http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Chester,_New_YorkPort Chester is a
village in
Westchester County,
New York,
United States. The population is 27,867, according to the 2000 census, however, a
July 1,
2002 Census estimate puts the village's population at 27,949. As a village, it is located in the
Town of
Rye.
Port Chester has a
Metro North railroad stationGeographyPort Chester is located at
41°0′18″N, 73°40′8″W (41.005099, -73.668822)
GR1.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 6.4
km² (2.5
mi²). 6.1 km² (2.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (5.22%) is water.
HistorySee Also:
The History of the Town of RyeSawpitIn 1660, three settlers from "Greenwidge:" (later known as Greenwich, Connecticut) Thomas Stedwell, John Coe, and Peter Disbrow arranged to buy Manursing Island and the land near the Byram River from the Mohegan Indians. The land near the Byram River is now Port Chester. The Village was originally known as Saw Pit for the saw pits which were in use during the time. Logs were cut in holes in the ground for wood to be used for shipbuilding. The name of Sawpit was used for the first time in 1732. It eventually outgrew this name and became Port Chester by incorporating as a village in 1868. When Port Chester was first incorporated as a Village, it was considered a major seaport.
In 1665, Sawpit was claimed by both
New York and
Connecticut. However, the land was given back to the New York Colony by Connecticut in 1683. This struggle over the ownership of Sawpit continued for almost 105 years. In 1788, the Legislature of New York ruled that Sawpit was a part of the Town of Rye in New York.
Early Transportation in the VillageTravel is considered very dangerous as it was in the early years of Sawpit. Good roads are hard to find that exist today, the
Boston Post Road,
King Street, and Grace Church Streets are some of the migration paths in the Sawpit/Town of Rye settlement. Most roads, however, only consist of rough dirt, which makes transportation via water very important. The local waterways, the
Byram River and the
Long Island Sound were very important to the growth and development of Sawpit/Port Chester. Because of the closeness to these waterways, early residents took part in boat building, farming, and shell fishing.
DemographicsAs of the
censusGR2 of 2000, there were 27,867 people, 9,531 households, and 6,376 families residing in the village. The
population density was 4,559.1/km² (11,824.7/mi²). There were 9,772 housing units at an average density of 1,598.7/km² (4,146.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 60.70%
White, 6.99%
African American, 0.40%
Native American, 2.06%
Asian, 0.04%
Pacific Islander, 22.98% from
other races, and 6.83% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 46.23% of the population.
There were 9,531 households out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were
married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.44.
In the village the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 35.2% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 102.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.6 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $45,381, and the median income for a family was $51,025. Males had a median income of $32,848 versus $32,461 for females. The
per capita income for the village was $21,131. About 10.1% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over.
EconomyPort Chester is a notable community in Southern Westchester because of its huge amounts of Latino immigrants. This is significant because the surrounding towns,
Rye,
Harrison,
Mamaroneck, and especially
Greenwich, Connecticut are known for high-income Caucasian populations. Greenwich, which directly borders Port Chester to the east, is one of the wealithiest municipalities in the United States. Mostly thanks to blue-collar business, Port Chester has become a significant commercial center in recent years. Business grew considerably with the opening of a Costco branch and "The Waterfront", a large shopping center and movie theater on Main Street and Westchester Avenue. The Waterfront Complex was projected to be a major economic improvement for downtown Port Chester that has been in the works since 1982, when the Industrial Development Agency began planning for the redevelopment of this area. Unfortunately for Port Chester's economy, this development of the downtown area would not take place for almost another 20 years.
Notable residentsJon Alpert, reporter and documentary filmmaker
Andre Roy, NHL player
David Telesco, Professional light-heavyweight boxer and sanitation worker
Anthony Hill, Semi-pro bicyclist
Elliot del Borgo, American composer
Meaghan Francella, LPGA player
Arnold Diaz, Reporter and Consumer Investigator for Fox 5 News NY
Bruce Fonseca, Semi-Professional Race Car Driver
TriviaPort Chester was home to world record holder
Peter J. Vita. Peter holds the world record for the longest working career as a
barber. He died on January 7, 2004.
The
Lifesavers Company operated a factory in Port Chester from 1920 until 1984. The building is one of Port Chester's most prominent landmarks.
Port Chester was home to the first
Caldor department store.
Port Chester is home to the world famous
Pat's Hubba Hubba restaurant.
Port Chester is the home town of Ed Sullivan. He went to Port Chester High School and raised his family here.
Port Chester's Capitol Theatre is a national landmark, which was a 1920s movie theatre and hosted live music for decades, including the Grateful Dead, Phish, The Rolling Stones, Jane's Addiction, Ice T's Body Count, Pink Floyd, Parliament/Funkadelic, Edgar Winter, David Bowie, The Allman Brothers, The Doors, Janis Joplin, Chicago, Black Sabbath, and the first NY performance by The Dictators.
Port Chester's name comes from it being the eastern port of Westchester. Some of its other names included Saw Pit/Saw Pit Landing/Sawpits (for its lumber operations) and Haseco, the original Native American name for the village, which meant "grown too long and gotten woody."
The Abendroth Brothers foundry was one of the largest industries in latter day Port Chester. It was large enough to have its own locomotive. Although it seems strange nowadays, Port Chester had many industrial companies.
Port Chester is the home of Marvel Mystery Oil. Although the brand was sold in the 1990s to DAP/RPM, it was based in Port Chester until that time. Their building still stands, with the Marvel signs intact.
Techno musician Moby got his start in Port Chester and neighboring Greenwich, CT. He played frequently at the Adee Street club "The Beat".
Port Chester was the terminus on one branch of the original Westchester railroad, the New York, Westchester and Boston, from 1906-1946.
US Route 1 (aka The Boston Post Road) runs directly though Port Chester in the form of Main Street. It is also parallel to I-95 and I-287 ends in Port Chester. Westchester Avenue also ends in Port Chester.
Port Chester's port history appears in some interesting places. Near the corner of Main Street and Westchester Avenue, there is an old bank building. In front of it and embedded in the sidewalk to this day are brass hand-set letters which read "Steamship Tickets."
External LinksPort Chester official websitePort Chester Rye Brook Chamber of Commerce websiteInTown Westchester MagazineThe Journal News, the local newspaperNew York town sued over Hispanic voter rights-ReutersThe Town of Rye Official WebsiteMaps and aerial photos Coordinates:
41.005099° -73.668822°Street map from
Google Maps, or
Yahoo! Maps, or
Windows Live LocalSatellite image from
Google Maps,
Windows Live Local,
WikiMapiaTopographic map from
TopoZoneAerial image or topographic map from
TerraServer-USA 
