Valley Cottage, New York

Valley Cottage is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, New York, United States. It is located northeast of West Nyack, northwest of Central Nyack east of Bardonia, south of Congers, northwest of Nyack,[2] and west of Upper Nyack. The population was 9,107 at the 2010 census.[3]

Valley Cottage, New York
Nickname: 
"Storms Corner"
Location in Rockland County and the state of New York.
Location in Rockland County and the state of New York.
Valley Cottage, New York is located in New York
Valley Cottage, New York
Valley Cottage, New York
Location within the state of New York
Coordinates: 41°7′4″N 73°56′33″W / 41.11778°N 73.94250°W / 41.11778; -73.94250
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountyRockland
Area
 • Total4.57 sq mi (11.84 km2)
 • Land4.39 sq mi (11.37 km2)
 • Water0.18 sq mi (0.47 km2)
Elevation
177 ft (54 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total9,038
 • Density2,058.30/sq mi (794.64/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
10989
Area code845
FIPS code36-76661
GNIS feature ID0968357

Geography edit

Valley Cottage is located at 41°7′4″N 73°56′33″W / 41.11778°N 73.94250°W / 41.11778; -73.94250 (41.117862, −73.942531).[4]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11 km2), all land.

Demographics edit

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
20209,038
U.S. Decennial Census[5]

At the census[6] of 2000, there were 9,269 people, 3,347 households, and 2,379 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,168.7 inhabitants per square mile (837.3/km2). There were 3,410 housing units at an average density of 797.9 per square mile (308.1/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 82.16% white, 3.59% African American, .09% Native American, 9.81% Asian, .13% Pacific Islander, 1.89% from other races, and 2.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.71% of the population.

There were 3,347 households, out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.3% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. Of all households, 23.8% were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.2.

In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 20.9% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.5 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $75,828, and the median income for a family was $87,123. Males had a median income of $51,718 versus $41,653 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $33,181. About 1.4% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 1.7% of those age 65 or over.

History edit

The first known resident of Valley Cottage was John Ryder, who owned a large farm which comprised all or most of the area's school district.

The post office was first opened at the Valley Cottage Station in 1892.

According to George H. Burke's book Rockland County during the American Revolution, 1776–1781, Valley Cottage was once known as "Storm's Corner". In 1876, just before the opening of the West Shore Railroad station, the residents assembled at the school room agreed on the name "Valley Cottage", referring to the house nearest the station "that cottage in the valley". Another version has it that the name of the hamlet came about because of a famous trotting horse named "Cottage Maid", owned by Ed Green who owned the land where the station, the Marcus store and other buildings stood.

Education edit

 
Blue Ribbon

Valley Cottage is a part of Nyack Union Free School District

  • Valley Cottage Elementary School
  • Liberty Elementary School is a Blue Ribbon Award winner (2000–2001) and semi-finalists (2004), New York State winner of International Reading Award and ING Unsung Heroes Award (2004) for Karne Andreasen's "Turn on to Reading" program.
  • Nyack Middle School
  • Nyack High School

Community edit

Valley Cottage has a very close community with many schools, libraries, restaurants, and recreational opportunities. Valley Cottage has a calm and quaint atmosphere that is very welcoming. Valley Cottage also full of nature and is very accessible with many sidewalks.

Libraries edit

There are many libraries in and surrounding Valley Cottage. A few of them are: Valley Cottage Library, Nyack Library, and West Nyack Library.

Parks and Recreation edit

Twin Ponds Park- Massachusetts Avenue, 54 Sedge Rd Rockland Lake State Park- 299 Rockland Lake Rd Valley Cottage Hamlet Green- New Lake Rd Kings Park- 54, 34 Kings Hwy Wholeness Center- 7 New Lake Rd

Transportation edit

 
CSX River Line Tracks in Valley Cottage, crossing King's Highway/County Route 13

Valley Cottage's major thoroughfares are New York State Route 303, U.S. Route 9W, and Kings Highway.

Valley Cottage is located along CSX Transportation's River Line, with between 20 and 55 freight trains passing through the hamlet daily.[7] Passenger service on the line ended in 1959. The nearest railroad stations to Valley Cottage with current passenger service are Nanuet 5.2 miles away[8] and Tarrytown 10 miles away.[9]

Commuter transportation to New York City is provided by Rockland Coaches Route 9A to the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal and Route 9T to the Port Authority Bus Terminal from the bus shelters at the intersection of Lake Road and New York State Route 303.[10] The shelters are a 0.4 mile walk from the hamlet's Park and Ride facility.[11] Local bus transportation is operated by Transport of Rockland's Route 91 & 97[12] and Clarkstown Mini-Trans[13] Route A.

Tourism edit

Historical markers edit

Markers at Rockland Lake and Hook Mountain were unveiled on October 4, 2008.

