Ossining, New York (original) (raw)

Town in New York, United States

Ossining, New York
Town
First Baptist Church of OssiningFirst Baptist Church of Ossining
Official seal of Ossining, New YorkSeal
Nickname: The Volunteer-Spirited Town
Location of Ossining (town), New YorkLocation of Ossining (town), New York
Coordinates: 41°9′45.47″N 73°51′41.75″W / 41.1626306°N 73.8615972°W / 41.1626306; -73.8615972
Country United States
State New York
County Westchester
Government
• Type Manager-Council
• Town Supervisor Elizabeth Feldman (D)
Area[1]
• Total 15.74 sq mi (40.76 km2)
• Land 11.58 sq mi (29.99 km2)
• Water 4.16 sq mi (10.77 km2)
Population (2020)[2]
• Total 40,061
• Demonym Ossinaut
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Code 10562
Area code 914
FIPS code 36-55530
GNIS feature ID 0959520
Website Official website

Ossining ( OSS-in-ing) is a town located along the Hudson River in Westchester County, New York. The population was 40,061 at the time of the 2020 census.[2] It contains two villages, the Village of Ossining and part of Briarcliff Manor, the rest of which is located in the Town of Mount Pleasant. Ossining is the location of Sing Sing maximum-security prison.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 15.7 square miles (41 km2), of which 11.6 square miles (30 km2) is land and 4.2 square miles (11 km2) (26.43%) is water.

Ossining is bounded on the west by the Hudson River and on the north by the Croton River.

In 1685, Frederick Philipse bought the area which presently constitutes the Town of Ossining from the Sint Sinck, a Munsee-speaking Lenape people. His Manor extended from Spuyten Duyvil Creek on the border between present-day Manhattan and the Bronx to the Croton River. The last Lord of the Manor, Frederick Philipse III, was a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War who fled to England. The State of New York confiscated the manor in 1779.

In 1813, the village of Sing Sing was incorporated. Sing Sing Prison, now known as Sing Sing Correctional Facility, which is a maximum-security prison, opened in 1826.[3] The prison was opened to replace the Newgate Prison, located in New York City.[3] In 1845, the New York State Legislature created a new town out of the northern part of what had been the Town of Mount Pleasant. A local Indian authority suggested the town be named Ossinsing, a different form of the name Sing Sing. One year later the last "s" was removed for ease in pronunciation. In 1901, to prevent confusion of goods made in the village with Sing Sing prison-made items, local officials had the village name changed to Ossining as well.

In 1902 an area southeast of the village of Ossining, then known as Whitson's Corners, was incorporated as the village of Briarcliff Manor.

The Jug Tavern and Scarborough Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[4]

Historical population

Census Pop. Note %±
1850 4,939 —
1860 6,766 37.0%
1870 7,798 15.3%
1880 8,760 12.3%
1890 10,058 14.8%
1900 10,895 8.3%
1910 12,828 17.7%
1920 12,358 −3.7%
1930 17,724 43.4%
1940 18,911 6.7%
1950 20,137 6.5%
1960 26,199 30.1%
1970 32,397 23.7%
1980 30,680 −5.3%
1990 34,124 11.2%
2000 36,534 7.1%
2010 37,674 3.1%
2020 40,061 6.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[5][6]

In the census[7] of 2000, there were 36,534 people, 12,355 households, and 8,537 families residing in the town. The population density was 3,123.0 inhabitants per square mile (1,205.8/km2). There were 12,733 housing units at an average density of 1,088.4 units per square mile (420.2 units/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 70.26% White, 14.28% Black or African American, 0.35% Native American, 4.54% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 7.34% from other races, and 3.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.93% of the population.

There were 12,355 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. Of all households 25.5% were made up of individuals, and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the town, 21.8% of the population was under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 34.5% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was 65,485,andthemedianincomeforafamilywas65,485, and the median income for a family was 65,485,andthemedianincomeforafamilywas81,943 (these figures had risen to 77,753and77,753 and 77,753and98,593 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[8]). Males had a median income of 51,286versus51,286 versus 51,286versus40,618 for females. The per capita income for the town was $34,195. About 5.0% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

The Town of Ossining is governed by a town supervisor and a four-member town board. It comprises two incorporated villages, Village of Ossining and Village of Briarcliff Manor, each of which has a mayor and a village board. Each village maintains its own police department and village justice court. In addition to the two incorporated villages, there is an unincorporated section of the town that is not part of either village. The unincorporated section of the town has its own highway department. Fire, EMS and water services are provided by either the Village of Ossining or the Village of Briarcliff Manor. Law enforcement services for the unincorporated section of the town are provided through an inter-municipal agreement with the Village of Ossining Police Department (the town's police department was disbanded in 2011).

Ossining Union Free School District operates public schools, including Ossining High School.

The Ossining Public Library, originally chartered in 1893 as the Sing Sing Public Library, serves the residents of the Village and Town of Ossining, and of the Ossining School District. The current library collections include 110,000 books, 25,000 non-print items, and 300 newspaper and magazine titles. As a charter member of the 38-member Westchester Library System, the Ossining Public Library offers its patrons access to the more than one million holdings of the other county libraries. A $15.8-million building program was started in 2005 to replace the 1960s-era facility with a new 48,000-square-foot (4,500 m2) building. The new Ossining Public Library opened in March 2007 and added many new or enhanced services, including over 50 public Internet terminals, a 250-seat theater, an art gallery, and the county's first radio frequency (RFID) circulation system.[9]

Don Draper, the primary protagonist of Mad Men, lives with his family in Ossining.[_citation needed_]

  1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "QuickFacts: Ossining town, Westchester County, New York". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Andress, Richard (1992). "Guide to Records of the Department of Correctional Services" (PDF). New York State Archives. Publication FA07. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  4. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  5. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  6. ^ "United States Census Bureau QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  7. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  8. ^ "American FactFinder - Community Facts". archive.ph. February 11, 2020. Archived from the original on February 11, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  9. ^ "Ossining Public Library". Archived from the original on November 9, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  10. ^ Barron, Sam (February 4, 2016). "Actor Returns Home To Westchester To Screen New Film". Daily Voice. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  11. ^ New York Times (October 3, 1918). "Ingersoll Lockwood, Lawyer", p. 13. The New York Times, October 3, 1918. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/10/03/98271682.pdf.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Ossining.