Peekskill is a city in northwestern

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...

, United States, north of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

, across from Jones Point 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. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state's ...

. The population was 25,431 at the 2020 U.S. census, up from 23,583 at the 2010 census. It is the third-largest municipality in northern Westchester County, after Cortlandt and Yorktown. The area was an early American industrial center, primarily for iron plow and stove products. The Binney & Smith Company, now named Crayola LLC and makers of

Crayola Crayola LLC, formerly the Binney & Smith Company, is an American manufacturing and retail company specializing in list of art media, art supplies. It is known for its brand ''Crayola'' and best known for its crayons. The company is headquartered ...

products, is linked to the Peekskill Chemical Company founded by Joseph Binney at Annsville in 1864, and succeeded by a partnership by his son Edwin and nephew Harold Smith in 1885. The well-publicized Peekskill Riots of 1949 involved attacks and a

lynching 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 or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of i ...

-in-effigy occasioned by

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...

's benefit concerts for the

Civil Rights Congress The Civil Rights Congress (CRC) was a United States civil rights organization, formed in 1946 at a national conference for radicals and disbanded in 1956. It succeeded the International Labor Defense, the National Federation for Constitutional L ...

, although the main assault following the September concert properly took place in nearby

Van Cortlandtville Cortlandt is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States, located at the northwestern edge of the county, at the eastern terminus of the Bear Mountain Bridge. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,545. The town includes the vil ...

. Nevertheless, the city of Peekskill has since had multiple African American mayors since 1984.

History

Pre-Revolution

In September 1609, English explorer

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the Northeastern United States. In 1607 and 16 ...

, captain of the '' Half Moon'', anchored along the reach of the

at Peekskill. His first mate noted in the ship's log that it was a "very pleasant place to build a town". After the establishment of the province of

New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

resident Jan Peeck made the first recorded contact with the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

people of this area, then identified as "Sachoes". The date is not certain (possibly early 1640s), but agreements and merchant transactions took place, formalized in the Ryck's Patent Deed of April 21, 1685. BookRecords190L

Peekskill'' derives from a combination of Peeck's surname and the Dutch word for stream, '' kil'' or ''kill''.

Indian Village of Sachoes

Not much is currently known about the village of the Sachoes or their origin. It was suggested by city historian Charles Arthur Clark that the grove of tall pine trees that the Sachoes lived amongst were "not a native of this region, so it is believed that Indians must have brought them from somewhere, and planted them. The same may be believed about the cluster of weeping willow trees indicated." The last known Sachem (chief) of the Sachoes at the time of the signing of Ryck's Patent was named Sirham. After trading with Jan Peeck for a considerable amount of the time, the Sachoes began calling the creek where he set up his trading post as "John Peek's Creek" and is likely how the city's name came to be. Some early writings regarding the Natives and Peekskill refer to the last Sachem as "Saham." Other names quoted as the locality now known as Peekskill were Sachus, Sackhoes and Sackock. They are equivalents and refer to the outlet of Magregere's Brook and have the same meaning - "at the mouth or outlet of a creek or river." Their territory extended from this brook to Dickey Brook which runs through Depew Park and Blue Mountain Reservation. Sachus is regarded as the first Sachem of Sachoes. This name can be translated "black kettle". After the signing of the patent, portions of then Van Cortlandt Manor, north of Magregories brook remained in its wilderness state and the natives roamed the entire section until approximately 1742.

Appearance in World's End

The Sachoe tribe play a prominent role in World's End, a novel by T. C. Boyle which takes place in a fictitious version of Peekskill named Peterskill.

Fort Independence

On the north bank of Annsville Creek as it empties into the Hudson, Fort Independence combined with Forts Montgomery and Clinton to defend the Hudson River Valley. Fort Independence was built in August 1776, while Forts Montgomery and Clinton were started in June.Dunwell, F.F., 1991, The Hudson River highlands, New York: Columbia University Press; Fort Hill Park, the site of Camp Peekskill, contained five barracks and two redoubts. Settlement was slow in the early 18th century. By the time of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, the tiny community was an important manufacturing center, which made it attractive to the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

, which established an outpost here in 1776. Several creeks and streams powered mills, which provided gunpowder, leather, planks, and flour. Slaughterhouses provided fresh meat, easily shipped from docks along the river. Much was needed to support several other forts and garrisons located to support the

Hudson River Chains The Hudson River Chains were a series of chain booms constructed across the Hudson River at West Point by Continental Army forces from 1776 to 1778 during the American Revolutionary War. These served as defenses preventing British naval vessels ...

between

Bear Mountain Bridge The Bear Mountain Bridge, ceremonially named the Purple Heart Veterans Memorial Bridge, is a toll suspension bridge in New York State. It carries U.S. Route 6 in New York, US 6 and U.S. Route 202 in New York, US 202 across the Hudso ...

and

Anthony's Nose Anthony's Nose is a peak in the Hudson Highlands along the east bank of the Hudson River in the hamlet of Cortlandt Manor, New York. It lies at the extreme northwest end of Westchester County, and serves as the east anchor of the Bear Moun ...

during the Revolution to prevent British naval passage upriver. Though Peekskill's terrain and mills were beneficial to the Patriot cause, they also made tempting targets for British raids. The most damaging attack took place in early spring of 1777, when an invasion force of a dozen vessels led by a warship and supported by infantry overwhelmed the American defenders. On leaving New Windsor in June 1781, Washington briefly established his quarters at Peekskill.

