Croton-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 8,327 at the 2020 United States census over 8,070 at the 2010 census. It is located in the town of Cortlandt as part of New York City's northern suburbs. The village was incorporated in 1898.

History

Humans have lived in the area that would become Croton-on-Hudson since at least 7000 BC. The Kitchawanc tribe, part of the Wappinger Confederacy of the Algonquian peoples, signed a peace treaty with the newly arriving Dutch people at Croton Point in 1645, now commemorated by a plaque in the park there. Stephanus van Cortlandt began acquiring land in the area to build a manor in 1677, the same year he became mayor of New York City. It was granted by royal patent in 1697 as the Manor of Cortlandt, including the area known as Croton Landing where the Croton River meets the Hudson River, where the manor house was built. A 1718 census reported 91 inhabitants, including Dutch settlers and English Quakers. People worked the manor primarily as farmers or millers. In the mid- to late 1800s first the Croton Dam, then the New Croton Dam, and the Croton Aqueduct were built on the Croton River to supply New York City, along with the New York Central Railroad station on the Hudson River. Many Irish, Italian and German immigrants moved to the area to work on those projects, increasing the population dramatically. By 1898, when the Village incorporated, the population was 1,000 people, growing to 1,700 people in the early 1900s. In 1846, work began on a Hudson River rail line from Poughkeepsie to New York City. Clifford Harmon, a realtor, purchased 550 acres of land next to the village of Croton in 1903. He gave part of the land to the New York Central Railroad to build a train station, on the condition that the station would forever be named after him. Today it is called the Croton-Harmon station of the Metro-North Railroad and of Amtrak. In 1906, the station became a major service facility for the railroad. The station expanded even further in 1913, when it became the stop at which electric trains from New York City switched to steam engines. The station still serves this purpose, but for diesel locomotives instead of steam engines. Harmon thrived as an artist's colony alongside the village, while the neighboring Mount Airy community evolved from Quakers to Greenwich Village artists and writers by the early 1900s. Mount Airy was home to many early members of the American Communist Party. In 1932 Harmon and most of Mount Airy were incorporated into the village.

Geography

Croton-on-Hudson is located at 41.20417°N, -73.88611°W (41.204228, -73.886177) on the shores of the Hudson River. The zip codes are 10520 and 10521. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 10.8 sqmi, of which 4.8 sqmi is land and 6.1 sqmi, or 56.06%, is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,606 people, 2,798 households, and 2,050 families residing in the village. The population density was 1601.7 PD/sqmi. There were 2,859 housing units at an average density of 602.1 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 91.5% white, 1.9% African American, 0.26% Native American, 2.06% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.58% from other races, and 1.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.93% of the population. There were 2,798 households, out of which 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.5% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.11. In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $150,260, and the median income for a family was $250,000+.

Government and politics

As of the regular 2017 elections

Economy

Croton-on-Hudson's economy has historically thrived on the Metro-North train station that up until the early 1980s served as the point at which northbound trains would exchange their electric engines for other modes of conveyance. During those days, the train station and its super-adjacent area was known as Harmon. Because maintenance of diesel and steam engines was then very labor-intensive, there were many workers whose needs were served by abundant service businesses, such as restaurants and bars. Because of the separate development of both the Harmon and the Mt. Airy communities, there were originally two commercial districts—one centered on Grand Street, and the other in Harmon—though in recent years the two have merged into a single sprawling commercial district. There is also a North Riverside commercial district serving communities along Riverside Drive, Brook Street, Grand Street, and Bank Street. After the New York Central Railroad folded into Penn Central in 1968, Croton-on-Hudson's economy slowly stagnated. Although Croton-Harmon station still served as the main transfer point northbound between local and express trains, the laborers who had earlier fueled a bustling service economy were no longer present in Harmon. The exodus of labor during the early 1970s was compounded by the stagflation that was a result of higher oil prices and skyrocketing interest rates. There has been an ongoing effort since the early 1990s to develop the riverfront for recreational use. Among the accomplishments are a pedestrian bridge spanning U.S. Route 9 and NY 9A between the lower village and Senasqua Park, the Crossining pedestrian footbridge across the Croton River, the bicycle trail extensions around Half Moon Bay Condominiums, rehabilitation of the "Picture Tunnel" (repaving and closing it to cars), and acquisition and clearing of the Croton Landing property. In addition, Croton Point Park is also along the riverfront.

Transportation

The town is a stop for Amtrak's Empire Service, Adirondack, Maple Leaf, Ethan Allen Express, and Lake Shore Limited routes, as well the MTA's Metro-North Hudson Line service, both at the Croton-Harmon station. Metro-North's main shops and yards are also located here. Croton-on-Hudson is served by US 9, NY 9A, and NY 129.

Culture

Croton Point Park hosts Clearwater's Great Hudson River Revival, a yearly folk music, art and environmental festival. Croton-on-Hudson has an annual event called the Summerfest. Every year the central business district (with corners at the municipal building, Grand Street fire house and Croton-Harmon High School) is closed to automobile traffic for music, American food, local fund raisers, traveling, and local artists. Since 1981 Croton-on-Hudson has been the home of the annual Harry Chapin Run Against Hunger, a 10k race and Fun Run, held on a Sunday afternoon in October. Every weekend in October, people visit Van Cortlandt Manor to see the Blaze. Started in 2005, the Blaze consists of thousands of pumpkins which are hollowed out by volunteers but carved by a creative team. The Asbury United Methodist Church and Bethel Chapel and Cemetery, Croton North Railroad Station, and St. Augustine's Episcopal Church Complex are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Van Cortlandt Manor is listed as a National Historic Landmark. From the 1910s to the 1960s, Croton was a popular location for the summer homes of American communists, socialists and other radicals and many important artists and writers. This gave the Mt. Airy area in Croton the nickname "Red Hill" Croton-on-Hudson is the original home of the Hudson Institute, a key Cold War think tank where the "Mutual Assured Destruction" strategy for nuclear war deterrence was developed. The village is home to one of a handful operating "dummy lights" in the United States, located downtown at the intersection of Old Post Road South and Grand Street. It is a traffic signal on a pedestal which sits in the middle of an intersection, dating back to the 1920s. Another active dummy light located in New York State is at Beacon. The one in Canajoharie was removed in 2021.

Education

Most of the village is in Croton-Harmon Union Free School District, while a portion of the village is in the Hendrick Hudson School District (HHSD). Hendrick Hudson High School is the latter district's comprehensive high school.

Religious organizations

Recreation

Parks and sites of interest in the community include:

Notable people

In film and television

Films shot in Croton-on-Hudson include: