Port Jervis is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the Neversink and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

rivers in western

Orange County, New York Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798. Orang ...

, United States, north of the

Delaware Water Gap Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. The gap makes up the southern portion of the Delaware Water Gap ...

. Its population was 8,775 at the 2020 census. The communities of Deerpark,

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

, Sparrowbush, and Greenville are adjacent to Port Jervis. Matamoras, Pennsylvania, is across the river and connected by bridge.

Montague Township, New Jersey Montague Township is a township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States, in the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 3,847, reflecting an increase of 435 (+12.7%) from the 3,41 ...

, borders here. The Tri-States Monument, marking the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

between New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, lies at the southwestern corner of town. Port Jervis was part of early industrial history, a point for shipping coal to major markets to the southeast by canal and later by railroads. Its residents had long-distance passenger service by railroad until 1970. The restructuring of railroads resulted in a decline in the city's business and economy. In the 21st century, from late spring to early fall, many thousands of travelers and tourists pass through Port Jervis on their way to enjoying rafting, kayaking, canoeing and other activities in the

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a national recreation area administered by the National Park Service in northwest New Jersey and northeast Pennsylvania. It is centered around a stretch of the Delaware River designated the Middl ...

and the

Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River The Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River is a unit of the National Park Service designated under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. It stretches along of the Delaware River between Hancock, New York, and Sparrowbush, New York. ...

and the surrounding area. Port Jervis is part of the

Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area The Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in New York's Hudson Valley, with the cities of Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, and Mi ...

as well as the larger

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...

. In August 2008, Port Jervis was named one of "Ten Coolest Small Towns" by ''Budget Travel'' magazine.

History

The first fully developed European settlement in the area was established by Dutch and English colonists c.1690, and a land grant of was formalized on October 14, 1697. The settlement was originally known as Mahackamack, after a

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

word. It was raided and burned in 1779 during 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 ...

, by British and Mohawk forces under the command of Mohawk leader

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. Perhaps ...

before the

Battle of Minisink The Battle of Minisink was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought at Minisink Ford, New York, on July 22, 1779. It was the only major skirmish of the Revolutionary War fought in the northern Delaware Valley. The battle was a decisive ...

. Over the next two decades, residents rebuilt the settlement. They developed more roadways to better connect Mahackamack with the eastern parts of Orange County. After the

Delaware and Hudson Canal The Delaware and Hudson Canal was the first venture of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, which would later build the Delaware and Hudson Railway. Between 1828 and 1899, the canal's barges carried anthracite coal from the mines of northeast ...

was opened in 1828, providing transportation of coal from northeastern Pennsylvania to New York and New England via 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 ...

, trade attracted money and further development to the area. A village was incorporated on May 11, 1853. It was renamed as Port Jervis in the mid-19th century, after John Bloomfield Jervis, chief engineer of the D&H Canal. Port Jervis grew steadily into the 1900s, and on July 26, 1907, it became a city. Erie Depot Port Jervis entrance

Coming of the railroad

The first rail line to run through Port Jervis was the New York & Erie Railroad, which in 1832 was chartered to run from Piermont, New York, on the

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 ...

, to

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also ha ...

. Ground was broken in 1835, but construction was delayed by a nationwide financial panic, and did not start again until 1838. The line was completed in 1851, and the first passenger train – with President Millard Fillmore and former

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison ...

on board – came through the city on May 14. The railroad went through a number of name changes, becoming the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake ...

in 1897."Railroads of Port Jervis"
Minisink Valley Historical Society website A second railroad, the Port Jervis and Monticello Railroad, later leased to the

New York, Ontario and Western Railway The New York, Ontario and Western Railway, more commonly known as the O&W or NYO&W, was a regional railroad with origins in 1868, lasting until March 29, 1957 (the last train ran from Norwich to Middletown, NY on this date), after which it was or ...

(O&W), opened in 1868, running northeast out of the city, and eventually connecting to

Kingston, New York Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with the New York metropolitan area around Manhattan by the Unite ...

Weehawken, New Jersey Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,197.

and eastern connections. Like the D&H Canal, the railroads brought new prosperity to Port Jervis in the form of increased trade and investment in the community from the outside. However, the competition by the railroad, which could deliver products faster, hastened the decline of the canal, which ceased operation in 1898. The railroads were the basis of the city's economy for the coming decades. Port Jervis became Erie's division center between

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Susquehanna, Pennsylvania Susquehanna Depot, often referred to simply as Susquehanna, is a borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States, located on the Susquehanna River southeast of Binghamton, New York. In the past, railroad locomotives and railroad cars ...