Post-Revolution

Peekskill's first legal incorporation of 1816 was reactivated in 1826 when Village elections took place. The Village was further incorporated within the Town of Cortlandt in 1849 and remained so until separating as a city in 1940. In 1859,

Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the Abolitionism, abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery ...

bought a 36-acre farm at Peekskill. He made many improvements and established a summer home for his family. In 1902, the locally prominent McFadden family bought the property. In 1987, the Beecher-McFadden Estate was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. In August 1949, following reports misquoting

's speech to the World Peace Conference in Paris as saying that

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

would not fight for the United States in any prospective war against the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, a planned benefit concert for the

in Peekskill was canceled amid

White Nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a Race (human categorization), raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara ...

and

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

violence. An effigy of Robeson 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 or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of in ...

in the town. The artists planned a second concert in nearby

on a farm owned by a Holocaust survivor. (His house was subsequently shot into and brickbats thrown through his windows.) The publicity drew a crowd of around 20,000, and two men with rifles were discovered and removed before any violence during the concert. It was one of the earliest performances of

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

's " If I Had a Hammer"; Robeson sang surrounded by union guards and volunteers from the audience as protection against snipers. Afterward, area police and state troopers directed exiting traffic down a single road into an ambush where rocks were thrown through car windows (even at cars with small children). Some were overturned and their occupants beaten without police intervention. These Peekskill Riots were subsequently well-publicized in news reports and folk songs and formed a major event in E.L. Doctorow's historical fiction novel ''

The Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th-century BC setting. It is ostensibly a narrative detailing the experiences and prophetic visions of Daniel, a Jewish exile in Babylon. The text features prophecy ro ...

''. Peekskill was the landing point of a fragment of the Peekskill Meteorite, just before midnight on October 9, 1992. At least 16 people recorded the meteoric trail on film. This was only the fourth meteorite in history for which an exact orbit is known. The rock had a mass of and punched through the trunk of a Peekskill resident's automobile upon impact. The ''Peekskill Evening Star'' and the ''Peekskill Highland Democrat'' were two of the city's daily newspapers through much of the city's history. The ''Evening Star'' published under various mastheads from the 19th century on, and as the ''Evening Star'' from 1939 until 1985, when the paper folded into what became the nexus of the ''Journal News'', a conglomeration of local papers throughout Westchester County. But the ''Journal News'' focused more on statewide and New York City issues, which led to the founding of the ''Peekskill Herald'' in 1986. Although numerous prominent citizens came together to try to keep the paper afloat after a series of

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

articles about the paper's foundering fiscal situation, it folded in 2005, replaced by the ''Peekskill Daily'' in 2009. The Centennial Firehouse, built in 1890, was under a U.S. Route 9 bridge. During the bridge's original construction in 1932, part of the roof of the firehouse was removed. As part of a 2008 highway reconstruction project it was to be relocated to a new historic district. The city spent $150,000 in grant money in preparing the building. Unfortunately a mechanical failure during a turn caused the building to collapse. In 1984, Richard E. Jackson became Peekskill's first African American mayor.

Geography

Peekskill is located at (41.2889, −73.9200) in northwestern

Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has an area of , of which is land and (20.99%) is water. The city's eastern border is the Town of Cortlandt and its western border is the

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 23,583 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 35.8% White, 21.4% Black, 0.2% Native American, 2.9% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from some other race and 2.5% from two or more races. 36.9% were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

in 2020, the city was 13.8%

Ecuadorian Ecuadorians () are people identified with the South American country of Ecuador. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Ecuadorians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source o ...

, 10.4% was Puerto Rican, 4.9% Guatemalan. As of the census of 2000, there were 22,441 people, 8,696 households, and 5,348 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 9,053 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 57.12%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 25.54%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.42% Native American, 2.38% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 9.83% from other races, and 4.64% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 21.92% of the population. There were 8,696 households, out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.7% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.5% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.18. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 34.9% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $47,177, and the median income for a family was $52,645. Males had a median income of $38,091 versus $34,757 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,595. About 10.3% of families and 13.7% of the population were below the poverty line.

