Westchester County, New York

"Westchester County" redirects here. For the eponymous ship, see USS Westchester County (LST-1167).

Westchester County, New York
County
Clockwise from top: Lyndhurst mansion (Tarrytown), Saw Mill River in Getty Square (Yonkers), Kensico Dam (Valhalla), Playland Park (Rye), Battle of White Plains memorial (White Plains)
90px px County flag 75px px County seal
Named for: Chester, England
Country	United States
State	New York
Region	Hudson Valley
River	Hudson
Coordinates
Lowest point	Sea level (at the Hudson River and Sound)
- elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Area	500 sq mi (1,295 km2)
- land	430 sq mi (1,114 km2)
- water	69 sq mi (179 km2)
Population	972,634 (2014)
Density	873.3 / km2 (2,262 / sq mi)
Founded	1683
County Executive	Robert P. Astorino (R)
Timezone	North American Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	105xx-108xx
Area code	914
Congressional districts	16th, 17th, 18th
County seat	White Plains
Largest city	Yonkers
FIPS code	36-119
GNIS feature ID	974157
Location of Westchester County within the state of New York
Wikimedia Commons: Westchester County, New York
Website: westchestergov.com

Westchester County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of , consisting of 48 municipalities. According to the 2010 Census, the county had a population of 949,113, estimated to have increased by 2.5% to 972,634 by 2014. Established in 1683, Westchester was named after the city of Chester, England. The county seat of Westchester is the city of White Plains.

According to 2011 U.S. Census Bureau data, the per-capita income in the county was $47,814 and the median income for a household in the county was $77,006. In terms of household income, Westchester County is the fifth-wealthiest county in New York (after Nassau, Putnam, Suffolk, and Rockland Counties) and is the forty-seventh wealthiest county nationally. Westchester County ranks second after New York County in terms of highest median income per person, with a higher concentration of incomes in smaller households.

The county's location places New York City, Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island, and Long Island Sound to its south, Putnam County to its north, Fairfield County, Connecticut to its east, and Rockland County as well as Bergen County, New Jersey across the Hudson River to the west. Westchester is the first suburban area of its scale in the world to develop, due mostly to the upper-middle class development of entire communities in the late 19th century, and the subsequent rapid population growth.

History

Civil War monument at Philipse Manor Hall in Getty Square, Yonkers

At the time of European contact in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Native American inhabitants of present Westchester County were part of the Algonquian peoples, whose name for themselves was Lenape, meaning the people. They called the region Lenapehoking, which consisted of the area around and between the Delaware and Hudson Rivers. Several different tribes occupied the area, including The Manhattans, and the Weckquaesgeek and Siwanoy bands of the Wappinger in the south, and Tankiteke, Sintsink and Kitchawank Wappinger in the north.

Philipsburg Manor House in Sleepy Hollow

The first European explorers to visit the Westchester area were Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524 and Henry Hudson in 1609. Dutch settlers began arriving in the 1620s, followed by settlers from England in the 1640s. Westchester County was one of the original twelve counties of the Province of New York, created by an act of the New York General Assembly in 1683. At the time it included present day Bronx County, and abutted then-Dutchess County to the north. By 1775, Westchester was the richest and most populous county in the colony of New York. Although the Revolutionary War devastated the county, recovery after the war was rapid. In 1788, five years after the end of the war, the county was divided into 20 towns. In 1798, the first federal census recorded a population of 24,000 for the county.

Two developments in the first half of the 19th century – the construction of the first Croton Dam and Aqueduct, and the coming of the railroad – had enormous impact on the growth of Westchester. The Croton Dam and Aqueduct was begun in 1837 and completed in 1842; now a National Historic Landmark, the Croton Aqueduct is considered one of the great engineering achievements of the 19th century. In the 1840s, the first railroads were built in Westchester, and included the New York and Harlem Railroad, the Hudson River Railroad, and the New York and New Haven Railroad. The railroads often determined the growth of a town, and the population shifted from Northern to Southern Westchester. By 1860, the total county population was 99,000, with the largest city being Yonkers.