, and by 1922, 20 passenger trains went through the city every day. More than 2,500 Erie RR employees made their homes there. The railroads began to decline after the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

."Port Jervis and the Gilded Age"
Minisink Valley Historical Society A shift in transportation accelerated after World War II with the federal subsidy of the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

and increased competition from trucking companies. One of the first

Class I railroad In the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, st ...

s to shut down was the O&W, on March 29, 1957, leaving Port Jervis totally reliant on the Erie. A few years later, in 1960, the Erie, also on a shaky financial footing, merged with

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...

to become the

Erie Lackawanna The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route" ...

. Railroad restructuring continued and in 1976, the Erie Lackawana became part of

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do bus ...

, along with a number of other struggling railroads, such as the

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and th ...

. Since the breakup of Conrail, the trackage around Port Jervis has been controlled by

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

. The decline of the railroads was an economic blow to Port Jervis. The city has struggled to find a new economic basis.

Racial incidents

On June 2, 1892, Robert Lewis, an African American, was

lynched Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...

, hanged on Main Street in Port Jervis by a mob after being accused of participation in an assault on a white woman. A grand jury indicted nine people for assault and rioting rather than Lewis's lynching. Some literary critics argue that this event influenced

Stephen Crane Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism an ...

's 1898 novella '' The Monster''. Crane lived in Port Jervis from 1878 until 1883 and frequently visited the area from 1891 to 1897. In the mid-1920s some residents in the area formed a

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cat ...

chapter, in the period of the KKK's early 20th-century revival. They burned crosses on Point Peter, the mountain peak that overlooks the city. Port Jervis, NY crop

Recent history

The city's location at the confluence of the Delaware and Neversink rivers has made it subject to occasional flooding. There was flooding during the 1955

Hurricane Diane Hurricane Diane was the first Atlantic hurricane to cause more than an estimated $1 billion in damage (in 1955 dollars, which would be $ today), including direct costs and the loss of business and personal revenue. It formed on August 7 ...

, and a flood-related rumor started a panic in the population. This incident was studied and a 1958 report issued by the National Research Council: "The Effects of a Threatening Rumor on a Disaster-Stricken Community". In addition to the rivers having flooded during periods of heavy rainfall, at times ice jams have effectively dammed the Delaware, also causing flooding. In 1875 ice floes destroyed the bridge to Matamoras, Pennsylvania. In 1981 a large ice floe resulted in the highest water crest measured to date at the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

's Matamoras river gauge .

Geography

Port Jervis is located on the north bank of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before ...

at the

where the

Neversink River The Neversink River (also called Neversink Creek in its upper course) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in southeastern Ne ...

– the Delaware's largest

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

– empties into the larger river. Port Jervis is connected by the

Mid-Delaware Bridge The Mid-Delaware Bridge, sometimes known as the Port Jervis– Matamoras Bridge or the Fourth Barrett Bridge, is a continuous truss bridge which carries U.S. Routes 6 and 209 across that river between those two communities and thus the sta ...

across the Delaware to Matamoras, Pennsylvania. From here the Delaware flows to the southwest, running parallel to Kittatinny Ridge until reaching the

. It heads southeastward, continuing past

New Hope, Pennsylvania New Hope is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,612 at the 2020 census. New Hope is located approximately north of Philadelphia, and lies on the west bank of the Delaware River at its confluence with Aquetong Creek. ...

and

Lambertville, New Jersey Lambertville is a city in Hunterdon County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 3,906,Trenton; to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, and the

Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is bordered inland ...

. 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 city has a total area of , of which is land and (6.64%) is water.

Climate

Port Jervis has a

Humid Continental Climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

( Köppen ''Dfb'') with relativity hot summers and cold winters. It revives approximately 47.18 inches (1,198 mm) of precipitation per year, most of which occurs in the late spring in early summer. Extremes range from −26 °F (−32 °C) on January 14, 1912, to 105 °F (40.5 °C) on July 9, 1936.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 8,860 people, 3,533 households, and 2,158 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,851 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 82.4%

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 ...

, 8.2%

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 ...

