Viola is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

and

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 counte ...

in the town of Ramapo,

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 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. It is located north of Airmont, east of Montebello, south of Wesley Hills, and west of Hillcrest. The population was 6,868 at the 2010 census.

History

Alms House

The Alms House (or County Poor House) was established in 1837, at Viola (then known as Mechanicsville) in the town of Ramapo, for the poor and destitute (debtors). It was located west of New City. Rockland County had purchased the parsonage farm of the Kakiat (West New Hempstead) Dutch Reformed Church (also known as the Brick Church) for use as an

alms house An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the poor of a locality, for those who had held cer ...

. There the county originally built a wooden frame house to serve the poor. The inmates contributed to their upkeep by tending the farm. In 1883, a brick building was constructed. The facility included a school for the children. In 1957, the Alms House was moved to Building "C" at the Pomona Health Center in Summit Park, and the property would become the site of

Rockland Community College Rockland Community College (RCC) is a public community college in Rockland County, New York. It is part of the State University of New York. The college, established in 1959, became the 18th community college to join the SUNY system. The colleg ...

. The Alms House was renamed the Rockland County Infirmary and Home. In 1977, it was removed to Building "A". It has been renamed the Summit Park Nursing Care Center. The old brick Alms House building remains as an administration building (Daniel T. Brucker Hall), used by Rockland Community College. The farm lands are the campus. The Poor Cemetery (Potter's Field) remains on the RCC campus, along with the original Gary Onderdonk Veterans' Cemetery.

Geography

Viola is located at (41.126295, -74.083285). 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 CDP has a total area of , all land.

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 5,931 people, 1,681 households, and 1,250 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 1,738 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.81%

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 ...

, 0.32%

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 ...

, 0.05% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.07%

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 ...

, 0.46% from other races, and 0.62% 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 2.61% of the population. There were 1,681 households, out of which 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 4.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.6% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.53 and the average family size was 4.34. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 39.9% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 17.6% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $59,821, and the median income for a family was $87,273. Males had a median income of $68,533 versus $39,375 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 CDP was $27,289. About 4.9% of families and 6.5% 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 6.3% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

East Ramapo Central School District East Ramapo Central School District is a school district in Ramapo, New York, United States. It is headquartered in the Senator Eugene Levy Dr. Jack R. Anderson Education Center. History 20th century On March 4, 1952, seven school districts m ...

and Suffern Central School District (formerly Ramapo Central) serve portions of Viola.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in New York (state) Hamlets in New York (state) Census-designated places in Rockland County, New York Hamlets in Rockland County, New York