Rye is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Westchester County, New York,

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. The population was 49,613 at the 2020 United States census over 45,928 at the 2010 census. It is a separate municipality from the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

of Rye. The Town of Rye contains two

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

s – Port Chester and Rye Brook – and the Rye Neck section of the village of Mamaroneck (the remainder of the village of Mamaroneck is in the town of Mamaroneck). Port Chester, Rye Brook and Rye Neck comprise the entire area of the town of Rye.

History

The town of Rye has its original roots on Manursing Island. On June 29, 1660, three settlers living in "Grenege" (now known as

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Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

), Thomas Studwell, John Coe, and Peter Disbrow, purchased Manursing Island (called Menussing by the Indians) from the Mohegan Indians. A tract of land lying between the Byram River and Blind Brook was sold by the Indians to Peter Disbrow on May 22, 1661. That year the four men were joined by John Budd, an original settler of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

(Southold) and, previously, New Haven. The four men bought additional lands from the Indians on June 2, 1662. The four men are regarded as the founders of Rye. Another settler, John Horton, purchased some additional lands. By 1662, the town of Hastings had 12 proprietors: Thomas Studwell, John Brondig, William Odell, Thomas Applebe, Philip Galpin, Richard Fowler, William Odell, Peter Disbrow, John Coe, Samuel Allen, Thomas Studwell and John Budd. A neighboring town named Hastings was merged into Rye in the 1660s, no later than 1666, as a 1666 sale of house by John Budd to a George Kniffen of Stratford for 37 pounds, ten shillings, was noted as having been conducted "by agreement of the men of Hastings, now called Rye." (Rye and Hastings are adjacent towns in East Sussex, England.) Connecticut and New York both claimed the area, but in these early days, the colonists considered themselves to be under the protection of Connecticut. Connecticut formally ceded Rye to New York in 1683 as part of a boundary agreement, cementing the Connecticut Panhandle. John Budd, who in 1663 was selected by the colonists to be its representative to the government of Connecticut, had purchased a large portion of land west of Blind Brook, an area called Apawquammis by the Indians, for the sum of eighty pounds sterling on November 8, 1661, one of three major land purchases by Budd from the Indians in the area that month. In 1666, Budd purchased yet another large parcel. By this time, other colonists had grown concerned at the size of Budd's holdings, and Budd's willingness to "settle people upon it", which they regarded as "extreamely prejuditial to the towne" of Rye. On October 2, 1668, nine inhabitants of Rye, apparently led by Peter Disbrow, petitioned the governor in

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

to force Budd to sell some of his holdings to them. The petition failed, and Budd continued selling tracts to new settlers, as did his descendants. One such sale, in 1745, of was from another John Budd, a grandson of the founder, to Peter Jay, father of

John Jay John Jay (, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, diplomat, signatory of the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served from 1789 to 1795 as the first chief justice of the United ...

, subsequently the president of the Continental Congress, co-author with

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

and James Madison of ''

The Federalist Papers ''The Federalist Papers'' is a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the collective pseudonym "Publius" to promote the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. The ...

'', and Chief Justice of the United States, among other major distinctions. The town grew and developed Poningo Neck, the current business district of the city of Rye, and finally the Saw Pit area, known today as Port Chester. Original roads, including the Post Road, King Street, and Grace Church Street, are some of the oldest roads, then carriage paths, that led residents in and out of the area. The Rye Town Park-Bathing Complex and Oakland Beach, 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 2003, is located in city of Rye but is accessible for residents of the town and its villages.

Geography

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 town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 5.81%, is water. The town of Rye consists of two discontiguous portions. The City of Rye separates the village of Mamaroneck (to the southwest) from the villages of Port Chester and Rye Brook (to the north and northeast). Rye Town is not to be mistaken with Rye City.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 43,880 people, 15,389 households, and 10,818 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 15,813 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 71.30%

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 ...

, 5.14%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.35% Native American, 2.88% Asian, 0.04%

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 ...

, 15.41% from other races, and 4.88% from two or more races.

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or Latino of any race were 32.51% of the population. There were 15,389 households, out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.31. 23.5% of the town's population was under the age of 18, 8.5% were from 18 to 24, 33.3% were from 25 to 44, 20.7% were from 45 to 64, and 14.0% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $56,675, and the median income for a family was $65,342. Males had a median income of $42,868 versus $36,875 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $28,948. About 6.9% of families and 9.8% 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 10.5% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

Parks

The Town of Rye operates two parks. *Crawford Park sits on in the village of Rye Brook. It contains soccer fields, a pavilion area, softball field, open fields, a playground, and the mansion. *Rye Town Park/Oakland Beach is located along Forest Avenue in the city of Rye on sixty two acres of grasslands, forests, open fields, duck pond, and beach. It is next to Playland Park on

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

References

External links

Town of Rye official websiteVillage of Port ChesterChronicle of a Border Town. History of Rye, Westchester County, New York, 1660–1680; including Harrison and White Plains till 1788. By Charles W. Baird. [The Atlantic monthly. / Volume 29, Issue 173, March 1872]