The period following the American Civil War enabled entrepreneurs in the New York area to create fortunes, and many built large estates, such as Lyndhurst, in Westchester. During the latter half of the 19th century, Westchester's transportation system and labor force attracted a manufacturing base, particularly along the Hudson River and Nepperhan Creek. In 1874, the western portion of the present Bronx County, was transferred to New York County; and in 1895 the remainder of the present Bronx County, was also transferred to New York County. These would later split from Manhattan to form their own county.

During the 20th century, the rural character of Westchester would transform into the suburban county known today. The Bronx River Parkway, completed in 1925, was the first modern, multi-lane limited-access roadway in North America. The development of Westchester's parks and parkway systems supported existing communities and encouraged the establishment of new ones, transforming the development pattern for Westchester. With the need for homes expanding after World War II, multistory apartment houses appeared in the urbanized areas of the county, while the market for single-family houses continued to expand. By 1950, the total County population was 625,816. Major interstate highways were constructed in Westchester during the 1950s and 1960s. The establishment of these roadways, along with the construction of the Tappan Zee Bridge, led to further growth in the county.

Geography

Davids' Island off New Rochelle

Westchester County is located in southern New York. It shares its southern boundary with New York City and its northern with Putnam County. It is bordered on the west side by the Hudson River and on the east side by the Long Island Sound and Fairfield County, Connecticut.According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 500 square miles (1,300 km²), of which 430 square miles (1,100 km²) is land and 69 square miles (180 km²) (14%) is water.

Where Pelham Manor meets Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, the southern border of Westchester is just under 11 miles (18 km) from Columbus Circle in Manhattan. At over 2,700 acres (11 km²), Pelham Bay Park is the largest of New York City's parks, forming a substantial buffer between suburban Westchester and the urban Bronx, while Van Cortlandt Park to the west acts as a similar buffer.

Westchester's Long Island Sound shore is generally rocky, interspersed with tidal mud flats, marshes and wetlands, as well as several natural and artificially-maintained sand beaches. Municipal and County owned parks provide access to beaches, nature preserves and passive and active waterfront recreational facilities. Several large harbors lie along the shore including Milton Harbor, Mamaroneck Harbor, Larchmont Harbor, Echo Bay, and the upper and lower harbors in New Rochelle. A number of islands can be found offshore from New Rochelle. Davids' Island, the former location of the U.S. Army’s Fort Slocum, is currently unoccupied but is slated for use as passive parkland; Glen Island is a County park; Huckleberry Island is largely undeveloped, and has one of the largest rookeries in western Long Island Sound; Echo Island is used by a private yacht club; Execution Rocks is the site of a 19th-century lighthouse listed on the National Register of Historic Places; Columbia, Pea, and Goose Islands are undeveloped; Clifford, Harrison and Tank Islands are part of a nature preserve and city park; while Oak and Pine Islands are used as private residences.

The widest section of the Hudson River, at 3.6 miles (6 km), is found between the Westchester and Rockland County shorelines immediately north of Croton Point. In Colonial times, this area was called the Tappan Zee or Sea. The Hudson River is tidal and brackish through Westchester and contains a small number of estuarine marshes. Two bridges span the Hudson in Westchester: the Bear Mountain Bridge crosses at Cortlandt and the Tappan Zee Bridge at Tarrytown. Municipal, county and state-owned parks provide access to waterfront landmarks and sites, including Croton Point in Croton, Kingsland Point in Sleepy Hollow and JFK Memorial Marina in Yonkers.

The Hudson River waterfront in Westchester is in a transitional period, converting from primarily industrial uses to mixed residential, commercial, retail, and recreational uses. This transformation is most notable in Yonkers, Hastings-on-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington, Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, Ossining, and Peekskill, where redevelopment projects are in various stages of design and completion. In 2004, the county began a project to create Westchester RiverWalk, a walkway along the Hudson River of which will provide pedestrian access between New York City and Putnam County. 32.9 miles of the route are complete and accessible.

The Kensico Dam in Valhalla

The New Croton Reservoir is the largest of many in the county.

At 980 feet (300 m), the highest elevation in the county is a U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey benchmark known as "Bailey" in Mountain Lakes Park near the Connecticut state line. The lowest elevation is sea level, along both the Hudson and Long Island Sound.

