Dobbs Ferry, New York
Encyclopedia
Dobbs Ferry is a village in Westchester County
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...

, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 10,875 at the 2010 census.

The Village of Dobbs Ferry is located in, and is a part of, the town of Greenburgh
Greenburgh, New York
Greenburgh is a town in the western part of Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 88,400 at the 2010 census. Paul J. Feiner has been the Town Supervisor since 1991.-History:...

. The village ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

 is 10522.

History

Named after a ferry service that traversed the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...

 at this location, Dobbs Ferry played a vital role in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

. In July and August, 1781, during the seventh year of the war, Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

 troops, commanded by General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

, were encamped in Dobbs Ferry and neighboring localities, alongside allied French forces under the command of the Comte de Rochambeau
Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau
Marshal of France Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau was a French nobleman and general who participated in the American Revolutionary War as the commander-in-chief of the French Expeditionary Force which came to help the American Continental Army...

.

A large British army controlled Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

 at the time, and Washington chose the Dobbs Ferry area for encampment because he hoped to probe for weaknesses in the British defenses, just 12 miles (19.3 km) to the south. But on August 14, 1781, a communication was received from French Admiral Comte de Grasse
François Joseph Paul de Grasse
Lieutenant Général des Armées Navales François-Joseph Paul, marquis de Grasse Tilly, comte de Grasse was a French admiral. He is best known for his command of the French fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake, which led directly to the British surrender at Yorktown...

 in the West Indies, which caused Washington to change his strategy. De Grasse's communication, which advocated a joint land and sea attack against the British in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, convinced Washington to risk a march of more than 400 miles (643.7 km) to the Chesapeake
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

 region of Virginia. Washington's new strategy, adopted and designed in mid-August, 1781, at the encampment of the allied armies, would win the war. The allied armies were ordered to break camp on August 19, 1781: on that date the Americans took the first steps of their march to Virginia along present-day Ashford Avenue and Broadway, en route to victory over General Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG , styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as The Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator...

 at the Siege of Yorktown
Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...

 and to victory in the Revolutionary War.

The village was originally incorporated in 1873 as Greenburgh
Greenburgh, New York
Greenburgh is a town in the western part of Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 88,400 at the 2010 census. Paul J. Feiner has been the Town Supervisor since 1991.-History:...

, but the name was changed to Dobbs Ferry in 1882.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 10,622 people, 3,792 households, and 2,570 families residing in the village. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 4,350.0 people per square mile (1,680.8/km²). There were 3,941 housing units at an average density of 1,614.0 per square mile (623.6/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 80.70% White, 7.38% African American, 0.08% Native American, 7.56% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 1.93% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 2.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.00% of the population.

There were 3,792 households out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the village the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.5 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $70,333, and the median income for a family was $93,127. Males had a median income of $65,532 versus $50,091 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the village was $35,090. About 1.8% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Geography

Dobbs Ferry is located at 41°0′46"N 73°51′58"W (41.012729, -73.866026).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the village has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²), of which 2.4 square miles (6.2 km²) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²), or 23.03%, is water.

The village is bounded on the west by the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...

, and on the east by the Saw Mill River
Saw Mill River
The Saw Mill River is a 20 mile long tributary of the Hudson River in the United States, flowing from a marsh in Chappaqua to Yonkers, New York, where it empties into the Hudson. Its starting point in Chappaqua is presumed to be a spring. In the 17th century, the Saw Mill River was known as...

.

Climate

Education

A majority of the village is within the Dobbs Ferry Union Free School District
Dobbs Ferry Union Free School District
Dobbs Ferry Union Free School District is a school district based in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Located in the village by the same name, the three schools that comprise the district's educational facilities are: Dobbs Ferry High School, Dobbs Ferry Middle School, and Springhurst Elementary School...

, which consists of Springhurst Elementary, grades K-5, Dobbs Ferry Middle School, grades 6-8, and the Dobbs Ferry High School, grades 9-12.

