Waccabuc, New York

Last updated

Waccabuc, New York
hamlet
WaccabucNY CountryClub.jpg
Waccabuc Country Club
USA New York location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Waccabuc, New York
Coordinates: 41°17′26″N73°35′43″W / 41.29056°N 73.59528°W / 41.29056; -73.59528
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
County Westchester
Town Lewisboro
Area
 • Total3.34 sq mi (8.66 km2)
 • Land3.34 sq mi (8.66 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Population
 • Total851
 • Density254.9/sq mi (98.27/km2)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
10597
Area code 914
GNIS feature ID968618 [1]

Waccabuc is a hamlet and lake in the town of Lewisboro, Westchester County, New York, United States. Waccabuc is considered "New York's Secret Suburb" and is home to a "collection of privacy-loving C.E.O.s and bright stars in other firmaments," according to an Upstart Business Journal article about the tremendous number of notable residents in a hamlet of just a few hundred people. [2] Waccabuc is known by many outside the town for its Castle Rock. [3]

Contents

Before becoming its own hamlet, Waccabuc was originally a vacation retreat established by the Mead family, who are considered one of the First Families of Westchester. The retreat prided itself for having no "tramps, bars, or malaria." [4] A couple of the hamlet's handful of roads, such as "Tarry-a-Bit," are named after the vacation house they originally served. [4] Waccabuc Country Club's main clubhouse sits at the site of one of the original vacation houses. [5]

On July 1, 1956, Marilyn Monroe wed Arthur Miller in a Jewish ceremony at a private house in Waccabuc. Their nuptials were celebrated at the home of Miller's literary agent, Kay Brown. Some 30 friends and relatives attended the hastily arranged party. [6]

The Mead Memorial Chapel and The Homestead are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [7] The Waccabuc Historic District was listed on July 28, 2015. [8] [9]

Demographics

The total population of Waccabuc is just 851 people. Waccabuc is by far the smallest of Lewisboro's four hamlets, and the hamlet's strict zoning laws ensure that Waccabuc maintains a low population density not seen in any of the other hamlets. These factors combine to separate Waccabuc from the other hamlets of Lewisboro and project an image of exclusivity.

The median household income, as of 2010, was $186,554 [10] and the average household income was $240,258. [11] Waccabuc has a per capita income of $79,819. [10]

The median home value was $1,243,423, earning Waccabuc a place on Forbes magazine's annual list of "America's Most Expensive ZIP Codes" and is listed above more recognizable towns in Westchester such as Scarsdale, Pound Ridge, and Chappaqua. [12] Real estate brokers note that listings in Waccabuc priced at $600,000 could be teardown projects, [2] despite being more than $100,000 above the median home value of the country overall. [13]

Residential property and conservation

Waccabuc is set apart from the other hamlets of Lewisboro, as well as most other towns in Westchester, in that all property must be on a minimum of two acres of land and, on most streets, the property minimum increases to four acres of land, the exception being the Hunt Farm development on hamlet's outskirts. To further maintain the beauty of Waccabuc, a 100-acre piece of land was bought by all residents of Waccabuc through the Waccabuc Land Owner's Association for conservation purposes as well as to provide hiking trails. [2]

The Mead Memorial Chapel and The Homestead are listed on the National Register of Historic Places [7] and the hamlet itself is a designated historic district. [8]

A 2005 NYT story on the hamlet captured the social function of the Post Office and the locals' efforts to preserve and maintain it. [14]

Notable people

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westchester County, New York</span> County in New York, United States

Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population of 1,004,456, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 55,344 (5.8%) from the 949,113 counted in 2010. Westchester covers an area of 450 square miles (1,200 km2), consisting of six cities, 19 towns, and 23 villages. Established in 1683, Westchester was named after the city of Chester, England. The county seat is the city of White Plains, while the most populous municipality in the county is the city of Yonkers, with 211,569 residents per the 2020 census. The county is part of the Hudson Valley region of the state.

Bruce Weigert Paltrow was an American television and film director and producer. He was the husband of actress Blythe Danner, and the father of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and screenwriter/director Jake Paltrow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Scotland, New York</span> Town in New York, United States

New Scotland is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 9,096 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clifton Park, New York</span> Town in New York, United States

Clifton Park is a suburban town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. It is the largest municipality in the county, with a 2020 population of 38,029, according to the 2020 census. The name is derived from an early land patent. The town is in the southern part of Saratoga County, approximately 12 miles (19 km) north of Albany, 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Schenectady, and 10 miles (16 km) south of Saratoga Springs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chappaqua, New York</span> Hamlet and census-designated place in New Castle, New York, US

Chappaqua is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of New Castle, in northern Westchester County, New York. It is approximately 30 miles (50 km) north of New York City. The hamlet is served by the Chappaqua station of the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line. In the New York State Legislature it is within the New York State Assembly's 93rd district and the New York Senate's 40th district. In Congress the village is in New York's 17th District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cortlandt, New York</span> Town in New York, United States

Cortlandt is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States, located at the northwestern edge of the county, at the eastern terminus of the Bear Mountain Bridge. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,545. The town includes the villages of Buchanan and Croton-on-Hudson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldens Bridge, New York</span> Census-designated place in New York, United States