, 0.59% Native American, 0.64% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 2.19% from other races, and 2.26% 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 7.5% of the population. There were 3,533 households, out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.9% were married couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.15. Deerpark Reformed Church Port Jervis

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 27.8% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,241, and the median income for a family was $35,481. Males had a median income of $31,851 versus $22,274 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $16,525. About 14.2% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 25.5% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

State line monuments

NJ-NY-PA Tri-States and Witness Monuments - looking southwest

Port Jervis lies near the points where the states 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 * '' ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

come together. South of the Laurel Grove Cemetery, under the viaduct for Interstate 84, are two monuments marking the boundaries between the three states. The larger monument is a granite pillar inscribed "Witness Monument". It is not on any boundary itself, but instead is a witness for two boundary points. On the north side (New York), it references the corner boundary point between New York and Pennsylvania that is located in the center of the Delaware River due west of the Tri-State Rock. On the south side (New Jersey), it references the Tri-State Rock to the south. The smaller monument, the Tri-States Monument, also known as the Tri-State Rock, marks both the northwest end of the New Jersey and New York boundary and the north end of the New Jersey and Pennsylvania boundary. It is a small granite block with inscribed lines marking the boundaries of the three states and a bronze

National Geodetic Survey The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is a United States federal agency that defines and manages a national coordinate system, providing the foundation for transportation and communication; mapping and charting; and a large number of applications ...

marker. Both monuments were erected in 1882.

Transportation

US 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to ...

, U.S. Route 209,

New York State Route 42 New York State Route 42 (NY 42) is a north–south, discontinuous state highway in the Catskill Mountains region of New York in the United States. The southernmost of the highway's two segments begins at an intersection with U.S. Rout ...

, and New York State Route 97 (the "Upper Delaware Scenic Byway") pass through Port Jervis. Interstate 84 passes to the south. Port Jervis is the last stop on the

Port Jervis Line The Port Jervis Line is a predominantly single-track commuter rail line running between Suffern and Port Jervis, in the U.S. state of New York. At Suffern, the line continues south into New Jersey as NJ Transit's Main Line. The line is operate ...

, which is a commuter railroad service from

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 ...

and New York City (via a Secaucus Transfer) that is contracted to

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

by 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 ...

of the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...

. The track itself continues on to

Binghamton Binghamton () is a City (New York), city in the United States, U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County, New York, Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier reg ...

and Buffalo, but passenger service west of Port Jervis was discontinued in November 1966. Short Line provides bus service between

Honesdale, Pennsylvania Honesdale is a borough in and the county seat of Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 4,458 at the time of the 2020 census. Honesdale is located northeast of Scranton in a rural area that provides many recr ...

, Port Jervis, and the

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving about 8,000 bus ...

Government

Port Jervis is governed by a mayor and a city council under a

mayor–council government The mayor–council government system is a system of local government that has a mayor who is directly elected by the voters serve as chief executive, and a separately elected legislative city council. It is one of the two most common forms of l ...

system. The city council has nine members: a councilman-at-large and eight members elected from wards. The city comprises four wards, residents of which elect two council members each for two year terms. The mayor and councilman-at-large are elected at large for two year terms. Elections are held in odd number years. Terms of office begin on January 1. Representation in the

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

is solidly Republican. The city is located in the 98th Assembly district, currently represented by Karl Brabenec. Mike Martucci represents the city in the state senate as part of the 42nd district. Port Jervis is a part of

New York's 18th congressional district The 18th congressional district of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives that contains the northern suburbs and exurbs of New York City. It is currently represented by Democrat Sean Patrick Malone ...

, represented by Democrat

Sean Patrick Maloney Sean Patrick Maloney (born July 30, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative from from 2013 to 2023. The district includes Newburgh, Beacon, and Poughkeepsie. A member of the Democratic Party, Malone ...

. Senators

Charles Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, hav ...

and

Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as member of the U.S. House of ...

represent all of New York in the U.S. Senate, including the city. Middle School Port Jervis

Education

Port Jervis City School District Port Jervis City School District (PJCSD) is an American school district headquartered in Port Jervis, New York. The district runs four schools, 2 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and one high school. The district's students come from Port Jer ...

operates public schools serving Port Jervis. The area elementary school, Anna S. Kuhl Elementary School, is in Deerpark but with a Port Jervis postal address. Port Jervis Middle School is in Port Jervis.

Port Jervis High School Port Jervis High School (PJHS or "Port") is a public high school in Deerpark, New York, with a Port Jervis postal address. A part of Port Jervis City School District, it is on U.S. Route 209, sharing a property with Anna S. Kuhl Elementary School ...

is also in Deerpark but with a Port Jervis postal address. Kuhl and Port Jervis High are on the same property.

