Spring Valley 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 to ...

in the towns of Ramapo and Clarkstown 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 ...

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. It is located north of Chestnut Ridge, east of Airmont and Monsey, south of Hillcrest, and west of

Nanuet Nanuet is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, New York, Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York, Rockland County, New York (state), New York, United States. The third largest hamlet in Clarkstown, it is ...

. The population was 33,066 at the 2020 census, making it the 2nd most populous community in Rockland County, after New City. Spring Valley spans the border of two towns, occupying an eastern portion of the town of Ramapo and a small western portion of the town of Clarkstown. The village is next to the

New York State Thruway {{Infobox road , state = NY , type = NYST , alternate_name = Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway , maint = NYSTA , map = {{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, type=line, stroke-width=2, type2=line, from2=New Yor ...

( Interstate 87) and is served by a

New Jersey 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 ...

train station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...

at the terminus of the

Pascack Valley Line The Pascack Valley Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Hoboken Division of New Jersey Transit, in the United States. The line runs north from Hoboken Terminal, through Hudson County and Bergen County in New Jersey, and into Rockland Co ...

. Spring Valley is north of

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 north of the

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 Delaware ...

border.

History

North Main Street School, Spring Valley, NY

Before the opening of the railroad, there were no homes in Spring Valley. In 1842, the New York & Erie Railroad called this part of the territory "Pascack", after a stream by the same name. The residents of the area decided to call the place Spring Valley – one certain large spring in the Valley Pond being responsible for the name. Prior to naming the territory Spring Valley, it was called

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, named after their homeland, by Scotsmen who had settled in the area. In 1885, E. P. Lespenasse, of Spring Valley, walked from

Haverstraw, New York Haverstraw is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of the Town of Clarkstown and the Town of Ramapo; east of Orange County; south of the Town of Stony Point; and west of the Hudson River. The town runs from the w ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

to settle an election bet. He carried a live pig and a rooster on his month-long journey. Lespenasse sold over 600 copies of picture post cards of himself and the animals he carried before the start of his walk and along the way as souvenirs and to support his journey. In 1914, President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

, visited Spring Valley to discuss the political issues of the day, speaking at Lyceum. On July 21, 1919, the Valley Theatre was first opened. In 1923, the

Edwin Gould Edwin Gould Sr. (February 26, 1866 – July 12, 1933) was an American investor and railway official. Biography Gould was born in Manhattan, New York City, to railroad financier Jay Gould on February 26, 1866. He studied at Columbia University ...

Foundation was incorporated. The Lakeside School for Girls and the Kingsland Industrial Schools for Boys opened on South Main street. In 1929, Governor

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

was the principal speaker at the

Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...

celebration in Spring Valley. In 1948, President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

stopped at Spring Valley while touring the country in the last whistle-stop campaign by train. Around

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Spring Valley had summer resorts that had many

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Jewish people Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

as customers. After World War II large resorts in the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...

and other areas began to attract Jews instead leaving the Spring Valley hotels empty. William Casey, Rockland County historian, said that many

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

groups began to settle during this period. The final

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s on the Erie Railroad were commuter engines that ran between

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

locomotive No. 2530. In 2007, Spring Valley Mayor George Darden was elected vice president of the World Conference of Mayors during the organization's 23rd annual mayors' conference held in

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

. The organization includes mayors from the National Conference of Black Mayors and the Union of African Villages, whose goal is to foster constructive relationships among mayors around the world. Revitalization measures are currently underway in the downtown area of the village, including a mass demolition of abandoned buildings on Main Street and the construction of new mixed-use commercial/residential buildings in its place. For over 50 years, Spring Valley was the site of a military parts distributor, Sarafan Auto Supply, which supplied military parts all around the world. This third-generation business became part of the community; as business expanded, it grew to take up a large portion of the industrial section of the downtown area. Recently the business moved out of Spring Valley, but the lot which it occupied still has many of the original buildings built by Jacob Sarafan in the early 1900s.

Corruption in Spring Valley

*On August 4, 2014, Mayor Demeza Delhomme was locked up in the county jail after a state Supreme Court justice found him in contempt of a court order to open the village's civic center to host its summer camp. *In 2015 the former mayor of Spring Valley, Noramie Jasmin, was convicted in federal court in the

Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York State. Two of these are in New York City: New ...

of taking kickbacks to push through a community center and catering hall. She was also convicted of extortion and wire fraud and for selling her vote for $5,000 and a 50-percent ownership stake in the building. She served out a four-year prison term at Federal Prison Camp Alderson in

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. *In June 2015 former Spring Valley deputy mayor Joseph Desmaret was sentenced to three years in federal prison for his part in a corruption scheme involving a proposal to build a village-owned catering hall on Route 45 in Spring Valley. *In November 2017 Spring Valley trustee Vilair Fonvil was found guilty of corruption charges that accusing him of stealing $11,000 from a summer camp program which ended his career as a village official.

Geography

Spring Valley is located at (41.114445, −74.047771). 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 the ...

, the village has a total area of , of which , or 0.10%, is water. The village is approximately north of the

border.

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 servin ...

, there were 31,347 people living in the village. The racial makeup of the village was 39.4%

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 on ...

, 36.8%

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 have o ...

, 0.6% American Indian, 3.8%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 15.6% from some other race and 3.7% from two or more races. 30.6% were Hispanic or Latino of any race. As of the census of 2000, there were 25,464 people, 7,566 households, and 5,523 families living in the village. The population density was 12,122.7 people per square mile (4,681.8/km²). There were 7,812 housing units at an average density of 3,719.1 per square mile (1,436.3/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 32.23%

, 59.98%

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 ...

