| Suffern, New York | |
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| — Village — | |
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Suffern, New York
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Rockland |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.1 sq mi (5.5 km2) |
| • Land | 2.1 sq mi (5.4 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2) |
| Elevation | 312 ft (95 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 11,006 |
| • Density | 5,265.8/sq mi (2,033.2/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 10901 |
| Area code(s) | 845 |
| FIPS code | 36-71894 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0970678 |
Suffern is a village in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of the State of New Jersey; east of Hillburn; south of Montebello and west of Airmont. As of the 2010 census, Suffern's population was 10,723.
The village is one of the more urban communities in Rockland County.
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"The Point of the Mountains" or "Sidman's Clove" were names used in designating the present village of Suffern before the Revolution. The area originally was inhabited by the Ramapough (Monsey (Minsi)) Indians, who were a division of the great Delaware or Lenape Indian Nation. Upon Sidman's death this land passed into the hands of his son-in-law, John Smith, who sold it to John Suffern.
The Village of Suffern was founded in 1796. John Suffern, first Rockland County judge, 1798–1806, settled near the base of the Ramapo Mountains in 1773, and called the place New Antrim, after his home in County Antrim, Ireland, where his Huguenot ancestors had settled circa 1585. New Antrim's location was considered strategically important in the American Revolutionary War due to its location near Ramapo Pass. General George Washington and other important military leaders used John Suffern's home as headquarters when they were in the area.
Suffern is part of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail, the W3R-NHT, under the auspices of the National Park Service. This trail commemorates the route followed by General Washington and French comte de Rochambeau as they traveled to Yorktown, VA. In 1780, King Louis XVI of France had sent the comte and approximately 5,000 troops to aid the Americans in their struggle for independence from British rule. The comte de Rochambeau landed in Newport, Rhode Island on July 10, 1780. A year later, he led his troops across New England, making encampment with thousands of French and Revolutionary soldiers in Suffern on the night of August 25, 1781 (as denoted on a marker in Suffern, other dates around this time are listed for this encampment). In Yorktown, the troops led by General Washington and the comte joined forces with 3,000 Virginia militia led by the Marquis de Lafayette. They fought British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and his forces at the Siege of Yorktown, forcing surrender on October 19, 1781. This victory ultimately led to the end to America’s War of Independence.
Rochambeau made encampment in Suffern again on September 13, 1782, as he retraced his steps to return home. An historical marker on the Washington Avenue side of the Lafayette Theatre identifies this site of "Rochambeau's Encampment 1781–1782." At the time of the encampment, this site was directly across the road from village founder, John Suffern's home and tavern where the comte de Rochambeau actually stayed. The Suffern Furniture Company now is located where this house once stood. (An article on the website of the W3R-US offers additional information: www.w3r-us.org "Our W3R Ancestors/John Suffern" )
During the war, Commander-in-Chief General Washington and his regiment made camp in the village several times. Lafayette Avenue, the main street of Suffern, is named in honor of Revolutionary War hero Marie Joseph Paul Yves Rock Gilbert du Motier, better known as the Marquis de Lafayette.
Other guests who took advantage of Suffern's hospitality included Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Burr, who later became the 3rd Vice President of the United States, General George Clinton who became the first (and longest-serving) elected Governor of New York, and then 4th Vice President of the United States under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Washington.
Smith's Clove, Sidman's Clove – From Suffern to Monroe was a main route of travel through western Hudson Highlands. The main road was Albany Post Road, one of oldest roads in the state, which served as the stagecoach line between Albany and New York City and was heavily traveled in winter once the Hudson River froze. The 20 miles (32 km) of road through the Pass became the Orange Turnpike (now Route 17). Tolls were collected from 1800 until 1886 to maintain and improve the road. The New York State Thruway now runs through the Pass. The south entrance to the town was garrisoned during the Revolution with General Washington ordering as many as 400 soldiers be stationed there at all times.
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 consideration for the right-of-way given it by Judge Edward Suffern, son of founder John, to lay track across his six miles of land, the Erie Railroad named their depot "Suffern's," and the village became known as Suffern, not New Antrim as it had been called by John Suffern.
Suffern is designated as a gateway to the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area: www.hudsonrivervalley.com
In 1897, Avon Products, known then as California Perfume Company, built a 3,000-square-foot (280 m2) laboratory in Suffern; by 1971 the lab would grow into the 323,000-square-foot (30,000 m2) Avon Suffern Research and Development facility. In late 2005, construction was finished on a state-of-the art, 225,000-square-foot (20,900 m2) 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 1924, Lafayette Theatre, also named for the Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette, opened its doors.
In 1972, the Salvation Army moved their School for Officer Training to a 30-acre (120,000 m2) site in Suffern.
In June 2005, Phillip Esposito, a New York Army National Guard officer from Suffern, was killed in a fragging incident during the Iraq War.
Suffern is located at (41.111828, −74.145796)[1].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.4 km2), of which, 2.1 square miles (5.4 km2) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) of it (1.42%) is water.
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 11,006 people, 4,634 households, and 2,836 families residing in the village. The population density was 5,265.8 people per square mile (2,033.2/km²). There were 4,762 housing units at an average density of 2,278.4 per square mile (879.7/km²). 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.
The Village of Suffern's chief executive is the mayor. Currently, the mayor is Dagan LaCorte. The village is represented in the United States House of Representatives by Eliot Engel. In state government, it is represented by Senator David Carlucci and Assemblywomen Ellen Jaffee and Annie Rabbitt. The Village of Suffern falls within the borders of the Town of Ramapo, run by Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence. The village is represented in county government by County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef and Legislators Alden Wolfe and Joseph Meyers.
Suffern station serves both local and express trains, operated by New Jersey Transit to Hoboken Terminal with connecting service at Secaucus Junction to Pennsylvania Station. Most New Jersey Transit Main Line trains terminate at Suffern; Metro-North Railroad-supported Port Jervis Line trains continue into Orange County to Port Jervis. Transport of Rockland bus service serves Suffern.
U.S. Route 202 New York State Route 59, Interstate 287, and Interstate 87, also known as the New York State Thruway go through Suffern.
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