Arts and culture

Some local art-related highlights include
Paramount Center for the Arts
a restored 1930 movie palace that served as the area's cultural hub, offering music, comedy, drama and independent films before suspending operations in 2012 and reopening in 2013 as the Paramount Hudson Valley Theater; STUDIO No.9 Gallery and Workshops; and the Peekskill Coffee House, which showcases local acts. The Bean Runner Cafe, on South Division Street, and 12 Grapes, on North Division Street, also showcase local artists and musicians. The Hudson Valley Museum of Contemporary Art (Hudson Valley MOCA), formerly known as the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, has a 12,000-foot exhibition space and an artist-in-residence program.

Media

Locally owned

WLNA WLNA (1420 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Peekskill, New York, and serving the Hudson Valley. The station is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and calls itself "The Beacon." It simulca ...

1420 AM has served the community since 1948.

Parks

The town has several parks and recreation areas, including Charles Point, with bay and river views; Depew Park, which has pools and a pond in addition to ballfields and trails and is the home of the Recreation Department headquarters; Franklin Park; Lepore Park; Fort Hill Park; Peekskill Dog Park; Peekskill Stadium; Riverfront Green Park; and Tompkins Park (home of Little League).

Education

Primary and secondary schools

The

Peekskill City School District Peekskill City School District (PCSD) is the school district of Peekskill, New York. It covers the entire city. History It was headed by Superintendent Judith Johnson, the 2008 New York State School Superintendent of the Year, up until 2011. ...

is the local school district, covering the entire city, with Peekskill High School the main high school. The

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York City and the count ...

operates Catholic schools in Westchester County. Our Lady of the Assumption School in Peekskill closed in 2013. The closest Catholic school to Peekskill is St. Columbanus School, which is in Cortlandt Manor.

Healthcare

Peekskill is served by the Hudson Valley Hospital Center (HVHC), founded in 1889 as Peekskill Hospital on lower South Street. In 2014, the hospital began an affiliation with

New York-Presbyterian Hospital The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (abbreviated as NYP) is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City. It is the primary teaching hospital for Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. The hospit ...

and is now called New York Presbyterian – Hudson Valley Hospital. The hospital has 128 inpatient beds and includes a comprehensive cancer center, maternity center, neonatal intensive care unit, and surgery center, among other patient care services. The city also has an emergency medical service staffed by EMTs and

paramedic A paramedic is a healthcare professional trained in the medical model, whose main role has historically been to respond to emergency calls for medical help outside of a hospital. Paramedics work as part of the emergency medical services (EMS), ...

s from the city's fire department and volunteer ambulance corps. The fire department staffs seven EMTs and eight paramedics whereas the volunteer corps has 60 active riding members. Most patients are transported to NYP-Hudson Valley Hospital.

Transportation

Peekskill train station provides commuter service to

, away via

Metro-North Railroad The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State publ ...

. The

Bee-Line Bus System The Westchester County Bee-Line System, branded on the buses in lowercase as ''the bee-line system'', is a bus system serving Westchester County, New York. The system is owned by the county's Department of Public Works and Transportation. Histor ...

provides bus service to Peekskill on routes 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 31. The

, to the northwest, gives road access to

Bear Mountain State Park Bear Mountain State Park is a state park located on the west bank of the Hudson River in Rockland County, New York, Rockland and Orange County, New York, Orange counties, New York (state), New York. The park offers biking, hiking, boating, pic ...

across the

Palisades Interstate Parkway The Palisades Interstate Parkway (PIP) is a controlled-access parkway in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. The parkway is a major commuter route into New York City from Rockland and Orange counties in New York and Bergen County in ...

and to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

at West Point via

US 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6) or U.S. Highway 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the Grand Army of the Republic, American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the United States Numbere ...

and

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

. The Croton Expressway portion of US 9 ends here.

NY 9A New York State Route 9A (NY 9A) is a state highway in the vicinity of New York City in the United States. Its southern terminus is at Battery Place near the northern end of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel in New York City, where it inte ...

and NY 35 also run through the city.

Notable people

* Hilton Armstrong,

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

basketball professional, is a Peekskill High School graduate. * Reggie Austin, an actor, was born in Peekskill and is a Peekskill High School Graduate. *

Peter Bagge Peter Bagge (pronounced , as in ''bag''; born December 11, 1957) is an American cartoonist whose best-known work includes the comics ''Neat Stuff'' and ''Hate (comics), Hate''. His stories often use black humor and exaggerated cartooning to drama ...

, a noted cartoonist, was born and brought up in Peekskill. *

Becca Balint Rebecca A. Balint ( ; born May 4, 1968) is an American politician who is a member of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont's at-large congressional district as a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. ...

, Congresswoman for Vermont's at-large congressional district, raised in Peekskill * Moses S. Beach, politician,

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American conservative news website and former newspaper based in Manhattan, New York. From 2009 to 2021, it operated as an (occasional and erratic) online-only publisher of political and economic opinion pieces, as we ...