Westchester County is divided into six primary drainage basins or watersheds which are: the Upper and Lower Long Island Sound; and the Bronx, Upper Hudson, Lower Hudson, and Croton River basins. Within these primary drainage basins are approximately 60 smaller basins, or subwatersheds. The principal streams draining the southern part of the county include Beaver Swamp Brook, Blind Brook, Bronx River, Hutchinson River, Mamaroneck River, Saw Mill River, Sheldrake River, Stephenson Brook and Tibbetts Brook. The primary streams draining the central part of the county include Byram River, Kisco River, Mianus River, Mill River, Pocantico River and Silvermine River. The principal streams draining the northern part of the county include Dickey Brook, Furnace Brook, Hallocks Mill Brook, Hunter Brook, Muscoot River, Peekskill Hollow Brook, and Titicus River. The county contains several major reservoirs; The Croton system and the Kensico Reservoir are important components of the New York City water supply system. The system is a series of interconnected reservoirs and lakes in northern Westchester and Putnam Counties that provide 10% of New York City’s water under normal conditions and up to 30% in times of drought. The components of the system include the New Croton Reservoir, the Cross River Reservoir, the Titicus Reservoir, the Amawalk Reservoir, and the Muscoot Reservoir. Other major reservoirs are the Kensico and Byram Lake Reservoir, while there are a number of smaller reservoirs throughout the county.

The Westchester County Department of Planning divides the county into North, Central and South sub-regions.

Geology

The rock that underlies Manhattan and Westchester is chiefly gneiss and mica-schist, with layers of dolomitic marble and serpentine.

Climate

The climate of Westchester County is primarily regarded as humid continental (Koppen Dfa), and is somewhat cooler than the humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa) of New York City, sometimes by as much as 15 °F. Winters are cold throughout the county and summers are hot inland but cooler towards the coast. Precipitation is plentiful and in some areas reaches over 45 inches. Snowfall is more common in Westchester than in New York City, with the exception of the southwest of the county where snowfall is often between 40 and 60 inches . In January, less dense areas have a low of 16-18 °F and a high of 30–34 °F while dense areas like Yonkers and White Plains have a low of 20–25 °F and a high of 35-40 °F. In the summer, this effect is much milder. Coastal areas (Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Rye, Port Chester) have highs of 80–83 °F and lows of 62–66 °F, while inland highs will be 84–86 °F and lows will be 60-66 °F. Winds can be heavy, especially by the coast.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1790	23,978		—
1800	27,428		14.4%
1810	30,272		10.4%
1820	32,638		7.8%
1830	36,456		11.7%
1840	48,686		33.5%
1850	58,263		19.7%
1860	99,497		70.8%
1870	131,348		32.0%
1880	108,988		−17.0%
1890	146,772		34.7%
1900	184,257		25.5%
1910	283,055		53.6%
1920	344,436		21.7%
1930	520,947		51.2%
1940	573,558		10.1%
1950	625,816		9.1%
1960	808,891		29.3%
1970	894,404		10.6%
1980	866,599		−3.1%
1990	874,866		1.0%
2000	923,459		5.6%
2010	949,113		2.8%
Est. 2014	972,634		2.5%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010 and 2014

As of 2010, there were 949,113 housing units at an average density of 807 per square mile (312/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 57.4% non-Hispanic White, 15.6% African American, 0.4% Native American, 5.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 7.6% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.8% of the population. 71.7% spoke only English at home, while 14.4% spoke Spanish, 3.5% Italian, 1.1% Portuguese and 1.1% French at home.

There were 337,142 households of which 34% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.21.

Age distribution was 25% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 14% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.30 males.

According to census data, the per capita income for the county in 1999 was $36,726. The American Community Survey lists Westchester in 2011 with the median household income of $77,006, the 47th highest in the country. The Census Bureau reports that 6.4% of families and 8.7% (2003) of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.53% of those under age 18 and 7.60% of those age 65 or over.

Expatriates

As of 2000, several different expatriate populations lived in Westchester County. These include Australians, Brazilians, French, Germans, Japanese, and New Zealanders. The Australians, Brazilians, and New Zealanders had a preference for Scarsdale and a lesser preference for Rye. The French lived in Larchmont, Mamaroneck, and New Rochelle. The Germans had a primary preference for White Plains and have also settled in Mamaroneck, Rye, and Scarsdale. The Japanese had a primary preference for Scarsdale and also lived in Eastchester, Hartsdale, Harrison, and Rye.

