Waccabuc is a
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
and lake in the town of
Lewisboro
Lewisboro is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 12,411 at the 2010 census. The town is named after John Lewis, an early settler. Lewisboro is a suburb of New York City.
History
After purchasing land from ...
,
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 o ...
,
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. Waccabuc is considered "New York's Secret Suburb" and is home to a "collection of privacy-loving C.E.O.s and bright stars in other firmaments," according to an Upstart Business Journal article about the tremendous number of notable residents in a hamlet of just a few hundred people.
Waccabuc is known by many outside of the town for its Castle Rock.
Before becoming its own hamlet, Waccabuc was originally a vacation retreat established by the Mead family, who are considered one of the First Families of Westchester. The retreat prided itself for having no "tramps, bars, or malaria."
A couple of the hamlet's handful of roads, such as "Tarry-a-Bit," are named after the vacation house they originally served.
Waccabuc Country Club's main clubhouse sits at the site of one of the original vacation houses.
On July 1, 1956,
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
wed
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), ''Death of a Salesman'' ( ...
in a Jewish ceremony at a private house in Waccabuc. Their nuptials were celebrated at the home of Miller's
literary agent
A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, film producers, and film studios, and assists in sale and deal negotiation. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwrit ...
,
Kay Brown. Some 30 friends and relatives attended the hastily arranged party.
The
Mead Memorial Chapel
Mead Memorial Chapel is a historic Episcopal chapel at 2 Chapel Road in the hamlet of Waccabuc, town of Lewisboro, Westchester County, New York. It was designed by Hobart B. Upjohn (1876-1949) and built in 1905–1906 in a late Gothic Revival ...
and
The Homestead are listed 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 v ...
.
The Waccabuc Historic District was listed on July 28, 2015.
Demographics
The total population of Waccabuc is just 851 people. Waccabuc is by far the smallest of Lewisboro's four hamlets, and the hamlet's strict zoning laws ensure that Waccabuc maintains a low population density not seen in any of the other hamlets. These factors combine to separate Waccabuc from the other hamlets of Lewisboro and project an image of exclusivity.
The median household income, as of 2010, was $186,554
and the average household income was $240,258.
Waccabuc has a per capita income of $79,819.
[
The median home value was $1,243,423, earning Waccabuc a place on ]Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
magazine's annual list of "America's Most Expensive ZIP Codes" and is listed above more recognizable towns in Westchester such as Scarsdale, Pound Ridge
Pound Ridge is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 5,104 at the 2010 census. The town is located toward the eastern end of the county, bordered to the north and east by the town of Lewisboro, by Stamford, C ...
, and Chappaqua
Chappaqua ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of New Castle, in northern Westchester County, New York, United States. It is approximately north of New York City. The hamlet is served by the Chappaqua station of the Metro- ...
. Real estate brokers note that listings in Waccabuc priced at $600,000 could be teardown projects,[ despite being more than $100,000 above the median home value of the country overall.
]
Residential property and conservation
Waccabuc is set apart from the other hamlets of Lewisboro, as well as most other towns in Westchester, in that all property must be on a minimum of two acres of land and, on most streets, the property minimum increases to four acres of land, the exception being the Hunt Farm development on hamlet's outskirts. To further maintain the beauty of Waccabuc, a 100-acre piece of land was bought by all residents of Waccabuc through the Waccabuc Land Owner's Association for conservation purposes as well as to provide hiking trails.[
The ]Mead Memorial Chapel
Mead Memorial Chapel is a historic Episcopal chapel at 2 Chapel Road in the hamlet of Waccabuc, town of Lewisboro, Westchester County, New York. It was designed by Hobart B. Upjohn (1876-1949) and built in 1905–1906 in a late Gothic Revival ...
and The Homestead are listed 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 v ...
and the hamlet itself is a designated historic district.[
A 2005 NYT story on the hamlet captured the social function of the Post Office and the locals' efforts to preserve and maintain it.][
]
Notable people
* Kay Brown, Hollywood talent scout
*Elliott Carter
Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer. One of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century, he combined elements of European modernism and American "ultra- ...
, composer
*Sean Combs
Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...
, rapper, producer, entrepreneur, and actor better known as Diddy, P. Diddy, and Puff Daddy
*Blythe Danner
Blythe Katherine Danner (born February 3, 1943) is an American actress. Accolades she has received include two Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Izzy Huffstodt on '' Huff'' (2004–2006), and a ...
