Cortlandt is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

, New York, United States, located at the northwestern edge of the county, at the eastern terminus of the

Bear Mountain Bridge The Bear Mountain Bridge, ceremonially named the Purple Heart Veterans Memorial Bridge, is a toll suspension bridge in New York State. It carries US 6 and US 202 across the Hudson River between Bear Mountain State Park in Orange Co ...

. The town includes the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

s of Buchanan and Croton-on-Hudson.

History

The Bear Mountain Bridge Road and Toll House and the

Old Croton Dam The Old Croton Dam is a historic dam located in Yorktown, Westchester County, New York, now lying submerged beneath the waters of the New Croton Reservoir. The dam was built on the Croton River between 1837 and 1842, and was the first substantia ...

are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. Cortlandt is also known for its Revolutionary War history, specifically the location of the strategic Kings Ferry between Stony Point and Verplanck's Point, which

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

's army used to cross the Hudson on its march to

Yorktown, Virginia Yorktown is a census-designated place (CDP) in York County, Virginia. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1682. Yorktown's population was 195 as of the 2010 census, while York Co ...

, in 1781. John Trumbull's full-length oil portrait of '' Washington at Verplanck's Point'' exists in two versions.

Geography

The town's western borders are the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

and the city of

Peekskill Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, from New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across fr ...

. Its northern borders are the towns of Philipstown and Putnam Valley in Putnam County. Its eastern border is the town of Yorktown. Its southern borders are the towns of New Castle and Ossining. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 21.51%, is water.

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 38,467 people in 13,517 households, including 10,137 families, in the town. The population density was 969.7 people per square mile (374.4/km). There were 14,065 housing units at an average density of 354.5 per square mile (136.9/km). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the town was 88.60% White, 4.59% African American, 0.21% Native American, 2.57% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.35% from other races, and 1.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.19%. Of the 13,517 households 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.3% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 21.3% of households were one person and 8.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.22. The age distribution was 26.5% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% 65 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males. The median household income was $75,442 and the median family income was $89,053. Males had a median income of $59,949 versus $41,115 for females. The per capita income for the town was $33,432. About 2.9% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Commuter service to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

is available via the Cortlandt train station and the Croton-Harmon train station, served by Metro-North Railroad. Croton-Harmon is also served by Amtrak. U.S. Route 9 passes through the town along the Hudson River side. The

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian ...

(AT) runs through a very small portion of the north west portion of the town near and over the

, which is the only section of the AT in Westchester County NY.

Government

Cortlandt is governed by a town board and the Town Supervisor is Dr. Richard Becker, who replaced Linda Puglisi as the longest-serving Town Supervisor in the 200+-year history of the town(30 years). The mayors of Buchanan and Croton are Theresa Knickerbocker and Brian Pugh, respectively. Law enforcement services in Cortlandt are provided by the

New York State Police The New York State Police (NYSP) is the state police of the state of New York in the United States. It is part of the New York State Executive Department, and employs over 5,000 sworn state troopers and 711 civilian members. History The Stat ...

and the

Westchester County Department of Public Safety There are forty-five Law enforcement agency, local police agencies in Westchester County, New York. As well as other county, state, and federal Law enforcement agencies, agencies responsible for protecting Westchester County, these agencies frequen ...

. The villages of Buchanan and Croton-on-Hudson also have their own, independent police departments.

Communities and locations in Cortlandt

* Buchanan – the village of Buchanan * Cortlandt Manor – a hamlet in the Town of Cortlandt * Crompond – A hamlet partially in the Town of Cortlandt * Croton-on-Hudson – the village of Croton-on-Hudson * Crugers – a hamlet of Cortlandt. *Furnace Woods * Montrose – a hamlet of Cortlandt. Includes Cortlandt station. * Mount Airy – a neighborhood *Oscawana – includes Oscawana Island *Pleasantside *Roe Park *Toddville *Valeria *Van Cortlandtville – The John Jones Homestead, Old St. Peter's Church, and

Van Cortlandtville School Van Cortlandtville School, also known as Common School District No. 10, is a historic school building located at Van Cortlandtville, Westchester County, New York. It was built about 1850 and is a small, one story, brick vernacular Gothic Revival st ...

are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. * Verplanck – a hamlet of Cortlandt *Woodybrook

References

External links

Town of Cortlandt official website
{{authority control Towns in Westchester County, New York Towns in the New York metropolitan area