Suffern, New York

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Suffern, New York
—  Village  —
Suffern, New York is located in New York
Suffern, New York
Location within the state of New York
Coordinates: 41°6′43″N 74°8′45″W / 41.11194°N 74.14583°W / 41.11194; -74.14583Coordinates: 41°6′43″N 74°8′45″W / 41.11194°N 74.14583°W / 41.11194; -74.14583
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 (2010)
 • Total 10,723
 • Density Bad rounding here5,100/sq mi (Bad rounding here1,900/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
Website www.suffernvillage.com

Suffern is a village in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Mahwah, New Jersey, east of Hillburn, south of Montebello, and west of Airmont. As of the 2010 census, Suffern's population was 10,723.[1]

The village is one of the more urban communities in Rockland County.

Contents

History [edit]

Downtown Suffern

"The Point of the Mountains" or "Sidman's Clove" were names used in designating the present village of Suffern before the American Revolution. The area originally was inhabited by the Ramapough (Monsey (Minsi)) Indians, who were a division of the great Delaware or Lenape 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. New Antrim's location was considered strategically important in the Revolutionary War due to its location at an important crossroads 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 the French comte de Rochambeau as they traveled to the siege of Yorktown, Virginia, which led to the end of America's War of Independence.

Rochambeau made encampment with his 5,000 soldiers in Suffern on August 25, 1781, on his way to Yorktown and 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.[2]

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 Roch 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 third Vice President of the United States; General George Clinton, who became the first (and longest-serving) elected Governor of New York, and then fourth Vice President of the United States under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison; and Alexander Hamilton, first United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Washington.

From Suffern to Monroe was a main route of travel through the western Hudson Highlands. The main road was the Albany Post Road, one of the 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 Ramapo 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 to 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 6 miles (10 km) 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.

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.

Lafayette Theatre

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, the Lafayette Theatre, 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.


Geography [edit]

Location of village within the town of Ramapo and Rockland County, New York
Manhattan skyline from Nordkop Mountain in Suffern

Suffern is located at 41°6′43″N 74°8′45″W / 41.11194°N 74.14583°W / 41.11194; -74.14583 (41.111828, −74.145796).[3]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.4 km2), of which 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2), or 1.42%, is water.

Suffern is designated as a gateway to the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.

Demographics [edit]

As of the census[4] 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.

Education [edit]

Suffern Middle School[5] is the junior high school of the Ramapo Central School District and is located in the Village of Montebello, adjacent to Suffern. It educates students from Airmont, Suffern, Montebello, Hillburn, Sloatsburg and parts of Monsey. It educates around 1,200 students in grades 6-8. A variety of interesting subjects can be learned here, including band, orchestra, keyboard music, digital music, guitar, performance arts, and media arts. The middle school offers four languages: Chinese, Spanish, French, and Italian. The honors program begins at the seventh grade level and teaches advanced math and science to qualified students. There are many sports available at this school, and all home games are played at the school's large sports stadium, consisting of 2 astroturf fields, 2 soccer fields, a softball field, and a baseball field. A variety of sports are available for seventh and eighth grade students to play in three seasons; Fall, Winter and Spring. In the Fall, there is girls swimming, co-ed cross-country, boys and girls soccer, girls volleyball, and girls field hockey. In the wintertime, students can play girls and boys basketball, boys swimming (high-school team), and the coed ski team (high-school team). During the spring there is a coed track and field team and boys baseball team, among other sports. Many after-school programs exist, including the Technology Club, movie club, homework help, open gym, and the 6th grade play and 7/8th grade Spring Musical. Soon a chess club will take its presence in this school, which was suggested by one of the 6th grade students. Suffern Middle School is the first middle school in the world to have established a learning presence in the virtual world of Teen Second Life.[citation needed] The virtual presence is called Ramapo Islands.[6]

Sports [edit]

On March 11, 2012 Suffern High School celebrated its first New York State hockey championship in 20 years after scoring three unanswered goals after falling behind 2-0 to knock off The Pittsford Panthers 3-2 in the Division 1 of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) state hockey championship game at The Utica Memorial Auditorium - known as The Aud - in Utica, New York.

