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Welcome to our hometown, the Village of Tarrytown, situated among the rolling hills of the Hudson River’s eastern shore, in an area called the Tappan Zee. Located just 25 miles North of New York City, Tarrytown is a village that proudly celebrates its rich history, abundant natural resources, lively downtown, and diverse community-minded people. Our first residents were the Weckquaesgeek Indians, who farmed their fields for corn, squash, beans, and tobacco, fished the Hudson for shad, oysters and other shellfish, and hunted the forests for deer and black bear. In the 1600s the first European settlers -- Dutch farmers, fur trappers, and fishermen -- arrived. They found that the soil was ideal for growing cereals, especially wheat, which led to the area being known as Terve, or Tarwe (the Dutch word for “wheat”) Town, which later became mispronounced as Tarrytown (Washington Irving, however, in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” used his poetic license to suggest that the name was given “by the good housewives of the adjacent county, from the inveterate propensity of their husbands to linger about the village tavern on market days.”). The village and surrounding areas, dominated by the 90,000-acre manor of Frederick Philipse, now a restored historic site, remained primarily agricultural through the first half of the 19th century. During the mid-1800’s, the Village began its transformation into a manufacturing, trading and retail economy, as factories producing shoes, silk, steam pumps, ships and other products sprung up and the population increased significantly. Always favored by our connection to the Hudson River and our harbor, the Village’s commercial fortunes advanced further when in 1849 the rail line between New York City and Albany opened. And, while many of the factory workers lived in modest homes, numerous larger residences and even mansions were built along the Hudson River and its view shed, making Tarrytown a haven for the “rich and famous” of the day. The Victorian architecture of that era can still be seen in numerous residential and commercial buildings throughout the village, most of which have been carefully preserved and/or restored. While Tarrytown today has shed its industrial legacy, with nearly all of the factories long-closed, the Village continues to thrive. We have transformed ourselves into not just a commonplace bedroom community, but a sought-after destination for residents and visitors alike, offering an astonishing array of resources, both natural and human. Our downtown is vibrant and flourishing, anchored by the 125-year old Tarrytown Music Hall and home to numerous restaurants and stores. It retains the authentic character of a true village center, with hundreds of residents living not only in apartments above shops but in the many homes within easy walking distance of Main Street. Our formerly industrial waterfront is completely open to the public, with a brand new RiverWalk park, two boat clubs and a high-end retail/residential development underway on the adjacent upland property. Other parks abound, with many hundreds of acres of forested open space and miles of trails available to hikers, walkers and runners. We are also the center of one of the greatest concentrations of historic and tourist sites in the nation: The Lyndhurst Mansion, Sunnyside (the home of Washington Irving), Patriots Park (with its monument commemorating the capture of Major Andre during the Revolutionary War), Kykuit (the Rockefeller family estate), Phillipsburg Manor Restoration, the Old Dutch Church and Cemetery, the Pocantico Church (with its Chagall and Matisse stained glass windows) and the Stone Barns Agricultural Center all within a few miles of our downtown. And to serve our many visitors, there are several major hotels and a conference center. We even have a castle—now a world class-restaurant and inn. But the truly greatest resource we have is our residents. Tarrytown community members come from all walks of life, from the descendents of the original Dutch settlers, to the descendents of slaves, to the descendents of men and women who worked in factories, to newly-arrived immigrants: from those who perform manual labor, to scientists, to teachers, to police officers, to doctors, to investment bankers to producers of Broadway shows. We have an enormous range of houses of worship, 2 public school systems that send students to the finest colleges in the nation as well as a top-tier private high school and the international language institute that each year brings in over 1,000 young people from around the world to learn English. Taken together, Tarrytown has something very rare indeed - the diversity and vibrancy of a cosmopolitan center set within the friendly and sustainable environment of small-town America. I am proud and honored to be the mayor of this exceptional village. Drew Fixell, Mayor, Village of Tarrytown
www.tarrytowngov.com