Rockland County, New York
Encyclopedia : R : RO : ROC : Rockland County, New York
Rockland County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of 2000, the population was 286,753. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. The county seat is New City. The name comes from "rocky land," an early description of the area given by settlers. Largely suburban in nature, Rockland is New York's smallest county and its southernmost county west of the Hudson River.
Rockland County ranks 21st on the list of highest-income counties by median household income in the United States with $67,971. It is served by area code 845.
Rockland County, known as The Gateway to the Hudson River Valley is 16 miles from New York City
History
The area that would become Rockland County was originally inhabited by Algonquin Indians, including Mohegans and Munsees, or Lenni Lenape.In 1609, Henry Hudson, thinking he had found the legendary "Northwest Passage", sailed up the river that would one day bear his name and anchored near the area that is now Haverstraw before continuing to disillusionment at Albany.
The area was originally settled by the Dutch, and a number of unique Dutch-style red sandstone houses still stand, and many placenames in the county reveal their Dutch origin.
When the Duke of York (who became King James II of England) established the first twelve counties New York in 1683, present-day Rockland County was part of Orange County. Orangetown was created at the same time, originally encompassing all of modern Rockland County. Haverstraw was separated from Orangetown in 1719 and became a town in 1788; it included the present-day Clarkstown, Ramapo and Stony Point. Clarkstown and Ramapo became towns in 1791, followed by Stony Point in 1865. Rockland County was split from Orange County in 1798.
During the American Revolution, when the control of the Hudson River was viewed by the British as strategic to dominating the American territories, Rockland saw skirmishes at Haverstraw, Nyack and Piermont, and significant military engagements at the Battle of Stony Point, where General "Mad" Anthony Wayne earned his nickname. George Washington was headquartered for a time at John Suffern's tavern, later site of Suffern.
British Major John André, met with American traitor Benedict Arnold near Stony Point to buy the plans for the fortifications at West Point. André was captured with the plans in Tarrytown on his way back to the British lines; he brought to Tappan for trial in the Tappan church, found guilty, hanged and buried nearby.
The American Industrial Revolution was supplied, in part, from forests and iron mines in Rockland county. Resource utilization extracted a heavy toll on the region, especially lumbering and agriculture, since the poor, thin soils on hillsides were easily depleted. By the early 1900s development along the lower Hudson River had begun to destroy much of the area's natural beauty.
Many unsuccessful efforts were made to turn much of the Hudson Highlands into a forest preserve. However, when the State of New York tried to relocate Sing Sing Prison to Bear Mountain in 1909, some of the wealthy businessmen who had made homes in the area, led by Union Pacific Railroad president E. H. Harriman, donated land as well as large sums of money for the purchase of properties in the area of Bear Mountain. Bear Mountain/Harriman State Park became a reality in 1910, and by 1914 it was estimated that than a million people a year were coming to the park.
Law/Government
County Executive
The county executive is C. Scott Vanderhoef (R), who was re-elected in 2005 to his fourth four-year term. He is the second county executive in Rockland history, having defeated the incumbent, John Grant (D), in 1993. Prior to 1985, Rockland County did not have a county executive.County Legislature
Rockland is divided into 17 single-member legislative districts. The Chairwoman of the Legislature is Harriet Cornell (D). The other legislators are: Gerold Bierker (R-C), William Darden (D), Edwin Day (R), Theodore Dusanenko (R), David Fried (D), Michael Grant (D), Ellen Jaffee (D), Douglas Jobson (R), John Murphy (R), Patrick Moroney (R), V.J. Pradhan (D), Roman Rodriguez (D), Ilan Schoenberger (D), Philip Soskin (D), and Alden Wolfe (D).Geography
Rockland County lies just north of the New Jersey-New York border, west of the Hudson River, and south of Orange County.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 516 km² (199 mi²). 451 km² (174 mi²) of it is land and 65 km² (25 mi²) of it (12.60%) is water. Approximately 30% of Rockland County is parkland.
The highest elevation in the county is Rockhouse Mountain, at 391 m (1,283 feet). However, nearby Jackie Jones Mountain also has a summit above 390 m (1,280 feet) whose exact elevation is not known and may well be higher.
The lowest elevation is sea level along the Hudson River.
Rockland is the smallest county in New York outside of New York City.
Adjacent counties
- Orange County (northwest/north)
- Putnam County, across the Hudson River (northeast)
- Westchester County, across the Hudson River (east)
- Bergen County, New Jersey (south)
- Passaic County, New Jersey (west)
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 286,753 people, 92,675 households, and 70,989 families residing in the county. The population density was 636/km² (1,646/mi²). There were 94,973 housing units at an average density of 210/km² (545/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 76.91% White, 10.98% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 5.52% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 3.78% from other races, and 2.51% from two or more races. 10.18% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.There were 92,675 households out of which 37.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.80% were married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.40% were non-families. 19.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.47.
In the county the population was spread out with 28.00% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 11.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $67,971, and the median income for a family was $78,806. Males had a median income of $51,148 versus $37,032 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,082. About 6.30% of families and 9.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.30% of those under age 18 and 7.60% of those age 65 or over.
The county is also home to several large Orthodox Jewish communities, especially in the hamlet of Monsey, and the villages of New Square, Kaser, New Hempstead, and Wesley Hills.
Communities in Rockland
Towns
There are five towns in Rockland County:Incorporated villages
There are nineteen incorporated villages in Rockland County, twelve of which are located at least partially in the town of Ramapo:- Airmont (Town of Ramapo)
- Chestnut Ridge (Ramapo)
- Grand View-on-Hudson (Orangetown)
- Haverstraw (Haverstraw)
- Hillburn (Ramapo)
- Kaser (Ramapo)
- Montebello (Ramapo)
- New Hempstead (Ramapo)
- New Square (Ramapo)
- Nyack (Orangetown/Clarkstown)
- Piermont (Orangetown)
- Pomona (Haverstraw/Ramapo)
- Sloatsburg (Ramapo)
- South Nyack (Orangetown)
- Spring Valley (Ramapo/Clarkstown)
- Suffern (Ramapo)
- Upper Nyack (Clarkstown)
- Wesley Hills (Ramapo)
- West Haverstraw (Haverstraw)
There are no villages in the town of Stony Point.
Unincorporated hamlets
Rockland County has a number of unincorporated hamlets, including:- Bardonia (Town of Clarkstown)
- Blauvelt (Orangetown)
- Central Nyack (Clarkstown)
- Congers (Clarkstown)
- Garnerville (Haverstraw)
- Grassy Point (Stony Point)
- Hillcrest (Ramapo)
- Jones Point (Stony Point)
- Ladentown (Ramapo)
- Monsey (Ramapo)
- Mount Ivy (Haverstraw)
- Nanuet (Clarkstown)
- New City (Clarkstown)
- Orangeburg (Orangetown)
- Palisades (Orangetown)
- Pearl River (Orangetown)
- Sparkill (Orangetown)
- Stony Point (Stony Point)
- Tappan (Orangetown)
- Thiells (Haverstraw)
- Tomkins Cove (Stony Point)
- Valley Cottage (Clarkstown)
- Viola (Ramapo)
- West Nyack (Clarkstown)
Historical settlements
- Doodletown (Town of Stony Point) in Harriman State Park is now a ghost town.
External links
- [Rockland County official website]
- [Rockland History]
- [Rockland County Page at Hudson Valley Directory]
- [Rockland County elected officials]
- [Early history summary of Rockland County]
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