Elected representation [edit]

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. 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.

The village of Suffern viewed from the top of Nordkop Mountain

Suffern family [edit]

  • John Suffern – Founder and first judge of Rockland County 1798–1806, buried beside the Ramapo Reformed Church in Mahwah, New Jersey
  • Edward Suffern – John Suffern's son and District Attorney 1818–1820; County Judge 1820–1847; granted right-of-way across his 6 miles (10 km) of land to Erie RR with ribbon-cutting to open September 23, 1841; also was a backer and Trustee of the Nyack Turnpike
  • Andrew E Suffern – Grandson of John, son of Judge Edward Suffern and District Attorney 1853 – 1859; County Judge 1859–1880
  • Edward Suffern – Assemblyman in 1826 and 1835
  • John I Suffern – Assemblyman in 1854
  • James Suffern – Assemblyman in 1867 and 1869
  • Edward Suffern (1810–1877) – Grandson of John, son of Elizabeth – 1st graduate civil engineer in world per Ripley's, graduated RPI 1835, Was a contractor for the Starracca Viaduct in Susquehanna, PA, and was engineer for the City of Sacramento, CA, in 1852
  • Edward Suffern – School Commissioner 1858–1860
  • Thomas W Suffern – School Commissioner 1885–1890

Notable residents [edit]

Transportation [edit]

Suffern station serves both local and express trains, operated by New Jersey Transit to Hoboken Terminal with connecting service at Secaucus Junction to New York's 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 buses serve 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.

Tourism [edit]

Suffern RR Marker
Suffern Piermont Branch Station
Soldier's Monument at Washington and Lafayette avenues
U.S. Post Office

Historical markers [edit]

  • Rochambeau Encampment, Lafayette and Washington avenues
  • Soldier's Monument, also known as Washington Ave. Monument, Washington and Lafayette avenues (NRHP)
  • Suffern's Depot, 1 Erie Plaza
  • Suffern Grammar School, 41 Wayne Avenue
  • Suffern's Sacred Heart Parish, 129 Lafayette Avenue
  • Suffern's Tavern Site, Washington and Lafayette avenues – Suffern's tavern sheltered many Continental Army officers, including Gen. Washington and Aaron Burr, commander of the troops guarding the Ramapo Pass. Torn down about 1856.

Landmarks and places of interest [edit]

  • Brooklands Park – Lake Road – Site of Brooklands, home of Daniel Carter Beard, a founder of Boy Scouts of America.
  • Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area – Suffern is a designated gateway to the HRVNHA.
  • Lafayette Theatre – 97 Lafayette Avenue. Rockland's only surviving movie palace, built 1924, renovated in 1927 and having a renovated 1931 Wurlitzer pipe organ installed by the Theater Organ Society in 1992.
  • Suffern Free Library – 210 Lafayette Avenue. The Ramapo Room contains historical books, clippings and photographs of western Ramapo.
  • Suffern Railroad Museum – 1 Erie Plaza
  • Suffern Village Museum – 61 Washington Avenue – Exhibits relating to the history of Suffern and the Ramapo area. Includes displays relating to American Indians, original Avon products, nearby iron mines and Dan Beard, one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America. Traveling Trunk program is available for classroom use, 4th–7th grade. Trunk holds items representing Rockland history from 1741–1841. Open Sunday, 2–4 pm, September through June.
  • U.S. Post Office – Built during the New Deal, is located on Chestnut Street between NY 59 and US 202, on the northern edge of the village's downtown business district. (NRHP)
  • Washington Avenue Soldier's Monument and Triangle – Washington Avenue (NRHP)
  • Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Suffern, New York

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Suffern village, New York". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved February 6, 2012. 
  2. ^ "Our W3R Ancestors/John Suffern"
  3. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
  4. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  5. ^ Suffern Middle School
  6. ^ Ramapo Islands
Municipalities and communities of Rockland County, New York, United States
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