Piermont is a village in Rockland County, New York, United States. Piermont is in the town of Orangetown, located north of the hamlet of Palisades; east of Sparkill and south of Grand View-on-Hudson, on the west bank of the Hudson River. The population was 2,607 at the 2000 census.
The village's name is derived by combining a local natural feature – Tallman Mountain – and the most prominent man-made feature of the village – the long Erie Railroad pier.
History
The Hudson at Piermont (1952)
by Jasper Francis Cropsey
Sparkill Creek cuts through the north end of the Hudson Palisades, providing easy access to the fertile valley of the unnavigable upper Hackensack River. "Tappan Landing," "Tappan Slote", or "Taulman Landing," as the little port was called, thus became the original port for southern Orange County. The valley in the Palisades created by the creek also provided a way for the Erie Railroad to easily reach the Hudson, and the railroad built a long pier in 1839 as its principal terminal. The pier and the nearby mountains suggested a new name for the community, which was incorporated as a village in 1850. The pier was a major embarkation point for World War II troops traveling from Camp Shanks to the European Theater.
Late in the 20th century, Piermont became a modest tourist attraction for day-trippers from New York City, particularly those bicycling on Bike Route 9.
Piermont Station
Piermont Station, located on Ash Street, is a Victorian stick-style structure built in 1873 which served as Piermont's stop for the former Erie Railroad line, which went from Nyack to Hoboken, New Jersey. The Erie Railroad line stopped running through Piermont in 1966. The rail branch was abandoned in the 1970s as a result of railroad consolidation.
The exterior of the building was renovated to its original architecture and French gray, light-green and oxide-red color scheme in 2006 by the Piermont Historical Society. They replaced the roof and installed a new 9-foot (2.7 m) cupola. The train station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
Piermont Fire Department
Piermont Fire Department, Rockland County department 13, is an all volunteer organization, providing fire, EMS, and Water Rescue services, is located on Main Street. Piermont is one of the few districts in Rockland county to have a Dive Rescue team, providing water rescue services from the Tappan Zee Bridge to the Palisades.
Piermont hand-cranked drawbridge
The Piermont hand-cranked drawbridge was originally built in 1880 by The King Iron Bridge Company, a Cleveland company in the state of Ohio that constructed more than 10,000 bridges over six decades. The hand-cranked drawbridge is used as a pedestrian walkway providing a link to Tallman Mountain State Park. This bridge is the only hand-cranked drawbridge in Rockland County and perhaps in the United States. Back in the day, fishermen on sloops heading up and down the creek, got out of their vessel, cranked up the drawbridge, sailed across, got our of their vessel and cranked down the drawbridge for vehicular traffic. The whole bridge was dismantled piece by piece, sent off-site for restoration and restored to its original state after a complete forensic analysis. Allan King Sloan, the great-great-grandson of the company's founder, provided some of the information that is on the historical marker nearby and attended the dedication ceremony on August 7, 2009.
Geography
Piermont is located at 41°2′26″N 73°55′8″W / 41.04056°N 73.91889°W / 41.04056; -73.91889 (41.040623, -73.918788)[1].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.1 square miles (3.0 km²), of which, 0.7 square miles (1.7 km²) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.2 km²) of it (41.74%) is water.
Piermont is on the west bank of the Hudson River, south of the Tappan Zee Bridge.
Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 2,607 people, 1,189 households, and 672 families residing in the village. The population density was 3,878.9 people per square mile (1,502.3/km²). There were 1,320 housing units at an average density of 1,964.0/sq mi (760.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 78.75% White, 4.72% Black, 0.19% Native American, 7.79% Asian, 5.49% from other races, and 3.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.62% of the population.
There were 1,189 households out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.4% were non-families. 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the village the population was spread out with 19.2% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 30.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 100.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.3 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $61,591, and the median income for a family was $89,846. Males had a median income of $50,659 versus $43,176 for females. The per capita income for the village was $43,731. About 3.0% of families and 9.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.
Notable residents
- Lawson, Audrey Snypse, MSW (June 6, 1918 - December 20, 2009) CoAuthored the book, published by the Historical Society of Rockland, True Stories From The Mine Hole, with Leonard Cook. She was a lifetime member of the NAACP, The NYS Senior Action Council, The Alumnae Assoc. of Philadelphia High School for Girls and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She worked as an associate professor for 20 years at Adelphi University School of Social Work. She received her MSW from Columbia University after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from Fisk University and volunteered at the Governor's Committee for the Rockland County Office of the Aging, St. Doninic's Home, the Rockland County Department of Social Service and the Rockland Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. "Friends with Blessings". Her awards included 2003 - "Senior Citizen of the Year", 2004 - "Honoring our Stories", 2005 - "Excellence in Co Writing", 2005 - "Services to and Roots In the Community" and 2006 - "Outstanding Service and a Legacy of Personal Achievement", by the Nyack NAACP. She and her husband Ben visited 27 countries including Africa and China. She is interned at Rockland Cemetery in Sparkill.
- Pantale Ric - Author, director, writer and owner of Piermont Pictures Video.
- Stroud, Eleanor - she looked after the children who ice skated at the pond and served hot chocolate, coffee, hot dogs and cookies from a nearby shed. A park was named in her honor.
Tourism
Historical markers
- Bogertown - 102 Paradise Avenue
- Sneden House - 38 Paradise Avenue
- Dederer Stone House or Stonehurst
Landmarks and places of interest
- Dederer Stone House or Stonehurst
- Eleanor Stroud Park - A pond and small surrounding park next to Sparkill Creek and under the U.S. Route 9W viaduct. The park is named after a woman who lived near the pond on Ferdon Avenue. For decades she looked after the children who ice skated at the pond and served hot chocolate, coffee, hot dogs and cookies from a nearby shed. The pond is free to the public and open until 9 PM every day the green signal flag is posted.
- Haddock’s Hall - 300 Ferdon Avenue (NRHP)
- Onderdonk House - 758 Piermont Avenue (NRHP)
- Piermont - Formerly Tappan Landing. Tappan Slote ("Slote" is Dutch for "ditch," referring to cut passage through marshy mouth of Sparkill Creek: "kill" is Dutch for "creek"). Served as eastern terminus of New York & Erie Railroad, completed from here to Dunkirk, New York in 1851, then the longest trunk line in U.S. Still remaining is 4,000 ft (1,200 m).-long pier into Hudson River once used for loading and unloading trains and boats. One can walk, or drive with a pass, to end of it. Tallman Mountain State Park to the south. The first president of the Erie Railroad, Eleazar Lord, built as his home a stone Victorian mansion in Piermont, which he called "The Cedars." It is now called "The Castle" by local residents and it is occupied privately.
- Piermont Railroad Station - Ash Street (NRHP)
- The Piermont Historical Society
- Rockland Road Bridge - between Piermont & Ferdon Avenue
- Sneden House - 38 Paradise Avenue
- Sparkill Creek Drawbridge - Bridge Street (NRHP)
Organizations
Notes
External links
