Yorktown Heights is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) 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 ori ...

of Yorktown 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, United States. The population was 1,781 at the 2010 census.

History

Yorktown Heights is in the town of Yorktown, New York, in northern Westchester County, 45 miles from New York City, with forty square miles of rolling hills, farmland, residential areas and light industry including the IBM

Thomas J. Watson Research Center The Thomas J. Watson Research Center is the headquarters for IBM Research. The center comprises three sites, with its main laboratory in Yorktown Heights, New York, U.S., 38 miles (61 km) north of New York City, Albany, New York and wit ...

. First settled in 1683, Yorktown was of strategic importance during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, with the Pines Bridge crossing of the

Croton River The Croton River ( ) is a river in southern New York with three principal tributaries: the West Branch, Middle Branch, and East Branch. Their waters, all part of the New York City water supply system, join downstream from the Croton Falls Rese ...

guarded by the 1st

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

Regiment, an integrated unit which included

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 ...

s and Native Americans. Yorktown was incorporated in 1788 and named in commemoration of the Franco-American decisive victory at

Yorktown, Virginia Yorktown is a census-designated place (CDP) in York County, Virginia. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1682. Yorktown's population was 195 as of the 2010 census, while York Co ...

. The Yorktown Heights Railroad Station, which last had passenger service on the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

's Putnam Division in 1958, 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 ...

in 1981.

Geography

Yorktown Heights is at (41.277347, −73.781290). The Yorktown Heights

Census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) has a total area of , all land. Like much of northern Westchester County, Yorktown is largely hilly and wooded.

Climate

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 in ...

of 2000, there were 7,972 people, 2,629 households, and 2,163 families residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 1,399.3/mi² (540.0/km²). There were 2,661 housing units at an average density of 467.1/mi² (180.2/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 90.49%

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 o ...

, 2.41%

, 0.06% Native American, 4.69%

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 ...

, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.85% 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 1.48% 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 forme ...

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 5.59% of the population. There were 2,629 households, out of which 44.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.0% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.7% were non-families. 15.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02 and the average family size was 3.37. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $108,648, and the median income for a family was $137,580. Males had a median income of $91,365 versus $80,261 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 CDP was $41,349.

Landmarks

Yorktown Heights possesses many historical landmarks, specifically related to Colonial times and the Revolutionary War. They include the Hyatt House, Lanes Tavern, and one of the first Presbyterian churches in the region. Another landmark famous to the town is the former railroad station, which was built in 1905, and had been a stop on the New York and Putnam Railroad Line (also called the "Old Put"). A popular hiking destination is Turkey Mountain, maintained by the Yorktown Land Trust. The

North County Trailway The North County Trailway is a long paved rail trail stretching from Eastview to Baldwin Place in Westchester County, New York. It is also part of the statewide Empire State Trail. History and route The North County Trailway was constructe ...

is a popular running and bike path that can be accessed from Yorktown Heights.

Transportation

U.S. Route 202 U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a spur route of US 2. It follows a northeasterly and southwesterly direction stretching from Delaware to Maine, also traveling through the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massa ...

passes through Yorktown Heights. The

Taconic State Parkway The Taconic State Parkway (often called the Taconic or the TSP and known administratively as New York State Route 987G or NY 987G) is a parkway between Kensico Dam and Chatham, the longest in the U.S. state of New York. It follows ...

is nearby, to the west. Yorktown Heights Railroad Station was closed in 1958, a year before passenger service was abandoned along the New York Central's Putnam Division.

Notable people

* George Cehanovsky, baritone * Steve Cohen, magician *

Roy Colsey Roy Colsey (born July 29, 1973 in Yorktown Heights, New York) is a former professional lacrosse player who last played for the Philadelphia Barrage in Major League Lacrosse. College career Roy attended Syracuse University, where he was a third ...

, professional lacrosse player (

Philadelphia Barrage The Philadelphia Barrage were a field lacrosse team that are based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and member of Major League Lacrosse. They were the Bridgeport Barrage from 2001 to 2003 at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut. T ...