Culture and recreation

Libraries

Main article: Westchester Library System

Westchester County is served by the Westchester Library System, established in 1958. The system comprises 38 public libraries.

Historic sites

Philipse Manor Hall in Yonkers

Main article: Historic sites in Westchester County

See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Westchester County, New York

Philipse Manor Hall, built around 1682, is the oldest standing building in Westchester. It is located in Getty Square, Yonkers, and is operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

The former Edwin H. Armstrong House is the only delisted National Historic Landmark in Westchester. Current National Historic Landmarks in the county are:

• The Aaron Copland House
• The Armour-Stiner House
• The Boston Post Road Historic District
• The Elephant Hotel
• The John Hartford House
• The John William Draper House
• The John Jay Homestead
• Kykuit
• Lyndhurst
• The Thomas Paine Cottage
• Old Croton Aqueduct
• Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow
• Philipse Manor Hall
• The Philipsburg Manor House
• Playland
• St. Paul's Church
• Stepping Stones
• Sunnyside
• Thomas Paine Cottage
• Van Cortlandt Manor
• Villa Lewaro

Other attractions

• Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens, Purchase
• The Emelin Theatre, Mamaroneck
• Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah
• Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase

• Teatown Lake Reservation, Ossining
• Westchester Jazz Orchestra, Chappaqua
• Westchester Philharmonic, White Plains
• Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Katonah

Government

The Westchester County Government is headed by County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican. The district attorney is Janet DiFiore, a Democrat. The county clerk is Timothy C. Idoni, a Democrat.

Board of Legislators

Main article: Westchester County Board of Legislators

The Westchester County Board of Legislators is the legislative branch of Westchester County. The County Board has seventeen members and is led by a majority coalition of two Democrats and seven Republicans. The current board chair is Michael Kaplowitz.

Law enforcement

Main article: Law enforcement in Westchester County

There are currently 42 local police agencies located in Westchester County. As well as other county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies responsible for protecting Westchester County, these agencies frequently work with one another and other agencies.

Emergency services

Westchester County has a wide array of emergency services and is the home to 58 fire departments, 42 ambulance services, two Haz-Mat teams, a volunteer technical rescue team, a fire academy and a fire investigations unit. Each department has career, volunteer or a combination of personnel. Westchester County Department of Emergency Services operates the main dispatching system for EMS and fire departments, located in Valhalla. The department also provides numerous support services for the various agencies throughout the county.

The Career Chief's Association, a cooperative of career fire departments, also operates the Special Operations Task Force. The force consists of six squad companies that can be rapidly assembled for a major hazarous materials incident, CBRNE event, collapse or confined space rescue, or other incident requiring a large number of HazMat or rescue technicians. Over 700 firefighters, police officers and EMS providers were trained to be part of this effort and serve over half the population of Westchester County including Yonkers, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, White Plains, Scarsdale, Eastchester, and the Fairview, Hartsdale, and Greenville Fire Departments in the Town of Greenburgh.

Politics

Presidential elections results

Year	Republican	Democratic
2012	37.2% 143,122	61.8% 240,785
2008	35.8% 147,824	63.4% 261,810
2004	40.3% 159,628	58.1% 229,849
2000	37.5% 139,278	58.6% 218,010
1996	35.9% 123,719	56.9% 196,310
1992	40.1% 151,990	48.6% 184,300
1988	53.4% 197,956	45.8% 169,860
1984	58.7% 229,005	41.1% 160,225
1980	54.4% 198,552	35.6% 130,136
1976	54.3% 208,527	45.1% 173,153
1972	62.8% 262,901	36.9% 154,412
1968	50.3% 201,652	43.4% 173,954
1964	37.9% 149,052	62.0% 243,723

Although the county historically leaned Republican, it swung Democratic in the early 1990s – much like other New York City suburbs. In the most recent national elections, Westchester voters tended to be far more Democratic than the national average. In fact, Westchester, after New York City and Albany County, has produced the biggest margins for statewide Democrats in recent years. Democratic voters are mainly concentrated in the southern and central parts of the county. More than 63 percent of Westchester County voters voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential race, the seventh-highest percentage of any New York county.

