Suffern, New York

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The Village of Suffern, New York, viewed from the top of Nordkop Mountain

Suffern is a village in Rockland County, New York, USA near the southern border of the county and the state in the Town of Ramapo. As of the 2000 census, Suffern population was 11,006.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Trivia
5 Famous natives and residents
6 External links

[edit] History

The Village of Suffern was founded in 1896. John Suffern, for whom the town is named, settled near the base of the Ramapo Mountains in 1773. It was originally called New Antrim, after Suffern's hometown in Ireland. New Antrim's location was considered strategically important in the American Revolutionary War due to its location near Ramapo Pass.

During the war, George Washington and his regiment made camp in the village. The main street of Suffern is named after Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette. On August 25, 1781, French troops encamped in New Antrim. A historical marker on Washington Avenue, near Lafayette Avenue, identifies the area as "Rochambeau's Encampment 1781-1782". Comte de Rochambeau made his headquarters at John Suffern's New Antrim Tavern.

The first railroad line across Rockland County (the Erie Railroad) was built in 1841 and ran from Piermont to Ramapo. By 1851, the line was extended to Lake Erie, and was considered an engineering marvel. The tracks are now owned by the Norfolk Southern line.

In 1897, Avon Products built a small (3000 square foot) laboratory in Suffern; by 1971 the lab would grow into the 323,000 square foot Avon Suffern Research and Development facility. In late 2005, construction was finished on a state-of-the art, 225,000 square foot facility that would become Avon's global hub for research and development. The new building was constructed on the same site as their previous R&D facility, which was demolished for site parking.

In 1916, what would become New York State Route 59, which reached from Nyack to Spring Valley in 1915, was extended to Suffern and Ramapo Hamlet.

In 1972, the Salvation Army moved their School for Officer Training to a 30-acre site in Suffern.

[edit] Geography

Location of village within the Town of Ramapo and Rockland County, New York.

Manhattan skyline from Nordkop Mountain in Suffern.

Suffern is located at 41°6′43″N, 74°8′45″W (41.111828, -74.145796)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 5.5 km² (2.1 mi²). 5.4 km² (2.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (1.42%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 11,006 people, 4,634 households, and 2,836 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,033.2/km² (5,265.8/mi²). There were 4,762 housing units at an average density of 879.7/km² (2,278.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 86.83% White, 3.53% African American, 0.26% Native American, 2.83% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 4.52% from other races, and 1.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.87% of the population.

There were 4,634 households out of which 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.6% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the village the population was spread out with 20.1% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $59,754, and the median income for a family was $74,937. Males had a median income of $46,959 versus $36,093 for females. The per capita income for the village was $29,208. About 3.5% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.6% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Trivia

Suffern High School provided the high school scenes for The Manhattan Project which featured John Lithgow, Christopher Collet, and Cynthia Nixon.

Suffern was the "fictional" setting for Aidan's country house in the HBO TV Show "Sex And The City", Season 4, Episodes 57:Sex and the Country and 58:Belles of the Balls of Sex and the City. Suffern is portrayed as a rustic farm town somewhere outside New York City. In reality, Suffern is densely populated with a population of over 11,000. Most likely, producers chose Suffern because its name closely resembles the term "sufferin'" which aptly describes protagonist Carrie's experience when roughing it outside the city. Sex and the City also features Cynthia Nixon.

SUNY's Rockland Community College, while not in Suffern proper, is the location of the annual Northeast Astronomer's Forum (NEAF) sponsored by Sky and Telescope magazine and the Rockland Astonomical Society.