North Castle, New York
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North Castle is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 10,849 at the 2000 census. It has no villages.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early Area History
It is believed that the last native inhabitants of North Castle were the Siwanoy people of the Algonquin group. The Siwanoy were taken by force in 1644 by Europeans. In the early 1700s King William gave his favorite courtiers the West Patent, of which the western portion of North Castle was a part, and the Middle Patent, the eastern part of North Castle.
At one time North Castle included all the territory that became incorporated as New Castle in 1791. The territory comprising both towns was once part of the Parish of Rye organized in 1693.
The area quickly became a refuge for people fleeing from religious persecution. People from Massachusetts and Connecticut settled the eastern part of North Castle, while Quakers from Rye and Long Island settled Armonk. By 1730, North Castle was already an established settlement.
The Rev. Mr. Wetmore of the Anglican Church, the Church of England, wrote in 1728 to the Venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts that North Castle was:
chiefly settled by people of no religion at all, very ignorant and barbarous being descendants of Long Island Quakers. The 1798 Quaker Meeting House has been saved by The North Castle Historical Society and restored on its property at 440 Bedford Road, Armonk.
[edit] Early Town History
Incorporated as the town of North Castle on March 7, 1788. On March 7, 1788, New York State passed an act for dividing the counties of the state into towns:
And that all that part of the said county of Westchester, bounded southerly by Mount Pleasant, the White Plains, the town of Harrison and Connecticut, easterly by Connecticut, Pound Ridge and Bedford, northerly by the Manor of Cortlandt and Bedford, and westerly by Bronx river and Mount Pleasant, shall be and hereby is erected into a town by the name of North Castle. North Castle's name is said to derive from a barrier built by the Mohican people to protect themselves from enemy attacks which stood on the hillside now occupied by the international headquarters of IBM Corporation. They called the site "North Fort" and European settlers later gave it the more elegant name of North Castle. The name Armonk is derived from another Mohican word, 'Cohamoog', which means 'the wide, flat place where the water runs'.
[edit] Revolutionary Times
During the Revolutionary War, New and North Castle were officially considered neutral territory. However, the area was strongly patriotic. One significant Revolutionary War conflict did occur in North Castle - The Battle of White Plains. This battle of October 28, 1776 was a series of short skirmishes between General Washington's small American army and General William Howe's much larger British & Hessian force. Although the British eventually won the confrontation, forcing Washington's troops to retreat, Howe never followed up this advantage by pursuing and capturing the American army. Thus, the battle served as a delaying action that allowed Washington's troops to withdraw to safety in New Jersey. As a result, many historians feel that the battle marked an important turning point in the war. One other important Revolutionary War event occurred in the North Castle area involving the infamous British spy, Major John Andre. In December 1780, Major Andre was captured in Tarrytown by American soldiers. Upon searching Andre they found concealed documents from American General Benedict Arnold that contained secret plans of West Point. Upon his arrest, Andre was first held in Thomas Wright's Mills (later known as Sands' Mills) at Mile Square. A month later Andre was hanged for treason.
The Elijah Miller house in North White Plains was several times the headquarters of General George Washington during the Revolutionary War. A few miles to the west (in present-day Mount Kisco) St. George's Church (or North Castle Church) served as a camp and hospital. A young Frenchman's diary dated July 6, 1781, reported of the area:
This whole country gives evidence of the horrors of war... All the Whigs here have abandoned their houses. Among them are some very handsome ones, deserted, half destroyed, or burned, with untended orchards and gardens filled with fruits and vegetables and driveways overgrown with grass two feet high...
One of the early taverns and site of town meetings, colonial militia headquarters, post office, and stagecoach stop -- Smith's Tavern - has been restored by The North Castle Historical Society at 440 Bedford Road, Armonk.
[edit] Nineteenth Century
During the early part of the 19th century, most North Castle residents were farmers. However, several small "cottage industries" did exist. For example, some farmers supplemented their income by becoming shoemakers or shirtmakers. The coming of the railroad in the 1840's marked the beginning of the shift away from the region's agricultural way of life. Towns without the railroad, such as North Castle, suffered economically.
Although the railroad by-passed North Castle, one so-called 'railroad' did run through the town. The Underground Railroad, which helped runaway slaves travel to freedom in Canada, operated a "station" between Armonk and North White Plains.
North Castle was also hurt economically by the Industrial Revolution since new manufacturing techniques made the local cottage industries impractical. From 1860 to 1900, North Castle's population declined from 2,200 to 1,470.
[edit] Twentieth Century
By the early 20th century, however, North Castle's economy improved dramatically due to the New York City purchase of reservoir land and the resulting building of the Kensico Dam in Valhalla (1909-1915) which used North Castle granite. Many of the European immigrant stone masons who built the dam later settled in the town's Quarry Heights section. Today, North Castle is a community that is ensuring an orderly rate of growth in order to preserve the quality of environment. Citizen participation in town affairs has been a long-standing tradition. It has had a major impact on the character of the community and will continue to make North Castle an exceptional town in which to live.
Source: http://www.northcastleny.com/history.html
The North Castle Public Library, Main Branch, is located in Armonk and is a member of the Westchester Library System. It has a branch in North White Plains.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 68.6 km² (26.5 mi²). 62.4 km² (24.1 mi²) of it is land and 6.2 km² (2.4 mi²) of it (9.06%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 10,849 people, 3,583 households, and 3,002 families residing in the town. The population density was 173.9/km² (450.4/mi²). There were 3,706 housing units at an average density of 59.4/km² (153.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 92.38% White, 1.76% African American, 0.03% Native American, 3.96% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.63% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.14% of the population.