, actress
*Alfred DelBello
Alfred Benedict DelBello (November 3, 1934 – May 15, 2015) was an American politician and lawyer from New York. A registered Democrat, he served as the Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1983 to 1985. DelBello was the first Democrat to be ele ...
, former Lieutenant Governor of New York
*William H. Donaldson
William Henry Donaldson (born June 2, 1931) was the 27th Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), serving from February 2003 to June 2005. He served as Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs in the Nix ...
, former chairman of the SEC
*Hélène Grimaud
Hélène Rose Paule Grimaud (born 7 November 1969) is a French classical pianist and the founder of the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, New York.
Early life and education
Grimaud was born in Aix-en-Provence, France. She described famil ...
, pianist
*Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Charles Gumbel (born September 29, 1948) is an American television journalist and sportscaster, best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's ''Today''. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel. Since 1995, he has hosted H ...
, television journalist and sportscaster
* Charles S. Haight, Jr., federal judge
*Allen Hershkowitz
Allen Hershkowitz is an American environmental scientist who worked as a senior scientist at Natural Resources Defense Council from 1988 to 2014 and then at the Green Sports Alliance until 2016, when he left to become a Founding Director and Chai ...
, president and co-founder of th
Green Sports Alliance
co-founder o
Broadway Green Alliance
former Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States-based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Bo ...
* Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsoe, Owner of Evil Twin Brewing Company and Evil Twin New York City
* William P. Lauder, CEO and President of Estee Lauder
*O. Winston Link
Ogle Winston Link (December 16, 1914 – January 30, 2001), known commonly as O. Winston Link, was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photography and sound recordings of the last days of steam locomotive railroading on t ...
, photographer
* David Marks
David Lee Marks (born August 22, 1948) is an American guitarist who is best known for being an early member of the Beach Boys. While growing up in Hawthorne, California, Marks was a neighborhood friend of the original band members and was a freq ...
, Original member of the Beach Boys
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...
*Stanley O'Neal
Earnest Stanley O'Neal (born October 7, 1951) is an American business executive who was formerly chairman and chief executive of Merrill Lynch having served in numerous senior management positions at the company prior to this appointment. O'Neal ...
, former CEO and President of Merrill Lynch
*Bruce Paltrow
Bruce Weigert Paltrow (November 26, 1943 – October 3, 2002) was an American television and film director and producer. He was the husband of actress Blythe Danner, and the father of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and screenwriter/director Jake Paltrow ...
, director and producer
*Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (; born ) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Paltrow gained notice for her early work in films ...
, actress and singer
*Jake Paltrow
Jake Paltrow is an American film director, screenwriter and actor. Coming from a family of actors, he is the younger brother of Gwyneth Paltrow and the son of Bruce Paltrow and Blythe Danner.
Personal life
Paltrow is the son of producer-dire ...
, director
*Marion Pritchard
Marion Philippina Pritchard (née van Binsbergen; 7 November 1920 – 11 December 2016) was a Dutch-American social worker and psychoanalyst, who distinguished herself as a savior of Jews in the Netherlands during the Second World War. Pritchar ...
, rescuer of Dutch Jews during World War II
*Ogden R. Reid
Ogden Rogers Reid (June 24, 1925 – March 2, 2019) was an American politician and diplomat. He was the U.S. Ambassador to Israel and a six-term United States Representative from Westchester County, New York.
Early life
Reid was born in New Y ...
, United States Representative and Ambassador to Israel
*Roger Stone
Roger Jason Stone (born Roger Joseph Stone Jr.; August 27, 1952) is an American conservative political consultant and lobbyist.
Since the 1970s, Stone has worked on the campaigns of Republican politicians, including Richard Nixon, Ronald Rea ...
, Republican Party strategist and pollster
*Christine Tucci
Christine Tucci () is an American actress.
Life and career
Tucci, an Italian American, was born in Katonah, New York, the daughter of Joan (née Tropiano), a retired secretary and writer, and Stanley Tucci, Sr., a retired high school art teacher ...
, actress
*Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci Jr. ( ; born November 11, 1960) is an American actor and filmmaker. Involved in acting from a young age, he made his film debut in John Huston's ''Prizzi's Honor'' (1985), and continued to play a variety of supporting roles in film ...
, actor
*, French chef and culinary author
*Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Michael Tambor (born July 8, 1944) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom ''The Ropers'' (1979–1980), as Hank Kings ...
, American actor, voice artist, and comedian
*Scott Vaccaro, Founder of Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
References
{{Westchester County, New York
Hamlets in Westchester County, New York
Hamlets in New York (state)