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Ossining is a
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 ...
in
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 New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, United States. The population at the
2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...
was 27,551, an increase over 25,060 at the 2010 census. As a village, it is located in the
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 o ...
of Ossining.


Geography

Ossining borders the eastern shores of the widest part of 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 Ne ...
, the
Tappan Zee The Tappan Zee (; also Tappan Sea or Tappaan Zee) is a natural widening of the Hudson River, about across at its widest, in southeastern New York. It stretches about along the boundary between Rockland and Westchester counties, downstream fr ...
. 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 th ...
, the village has a total area of 6.3 square miles (16.4 km2), of which 3.2 square miles (8.3 km2) is land and 3.1 square miles (8.1 km2) (49.37%) is water.


Demographics

As of the
2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...
, there were 25,060 people living in the village. The racial makeup of the village was 61.8% White, 15.6% Black, 0.1% Native American, 4.2% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.4% from some other race and 1.3% from two or more races. 41.4% were Hispanic or Latino of any race. According to the 2020
American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
, the village was 21.7% Ecuadorian. As of the census of 2000, there were 24,010 people, 8,227 households, and 5,339 families living in the village. The population density was 7,464.8 people per square mile (2,879.0/km2). There were 8,515 housing units at an average density of 2,647.4 per square mile (1,021.0/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 60.5%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 20.2%
Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
or
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.2% Native American, 4.2% Asian, 0.0%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 10.4% from other races, and 4.2% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race were 27.7% of the population. There were 8,227 households, out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. Of all households 28.9% were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.17. In the village, the population was spread out, with 20.7% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 39.1% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 117.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 119.4 males. The median income for a household in the village was $52,185, and the median income for a family was $60,179. Males had a median income of $40,412 versus $36,975 for females. The per capita income for the village was $25,036. About 7.6% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.


History

Frederick Philipse Frederick Philipse (born Frederick Flypsen;Appleton, W.S. ''The Heraldic Journal, Recording the Amorial Bearings and Genealogies of American Families'', Wiggen & Lunt, Boston, 1867 1626 in Bolsward, Netherlands – December 23, 1702), first Lord ...
bought the area that presently constitutes the Town of Ossining from the Sint Sinck Indians in 1685. The Sint Sinck are members of the Wappinger Confederacy, who inhabited the land east of Hudson River between what is now Tarrytown and Croton. His manor extended from Spuyten Duyvil Creek on the border between present-day
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
and the
Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
to the Croton River. The last Lord of the Manor, Frederick III, was a
Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British C ...
in the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
who fled to England, so the State of
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
confiscated the manor in 1779. In 1838 Benjamin Brandreth built a manufacturing facility for his ''Vegetable Universal Pills'', which became one of the most successful patent medicines in the United States. Brandreth's firm was at one point the nation's leading proprietary advertiser. He was president of the village for many years. Due to Ossining's history, some of its structures are 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 ...
, and the downtown shopping area is listed as the Downtown Ossining Historic District. In addition, the Sparta neighborhood has been designated a local historic district. Ossining's role in New York's heritage has been recognized by its inclusion, as one of only 14 areas, in an Urban Cultural Park System designed to attract visitors to the state. Also on the National Register of Historic Places are the Richard Austin House, Brandreth Pill Factory, First Baptist Church of Ossining,
Highland Cottage Highland Cottage, also known as Squire House, is located on South Highland Avenue (U.S. Route 9) in Ossining, New York, United States. It was the first concrete house in Westchester County, built in the 1870s in the Gothic Revival architectural ...
, St. Paul's Episcopal Church and Rectory, and Washington School.


Etymology

Until 1901, the village was known as Sing Sing. It changed its name to avoid the stigma of association with Sing Sing Correctional Facility, which is still Ossining's largest employer.


Transportation

The Ossining train station provides
commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
service to
Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
in New York City or Croton-Harmon and Poughkeepsie via the
Metro-North Railroad Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connectic ...
's Hudson Line. The
Bee-Line Bus System The Westchester County Bee-Line System, branded on the buses in lowercase as ''the bee-line system'', is a bus system serving Westchester County, New York. The system is owned by the county's Department of Public Works and Transportation. Histor ...
provides bus service to Ossining on routes 11, 13, 14, and 19. NY Waterway also operates a
ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...
between Ossining and Haverstraw in
Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...
during the
rush hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: o ...
s. No interstate highways exist within Ossining. The closest example of a federal highway that runs through the village is
US 9 U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a north–south United States highway in the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and New York in the Northeastern United States. It is one of only two U.S. Highways with a ferry connection (the Cape May–Lewes Ferry, betwe ...
, along Highland Avenue and Albany Post Road. NY 133 begins at US 9, running along Croton Avenue, and NY 134 begins at that road along Dale Avenue. Part of NY 9A, along the
Briarcliff–Peekskill Parkway New York State Route 9A (NY 9A) is a state highway in the vicinity of New York City in the United States. Its southern terminus is at Battery Place near the northern end of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel in New York City, where it inters ...
runs through the eastern edge of the village.


Education

Ossining has several public schools, operated by
Ossining Union Free School District Ossining Union Free School District is a school district headquartered in the Village of Ossining, Town of Ossining, New York. The district includes sections of the towns of Ossining and New Castle. Included within the portions of the school d ...
, and three nearby parochial schools. In 2000, Ossining High School was among the United States' highest performing schools. Ossining has two nearby college campuses. A Westchester Community College campus exists in Ossining; in nearby Briarcliff Manor, there is also a
Pace University Pace University is a private university with its main campus in New York City and secondary campuses in Westchester County, New York. It was established in 1906 by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace as a business school. Pace ...
campus.