Landmarks and places of interest edit

  • The Josephine Hudson House belonged to the first woman to work in the Knickerbocker Ice Company.
  • The Knickerbocker Ice Company was established in 1831. Rockland Lake was known to have had the cleanest and purest ice in the area. Knickerbocker's Ice House No. 3, located at Rockland Lake, could store more than 40,000 tons of ice harvested from the lake. The wooden storehouse's walls were insulated with sawdust to keep the ice blocks frozen until they were shipped in the summer. By 1834, the company owned a dozen steamboats and 75 ice barges, and employed about 3,000 to ship ice countrywide. The stored ice was placed on inclined railroad cars, transported down the mountainside, placed on barges on the Hudson River and shipped to New York City. So much ice was shipped that Rockland Lake became known as the "Icehouse of New York City". Knickerbocker burned down in 1926. Knickerbocker's Ice House No. 3 is currently a Clarkstown town historic site. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage recently pledged to help preserve the remaining walls. Only those walls and some scattered foundations from other icehouses remain. The Hanchar family who has deep roots in the hamlet, recently donated money for new markers at this site.
  • Knickerbocker Fire House - established 1862
  • Palisades Center bordering Valley Cottage from West Nyack side.
  • Rockland Lake Community was a thriving community made up of the many workers at the Knickerbocker Ice Company.
  • Rockland Lake State Park
  • Storms Tavern - believed to have been built in 1765 restored in 2008
  • Tolstoy Foundation of Valley Cottage, founded in 1939 by Alexandra Lvovna Tolstoy, youngest daughter of Leo Tolstoy. Some of the Board members throughout the years included Sergei Rachmaninoff - composer & conductor, Igor Sikorsky - aviation pioneer in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, Boris Bakhmeteff - engineer, professor of Civil Engineering at Columbia University and the only ambassador of the Russian Provisional Government to the United States, Boris Sergievsky - one of the most colourful of the early aviators.[14]

Religious institutions edit

Notable people of Valley Cottage edit

References edit

  1. ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  2. ^ Valley Cottage boundaries
  3. ^ "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Valley Cottage CDP, New York". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  4. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  5. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  6. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  7. ^ "Rockland Quiet Zone".
  8. ^ Valley Cottage to Nanuet
  9. ^ Valley Cottage to Tarrytown
  10. ^ "Route 9W" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 10, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  11. ^ "2-32 New Lake Rd to Valley Cottage".
  12. ^ "County of Rockland, New York :: Public Transportation".
  13. ^ "Welcome to Town of Clarkstown". Archived from the original on May 15, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  14. ^ "Test & Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers: Boris Vasilievich Sergievsky 1888–1971". thetartanterror.blogspot.ru. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  15. ^ "Hudson River Valley Heritage"
  16. ^ "All Saints"
  17. ^ ."Hudson River Valley Heritage"
  18. ^ "Rockland Genealogy"
  19. ^ Islamic Center of Rockland
  20. ^ "Post Cards"
  21. ^ "Directory"
  22. ^ "Valley Cottage Facebook Group"
  23. ^ a b "History of St. Paul's Church"
  24. ^ "Hudson River Valley Heritage"
  25. ^ "St. Paul's Roman Catholic School"
  26. ^ "Tolstoy Foundation"
  27. ^ "Hudson River Valley Heritage"
  28. ^ "Rockland County Patch"
  29. ^ "USA Studio Glass vor 1962 / before 1962: Maurice Heaton, Frances and Michael Higgins, Edris Eckhardt, Vier Pioniere und Wegbereiter / Four Pioneers and True Originals" (PDF). Neues Glas. 4. Düsseldorf: Verlagsanstalt Handwerk: 232–240. October 1985. ISSN 0723-2454. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 15, 2023.
  30. ^ "Despite fire, his dreams, artwork alive". The Journal News. May 5, 1988 – via Newspapers.com. pp. 1, 14
  31. ^ Thomas M. Tryniski (August 19, 2011). "Old Fulton NY Post Cards" (PDF). Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  32. ^ a b "JUDY LANDERS: Film / Movie Information". citwf.com. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  33. ^ Thomas M. Tryniski (August 19, 2011). "Old Fulton NY Post Cards" (PDF). Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  34. ^ "Romanov Princess, 94, Dies". The St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  35. ^ "Anita Shreve's Language - New York Times". The New York Times. September 10, 1989. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  36. ^ Styron, W.; West, J.L.W. (1985). Conversations with William Styron. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9780878052615. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  37. ^ Styron, W.; West, J.L.W.; Styron, R. (2009). Letters to My Father. Louisiana State University Press. p. 85. ISBN 9780807136768. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  38. ^ "Former home of Harvey Swados :: Library Association of Rockland County". hrvh.org. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  39. ^ "Kristi Zea's Oscar experience was as good as it gets". Worldnews.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  • Budke, George H. Rockland County during the American Revolution, 1776–1781. New York. The Rockland County Public Librarians Association. 1976

External links edit