) * Jonathan de Marte, Israeli-American baseball player * Susan Faludi, journalist and writer *

Robert Hanssen Robert Philip Hanssen (born April 18, 1944) is an American former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) double agent who spied for Soviet and Russian intelligence services against the United States from 1979 to 2001. His espionage was described ...

, Russian Spies residency while in NY who was later arrested in 2001 * Paul W. Jones, U.S. diplomat, Ambassador to Poland (since 2015), Ambassador to Malaysia (2010–2013) *

Andrew Kavovit Andrew Michael Kavovit (born July 19, 1971) is an American actor. Kavovit played Paul Ryan (formerly Stenbeck) on the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns'' from 1986 to 1991, when both he and the character were teenagers. He won the Daytime ...

, actor * Biff Liff, Broadway theater producer * Dave Matthews, singer and musician (

Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band (also known by the initials DMB) is an American rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1991. The band's founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer and bac ...

) * Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, U.S. Representative *

Buster Olney Robert "Buster" Olney (born ) is an American sports journalist for ESPN, ''ESPN: The Magazine'', and ESPN.com. He previously covered the New York Giants and New York Yankees for ''The New York Times''. He is also a regular analyst for the ES ...

, sportswriter *

Karen Olsen Beck Rita Karen Olsen Beck (born January 31, 1933 Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish American- Costa Rican diplomat, politician and social worker. She has served as the First Lady of Costa Rica during the governments of her husband Jose Figueres Ferre ...

, Costa Rican diplomat and politician,

First Lady of Costa Rica First Lady or First Gentleman of Costa Rica (Spanish: ''Primera dama o Primer caballero de Costa Rica'') is the title of the wife or husband of the president of Costa Rica. Traditionally, the president's wife was colloquially known as ''la presi ...

(1954–1958, 1970–1974) * RoseMarie Panio, politician *

Elisabeth Rethberg Elisabeth Rethberg ( Lisbeth Sättler; 22 September 1894 – 6 June 1976) was a German operatic soprano singer who was active from the period of the First World War through the early 1940s. Early years Rethberg was born Lisbeth Sättler ...

, soprano *

Alex Robinson Alex Robinson (born August 8, 1969) is an American comic book writer and artist. Early life Alex Robinson grew up in Yorktown Heights, New York, and graduated from Yorktown High School in 1987. After a year spent at SUNY Brockport, he went to t ...

, comic book writer and artist *

Mandy Rose Amanda Rose Saccomanno (born July 18, 1990) is an American professional wrestler, television personality, and fitness and figure competitor. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Mandy Rose. Rose began ...

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

wrestler * Dave Ross, radio talk show host *

Rich Silverstein Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (also known as GSP) is an advertising agency based in San Francisco. History The agency was founded on April 15, 1983 as Goodby, Berlin & Silverstein by Jeff Goodby, Andy Berlin and Rich Silverstein. Andy Berlin lef ...

, advertising executive and creative direcor (

Goodby, Silverstein & Partners Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (also known as GSP) is an advertising agency based in San Francisco. History The agency was founded on April 15, 1983 as Goodby, Berlin & Silverstein by Jeff Goodby, Andy Berlin and Rich Silverstein. Andy Berlin le ...

) *

George Yancopoulos George D. Yancopoulos (born 1959) is a Greek-American biomedical scientist who is the co-founder, president and chief scientific officer of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. Yancopoulos is the holder of more than 100 patents. He is a principal inventor ...

, biomedical scientist *

Rebekah Mercer Rebekah Mercer is an American heiress and Republican political donor who is the director of the Mercer Family Foundation. She began overseeing day-to-day operations of political projects for the Mercer family when the Mercers became involved i ...

, director of the Mercer Family Foundation

References

External links

Yorktown Landmarks
{{authority control Yorktown, New York Census-designated places in New York (state)