Hastings-on-Hudson, New York

Hastings-on-Hudson
—  Village  —
Municipal building
Hastings-on-Hudson
Location within the state of New York
Coordinates:
Country United States
State New York
County Westchester
Town Greenburgh
Area
 • Total 2.9 sq mi (7.5 km2)
 • Land 2.0 sq mi (5.2 km2)
 • Water 0.9 sq mi (2.3 km2)
Population (2010)
 • Total 7,849
 • Density 2,706.6/sq mi (1,045/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 10706
Area code(s) 914
FIPS code 36-32710
GNIS feature ID
Website http://hastingsgov.org/

Hastings-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in the southwest part of the town of Greenburgh. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 7,849.[1] It lies on U.S. Route 9, "Broadway" in Hastings. Hastings is a suburb of New York City.

Contents

History

The area that is now Hastings-on-Hudson was once the home of the Weckquaesgeek Native Americans, one of the Algonquian tribes. In summer, the Weckquaesgeeks camped at the mouth of the ravine running under the present Warburton Avenue Bridge. There they fished, swam and collected oyster and clamshells used to make wampum. On the level plain nearby (which is now Maple Avenue), they planted corn and possibly tobacco.

Around 1650 a Dutch carpenter named Frederick Philipse arrived in New Amsterdam. In 1682 Philipse traded with the Indians for the area that is now Dobbs Ferry and Hastings. In 1693 the English crown granted Philipse title to the Manor of Philipsburg, which included what is now Hastings-on-Hudson. After dividing the area into four nearly equal-sized farms, the Philipses leased them to Dutch, English and French Huguenot settlers.

During the American Revolution, what is now Hastings lay between the lines of the warring forces and was declared neutral territory. In reality, the area became a no-man's land and was raided repeatedly by both sides. Following the Revolution, the Philipses, who had been loyal to George III, saw their vast lands confiscated and sold by the newly established American state. In 1785 the four farms comprising today’s Hastings were bought by James DeClark, Jacobus Dyckman, George Fisher, and tavern keeper Peter Post.

Around the same time, Westchester County, which had been established as one of the 10 original counties in New York, was divided into towns, and the area that is now Hastings became part of the town of Greenburgh. The village was incorporated in 1879 and its name changed from Hastings-Upon-Hudson to Hastings-on-Hudson.

Stone quarrying was the earliest industry in Hastings. From 1865 to 1871, hundreds of Scottish and Irish laborers blasted huge quantities of dolomite marble from a white marble quarry. An inclined railroad carried the marble down to the quarry wharf where it was dressed by skilled stonecutters and loaded onto ships bound for cities like New York and Charleston, South Carolina.

By the 1880s, Hastings Pavement was producing hexagonal paving blocks which were used extensively in Central Park and Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Between 1895 and 1900, Hastings Pavement produced 10 million such blocks and shipped them throughout the United States and to cities in Canada, Brazil and England. By 1891 the National Conduit and Cable Company had established an operation on the waterfront producing cables for utility companies here and abroad. Labor strife between striking workers of the National Cable and Conduit Company in 1912 left four people dead. Two were striking workers; the remaining two were innocent bystanders. Similar labor unrest occurred in 1916, whereby the village was put under house arrest.

During World War I, 200 National Guardsmen were stationed in Hastings because of the security interests of the National Conduit plant and a chemical plant opened by Frederick G. Zinsser that produced a wood alcohol called Hastings Spirits.[2]

The Anaconda Copper Company took over National Conduit in 1929, and a few years later acquired the Hastings Pavement property. By the end of World War II, Anaconda owned most of the industrial waterfront. Anaconda closed its Hastings plant in 1975, bringing to an end the century-long era of heavy industry on the Hastings waterfront.[3]

Billie Burke, actress (the "Good Witch" in the Wizard of Oz) lived in Hastings and left her property to the school district, which still owns it.

Benjamin Franklin Goodrich, from Ripley in western New York, used real estate profits to purchase the Hudson River Rubber Company, a small business in Hastings. The following year Goodrich relocated to Akron, Ohio.

Children's Village, a boarding facility for children in difficult circumstances, which is located in the neighboring town of Dobbs Ferry, sold about 50 acres (200,000 m2) of its property that was in Hastings to a developer in 1986. The developer was planning to build close to 100 homes that would result in traffic on the narrow, hilly, local roads adjoining Hillside Elementary School. Local residents formed a committee "Save Hillside Woods" and through various organizations raised close to $800K. The 1987 stock market crash and the subsequent receivership of the bank that held the mortgage on the property resulted in the purchase of this property from the FDIC with the funds accumulated and a bond floated by the Village of Hastings to expand Hillside Woods and maintain the green space and the indigenous flora and fauna that abound there.

Geography

Hastings-on-Hudson is located at (40.991102, -73.874114)[4] in an area of hills on the Hudson River opposite the Palisades cliffs, north of the city of Yonkers. The village lies along the banks of the Hudson River, and its several hills afford beautiful views of the river, the Palisades and Manhattan to the south.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.5 km2), of which 2.0 square miles (5.2 km2) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km2), or 32.65%, is water.

Commuter rail service to New York City is available via the Hastings-on-Hudson train station, served by Metro-North Railroad's Hudson line.

Demographics

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 7,648 people, 3,093 households, and 2,090 families residing in the village. The population density was 3,899.7 people per square mile (1,506.6/km²). There were 3,193 housing units at an average density of 1,628.1 per square mile (629.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 89.79% White, 2.35% African American, 0.17% Native American, 4.14% Asian, 1.82% from other races, and 1.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.50% of the population.

There were 3,093 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the village the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.9 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $83,188, and the median income for a family was $129,227. Males had a median income of $76,789 versus $50,702 for females. The per capita income for the village was $48,914. About 1.5% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 1.9% of those age 65 or over.

Attractions and recreation

Hastings-on-Hudson has many attractions and places for recreation, including:

Famous Hastings residents

References

External links