, 0.40% Native American, 5.56%

, 0.25%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 5.33% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 6.26% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 15.40% of the population. There were 7,566 households, out of which 42.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 21.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.33 and the average family size was 3.79. In the village, the population was spread out, with 32.1% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males. The median income for a household in the village was $41,311, and the median income for a family was $42,097. Males had a median income of $31,182 versus $26,350 for females. The per capita income for the village was $14,861. 18.7% of the population and 15.2% of families were below the poverty line, 24.2% of those under the age of 18 and 16.5% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. Spring Valley has the highest African American and

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

population in Rockland County. Spring Valley has a large Haitian and Jamaican population, along with a large and growing

population.

Tourism

Historical markers

* United States Post Office – 7 North Madison Avenue

Landmarks and places of interest

* Finkelstein Memorial Library – 24 Chestnut Street – Built in 1940. Books, maps and news-clipping files on Rockland County history and local newsworthy events. * Holocaust Museum & Study Center – 17 South Madison Avenue – Permanent exhibit combines graphics, montages, artifacts, and audiovisual displays to detail every phase of the Holocaust. Changing art exhibits. * St. Paul's Episcopal Church – 26 South Madison Ave – The church was added to 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 v ...

in 2008. The first service took place in 1868, four years before the first service in the new church was held December 18, 1873. (

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 v ...

) * Spring Valley's Columbian Fire Engine Co. No. 1 celebrated its 150th anniversary with a county fire parade on September 10, 2011. *

Spring Valley (Metro-North station) Spring Valley station (sometimes referred as the Spring Valley Transit Center) is an intermodal transit station in Spring Valley, New York. It serves Metro-North Railroad and NJ Transit trains as well as buses as the Spring Valley Bus Terminal. T ...

– Municipal Plaza, 1 North Main Street * Spring Valley High School – Route 59. *

U.S. Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...

– North Madison Avenue (NRHP) * Spring Valley Memorial Park - Memorial Park Dr - Large park in the middle of Spring Valley that contains a pool, tennis court, football/soccer field, and basketball courts.

Education

The

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the borough ...

operates Catholic schools in Rockland County. St. Joseph Parish School in Spring Valley closed in 2005.

Notable people

* Phil Bogle, football player *

Keith Bulluck Keith J. Bulluck (born April 4, 1977) is a former football linebacker who played for eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for Syracuse University, he was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the firs ...

, former NFL linebacker *

Junior Galette Junior Jovais Galette (born March 27, 1988) is a Haitian born former American football outside linebacker. He played college football at Temple and Stillman. Galette was signed as an undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints. Galette ...

, NFL linebacker *

Lucy Grealy Lucinda Margaret Grealy (June 3, 1963 – December 18, 2002) was an Irish-American poet and memoirist who wrote '' Autobiography of a Face'' in 1994. This critically acclaimed book describes her childhood and early adolescent experience with cance ...

, author *

Mondaire Jones Mondaire L. Jones (born May 18, 1987) is an American lawyer and politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2021 to 2023. The district includes most of central and northwestern Westchester County and all of Rockland County. A member of ...

, politician *

Seth Joyner Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bib ...

, former NFL linebacker *

Julianna Margulies Julianna Margulies (; born June 8, 1966) is an American actress. After several small television roles, Margulies achieved wide recognition for her starring role as Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama series '' ER'' (1994–2009) ...

, actress * Bishop Nehru, rapper * Gerald S. O'Loughlin, actor *

Murray Olderman Murray Olderman (March 27, 1922 – June 10, 2020) was an American sports cartoonist and writer. His artwork often accompanied the sports stories he authored. His art also has been used by the Pro Football Hall of Fame and hung above the Hall of F ...

, sports cartoonist * Jermaine Paul, singer on NBC's ''The Voice'' *

Doc Powell Doc Powell is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He was born and raised in Spring Valley, New York. He attended college at University of Charleston. Career He has worked with Wilson Pickett, who chose him to be his musical director. He ha ...

, musician *

Samuel Reshevsky Samuel Herman Reshevsky (born Szmul Rzeszewski; November 26, 1911 – April 4, 1992) was a Polish chess prodigy and later a leading American chess grandmaster. He was a contender for the World Chess Championship from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960 ...

, chess grandmaster Samuel Reshevsky is Dead
The New York Times. April 7, 1992. *

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

, rapper *

Rob Senderoff Robert Andrew Senderoff (born July 25, 1973) is the head men's basketball coach at Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball, Kent State University. The winningest and longest-tenured coach in program history, he has led the Flashes to a Mid-Amer ...

, college basketball coach *

Matt Siegel Matt Siegel (born March 27, 1950) is an American retired radio personality. He was the host of the ''Matty in the Morning Show'' in Massachusetts on KISS 108 for 41 years, from 1981 to 2022. The show has a legacy in Boston, Matt has worked with ...

, radio personality *

Shyne Moses Michael Levi Barrow (born Jamal Michael Barrow, best known by his stage name Shyne; November 8, 1978) is a Belizean rapper and politician.

, rapper (deported back to Belize in 2009) * Beri Weber, musician *

David Zaslav David Zaslav (born January 15, 1960) is an American media executive who currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Warner Bros. Discovery. Zaslav spearheaded the transaction between AT&T and Discovery to combine with Warner ...

, CEO Discovery Communications

References

External links

Historical Markers and War Memorials in Spring Valley, New York

Village of Spring Valley official website

Finkelstein Memorial Library
the public library in Spring Valley {{authority control Villages in New York (state) Villages in Rockland County, New York Haitian-American culture in New York (state)