Currently, all three US congressional representatives from Westchester County are Democrats. Nita Lowey and Eliot Engel represent most of the county; Eliot Engel's district includes parts of the Bronx and Rockland County, and Nita Lowey's reaches into Rockland County. Westchester's third representative is freshman Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney, a former advisor to Bill Clinton, who was elected in 2012, defeating Republican incumbent Nan Hayworth.

However, Westchester is less Democratic in state and local elections. For instance, it voted for Republican George Pataki, by a margin of 23.07% against Democratic candidate, Carl McCall in the gubernatorial race of 2002, and by 26.22% in 1998. Pataki hails from Westchester, where he previously served as mayor of Peekskill prior to being elected governor.

Former County Executive Andrew Spano is just the second Democrat to hold the post in at least a half-century. In 2006, county legislator Andrea Stewart-Cousins defeated 20-year incumbent Nicholas Spano for a seat in the New York State Senate in a rematch of the 2004 race, which she had lost by only 18 votes. His brother, Assembly Member Mike Spano, switched parties in July 2007 to become a Democrat. Current district attorney Janet DiFiore also switched parties from Republican to Democrat in August 2007. In 2009, Republican Rob Astorino ousted three-term county executive Andy Spano, who had the endorsement of the New York Conservative Party, winning in a landslide. Astorino became the first Republican county executive since Andrew O'Rourke left the post in 1997. In 2011, the GOP broke the Democratic two-thirds majority in the county legistature by picking up two seats. The current composition is ten Democrats to seven Republicans.

Westchester County was the home of US Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, who occupied the Kykuit mansion near the hamlet of Pocantico Hills.

The county is also home to US President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who live in Chappaqua. Former First Lady Barbara Bush grew up in Rye.

Education

Main article: Education in Westchester County

Westchester County contains 48 public school districts, 118 private college-preparatory and parochial schools, and 14 colleges and universities. Many public and private high schools are continuously ranked among the best in New York State and the United States.

Media

Notable county-wide media outlets include:

Newspapers

• The Daily Voice, a news website for Fairfield and Westchester Counties.
• El Sol, a Spanish news website covering Connecticut and Westchester.
• The Hudson Independent, a monthly newspaper serving Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow and Irvington.
• The Journal News, a daily newspaper and news website for Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam.
• The Westchester County Press, a print newspaper produced in White Plains, part of the National Newspaper Publishers Association.
• The Westchester Guardian, a print and online newspaper, distributed three days a week.
• The Rivertowns Enterprise, a print and online newspaper covering Hastings-on-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Ardsley and Irvington.

Television and radio

• FiOS1 Lower Hudson Valley, a television news station available on Verizon FiOS.
• News 12 Westchester, a television news station.
• WNBM (103.9 FM), a Hartsdale radio station focusing on Westchester.
• WHUD (100.7 FM), a Peekskill station that focuses on the Hudson Valley.
• WRNN-TV, a television news station in Rye Brook.
• WVIP (93.5 FM, formerly known as WRTN), a Whitney Radio-owned New Rochelle radio station with varied programming.
• WVOX (1460 AM), a Whitney Radio-owned New Rochelle radio station with varied programming.
• WXPK (107.1 FM), a White Plains/Briarcliff Manor radio station for music.

Transportation

The Tappan Zee Bridge connecting Tarrytown to South Nyack

Westchester County is served by Interstate 87 (the New York State Thruway), Interstate 95, Interstate 287 and Interstate 684. Parkways in the county include the Bronx River Parkway, the Cross County Parkway, the Hutchinson River Parkway, the Saw Mill River Parkway, the Sprain Brook Parkway and the Taconic State Parkway. The Tappan Zee Bridge connects Tarrytown to South Nyack in Rockland County across the Hudson River. A $4 billion replacement bridge began construction in 2013. The Bear Mountain Bridge crosses the Hudson from Cortlandt to Orange County. The combination of these numerous highways, proximity to New York City, and the county's large population all lead to substantial traffic enforcement and very busy local courts.

