Tuxedo Park is a

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 ...

Orange County, New York Orange County is a List of counties in New York, county located in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen (village), New York, Goshen. This count ...

, United States. Its population was 645 at the 2020 census. It is part of the

Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area The Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget, is an area consisting of two counties in New York (state), New York's Hudson Valley, with the municipalit ...

as well as the larger

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

. Its name is derived from an indigenous Lenape word ptukwsiit (Munsee dialect) or tùkwsit (Unami dialect), meaning "round foot" or Wolf Clan. While there exists an alternate theory regarding the Munsee word ', which is said to mean 'crooked water' or 'crooked river', the Unami name for this location survives to this day: tùkwsitu, "place of the Wolf-Clan People". Tuxedo Park is a gated village in the southern part of the town of

Tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and North American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal ...

, near New York Route 17 and the

New York State Thruway The New York State Thruway (officially the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway and colloquially "the Thruway") is a system of controlled-access toll roads spanning within the U.S. state of New York. It is operated by the New York State Thruway ...

. The evening dress for men now popularly known as a ''

tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and North American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal ...

'' takes its name from Tuxedo Park. It was brought there by James Brown Potter, who was introduced to the garment, which is called a

dinner jacket Black tie is a semi-formal wear, semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and North American conventions for clothing, attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdoc ...

in England, by the Prince of Wales (later

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

History

The park is in the

Ramapo Mountains The Ramapo Mountains are a forested chain of the Appalachian Mountains in northeastern New Jersey and southeastern New York, in the United States. They range in height from in New Jersey, and in New York. Several parks and forest preserves e ...

. In the colonial era, it acquired a reputation for undeveloped iron deposits. In consequence, a company formed in England and headed by

William Alexander, Lord Stirling William Alexander, also known as Lord Stirling (December 27, 1725 – January 15, 1783), was a Scottish-American major general during the American Revolutionary War. He held a claim to be the male heir to the Scottish title of Earl of Stirl ...

, acquired a large tract in the neighborhood. The company built furnaces near Ringwood and opened mines on the Ramapo River near Sterling Lake. Pierre Lorillard II acquired the company and its land holdings in 1790. Once the iron deposits were depleted, the land was used for lumbering. What is now the village and the areas immediately surrounding it were first developed as a private hunting-and-fishing reserve by Pierre Lorillard IV in 1885. At that time it became known as "Tuxedo Park". Lorillard IV initially built small cottages, renting or selling them to his friends and family. The project grew so popular that he organized the Tuxedo Club and the Tuxedo Park Association, and surrounded the property with a high game fence. This fence fairly accurately marked the present boundaries of the area restricted to use of the residents of Tuxedo Park. In 1924 the Tuxedo Securities Corporation acquired from the Estate of Peter Lorillard, deceased, all of the stock of the Tuxedo Park Association. Wm Kent Cottage Tuxedo Park NY 1886 Bruce Price

Wm Kent Cottage Tuxedo Park NY 1886 Bruce Price

The original clubhouse, designed by

Bruce Price Bruce Price (December 12, 1845 – May 29, 1903) was an American architect and an innovator in the Shingle style architecture, Shingle Style. The stark geometry and compact massing of his cottages in Tuxedo Park, New York, influenced Modern ...

, was built in 1886 and was then replaced by a second clubhouse in 1928, which was designed by

John Russell Pope John Russell Pope (April 24, 1874 – August 27, 1937) was an American architecture, architect whose firm is widely known for designing major public buildings, including the National Archives and Records Administration building (completed in 193 ...

. This building was destroyed by fire in 1943, and was partially rebuilt soon thereafter. The

shingle style The shingle style is an American architectural style made popular by the rise of the New England school of architecture, which eschewed the highly ornamented patterns of the Eastlake style in Queen Anne architecture. In the shingle style, Engli ...

cottages Price built at Tuxedo, with their compact massing and axial plans influenced

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 ...

architects, including

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

. Queen Anne architecture with Tudor elements became popular for residences. Tuxedo Park enjoyed many prosperous years from 1885 until the 1920s. ''The Blue Book of Etiquette'' was written by

Emily Post Emily Post ( Price; October 27, 1872 – September 25, 1960) was an American author, novelist, and socialite famous for writing about etiquette. Early life and education Post was born Emily Bruce Price in Baltimore, Maryland, possibly in Octob ...

, who was the daughter of

. She wrote the book based on what she observed inside the great stone gates of Tuxedo. Other Tuxedo notables from that era include: * Grenville Kane – banker, heir, and longtime resident * Dorothy Draper – interior designer * Adele Colgate – heir to the Colgate/Palmolive fortune * Fernando Yznaga – banker; brother of Consuelo Yznaga, Duchess of Manchester * George Fisher Baker – banker *

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. As the head of the banking firm that ...