Goldens Bridge is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Lewisboro in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 1,630 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenburgh, New York</span> Town in New York, United States

Greenburgh is a town in western Westchester County, New York. The population was 95,397 at the time of the 2020 census. The town consists of 6 villages and an unincorporated area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawthorne, New York</span> Census-designated place in New York, United States

Hawthorne is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 4,586 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewisboro, New York</span> Town in New York, United States

Lewisboro is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 12,265 at the 2020 census. The town is named after John Lewis, an early settler. Lewisboro is a suburb of New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Pleasant, New York</span> Town in New York, United States

Mount Pleasant is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 44,436. The hamlets of Valhalla, Hawthorne, Pocantico Hills, and Thornwood, and the villages of Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, and a small portion of Briarcliff Manor lie within the town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somers, New York</span> Town in New York, United States

Somers is a town located in northern Westchester County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 21,541. The nearby Metro-North Commuter Railroad provides service to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan with an average commute time of 65 to 75 minutes from stations at Purdys, Goldens Bridge, Croton Falls, and Katonah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valhalla, New York</span> Hamlet in New York, United States

Valhalla is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the New York City metropolitan area. Its population was 3,162 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The name was inspired by a fan of the composer Richard Wagner, and the hamlet is known both as the home of the primary hospital campus of Westchester Medical Center and New York Medical College and as the burial place of numerous noted people. Valhalla is the realm of the gods in Norse mythology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bedford (town), New York</span> Town in New York, United States

Bedford is an incorporated town in Westchester County, New York. The population was 17,309 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katonah, New York</span> CDP in the town of Bedford, Westchester County, in the U.S. state of New York

Katonah is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Bedford, Westchester County, in the U.S. state of New York. The Katonah CDP had a population of 1,603 at the 2020 census.

South Salem is a hamlet in the Town of Lewisboro, Westchester County, in the U.S. state of New York. Part of the New York metropolitan area, the town center has a post office, town hall, library, and recycling center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mead Memorial Chapel</span> United States historic place

Mead Memorial Chapel is a historic Episcopal chapel at 2 Chapel Road in the hamlet of Waccabuc, town of Lewisboro, Westchester County, New York. It was designed by Hobart B. Upjohn (1876-1949) and built in 1905–1906 in a late Gothic Revival style. It is a rectangular stone building with a steep slate roof. A wing was added in 1929, known as Mead Memorial Hall, and it houses the Mead family archives. It features a bell tower pierced by Gothic arch shaped louvered windows. It was built by Sarah Frances Studwell Mead as a memorial to her husband, George Washington Mead (1827-1899). The Mead family also owned the separately listed The Homestead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Homestead (Waccabuc, New York)</span> Historic house in New York, United States

The Homestead is a historic home located at Waccabuc, Westchester County, New York. It has five contributing buildings and one contributing structure. The main house, known as The Homestead, was built between 1820 and 1822 in the Federal style by the locally prominent Mead family. It has a four bay wide main block with a three bay ell. The frame building sits on a cut stone foundation. Also on the property is a 19th-century barn, four room cottage, tool shed, chicken house, and well house. The Mead family built the separately listed Mead Memorial Chapel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Westchester County, New York</span>

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Westchester County, New York, excluding the city of Peekskill, which has its own list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in southern Westchester County, New York</span>

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in southern Westchester County, New York, excluding the cities of New Rochelle and Yonkers, which have separate lists of their own.

References

  1. ↑ "Waccabuc". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. 1 2 3 Wilson, Claire (June 20, 2007). "In Residence: New York's Secret Suburb". Upstart Business Journal .
  3. ↑ Alvarez, Reece (July 24, 2014). "Castle Rock cliff jumping draws thrill seekers, tickets". Lewisboro Ledger.
  4. 1 2 White, Dana (January 2015). "The First Families Of Westchester". Westchester Magazine .
  5. ↑ "Waccabuc Country Club".
  6. ↑ Schreck, Tom (November 2014). "Marilyn Monroe's Westchester Wedding; Plus, More County Questions And Answers". Westchester Magazine .
  7. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  8. 1 2 "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form" (PDF). New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
  9. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 7/27/15 through 7/31/15. National Park Service. August 7, 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Waccabuc Real Estate". Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.
  11. ↑ "Waccabuc, NY 10597 Household Income Statistics 2010". CLRChoice, Inc.
  12. ↑ Carlyle, Erin (October 22, 2014). "Full List: America's 500 Most Expensive ZIP Codes In 2014". Forbes .
  13. ↑ "Westchester County Home Prices & Values". Zillow .
  14. 1 2 3 4 Brenner, Elsa. "Living in Waccabuc, N.Y.: Country Living With Big-City Prices". The New York Times.
  15. ↑ "Blythe Danner sells in Santa Monica and buys in New York". Berg Properties. March 8, 2007.
  16. ↑ "New Health For Ailing Aetna". Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Jillian Gumbel, William Robins". New York Times. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Westchester Magazine" . Retrieved July 25, 2011.
  19. ↑ "Merrill Lynch's $50 billion feud". CNN. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Jean-Georges Goes Country". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.