There were 3,583 households out of which 44.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.6% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.2% were non-families. 13.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99 and the average family size was 3.28.
In the town the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $117,815, and the median income for a family was $141,764. Males had a median income of $86,950 versus $49,500 for females. The per capita income for the town was $60,628. About 1.0% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Communities in North Castle
- Armonk - A hamlet located in the central part of the town. Home of the town library and town hall.
- North White Plains - A hamlet located in the western part of the town.
- Banksville - A hamlet, also known as the "Eastern District of North Castle", located in the eastern part of the town, close to Connecticut.
[edit] Election 2005 - Supervisor
Reese Berman - 2,264 votes - 51%
- Party: Democratic, Independent
- Occupation: Councilman, North Castle Town Board
- Residence: North Castle (Armonk)
- Education: B.A., Smith Coll.,'61; M.L.S., Pratt Inst.,'69; M.Ed., Teachers Coll., Columbia U.,'88
- Statement: Protecting the environment; preserving open space and water quality in planning for careful growth. Controlling taxes while providing services residents want and need. Communicating issues and promoting open, participatory govt.
John A. Lombardi - 1,901 votes - 43%
- Party: Republican, Independence, Conservative
- Occupation: Supervisor, North Castle
- Residence: North Castle (North White Plains)
- Education: White Plains H.S.; Sales Production Institute, NYC
- Statement: Preventing real estate over-development from unduly straining our municipal services and degrading our quality of life, while keeping property taxes as low as possible.
Anthony J. Futia, Jr. - 233 votes - 5%
- Party: Libertarian
- Occupation: Supt., North Castle Water & Sewer Dept.
- Residence: North Castle (North White Plains)
- Education: White Plains H.S.; U.S. Naval Submarine School; NYU courses
- Statement: 32-yr. Supt. In-depth knowledge of local school, town, county and state govt. Insightful with solutions to govt. waste and flaws in tax structure. Cares about North Castle. Credible with integrity.
[edit] Election 2005 - Town Board
Gerard K. Geist - 2,548 votes - 32%
- Party: Democratic, Conservative, Independent
- Occupation: Atty.; Councilman
- Residence: North Castle (Bedford)
- Education: Mount Vernon H.S., '72; A.B., U. of North Carolina, Syracuse U., '76; J.D., Fordham U. Sch. of Law,'79
- Statement: The preservation of our community's land and, by doing so, its core values and culture. I am committed to developing new approaches to curb spending and to control tax increases.
William R. Weaver - 2,089 votes - 26%
- Party: Republican, Independence, Conservative
- Occupation: Owner, West. Aeronautical Corp.
- Residence: North Castle (Armonk)
- Education: Byram Hills H.S., '71; A.A.S. (Marketing), West. Community Coll.,'74
- Statement: Important issues: taxes, devt. and open space. We need to tighten spending, control devt. without onerous laws. Why has the town slowed down adding open space? We must increase it!
Anthony Baratta - 1,953 votes - 24%
- Party: Democratic, Independent
- Occupation: Atty., tax, real estate, matrimonial
- Residence: North Castle (Armonk)
- Education: B.S., John Jay Coll. of Criminal Justice, '80; J.D., Quinnipiac Sch. of Law,'83
- Statement: Progressive candidate with a new perspective, advocating thoughtful planning to protect North Castle from unrestrained devt., preserving our town's character, controlling taxes and protecting our open space and drinking water.
John L. Stipo - 1,398 votes - 18%
- Party: Republican, Independence, Independent
- Occupation: Ret. Police Officer
- Residence: North Castle (North White Plains)
- Education: Not reported
- Statement: Hold the line on taxes. Control govt. spending. Control devt. Better traffic control. Open meetings. Prudent town planning. Preserve open spaces. Bring local govt. back to the people.
[edit] Election results
Supervisor - 2005
- John Lombardi (Republican, Independence, Conservative) - 1,901 - 43%
- Reese Berman (Democrat, Protect North Castle) - 2,264 - 51%
- Anthony Futia, Jr. (Libertarian) - 233 - 5%
Councilman - 2005
- William Weaver (Republican, Independence, Conservative) - 2,089 - 26%
- John Stipo (Republican, Independence) - 1,398 - 18%
- Anthony Baratta (Democrat, Protect North Castle) - 1,953 - 24%
- Gerry Geist (Democrat, Conservative) - 2,548 - 32%
Supervisor - 2001
- John Lombardi (Republican) - 2,950 - 100%
Supervisor - 1999
- John Lombardi (Republican) - 1,562 - 100%
Supervisor - 1997
- John Lombardi (Republican) - 2,827 - 100%
Supervisor - 1989
- John Lombardi (Republican) - 2,126 - 74.21%
- John Stipo (Integrity) - 739 - 25.79%
[edit] Population Growth (1800-1990)
1800
- 1,168
1850
- 2,189
1900
- 1,471
1950
- 3,855
2000
- 10,849
Population growth in the Town of North Castle reflects the pattern of rural to suburban development typical of the post World War II years. Like many other suburban communities in Westchester County and the nation, the Town experienced a surge of population growth between 1940 and 1970. The overall rate of growth was moderate between 1970 and 1990 because of national economic conditions, including the rising cost of land, construction and interest, which helped to bring about a general decline in housing construction. The median price of houses sold in North Castle in 1998 was approximately $600,000.