Mercy College
Mercy College (New York)
Mercy College is a private, non-profit liberal arts college with its main campus in Dobbs Ferry, New York, and satellite locations throughout southeastern New York, including the Bronx, Manhattan, White Plains and Yorktown...

, a private, four-year institution with undergraduate and graduate programs, has its main campus in Dobbs Ferry. Our Lady of Victory Academy, a local parochial school offering grades 9-12 for girls, is located on the campus of Mercy College.

The Masters School is a private school located south of the town center that offers grades 5-12 for boys and girls. It is a boarding or day school that was founded in 1877 by Eliza Masters. The school contains a mansion called Estherwood
Estherwood (Dobbs Ferry, New York)
Estherwood is a late 19th-century mansion located on the campus of The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York, United States. It was the home of industrial tycoon James Jenning McComb, who supported Masters financially in its early years when his daughters attended. The house's octagonal library...

. http://www.hudsonshores.com/cgi-bin/hspage.cgi?area=dobb

An Alcott Montessori School is located in the town.

Emergency services

Dobbs Ferry is served by a paid police department, a volunteer fire department (housing three pumpers and one tower ladder in two firehouses) and a volunteer ambulance corps (possessing two ambulances (one equipped with four-wheel-drive) and a fire rehab unit). As a part of the Town of Greenburgh, the village is eligible for additional coverage from the town services. Mutual aid
Mutual aid (emergency services)
In emergency services, mutual aid is an agreement among emergency responders to lend assistance across jurisdictional boundaries. This may occur due to an emergency response that exceeds local resources, such as a disaster or a multiple-alarm fire. Mutual aid may be ad hoc, requested only when...

 agreements exist with neighboring municipalities for further coverage.

Public transit

Several lines of the Bee-Line Bus System
Bee-Line Bus System
The Bee-Line Bus System, branded on the buses in lowercase as the bee-line system, is a bus system serving Westchester County, New York. The system is owned by the County's Department of Public Works and Transportation and operated, on contract , by Yonkers-based Liberty Lines Transit, Inc...

 run through Dobbs Ferry. Commuter service to Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal —often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...

 is available via the Dobbs Ferry train station
Dobbs Ferry (Metro-North station)
The Dobbs Ferry Metro-North Railroad station serves residents of Dobbs Ferry, New York via the Hudson Line. Trains leave for New York City every 25 to 35 minutes on weekday rush-hour . Trains run hourly during non-peak times, and on weekends and holidays...

, served by Metro-North Railroad
Metro-North Railroad
The Metro-North Commuter Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, or, more commonly, Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service that is run and managed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , an authority of New York State. It is the busiest commuter railroad in the United...

. It takes about 35 minutes on the peak express trains, and 45 minutes on the local trains to reach New York's Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal —often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...

.

Famous residents

  • Jane Alexander
    Jane Alexander
    Jane Alexander is an American actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts. Although perhaps best known for playing the female lead in The Great White Hope on both stage and screen, Alexander has played a wide array of roles in both theater and film and has committed...

    , actress
  • Rex Beach
    Rex Beach
    Rex Ellingwood Beach was an American novelist, playwright, and Olympic water polo player.- Biography :...

    , novelist, playwright, and Olympic water polo player, whose most famous novel is commemorated by the walking/bike trail "Spoilers Run" (see on Google Maps))
  • Mark Blount
    Mark Blount
    Mark D. Blount is an American professional basketball player. Blount is a 7'0" tall center and weighs 250 lb , being a primarily offensive big man with a soft touch....

    , NBA basketball player
  • Bradley Bolke
    Bradley Bolke
    Bradley Bolke is an American voice actor. He was born on October 1, 1925 in New York City. He currently resides in Dobbs Ferry, New York-Television Roles:*New Casper Cartoon Show as Various Voices...

    , American voice actor
  • William C. Conner
    William C. Conner
    William Curtis Conner was a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York...