– banker *

Alfred Lee Loomis Alfred Lee Loomis (November 4, 1887 – August 11, 1975) was an American attorney, investment banker, philanthropist, scientist, physicist, inventor of the LORAN Long Range Navigation System and a lifelong patron of scientific research. He esta ...

– investment banker, scientist *

William Waldorf Astor William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (31 March 1848 – 18 October 1919) was an American-English attorney, politician, hotelier, publisher and philanthropist. Astor was a scion of the very wealthy Astor family of New York City. He moved t ...

* Herbert C. Pell * Augustus Juilliard * Millicent Rogers *

James Whitmore James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor. He received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Theatre World Award, and a Tony Award, plus two Ac ...

During the 1920s a new hospital and a high school were built through the generosity of a few Tuxedo Park residents, including John Insley Blair. In the years following the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, however, Tuxedo Park lost many of its

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

s and wealthy inhabitants, but attracted a few new ones, as well. One of the new residences was built by Angier Biddle Duke, (cousin to

Doris Duke Doris Duke (November 22, 1912 – October 28, 1993) was an American billionaire tobacco heiress, philanthropist, and socialite. She was often called "the richest girl in the world". Her great wealth, luxurious lifestyle, and love life attracted ...

), whose father-in-law, George Baker St. George, was an original resident of Tuxedo. St. George purchased and built for Duke and his wife, Priscilla St George, a new estate, "Duck Hollow". Duck Hollow was the last built estate in Tuxedo Park by the old " blue blood elite". While Duke and his wife were traveling abroad, as most elites did at that time, St. George had landscape architect Arthur P. Kroll landscape the property. By the time the Dukes returned from Europe, the property had been transformed and appeared to have been there for over 100 years. The area known as Tuxedo Park separated from the Town of Tuxedo and became incorporated in 1952, adopting the village form of government. Today it includes , of which includes three lakes, and about 330 housing units in 340 structures. Other newer housing developments outside of the gated Village of Tuxedo Park but in the Town of Tuxedo include the Tuxedo Heights Condominiums in Southfields built in 1971 on the site of a former bed factory, the Mountain View Apartments near the Sloatsburg line, and The Woodlands at Tuxedo (townhomes HOA) in the Eagle Valley section. The former private mansion residence of Loomis of

is sometimes referred to as the Loomis Laboratory, and it is now private rental apartments inside the Village of Tuxedo Park. Outside of the gated Village of Tuxedo Park, in the Town of Tuxedo were the former Red Apple Rest, and the Sterling Forest Ski Center, aka Tuxedo Ridge Ski Resort. This former ski property is home to the New York Renaissance Festival and various sporting events including Spartan Races. Also in the Town of Tuxedo is a former

International Paper The International Paper Company is an American pulp and paper company, the largest such company in the world. It has approximately 39,000 employees, and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. History The company was incorporated January 31 ...

Research Center today owned and occupied by Watchtower Organization. Just outside the gates of Tuxedo Park is the Hamlet of The Town of Tuxedo, which consists of numerous historic structures built around the time of the original Tuxedo Park development. Historic buildings include the Tuxedo Train station (Metro-North stop Tuxedo), the Tuxedo Park Library (designed by Bruce Price), and the Tuxedo Park Post Office and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church. In recognition of its

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

and architectural significance, the historic district was listed as Tuxedo Park on 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 ...

on March 13, 1980. In 1982 the designation was officially presented to Mrs. Joan Richardsson Alleman, Co-Chairman of the Tuxedo Conservation and Taxpayers Association, at the Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site in nearby Newburgh, NY. The designation was presented by Oren Lehman, Commissioner of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation and is displayed at the Tuxedo Park Village Office.

Geography

Tuxedo Park is at (41.201461, -74.201668). 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 village has an area of , of which is land and (17.03%) is water. The village is in Orange County near its border with Rockland County, in the Ramapo Mountains. The New York State Thruway ( Interstate 87) and New York State Route 17 pass east of the village, which is north of Sloatsburg.

Sterling Forest State Park Sterling Forest State Park is a state park located in the Ramapo Mountains in Orange County, New York. Established in 1998, it is among the larger additions to the New York state park system in the last 50 years. History Sterling Forest was ...

is west of the village, and Harriman State Park is to the east. Within the confines of the village are three lakes: Tuxedo Lake is the largest by far of the three and serves as the village reservoir, while the smaller Weewah Lake and Pond #2 serve as purely recreational bodies of water. No swimming or power-boating is allowed in Tuxedo Lake in order to retain optimal water quality.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 731 people, 291 households, and 215 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 363 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 94.4%

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 ...

