Bedford (town), New York

Bedford, New York
Town

Location of Bedford in New York
Coordinates: 41°13′33″N 73°39′54″W / 41.22583°N 73.66500°W / 41.22583; -73.66500
Country United States
State New York
County Westchester
Town Bedford
Established 1680
Government
 • Type Manager-Council
 • Town Supervisor Chris Burdick (D)
 • Town Board
Area
 • Total 39.4 sq mi (102.1 km2)
 • Land 37.2 sq mi (96.3 km2)
 • Water 2.2 sq mi (5.8 km2)
Elevation[1] 381 ft (116 m)
Population (2010)[2]
 • Total 17,335
 • Density 466/sq mi (180.0/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 10506,10507,10536,10549
Area code(s) 914
FIPS code 36119-05320
GNIS feature ID 978717
Website www.bedfordny.gov
[3]

Bedford is a town in Westchester County, New York, USA. The population was 17,335 at the 2010 census.[4]

The town of Bedford is located in the northeastern part of Westchester County, and contains the three hamlets of Bedford Hills, Bedford, and Katonah.

History

The town of Bedford was founded on December 23, 1680, when 22 Puritans from Stamford, Connecticut, purchased a tract of land three miles square known as the "Hopp Ground" from Chief Katonah and several other Native Americans for coats, blankets, wampum and cloth.[5]

Bedford was made a part of Connecticut in 1697 when a patent fixed the boundaries as a six-mile square. Only when King William III of England issued a royal decree in 1700 settling a boundary dispute did Bedford become part of New York.

The town served as the county seat of Westchester County during the American Revolutionary War after the Battle of White Plains, until Bedford was burned by the British in July 1779.[6][7] After the Revolution, Bedford was made one of two seats of county government, alternating with White Plains, until 1870. Westchester County's oldest government building is the Court House in Bedford village, which was built in 1787 and renovated in the 1960s.

The Bedford Village Historic District, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Palmer-Lewis Estate, and The Woodpile are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[8]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 39.4 square miles (102.1 km2), of which 37.2 square miles (96.3 km2) is land and 2.2 square miles (5.8 km2), or 5.70%, is water.[4] The town is bordered to the west by Mount Kisco, to the south by Armonk in the town of North Castle, to the north by Lewisboro, and to the east by Pound Ridge.

Landmarks

Bedford has a few minor landmarks, most of them centered on the Bedford Green, a small patch of green space at the center of the historical district (along Route 22). There is a small graveyard dating back to the founding of the town; the old one-room stone schoolhouse; and a few colonial-era houses, still lived in, which are kept painted white with black or green shutters.

Bedford Oak, July 2012

The Bedford Free Library is located in Bedford, on the Village Green, and is a member of the Westchester Library System. Bedford Hills and Katonah also have libraries which are members of the same system.

Also along Route 22, at Hook Road, there is a large 300-plus-year-old oak tree known as the Bedford Oak.[9]

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
17902,470—
18202,432—
18302,75013.1%
18402,8222.6%
18503,20713.6%
18603,63913.5%
18703,6971.6%
18803,7310.9%
18903,291−11.8%
19003,4865.9%
19105,62961.5%
19205,9054.9%
19308,65346.5%
19409,2486.9%
195010,88817.7%
196014,65634.6%
197018,32925.1%
198015,137−17.4%
199016,90611.7%
200018,1337.3%
201017,335−4.4%
Est. 201417,910[10]3.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[11]

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 18,133 people, 5,731 households, and 4,395 families residing in the town. The population density was 486.9 people per square mile (188.0/km²). There were 6,020 housing units at an average density of 161.6 per square mile (62.4/km²). The racial/ethnic makeup of the town was 87.50% White, 7.12% Black, 1.98% Asian, and 1.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.57% of the population. 0.09% ethnic Native American. 0.08% ethnic Pacific Islander and 1.88% from other ethnicities.

There were 5,731 households out of which 41.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.5% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.3% were non-families. 18.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $100,053, and the median income for a family was $118,820. Males had a median income of $88,561 versus $47,468 for females. The per capita income for the town was $53,046. About 2.4% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.9% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those of age 65 or over.

Local media

The Record-Review, a weekly newspaper, reports on local issues in Bedford and Pound Ridge. The newspaper began publishing in 1995.

All About Bedford: Connecting Our Community With a Click- the most local of news sites on the Town of Bedford, its people and its schools

Communities and locations in Bedford

Notable people

Notes

  1. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  2. 1 2 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on September 11, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  3. ↑ Bedford NY. ZIP Code Lookup.
  4. 1 2 "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Bedford town, Westchester County, New York". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  5. ↑ Westchester Archives - Bedford Deed to the Hopp Ground from Kahtonah, et al. to Richard Ambler, et al.
  6. ↑ Official Page of the Town of Bedford, NY
  7. ↑ Bedford Historical Society, The Burning of Bedford (Published in the Record Review Friday, July 9, 2004)
  8. 1 2 3 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  9. ↑ The New York Times, "If You're Thinking of Living in/Bedford Village; 'New England' 44 Miles From Broadway", http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE1DD163CF934A35752C1A965958260, November 7, 1993
  10. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  12. ↑ ...Beatrice Arthur has sublet the family's cooperative apartment on Central Park West and the country home in Bedford, New York ... Moritz, Charles (editor) (1973) "Arthur, Beatrice" Current Biography Yearbook, 1973 H. W. Wilson, New York, pp. 17-20, page 20, ISBN 0-8242-0543-X
  13. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved 2006-12-23. Costaregni, Susie, "The Dish" column, "Christmas concert to help children in Rwanda", The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, December 3, 2006, accessed December 23, 2006
  14. ↑ Chamoff, Lisa, "Westport to host Clinton fundraiser", news article in The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, Norwalk edition, July 25, 2007, page A13 ("[...] Chevy Chase, a resident of Bedford, N.Y. [...]")
  15. ↑ "Physics Today Obituaries: John Battiscombe Gunn". American Institute of Physics. February 13, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  16. ↑ Kate Mara at the Internet Movie Database
  17. ↑ Serico, Chris (August 16, 2010). "Meet Rooney Mara, she's not just following in her sister's footsteps". The Journal News. Retrieved on September 5, 2010.
  18. ↑ "Theodore Eliopoulos obituary". San Francisco Chronicle. December 5, 2010. Retrieved December 12, 2010.

External links

Coordinates: 41°13′33″N 73°39′54″W / 41.22583°N 73.66500°W / 41.22583; -73.66500

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