Katonah, New York

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Katonah, New York is one of three unincorporated hamlets within the town of Bedford, Westchester County.

1 History
2 Community
3 Culture
4 External links

[edit] History

Katonah is named for Chief Katonah, an American Indian from whom the land of Bedford was purchased by a group of English colonists. Founded with the name Whitlockville, the town changed its name, and later was moved to its present site in 1897, when its former site (Old Katonah) was flooded by the construction of the Cross River Reservoir. More than fifty buildings were moved from the old site to New Katonah, pulled by horses along timber tracks. The move was originally ordered to start in 1894, but litigation delayed the process by almost three years.

[edit] Community

Downtown Katonah is known to be a chic part of the Town of Bedford. Filled with an array of historical Victorian structures and classic 1950s suburban homes, the town features dozens of upscale shops and boutiques that cater to its upper-middle class residents, with not one retail/chain store or eatery. For example, in the late 1990s, Starbucks wanted to build a store in the downtown area, but locals protested it, saying it would disrupt Katonah's folksy character. Ironically, a store extremely similar to Starbucks moved into the spot that Starbucks was originally considering, but this cafe was founded by a local resident. The surrounding countryside includes the John Jay Homestead, the home of John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Nearby is The Harvey School, a private day school which offers 5 day boarding founded in the 19th Century, which counts among its alumni "Doonesbury" cartoonist Garry Trudeau. Martha Stewart also lives in Katonah, just down the road from the John Jay estate.

Katonah is a town of 12,438, according to the 1990 US Census, with a 55:45 female:male ratio. The town is 90.9% White, 4.7% Black, 4.0% Latin or Hispanic, 2.1% Asian, and 0.4% Native American. (Data based on 10536 ZIP code; Katonah was not specifically enumerated.)

Katonah is often styled as a "village" by its residents. For example, its library is called the Katonah Village Library. However, "village" has a legal meaning in New York. Katonah is not a village, but merely a hamlet, a non-legally-defined section of a town. Katonah does have its own ZIP code, 10536, and a Metro-North station. It is also part of the Katonah-Lewisboro school district.