Service and fire service are provided by volunteer agencies. The Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps (CVAC) provides Basic Life Support services to most of New Castle, including Chappaqua. The hamlet is protected by the New Castle Police Department, which provides first-response services for medical and fire emergencies, too.

Chappaqua is the birthplace of Festivus, the secular holiday invented by resident and Reader's Digest editor Daniel O'Keefe. His son, Dan O'Keefe, popularized the holiday in 1997 by writing it into the plot of the television sitcom Seinfeld.

[edit] Famous residents

Some notable Chappaqua residents, past and present, include:

[edit] Famous structures

  • The Chappaqua Friends Meeting House, circa 1753, is the oldest Quaker meeting house standing in Westchester County.
  • America's first concrete barn. It was completed by Horace Greeley on his Chappaqua farm in 1865. It was also one of the first concrete buildings ever built in the U.S.
  • World headquarters of Reader's Digest (physically located in Chappaqua, however its mailing address is in neighboring Pleasantville, New York).
  • One of Horace Greeley's homes. Part of the original structure still stands, and is part of the present-day New Castle Historical Society.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Warde, Robert (1982). Chappaqua: Our Connections to Its Past. Chappaqua Central School District (CCSD).
  2. ^ "...the school districts in which the houses are situated. This fact, more than any other, may determine the value of a home.
    Maerhoff, Gene I. (1982-10-17). As the Schools Go, So Do House Prices. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2006-09-01.

[edit] External links

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