Ossining (town), New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ossining is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 36,534 at the 2000 census. It contains two villages, the Village of Ossining and part of Briarcliff Manor, the rest of which is located in the Town of Mount Pleasant.
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[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 15.6 square miles (40.4 km²), of which, 11.7 square miles (30.3 km²) of it is land and 3.9 square miles (10.1 km²) of it (25.06%) is water.
Ossining is bounded to the west by the Hudson River and to the North by the Croton River. The Hudson is an estuary at this point and is a fiord reminiscent of the Trondheim Fiord in Norway. See aerial photograph at www.ossining.org.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 36,534 people, 12,355 households, and 8,537 families residing in the town. The population density was 3,123.0 people per square mile (1,205.6/km²). There were 12,733 housing units at an average density of 1,088.4/sq mi (420.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 70.26% White, 14.28% Black or African American, 0.35% Native American, 4.54% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 7.34% from other races, and 3.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.93% of the population.
There were 12,355 households out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the town the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 34.5% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 106.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $65,485, and the median income for a family was $81,943. Males had a median income of $51,286 versus $40,618 for females. The per capita income for the town was $34,195. About 5.0% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] History
Frederick Philipse bought the area which presently constitutes the Town of Ossining from the Sint Sinck Indians in 1685. His manor extended from Spuyten Duyvil Creek on the border between present day Manhattan and The Bronx to the Croton River.
The last lord of the manor, also named Frederick Philipse, was a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War, so the State of New York confiscated the manor in 1779.
In 1813, the village of Sing Sing was incorporated.
In 1845, the New York State Legislature created a new town out of the northern part of what had been the Town of Mount Pleasant. A local Indian authority suggested the town be named Ossinsing, a different form of the name Sing Sing. One year later the last "s" was removed for ease in pronunciation.
In 1901, to prevent confusion of goods made in the village with Sing Sing prison-made items, local officials had the village name changed to Ossining as well.
In 1902 an area east of the village of Ossining, then known as Whitson's Crossing, was incorporated as the village of Briarcliff Manor.
[edit] References
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
- Old photographs,original articles w primary sources on Walker Evans, John Cheever, Aaron Copland
- Ossining.com: Ossining, NY's Hometown Web-newspaper
- Ossining's business directory
- Town of Ossining web site
- Village of Ossining official website
- Hudson Valley Arts and Science, inc.
- Ossining Public Library home page
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