Media

On July 4, 1953

WDLC WDLC (1490 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Port Jervis, New York, United States, the station serves the Sussex area. History WDLC began operation on July 4, 1953 owned by Oscar Wein with a popular music ...

at 1490 on the AM dial signed-on. Co-owned. The station also can receive WSPK-FM K104.7 and

WRRV WRRV (92.7 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Middletown, New York and serving Orange County, including parts of the mid Hudson Valley and Catskills Mountains. The station is owned by Townsquare Media and broadcasts an alternative r ...

on 92.7.

Notable people

Notable current and former residents of Port Jervis include: * Frank Abbott, Mayor of Port Jervis from 1874 to 1876 * Ed and

Lou Banach Ludwig David "Lou" Banach (born February 6, 1960) is an American athlete who won a gold medal in wrestling in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He was noted with his fraternal twin brother Ed Banach for both winning gold medals in frees ...

, University of Iowa

wrestlers Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spo ...

, NCAA All-Americans and NCAA Champions,

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

gold medalists in

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestlin ...

, lived in Port Jervis and graduated from Port Jervis Senior High School. * Daniel Cohen, children's book author *

, author of

The Red Badge of Courage ''The Red Badge of Courage'' is a war novel by American author Stephen Crane (1871–1900). Taking place during the American Civil War, the story is about a young private of the Union Army, Henry Fleming, who flees from the field of battle. Ove ...

, lived in Port Jervis between the ages 6–11 and frequently visited and wrote there from 1891 to early 1897. * William Howe Crane (1854–1926), older brother of

, lived and practiced law in Port Jervis for many years. *

Stefanie Dolson Stefanie Dolson (born January 8, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted sixth overall in the 2014 WNBA draft. Dolson played center for the ...

, basketball player for the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was ...

and formerly of the

Connecticut Huskies Women's Basketball The UConn Huskies women's basketball team is the college basketball program representing the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut, in NCAA Division I women's basketball competition. They completed a seven-season tenure in the America ...

team, was born in Port Jervis. She was a high school standout at nearby Minisink Valley High School, where she was a McDonald's All-American and won multiple National Championships with Connecticut. * Samuel Fowler (1851–1919) represented

's 4th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1893 to 1895. * E. Arthur Gray (1925–2006) was the longest-serving mayor of Port Jervis and was later a New York State Senator. The Port Jervis United States Post Office building is dedicated in his name. * Benjamin Hafner (March 24, 1821–spring 1899), known as "The Flying Dutchman" and "Uncle Ben", was an American locomotive engineer who worked for the Erie Railway. * Albert Hammond Jr., (1980–), musician and music producer best known as a guitarist of

The Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Mor ...

. His One Way Studio in the area is where much of the albums ''

Angles The Angles ( ang, Ængle, ; la, Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period. They founded several kingdoms of the Heptarchy in Anglo-Saxon England. Their name is the root of the name ...

'' and ''

Comedown Machine ''Comedown Machine'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Strokes. It was released on March 26, 2013, through RCA Records. The band decided to pull a media blackout for the album, with no promotion in the form of television appearan ...

'' were recorded, among others. * Bucky Harris, Baseball player/manager and Hall of Famer; born in Port Jervis. * The Kalin Twins, Hal (1934–2005) and Herbie (1934–2006), were

one hit wonders A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

whose record " When" made the top 5 in the U.S. and was number one for five weeks in the U.K. in 1958. *

Amar'e Stoudemire Amar'e Carsares Stoudemire ( ; he, אמארה יהושפט סטודמאייר; born November 16, 1982) is an American-Israeli professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as a player development assistant for the Bro ...

(1982–), former professional basketball player for the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. Lived in Port Jervis for a duration of grade school and middle school. It is said that this is where he played basketball at local parks and first fell in love with the sport of basketball. * Hudson Van Etten,

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...

recipient, was born in Port Jervis.

Gallery

File:Post Office Port Jervis.jpg, The E. Arthur Gray Post Office, on the

NRHP 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 ...

File:Free Library Port Jervis.jpg, The Free Library, a Carnegie library built in 1903 File:Erie Turntable Port Jervis New York.jpg, The largest working rail turntable in the U.S. is in Port Jervis File:72 East Main Street Port Jervis New York.jpg, One of the many Victorian style houses in the city File:Fort Decker Port Jervis 3.jpg, Fort Decker (1793), the oldest building in the city File:Front St. Port Jervis.jpg, A view of many small businesses on Front St

References

;Notes

External links

City of Port Jervis Website
{{authority control Cities in New York (state) Neversink River Populated places established in 1690 Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area Cities in Orange County, New York Cities in the New York metropolitan area 1690 establishments in the Province of New York New York (state) populated places on the Delaware River