Congers, New York

Congers, New York
—  CDP  —
Nickname(s): The Hamlet By The Lakes
Congers, New York Location within the state of New York
Coordinates: 41°8′47″N 73°56′39″W / 41.14639°N 73.94417°W / 41.14639; -73.94417Coordinates: 41°8′47″N 73°56′39″W / 41.14639°N 73.94417°W / 41.14639; -73.94417
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Rockland
Area
- Total	3.9 sq mi (10.0 km2)
- Land	3.2 sq mi (8.2 km2)
- Water	0.7 sq mi (1.8 km2)
Elevation	177 ft (54 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	8,303
- Density	2,635.9/sq mi (1,017.7/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	10920
Area code(s)	845
FIPS code	36-17739
GNIS feature ID	0947282

Congers is a hamlet (and census-designated place), in the Town of Clarkstown Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Valley Cottage; east of New City, across Lake DeForest, south of Haverstraw and west of the Hudson River. It lies 19 miles north of New York City's Bronx boundary. As of the 2000 census, the CDP population was 8,303.

Geography

Congers is located at 41°8′47″N 73°56′39″W / 41.14639°N 73.94417°W / 41.14639; -73.94417 (41.146445, -73.944036)^[1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.9 square miles (10 km²), of which 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) (18.39%) is water. The high percentage of Congers that sits under water is due to the hamlet's emplacement within and between four lakes: Congers Lake, Rockland Lake, Swartwout (also Swarthout) Lake, and the county reservoir, Lake DeForest. Congers is adjacent to Rockland Lake State Park.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 8,303 people, 2,695 households, and 2,244 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,635.9 per square mile (1,017.7/km²). There were 2,743 housing units at an average density of 870.8/sq mi (336.2/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 85.2% White, 1.8% African American, 0.2% Native American, 8.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.1% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.6% of the population. Estimated median household income in 2008: $99,833 (it was $79,493 in 2000) making it one of the highest earning CDP's in the county.

There were 2,695 households out of which 40.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.3% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.7% were non-families. 13.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.05 and the average family size was 3.36. In the CDP the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.

History

Congers, named after Abraham B. Conger,^[3] was settled in the late 17th century by Dutch, German and English settlers and was known as Cedar Grove Corner and then Waldberg, which in German means "forest mountain".

In the 19th century the Congers railroad station, three churches, a school, the firehouse and the Central, and Globe hotels were built. The first floor of the then Globe hotel on the southeastern corner of Congers Road is presently the Last Chance Saloon. The Clarktown Dutch Reformed Church still stands at the corner of Congers Road and Kings Highway.

Kings Highway was the first major road in the county and for many years the only road from New York to Albany.

Today there exist nine structures with recognized historical markers dating back to the 18th century, including the DeBaum House on Kings Highway, the Smith House on Gilchrest Road and the Snedeker House, where the Commander-in-chief George Washington is believed to have spent a night.

St Paul's Church on Lake Road built in the early 1890s was Clarkstowns' first Catholic Church.

DeForest Lake, built in 1955/6 was named after Henry L Deforest - President of the Spring Valley Works and Supply Company.

Education

Congers has two elementary schools, Congers Elementary and Lakewood Elementary. Students from these schools will attend Felix Festa Middle School and then Clarkstown North High School. Congers is also the home of Rockland Country Day School, which accepts students in grades PreK-12 and was founded in 1959.

Tourism

Historical markers

• Congers Lake Dam, Gilchrest Road
• Congers School - 9 Lake Road
• Congers Station - Lake Road & Burnside Avenue
• Dr. Davies Farm - Dr. Davies Road off Route 9W
• Kings Highway - Kings Highway & Congers Road
• Kings Highway & the Long Clove, Old Haverstraw Road
• Paul Farmhouse - Gilchrest Road
• Snedeker Farm - 74 Endicott Street
• Snedeker Landing - Route 9W & Long Clove Roads
• St. Paul's Church- Lake Rd. Congers at the church

Landmarks and places of interest

• Congers Historical Museum - Second floor of the century-old Congers Railroad Station Park building - Lake Road & Burnside Avenue

• Congers United Methodist Church - On April 3, 1831, Easter Sunday, the first service was held. The congregation consisted of Presbyterians and former members of the Dutch Reformed Church. Originally, the Congers Church was named the Waldberg Dutch Reformed Church. In 1968, the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged with the Methodist Church and became known as the United Methodist Church. The church's 175th anniversary was celebrated in 2006.

• Dr. Davies Farm - The farmhouse, part of a 450-acre (1.8 km²) farm that ran from Rockland Lake to the Hudson River was built in 1836 and is of the early frontier federalist style. In 1891 Arthur B. Davies and Dr. Lucy Meriwether married and purchased what is now the Davies home farm for $6500.00. Lucy Virginia Meriweather Davies, M.D. was a relative of Meriwether Lewis (of the Lewis and Clark Expedition) and a general practitioner who, in her time, delivered a significant part of Rockland's population: 7,000 babies. She also farmed the land which her descendants operate today. In 2007 the present Davies owners gifted with no tax benefits 6-8 acres of its property to Rockland Center for the Arts - (RoCA) located in West Nyack, New York.

• Rockland Lake Museum - Rockland Lake State Park - Open all year, but call the office in advance to make sure someone can unlock the room in which the exhibit is contained. Free. Exhibits releating to the local ice industry and community life in Rockland Lake Village, including ice harvesting tools.
• John Mini Distinctive Landscapes [Corporate Campus] - The company's 19-acre (77,000 m²) main corporate campus in housed in Congers, making it one of the largest landscape contractor properties in the nation.

• Self-Transcendence Marathon - Held the last week of August at Rockland Lake State Park.

Notable residents

• Peter O'Brien: Director of "Riphouse 151: Could've Been's & Wanna Be's"[1]
• Will Cunnane, Played Major League Baseball
• Chief Edward R Gleason Jr.: Palisades Interstate Park Police Chief [2]
• Lucy Virginia Meriweather Davies, M.D. was a relative of Meriwether Lewis (of the Lewis and Clark Expedition) and a general practitioner who, in her time, delivered a significant part of Rockland's population: 7,000 babies. She was one of the first graduates of Women's Medical College in New York City and was the main physician for the quarry and ice industry workers in Rockland County.
• Lide Meriwether, Lucy Virginia Meriweather Davies' mother, was a well-known southern suffragist who was a friend of Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Stone, and was instrumental in the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. The Meriwethers lived next door to Jefferson Finis Davis, President of the Confederate States of America in Memphis, Tennessee.
• Devon Harris, 3-time Olympian, member of the Jamaican Bobsled Team.
• Frank Maresca: reality show contestant on I Love New York 2 and I Love Money.
• Mark Triscott: Award winning microbiologist, responsible for a number of coagulatory assay patents. [3]
• Adam Gussow: writer and blues harmonica player, member of the duo Satan and Adam.
• Edward J. Kiernan (Big Ed): Former New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President. President Emeritus of the I.U.P.A.: International Union of Police Associations.

References

1. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
2. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ Congers Family Papers 1772-1911 SC18698

[4]

External links

• Congers Fire Department
• Congers United Methodist Church
• Congers Valley Cottage Volunteer Ambulance Corp
• New York Times article
• Dr. Davies Farm
• "10 New Reasons to Love Congers," from Rockland Magazine