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Suffern, New York

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Suffern, New York
Village
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountyRockland
Area
 • Total2.1 sq mi (5.5 km2)
 • Land2.1 sq mi (5.4 km2)
 • Water0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation
312 ft (95 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total11,006
 • Density5,265.8/sq mi (2,033.2/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
10901
Area code845
FIPS code36-71894
GNIS feature ID0970678

Suffern is a village in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of the State of New Jersey; east of Hillburn; south of Montebello and west of Airmont. As of the 2000 census, Suffern's population was 11,006.

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

History

Downtown Suffern

"The Point of the Mountains" or "Sidman's Clove" were names used in designating the present village of Suffern before the Revolution. Originally inhabited by the Monsey (Minsi) Indians, a sub-tribe of the Sanhicans, who were a division of the great Delaware or Lanni-Lenape Indian nation. Upon Sidman's death it 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, after whom the town is named, settled near the base of the Ramapo Mountains in 1773. It was originally called New Antrim, after Suffern's hometown in Ireland, to where his Huguenot ancestors had fled from France in 1585. New Antrim's location was considered strategically important in the American Revolutionary War due to its location near Ramapo Pass.

Suffern is part of the W3R-NHT. On March 30, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law legislation enacting the creation of a new National Historic Trail under the auspices of the National Park Service, the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route, the W3R-NHT. This new trail commemorates the march of General Washington and the comte de Rochambeau, who was sent to America by King Louis XVI of France, along with approximately 5,000 troops, to aid the Americans in their struggle to gain independence from British rule.

The comte de Rochambeau landed in Newport, Rhode Island in July 1780. A year later, he led his troops across New England to Suffern, where they made encampment on the night of August 25, 1781, before they continued their march with General Washington to Yorktown, Virginia. After a mighty battle, the British surrendered on October 19, effectively ending the war.

Rochambeau made encampment in Suffern again on September 13, 1782 as he retraced his steps to return home.

The site of this encampment is marked by a plaque on the Washington Avenue side of the Lafayette Theatre. At the time of the encampment, this site was directly across the road from village founder, John Suffern's home. The Suffern Furniture Company is now located where his house once stood.

During the war, Commander-in-Chief General Washington and his regiment made camp in the village. Lafayette Avenue, the main street of Suffern, is named in honor of Revolutionary War hero Marie Joseph Paul Yves Rock Gilbert du Motier, better known as the Marquis de Lafayette. On August 25, 1781, French troops encamped in New Antrim. A historical marker on Washington Avenue, near Lafayette Avenue, identifies the area as "Rochambeau's Encampment 1781-1782". Comte de Rochambeau made his headquarters at John Suffern's New Antrim Tavern. Thousands of French and Revolutionary soldiers camped here on their way to Yorktown, where they, along with 3,000 Virginia militia led by Lafayette, fought British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and his forces at the Siege of Yorktown, a pivotal battle that ultimately led to victory.

Other guests who took advantage of Suffern's hospitality included Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Burr, who later became the 3rd Vice President of the United States, General George Clinton who became the first (and longest-serving) elected Governor of New York, and then 4th Vice President of the United States under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Washington.

Smith's Clove, Sidman's Clove - From Suffern to Monroe was a main route of travel through western Hudson Highlands. The main road was Albany Post Road, one of 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 the 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.

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 the Suffern family to lay track across their 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 founder John Suffern.

(An article on the website of the W3R-US offers additional information: www.w3r-us.org/history/library/suffern.pdf or W3R-US.org / "Our W3R Ancestors" )

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, Lafayette Theatre, also 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.

In June, 2005 Phillip Esposito, a New York Army National Guard officer from Suffern, was killed in a fragging incident during the Iraq War.

In May 2010, NFL Hall of Fame Linebacker Lawrence Taylor was accused of rape at the Suffern Holiday Inn

Geography

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; -74.14583Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (41.111828, -74.145796)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.5 km²), of which, 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (1.42%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR 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/sq mi (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.

Elected representation

The Village of Suffern's chief executive is the mayor. Currently, the mayor is a convicted criminal. 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. The Village of 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, New York, viewed from the top of Nordkop Mountain
  • Suffern was the fictional setting for Aidan's country house in the HBO TV Show "Sex And The City", Season 4, Episodes 57 Sex and the Country and 58 Belles of the Balls. Suffern is portrayed as a rustic farm town somewhere outside New York City. In reality, Suffern is densely populated with a population of over 11,000. Most likely, producers chose Suffern because its name closely resembles the term "sufferin'" which aptly describes protagonist Carrie's experience when roughing it outside the city.

Suffern family

  • John Suffern - Founder and first judge of Rockland County 1798-1806.
  • Edward Suffern - John Suffern's son and District Attorney 1818-1820. County Judge 1820-1847; Granted right-of-way across his six miles (10 km) of land to Erie RR.
  • Andrew E Suffern - Grandson and District Attorney 1853 - 1859. County Judge 1859-1880.
  • Edward Suffern - Assemblyman in 1826 and 1835.
  • Edward Suffern - (1810–1877) Grandson John, son Elizabeth - 1st graduate civil engineer in world per Ripley's, graduated RPI 1835.
  • John I Suffern - Assemblyman in 1854.
  • James Suffern - Assemblyman in 1867 and 1869.
  • Edward Suffern - School Commissioner 1859-1862.
  • Thomas W Suffern - School Commissioner 1880-?
  • Nicholas P Suffern - A very important member of [citation needed]

Notable residents

Transportation

Suffern station serves both local and express trains, operated by New Jersey Transit and Metro North, to Hoboken, Secaucus, and there is a connecting service at Secaucus to New York and other New Jersey points. Most of New Jersey Transit's Main Line trains use Suffern for its northern terminus of the line; however, some trains, especially Metro North trains, continue into Orange County to Port Jervis. Transport of Rockland is a bus service in Suffern serving Rockland County.

US 202 NY 59, Interstate 287, and Interstate 87, also known as, I-87/I-287/NYST go through Suffern.

Tourism

The Soldier's Monument at Washington and Lafayette avenues.
U.S. Post Office

Historical markers

  • Soldier's Monument, also known as Washington Ave. Monument, Washington & Lafayette Avenues (NRHP)
  • Rochambeau Encampment, Lafayette & Washington Avenues
  • Suffern’s Depot, 1 Erie Plaza
  • Suffern Grammar School, 41 Wayne Avenue
  • Suffern’s Tavern Site, Washington & 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.
  • Suffern's Sacred Heart Parish, 129 Lafayette Avenue

Landmarks and places of interest

  • Brooklands Park - Lake Road - Site of Brooklands, home of Daniel Carter Beard, a founder of Boy Scouts of America.
  • Lafayette Theatre - 97 Lafayette Ave 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 Railroad Museum - 1 Erie Plaza
  • Suffern Village Museum - 61 Washington Ave. • 357-0649 - 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. Plus Beanie Baby collection of the late Josephine Watts. Open Sunday, 2-4 pm, September through June.
  • Suffern Free Library - (The Ramapo Room contains books, clippings and photographs of western Ramapo.) 210 Lafayette Avenue [1]
  • 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)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Suffern, New York.

References

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