's owner, friend of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

was an influential Civil War-era minister who built his family mansion on East Main Street in 1878. * T. C. Boyle, a novelist, is a former Peekskill resident. *

Elton Brand Elton Tyron Brand (born March 11, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player and the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing college basketball for Duke, he was selecte ...

, an

All-Star basketball professional, is a Peekskill High School graduate. Brand is now General Manager of the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

. *

Benjamin Civiletti Benjamin Richard Civiletti (July 17, 1935October 16, 2022) was an American lawyer who served as the United States Attorney General during the Carter administration, from 1979 to 1981. The first Italian American to lead the U.S. Department of Jus ...

, a former United States Attorney General and attorney, was born in Peekskill. * Harriet Redfield Cobb, longtime math professor at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

, born in Peekskill *

Chauncey Depew Chauncey Mitchell Depew (April 23, 1834April 5, 1928) was an American attorney, businessman, and Republican politician. He is best remembered for his two terms as United States Senator from New York and for his work for Cornelius Vanderbilt, a ...

was chairman of the board of the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

and then served as a United States senator for New York. * Peekskill and Waterfront

Abel Ferrara Abel Ferrara (; born July 19, 1951) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for the provocative and often controversial content in his movies and his use and redefinition of neo-noir imagery. A long-time independent filmmaker, some of his best ...

, an independent filmmaker, was born in the Bronx, moved to Peekskill as a child and graduated from high school there. *

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

, actor, director, producer and screenwriter, was born in Peekskill. *

Jackie Gleason Herbert John Gleason (born Herbert Walton Gleason Jr.; February 26, 1916June 24, 1987), known as Jackie Gleason, was an American comedian, actor, writer, and composer also known as "The Great One". He developed a style and characters from growin ...

, actor and comedian, lived in Peekskill from 1959 to 1963. * Theodore Haupt, American

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

artist, lived in Peekskill from 1941 until 1948. * Samuel Frost Haviland, established first bank in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. * James William Husted was a U.S. Representative from New York. * Richard E. Jackson, a former Peekskill mayor, was the first African-American mayor in New York State. * Tre Johnson, a former NFL lineman, graduated from Peekskill High School, and had a nine-year NFL career highlighted by his selection to the 2000 Pro Bowl with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. * Malcolm Koonce,

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

Defensive End for the

Los Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team pl ...

* Sean Murphy,

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

catcher for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. He previously served in the State Legislature from 1985 to 1994, and as the mayor of Peekskill from 1981 to 1984 ...

, former New York Governor was born in Peekskill. He served as Peekskill's mayor from 1981 to 1984. * Cornelius A. Pugsley was a congressman and preservationist whose name is still attached to a national preservation award for public parks. *

Paul Reubens Paul Reubens (; ; August 27, 1952 – July 30, 2023) was an American actor and comedian, widely known for creating and portraying the character Pee-wee Herman. Born in Peekskill, New York and raised in both Oneonta, New York and Sarasota, Flo ...

, an entertainer (aka

Pee-wee Herman Pee-wee Herman is a comedy character created and portrayed by the American comedian Paul Reubens. He starred in films and television series during the 1980s. The childlike Pee-wee Herman character developed as a stage act that quickly led to an ...

) *

Kirtanananda Swami Kirtanananda Swami (; September 6, 1937 – October 24, 2011), also known as Swami Bhaktipada, was a Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Gaudiya Vaishnava guru, the co-founder of New Vrindaban, a Hare Krishna movement, Hare Krishna community in Marshall Coun ...

Bhaktipada (born Keith Gordon Ham), Hare Krishna guru *

Herb Trimpe Herbert William Trimpe (; May 26, 1939 – April 13, 2015) was an American comics artist and occasional writer, best known as the seminal 1970s artist on '' The Incredible Hulk'' and as the first artist to draw for publication the character Wol ...

, a longtime

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

artist (''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...

'') was raised in Peekskill. *

Stanley Tucci Stanley Tucci Jr. ( ; born November 11, 1960) is an American actor. Known as a character actor, he has played a wide variety of roles ranging from menacing to sophisticated, earning numerous accolades, including six Emmy Awards and two Golden ...

, an actor, was born in Peekskill.

Popular culture

The 1980s American

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

'' The Facts of Life'' was about teenagers and young women who attend a fictional all-girls' boarding school in Peekskill, Eastland School for Girls (inspired by a now-defunct all-girls school that still overlooks the city) and similarly fictional Langley College.

References

External links

* * *
Tocqueville in Peekskill
' – Segment from

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

's '' Alexis de Tocqueville Tour'' {{authority control Cities in New York (state) New York (state) populated places on the Hudson River Populated places established in 1684 Cities in Westchester County, New York Cities in the New York metropolitan area 1684 establishments in the Province of New York