     (1920–2009), federal judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
    United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
    The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is a federal district court. Appeals from the Southern District of New York are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case...

  • Robert Cunningham, former police officer, inspiration for the movie It Could Happen To You
    It Could Happen to You (film)
    It Could Happen to You is a 1994 romantic comedy-drama film starring Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda. It is the story of New York City police officer who wins the lottery and splits his winnings with a waitress . The movie bears a striking resemblance to an actual event as documented by Snopes...

  • Alvin Dark
    Alvin Dark
    Alvin Ralph Dark , nicknamed "Blackie" and "The Swamp Fox", is a former shortstop and manager in Major League Baseball who played for five National League teams from 1946 to 1960. Named the major leagues' Rookie of the Year with the Boston Braves when he batted .322...

     (born 1922), Major League Baseball player
  • Paul Fix
    Paul Fix
    Paul Fix was an American film and television character actor, best known for his work in westerns. Fix appeared in more than a hundred movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career spanning from 1925 to 1981...

     (born 1901), American film and television character actor
  • Jean Fritz
    Jean Fritz
    Jean Guttery Fritz, born November 16, 1915, is an American children's author and biographer.-Life:Jean Fritz was born to American missionaries in Hankow, China, where she lived until she was thirteen. She was an only child . Growing up, Fritz kept a journal about her days in China with Lin Nai-Nai...

    , author
  • Max Greenfield
    Max Greenfield
    Max Greenfield is an American actor best known for his recurring roles on Veronica Mars as Leo D'Amato, Ugly Betty as Nick Pepper, and for co-starring in the short-lived WB series Modern Men...

    , actor
  • Joel Higgins
    Joel Higgins
    Joel Franklin Higgins is an American actors and singer with a stage career spanning over 30 years.- Life and Career :...

    , actor
  • Becky and Jessie O'Donohue
    Becky and Jessie O'Donohue
    Rebecca Marie "Becky" O'Donohue and Jessica Elleanore "Jessie" O'Donohue are American reality TV show contestants. Becky was a semi-finalist in the fifth season of American Idol. They are identical twins....

    , contestants on Fear Factor
    Fear Factor
    Fear Factor is an American stunt/dare reality game show. The original Dutch version was called Now or Neverland. When Endemol USA and NBC adapted it to the American market in 2001, they changed the name to Fear Factor. The show pits contestants against each other in a variety of stunts for a...

    and American Idol
    American Idol
    American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

    , also played roles in the movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
    I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
    I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is a 2007 comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Barry Fanaro, and starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James as the title characters. The film was released on July 20, 2007, in the U.S., August 16, 2007, in Australia and on September 21, 2007, in the UK and...

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0762107/fullcredits#cast
  • Stone Phillips
    Stone Phillips
    Stone Stockton Phillips is an American television reporter and correspondent. He is the former co-anchor of Dateline NBC, a newsmagazine TV show. He also has worked as a substitute anchor for NBC Nightly News and Today and as a substitute moderator on Meet the Press. He is known for his clear...

     (born 1954), former co-anchor of Dateline NBC
    Dateline NBC
    Dateline NBC, or Dateline, is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC. It previously was NBC's flagship news magazine, but now focuses on true crime stories. It airs Friday at 9 p.m. EST and after football season on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST.-History:Dateline is historically notable for...

  • Earl Simmons, also known as DMX
    DMX (rapper)
    Earl Simmons , better known by his stage name DMX, is a multiplatinum American rapper and actor who rose to fame in the late 1990s. His stage name pays tribute to the Oberheim DMX drum machine, an instrument he used when he made his own rap beats in the 80's...

    , rapper
  • Mark Zuckerberg
    Mark Zuckerberg
    Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur. He is best known for co-creating the social networking site Facebook, of which he is chief executive and president...

    , founder of Facebook
    Facebook
    Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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