Transportation routes have been responsible for the county's development patterns, with city and town growth being most pronounced along these corridors. There are five mostly north/south corridors and three which traverse the county in the east/west direction. The north/south routes are (going from west to east): S. Route 9/Albany Post Rd/Broadway Corridor; the Saw Mill River Parkway Corridor; the Sprain Brook Parkway; the Hutchinson River Parkway; with the most eastern corridor being the I-95/New England Thruway. The east/west corridors are, from south to north: the Cross County Parkway; the Cross Westchester Expressway/I-287; and the U.S. 202 corridor.

Westchester County Airport near White Plains

Robert Moses and others once proposed a bridge connecting Westchester with Nassau County, most likely using I-287 to do so. Public opposition was fierce, and the New York state government abandoned the plan.

Commuter rail service in Westchester is provided by Metro-North Railroad (operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority). Metro-North operates three lines in the county; west to east, they are the Hudson, the Harlem and the New Haven lines. These are former operations of the New York Central and the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroads, each of which stops in the Bronx between Westchester and Manhattan. Amtrak serves Croton-Harmon, New Rochelle and Yonkers. There are proposals for a cross-county rail line to connect all three lines and provide easier access to Stamford, Connecticut.

NY Waterway also operates a ferry service between Haverstraw in Rockland County and Ossining.

Bus service is provided by the Bee-Line Bus System (owned by the Westchester County Department of Public Works and Transportation) within Westchester and to/from the Bronx, Manhattan, and Putnam County. The MTA Bus Company also runs to and from Getty Square in Yonkers to Midtown Manhattan.

Westchester County Airport is adjacent to White Plains.

Communities

Map showing incorporated municipalities and hamlets (gray) and unincorporated areas (white)

Main article: Municipalities in Westchester County

Westchester County has 6 cities, 19 towns, and 23 villages. A town may have from zero to multiple villages. As well, a village can be located in more than one town, as two of Westchester's villages are. The largest city in the county by population is Yonkers with nearly 200,000 residents. The city with the highest population density is Mount Vernon with a density of 15,564 individuals per square mile.

In popular culture

The Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow

Westchester County has been the home of many novelists, including Washington Irving. His most famous work is "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", which is set at the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow among other locations in Sleepy Hollow, New York. The story has inspired a variety of works, including 2013 television series Sleepy Hollow, set in the modern village. In the X-Men multimedia series, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning is located in this area.

One of the most successful films shot in the county was the 1988 film Big. While the majority of the film takes place in New York City, the amusement park scenes were filmed in Rye Playland in Westchester.

In print media, the area is a frequent setting of the Nero Wolfe detective stories by Rex Stout, which ran from 1934 to 1975. An early documented mention of Westchester County is in the Trixie Belden series (which ran from 1948 to 1986). The series was set in Sleepyside-on-Hudson, a fictional village in the Hudson Valley. The original author, Julie Campbell Tatham, modeled the fictional Crabapple Farm in Sleepyside after her own home at Wolf Hollow on Glendale Road in Ossining. She also mentioned it in her last work in the series: Cherry Ames, Country Doctor's Nurse. Westchester is the primary setting and residence of the main characters in The Clique young adult novel series by Lisi Harrison. In Edward Lewis Wallant's novel The Pawnbroker, the main character Sol Nazerman lives in Mount Vernon.

In television, an early broadcast media presentation of Westchester County was on The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966), whose main characters live in New Rochelle. Much was made of their suburban setting and Rob's separate world from New York City. The 1970s sitcom Maude was set in Tuckahoe. In the final season of the US sitcom Friends, the characters Monica and Chandler moved from New York City to live in Westchester. In the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, Future Ted and his family lives in Westchester. In the AMC show Mad Men, Ossining is home to main characters Don Draper and his family. From season 4, Don lives in Manhattan and Betty lives with Henry Francis and the children in Rye.

See also

• Biodiversity of Westchester County, New York
• List of counties in New York
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Westchester County, New York
• USS Westchester County (LST-1167)
• Downstate New York

External links

• Westchester County Government
• The Westchester County Department of Public Safety
• Westchester County at DMOZ
• Hudson Valley Directory, listings pertaining to Westchester County, New York