, 0.7%

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American, 2.2% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 2.3% 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 5.1% of the population. There were 291 households, out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.9% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.88. In the village, the age distribution of the population shows 22.2% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 37.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $91,820, and the median income for a family was $102,056. Males had a median income of $70,536 versus $46,250 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 village was $63,538. About 1.9% of families and 4.4% 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 2.7% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over. Image:Henry W Poor house.jpg, Mansion of Henry W. Poor (of

Standard & Poor's S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is co ...

), 1903. Image:Clemens at Tuxedo NY.jpg,

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 ...

at the Voss cottage, 1907.

Education

It is in the Tuxedo Union Free School District.
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Notable people

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

, theoretical physicist * Dorothy Draper, American designer, interior decorator * Thibaut de Saint Phalle, American investment banker, former director of the

Export–Import Bank of the United States The Export–Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is the official export credit agency (ECA) of the United States federal government. Operating as a wholly owned federal government corporation, the bank "assists in financing and facilitating ...

Sutton Foster Sutton Lenore Foster (born March 18, 1975) is an American actress. She is known for her work on the Broadway stage, for which she has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical seven times, winning in 2002 for her role as ...

, actress, dancer, and singer *

Fred Gwynne Frederick Hubbard Gwynne (July 10, 1926 – July 2, 1993) was an American actor, artist and author, who is widely known for his roles in the 1960s television sitcoms '' Car 54, Where Are You?'' (as Francis Muldoon) and '' The Munsters'' (as Herm ...

, actor *

, attorney, investment banker, scientist, physicist, inventor of the

LORAN LORAN (Long Range Navigation) was a hyperbolic navigation, hyperbolic radio navigation system developed in the United States during World War II. It was similar to the UK's Gee (navigation), Gee system but operated at lower frequencies in order ...

, funded

RADAR Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

development before the government funded it *

Charles E. Mitchell Charles Edwin Mitchell (October 6, 1877 – December 14, 1955) was an American banker whose incautious securities policies facilitated the speculation which led to the Crash of 1929. First National City Bank's (now Citibank) controversial act ...

(October 6, 1877 – December 14, 1955), an American banker whose incautious

securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...

policies facilitated the

speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, good (economics), goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable in a brief amount of time. It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hope ...

which led to the Crash of 1929 * Ambrose Monell, American industrialist, former president of

International Nickel Company Vale Canada Limited (formerly Vale Inco, CVRD Inco and Inco Limited; for corporate branding purposes simply known as "Vale" and pronounced in English) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Brazilian mining company Vale. Vale's nickel mining and ...

and namesake of the

Monel Monel is a group of alloys of nickel (from 52 to 68%) and copper, with small amounts of iron, manganese, carbon, and silicon. Monel is not a cupronickel alloy because it has less than 60% copper. Stronger than pure nickel, Monel alloys are res ...

alloy * Charles Coudert Nast, attorney and U.S. Army major general *

Howard Shore Howard Leslie Shore (born October 18, 1946) is a Canadian composer, conductor and orchestrator noted for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for ''The Lord of the Rings'' and '' The Hobbit'' fi ...

, composer * Katharine St. George, former US Congressman * John F. (Jack) White, president of National Educational Television and the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art * Katherine Rosman, a reporter for the ''

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 ...

'' *

Gary Parr Gary Wilton Parr is an American investment banker and Wall Street executive. He is Senior Managing Director of Apollo Global Management and a member of its Management Committee. Previously, he was a Deputy Chairman and member of the Board of Dire ...

, investment banker *

Henry Varnum Poor Henry Varnum Poor (December 8, 1812 – January 4, 1905) was an American financial analyst and founder of H.V. and H.W. Poor Co, which later evolved into the financial research and analysis bellwether, Standard & Poor's. Biography Born in East ...

, founder of

Standard & Poor’s S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is consi ...

Guy Spier Guy Spier (; born February 4, 1966) is a Zurich-based Swiss-German-Israeli investor. He is the author of ''The Education of a Value Investor''. Spier is the manager of the Aquamarine Fund with $400 million in assets. He is well known for bidding ...

, hedge fund manager

Notable locations

* Jehovah's Witnesses World Headquarters * I.B.M. Sterling Forest

References

External links

Tuxedo Park Fire Department

Village of Tuxedo Park

Tuxedo Historical Society

Tuxedo Park FYI
{{authority control Villages in New York (state) Villages in Orange County, New York Ramapos Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Populated places established in 1886 Queen Anne architecture in New York (state) Italianate architecture in New York (state) Gated communities in New York (state) Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area National Register of Historic Places in Orange County, New York