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'Peekskill' is a city in Westchester County, New York. It is a distinct scenic community on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River.
This community was an early American industrial center primarily for its iron plow and stove products. The Binney and Smith Company, now makers of Crayola products, started as the Peekskill Chemical Company at Annsville in 1864.
Peekskill's manufacturing base operated well into the late 1900s with the Fleischmann Company making yeast by-products under the Standard Brands corporate name. The population is 22,441 according to the year 2000 census.
The Peekskill Riots that occurred in the summer of 1949 involving noted entertainer Paul Robeson and area World War II veterans actually occurred in nearby Van Cortlandtville.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Transport

History

School District

Elementary Schools

Secondary Schools

Prominent Peekskill Residents

Culture

See also

References

External Links

Geography

Peekskill is located at (41.288903, -73.919987) in northwestern Westchester County.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.2 km² (5.5 mi²). 11.2 km² (4.3 mi²) of it is land and 3.0 km² (1.1 mi²) of it (20.99%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 22,441 people, 8,696 households, and 5,348 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,005.7/km² (5,189.7/mi²). There were 9,053 housing units at an average density of 809.1/km² (2,093.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 57.12% White, 25.54% African American, 0.42% Native American, 2.38% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 9.83% from other races, and 4.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.92% of the population.
There were 8,696 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.7% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.5% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% 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 3.18.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.4% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 34.9% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $47,177, and the median income for a family was $52,645. Males had a median income of $38,091 versus $34,757 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,595. About 10.3% of families and 13.7% of the population were below the poverty line.

Transport

Peekskill train station provides commuter service to New York City, 41 miles (66 Km) away via Metro-North Railroad. The Bear Mountain Bridge, five miles to the northwest, gives road access to Bear Mountain State Park across the Hudson River, and to the United States Military Academy at West Point via US 6 and US 202. The Croton Expressway portion of US 9 ends here. NY 9A and NY 35 also run through the city.

History

New Amsterdam resident Jan Peeck made the first recorded contact with the native tribal people of this area, then identified as Sachoes. The date is not certain, (possibly early 1640s) but agreements and merchant transactions took place, formalized into the Ryck's Patent deed of 1684. Peeck's Kil (from 'stream' in Dutch) thus became the recognized name for this locale.
European style settlement took place slowly in the early 1700s. By the time of the American Revolution, the tiny community was an important manufacturing center from its various mills along the several creeks and streams. These industrial activities were attractive to the Continental Army in establishing its headquarters here in 1776.
The mills of Peek's Creek provided gunpowder, leather, planks, and flour. Slaughterhouses were important for food supply. The river docks allowed transport of supply items and soldiers to the several other fort garrisons placed to prevent British naval passage between Albany and New York City. Officers at Peekskill generally supervised placing the first iron link chain between Bear Mountain and Anthony's Nose in the spring of 1777.
Though Peekskill's terrain and mills were beneficial to the Patriot cause, they also made tempting targets for British raids. The most damaging attack took place in early spring of 1777 when an invasion force of a dozen vessels led by a warship and supported by infantry overwhelmed the American defenders. Another British operation in October 1777 led to further destruction of industrial apparatus. As a result, the Hudson Valley command for the Continental Army moved from Peekskill to West Point where it stayed for remainder of that war.
Peekskill's first legal incorporation of 1816 was reactivated in 1826 when Village elections took place. The Village was further incorporated within the Town of Cortlandt in 1849 and remained so until separating as a City in 1940.
Peekskill was the site of a meteorite descent just before midnight on Oct. 9, 1992. The meteoric trail was recorded on film by at least 16 different people. [1] This is only the fourth meteorite in history for which an exact orbit is known. The rock had a mass of 12.4 kg (27.3 lb) and punched through the trunk of Peekskill resident Michelle Knapp's red 1980 Malibu sedan as it struck.

School District

The Peekskill City School District is headed by Superintendent Judith Johnson. It consists of four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. The elementary schools operated on a "neighborhood" basis until 1997. Under this system each student attended the school closest to his or her home beginning in kindergarten and ending with graduation from sixth grade. In 1997 the elementary schools were integrated, each school housing two grades. The middle school houses all seventh and eighth grade students. The high school serves grades nine through twelve.

Elementary Schools

★ The Uriah Hill, Jr. School houses the district's Early Childhood Education program. The ECC consists of a pre-school and a kindergarten program. The Uriah Hill, Jr. school is located at 980 Pemart Avenue. Staci DeGrace is the Director of the Early Childhood Center.

★ Oakside Elementary School caters to the district's first and second grade students. The school is located at 200 Decatur Avenue. Denise Wilson is the principal.

★ Woodside Elementary School houses the third and fourth graders. It is located on Depew Street. Mary Foster is the principal of Woodside Elementary School.

★ Hillcrest Elementary School educates the district's fifth and sixth graders. It is located at 4 Horton Drive. Joseph Mosey is the principal.

Secondary Schools

★ Peekskill Middle School educates the district's seventh and eighth graders. It is located at 212 Ringgold Street. Walter Chadwick is the principal.

★ Peekskill High School educates most of the district's ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth graders. The high school is located on the grounds of the original Peekskill Military Academy at 1072 Elm Street. Vincent Burruano is the principal.

Prominent Peekskill Residents

Peekskill is the birthplace to former New York State Governor George Pataki, serving 1994 through 2006. He was a former Peekskill mayor, State assemblyman and senator. Former Mayor Richard Jackson was the first African-American mayor in New York State. The first woman mayor of Peekskill was Frances Gibbs.
Another native, Chauncey M. Depew expanded the New York Central Railroad into Nebraska as its company president.
Cornelius Pugsley was Congressman and preservationist whose name is still attached to a national preservation award for public parks.
William Nelson was a colleague to Abraham Lincoln, leading to President-elect Lincoln's brief 1861 stop at the Peekskill village on his way to the Washington D.C. inauguration.
Influential Civil War era minister Henry Ward Beecher's 30 year association with Peekskill started in the 1850s as a summer resident, then building his impressive family mansion on East main Street in 1878.
Rev. Beecher's neighbor, Moses S. Beach was responsible for initiating the Associated Press (AP) while publisher of the New York SUN newspaper. A local shopping center bears the Beach name.
Contemporary novelist T.C. Boyle (b.1948) is a former Peekskill resident whose books draw international attention. Actors Mel Gibson and Paul Reubens were born at the local hospital and spent their younger years in this area. Actor Stanley Tucci also hails from the city.
Hugely successful basketball stars Elton Brand and Hilton Armstrong are Peekskill High School graduates.
Former P.H.S. graduate Hayward Burns was once editor of the Harvard Law Review and helped draft the constitution for South Africa. While working for IBM in 1957, native John Leslie conceived the idea that a computer could prepare a tax return.
St. Mary's, former Peekskill private girls' school was apparently the inspirational setting for the TV series ''The Facts of Life'' .

Culture

Peekskill has drawn a number of artists and art appreciators to its environs recently. Local highlights include the Paramount Theater, which regularly screens independent films, the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, and the Peekskill Coffee House, which showcases local acts.

See also

★ Depew Park

★ Peekskill Freight Depot

★ Standard House

References

★ http://www.comicreaders.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1275

★ http://michelesworld.net/dmm2/lulu/peekskil.htm

External Links

★ Peekskill official Web site

★ A thorough look into Peekskill's fascinating and rich history.

★ Peekskill Meteorite

★ Peekskill Republican City Committee

★ Peekskill Democratic City Committee

★ A Great Church Minutes From Peekskill

★ Peekskill City Schools

★ Peekskill Town Page

★ 1911 Britannica article