Sparkill, formerly known as Tappan Sloat, is a suburban

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

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a 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 counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

in the Town of Orangetown,

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, United States located north of Palisades; east of Tappan; south of Piermont and west of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a population of 1,565. The hamlet is home to St. Thomas Aquinas College and the

Dominican Sisters of Sparkill The Dominican Congregation of Our Lady of the Rosary, better known as the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill, is an institute of religious sisters of the Third Order of Saint Dominic based in Sparkill, New York, which was founded in 1876. The congregat ...

Geography

Sparkill is located a
41°3′52″N 73°57′25″W
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 CDP has a total area of 0.529 square mile, all land.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,565 people, 503 homes, and 415 families in Sparkill. The population density was 2,958 persons per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 83.2% White, 2.0% African American, 0.1% Native American, 9.8% Asian, 2.5% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.2% of the population. There were 504 households, out of which 46.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.3% were married couples living together, and 17.7% were non-families. 30% of households had individuals over the age of 65. The average household size was 3.11 persons. The median age was 39.9 years. The median income for a household in the CDP was $77,440, and the median income for a family was $123,750. About 17.6% of all families, or 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.7% of those under the age of 18 and 5.5% of those above the age of 65.

Transportation

Important thoroughfares in Sparkill are

U.S. Route 9W U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the states of New Jersey and New York. It begins in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as Fletcher Avenue crosses the US 1–9, US 46, and the Interstate 95 (I-95) approache ...

New York State Route 340 New York State Route 340 (NY 340) is a state highway in southeastern Rockland County, New York, in the United States. Though it is signed as an east–west route, it actually follows a north–south alignment. The southern termi ...

, and Rockland County Route 8. The hamlet is located approximately 3.5 miles south of the Tappan Zee Bridge and 13.9 miles north of the

George Washington Bridge The George Washington Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting Fort Lee, New Jersey, with Manhattan in New York City. The bridge is named after George Washington, the first president of the United S ...

. Public transportation to Sparkill is served by

Rockland Coaches Rockland Coaches Inc., also known as The Red and Tan Lines, is a commuter coach company owned by Coach USA based in Westwood, New Jersey, United States, that operates commuter bus service between New York City and points in Bergen County, New Je ...

, also known as Red and Tan Lines, operated by

Coach USA Coach USA, LLC is a holding company for various American transportation service providers providing scheduled intercity bus service, local and commuter bus transit, city sightseeing, tour, yellow school bus, and charter bus service across the ...

. Rockland Coaches Route 9A connects Sparkill to the

George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal The George Washington Bridge Bus Station is a commuter bus terminal located at the east end of the George Washington Bridge in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan in New York City. The bus station is owned and operated by the Port Authori ...

, while Route 9T serves the

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving about 8,000 buse ...

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 ...

. All bus service operates from Depot Square, off of Main Street. Sparkill used to be served by the

Northern Branch The Northern Branch is a railroad line that runs from Jersey City to Northvale in northeastern New Jersey. The line was constructed in 1859 by the Northern Railroad of New Jersey to connect the New York and Erie Railroad's Piermont Branch te ...

of the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Er ...

, with service to

Pavonia Terminal Pavonia Terminal was the Erie Railroad terminal on the Hudson River situated on the landfilled Harsimus Cove in Jersey City, New Jersey. The station opened in 1861 and closed in 1958 when the Erie Railroad moved its passenger services to nearby ...

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.

Tourism

Historical markers

* Fremont Monument, Rockland Cemetery - Kings Highway * Hopson Swan Estate - ( NRHP) * Saint Charles A.M.E. Zion Church - 432 Valentine Avenue * Stonehurst - 65 Rockland Road

Landmarks and places of interest

1HOPSON-SWAN ESTATE, SPARKILL, ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY

CHRIST CHURCH, SPARKILL, ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY

Hopson-Swan Estate Hopson-Swan Estate is a national historic district and estate located at Sparkill in Rockland County, New York. It encompasses three contributing buildings and one contributing structure. The district is located within the boundaries of Tal ...

- 1850 * John Moore's Mill - Site on Sparkill Creek below Route 9W Viaduct, Sparkill-In early 19th century John Moore, an African American, operated a saw and grist mill and from 1810–15, a caning mill. * Rockland Cemetery - 201 Kings Highway - The cemetery was created in 1847, by Eleazar Lord, author, educator and first president of the

. Buried here are veterans of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and later wars;

John Charles Frémont John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, the Pathfinder; engineer

Henry Honychurch Gorringe Henry Honychurch Gorringe (August 11, 1841 – July 7, 1885) was a United States naval officer who attained national acclaim for successfully completing the removal of Cleopatra's Needle from Alexandria, Egypt to Central Park in New York Cit ...

, and local physician Dr. George A. Leitner. * Saint Charles A.M.E. Zion Church - 432 Valentine Avenue - Built in 1865. *

Tallman Mountain State Park Tallman Mountain State Park is a state park in Rockland County, New York, located adjacent to the Hudson River in the Town of Orangetown just south of Piermont. It is part of the Palisades Interstate Park System. History Tallman Mountain St ...

- Route 9W * The Christ Episcopal Church of Piermont - 416 Valentine Avenue - This stone church was built in 1865. It is Rockland’s first established Episcopal Church. The first service was held in 1847 in a converted warehouse. Christ Church was designed by the Rev. Charles Babcock, one of the preeminent architects in America at that time, and a founder of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

provided the plans for the church at no charge. The church with its Gothic Revival architecture and Norman-influenced interior, Christ Episcopal Church is quite similar to the many small "chapel-churches" found in the English or Irish countryside. It retains an original chapel altar installed in 1898, and its stone façade is accented by a stained-glass rose window. The window was obtained by the church in 1938 from the

Former Wayside Chapel The Former Wayside Chapel is a historic chapel at 24 River Road in Grand View-on-Hudson, Rockland County, New York. The Flemish Revival building was constructed in 1867–1869 and is a simple, rectangular building measuring . It is built of bro ...

in Grand View-on-Hudson when the chapel was converted to a private residence. *

Rockland Country Club Rockland Country Club is located in Sparkill, New York, and features an 18-hole golf course. History The club was incorporated in 1906 and commissioned Henry Stark to design a 9-hole course that was ready the following year. Robert White laid out ...

* St. Thomas Aquinas College *

Sparkill Creek Sparkill Creek, is a tributary of the Hudson River in Rockland County, New York and Bergen County, New Jersey in the United States. It flows through the Sparkill Gap in the Hudson Palisades, which was created by a fault line which provided the o ...

References

External links

Historical Markers and War Memorials in Sparkill, New York
{{authority control Hamlets in New York (state) Census-designated places in Rockland County, New York Census-designated places in New York (state) Hamlets in Rockland County, New York