Ossining Public Library

The Ossining Public Library, originally chartered in 1893 as the Sing Sing Public Library, serves the residents of the Village and Town of Ossining. The current library collections include 110,000 books, 25,000 non-print items, and 300 newspaper and magazine titles. As a charter member of the 38-member Westchester Library System, the Ossining Public Library offers its patrons access to the more than one million holdings of the other county libraries. A $15.8-million building program was started in 2005 to replace the 1960s-era facility with a new building. The new Ossining Public Library opened in March 2007 and added many new or enhanced services, including over 50 public Internet terminals, a 250-seat theater, an art gallery, and the county's first radio frequency (
RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromag ...
) circulation system. The main reading room of Ossining's library is named in honor of longtime Ossining resident,
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
–winning author
John Cheever John William Cheever (May 27, 1912 – June 18, 1982) was an American short story writer and novelist. He is sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs". His fiction is mostly set in the Upper East Side of Manhattan; the Westchester suburbs; ...
. When Cheever died, the flags on Ossining's public buildings were lowered for 10 days.


Notable buildings

Ossining is known as the home of the Sing Sing Correctional Facility, one of the most well-known prisons in America. Ossining is also the home of the worldwide Maryknoll Catholic missions, as well as the site of the Crotonville Institute, the famous
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...
leadership training facility, founded in 1956.


In fiction

In seasons 1–3 of AMC's TV series ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its f ...
'', Ossining is home to lead character Don Draper and his family. It remains the home of his ex-wife Betty and their children through much of season 4, until they move to Rye.''Mad Men'' ep. 1x09 "Shoot" In FX's '' The Shield'', transfer to Ossining is offered to an inmate in exchange for testimony, stated as "Safe and sound in Ossining, New York" as opposed to referencing the town's original name of Sing Sing which might have jeopardized the deal.


Notable people

* Henry Campbell Black, author
Black's Law Dictionary ''Black's Law Dictionary'' is the most frequently used legal dictionary in the United States. Henry Campbell Black (1860–1927) was the author of the first two editions of the dictionary. History The first edition was published in 1891 by West ...
; born 1860. * Edmund March Blunt, navigator and publisher, lived in Ossining. *
Ken Buck Kenneth Robert Buck (born February 16, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician who has represented Colorado's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2015. From March 30, 2019, to March 27, 2021, Buck s ...
, United States Representative, born in Ossining. * Robert Byrne, grandmaster of chess. *
John Cheever John William Cheever (May 27, 1912 – June 18, 1982) was an American short story writer and novelist. He is sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs". His fiction is mostly set in the Upper East Side of Manhattan; the Westchester suburbs; ...
, writer and winner of the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, lived in Ossining from 1961 until his death in 1982. *
Nick DiPaolo Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Places ...
, comedian, known for Tough Crowd. *
Peter Falk Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the long-running television series '' Columbo'' (1968–1978, 1989–2003), for which he ...
, actor, attended Ossining High School. *
Anne Francis Anne Francis (also known as Anne Lloyd Francis; September 16, 1930 – January 2, 2011) was an American actress known for her ground-breaking roles in the science-fiction film ''Forbidden Planet'' (1956) and the television action-drama seri ...
, actress, born in Ossining. *
Jamie Loeb Jamie Loeb (born March 8, 1995) is an American tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of 132 in singles, achieved in February 2018, and 120 in doubles, achieved in July 2018. Loeb has won nine singles and nine doubles titles on the I ...
(born 1995), tennis player. * Raven-Symoné, actress. * Jesse Lee Soffer, (actor) born in Ossining; best known as Det Jay Halstead on Chicago PD, Med, and Fire. *
Obi Toppin Obadiah Richard Toppin Jr. (born March 4, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of National Basketball Association (NBA). A power forward, he played college basketball for the Dayton Flyers. A native of Ne ...
, Basketball player, Went to the University of Dayton and won National Player of the Year in 2020. *
Stefan Zweig Stefan Zweig (; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist, and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular write ...
, Austrian writer, lived briefly in Ossining and completed his autobiography there in 1941.


Twin cities

* Sassinoro,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...


Fire Department vehicle gallery

File:OssiningFD1.jpg, Car 2331, a 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe File:OssiningFD2.jpg, Car 2332, a 2011 Chevrolet Tahoe File:OssiningFD3.jpg, Car 2334, a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe File:OssiningFD4.jpg, Engine 101, a 1993 E-One 1250/750 File:OssiningFD5.jpg, Tower Ladder 42, a 2010 E-One 100 ft. File:OssiningFD6.jpg, Rescue 14, a 1995 E-One File:OssiningFD7.jpg, Engine 97, a 1937 American LaFrance, department antique


References


External links

*
InOssining.com: Ossining events, parks, neighborhoods, businesses and tours

Ossining.com: Ossining, NY's Hometown Web-newspaper

Ossining Chamber of Commerce

History, art and photos of Ossining
* {{authority control New York State Heritage Areas Villages in New York (state) Sing Sing New York (state) populated places on the Hudson River Villages in Westchester County, New York