Congers, New York

Congers is a suburban hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is 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 (31 km) north of New York City's Bronx boundary. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,532.[2]

Congers, New York
Census-designated place
Nickname(s): 
The Hamlet by the Lakes, C Hood
Location in Rockland County and the state of New York
Location in Rockland County and the state of New York
Congers, New York is located in New York
Congers, New York
Congers, New York
Location within the state of New York
Coordinates: 41°8′47″N 73°56′39″W
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountyRockland
Area
[1]
 • Total3.93 sq mi (10.18 km2)
 • Land3.19 sq mi (8.25 km2)
 • Water0.74 sq mi (1.93 km2)
Elevation
177 ft (54 m)
Population
 (2020)[2]
 • Total8,532
 • Density2,678.81/sq mi (1,034.25/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
10920
Area code845
FIPS code36-17739
GNIS feature ID0947282

Geography

Congers is located at 41°8′47″N 73°56′39″W (41.146445, −73.944036).[3]

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, along the Hudson River.

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
19807,123—
19908,00312.4%
20008,3033.7%
20108,3630.7%
20208,5322.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[4]

As of the census[5] 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 inhabitants per square mile (1,017.7/km2). There were 2,743 housing units at an average density of 870.8 per square mile (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 people of any race were 7.6% of the population.

Estimated median household income in 2008 was $99,833 (it was $79,493 in 2000), making it one of the highest-earning CDPs 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
Lake DeForest is a reservoir that was built in 1956, and can hold over 5 billion gallons of fresh water

Congers was settled in the late 17th century by Dutch, German and English settlers. It was known as Cedar Grove Corner and then Waldberg, which in German means "forest mountain". It is named after Abraham B. Conger.[6]

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.

Nine structures in Congers have 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 George Washington is believed to have spent a night in his role as commander-in-chief of Colonial forces during the American Revolution.

The Swartout estate, which was occupied by George Swartout, was part of a large tract of land confiscated by the government about 1777. It was purchased by General Jacobus Swartwout, who was a top ally of Washington, and member of a family who traced their residence in Rockland County to 1660.

Lake DeForest, a reservoir with a capacity of over 5 billion gallons, was built in 1955-1956. It is named after Henry L. Deforest, President of the Spring Valley Works and Supply Company.

Several roads are named after Union Civil War generals, including Grant, Burnside, Sheridan, Sherman, and Rosecrans avenues.

A memorial in honor of 1st Lieutenant Raymond B. Jauss is located at the park adjacent to the railroad crossing at the center of town. Jauss received a Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in World War I, and was killed on July 15, 1918 near Crezancy, France. He was a graduate of Columbia University and his family had a summer home in Congers. Jauss was married to a childhood sweetheart - and fellow Congers resident - Harriet James; their wedding occurred two days before he sailed for Europe.

Congers had regular passenger train service along the New York Central Railroad's West Shore Railroad from Weehawken, New Jersey (opposite Midtown Manhattan) north to Newburgh, Kingston and Albany until 1958. A shortened commuter service continued to West Haverstraw until 1959.[7][8]

St Paul's Church

Catholics in Congers initially attended St. Peter's Church in Haverstraw. Rev. Thomas McGare of St. Peter's built St Paul's Church, Clarkstown's first Catholic church, on Lake Road in the early 1890s. In 1901 Rev. John A. Nageleisen built mission stations in Rockland Lake, Bardonia, and New City.[9]

Gilchrest Road crossing accident
Main article: Gilchrest Road, New York crossing accident

Education

Congers has one public elementary school, Lakewood Elementary. Congers Elementary School was shut down in 2013 due to unsafe cracks in the structure.[10] Today the building remains as a day care facility.[11] Public school students from Congers attend Felix Festa Middle School in West Nyack and Clarkstown North High School in New City. Congers is also the home of Rockland Country Day School, which accepts students in grades PreK-12 and was founded in 1959.

Sports

The New York Raiders are a semi-professional rugby league football team that currently plays in the American National Rugby League (AMNRL) competition. They play their home games at Rockland Lake State Park, and are a team partner of the Canberra Raiders of Australia's National Rugby League (NRL).

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 Road at the church

Landmarks and places of interest
Historic Congers Railroad Station of the West Shore Railroad and Park
  • Congers Historical Museum – Second floor of the century-old Congers Railroad Station Park building – Lake Road and 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.
Historic building in central Congers
  • 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 gave 6 to 8 acres (2.4 to 3.2 ha) of its property to the Rockland Center for the Arts (RoCA) of 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. There are exhibits relating to the local ice industry and community life in Rockland Lake Village, including ice harvesting tools.
  • John Mini Distinctive Landscapes – The company's 19-acre (77,000 m2) main corporate campus is 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
  • Congers Lake Trailway[12][13] – Opened 2011
  • Congers Lake West Trailway and Boardwalk – Opened October 2013. Combined trailway is approximately 2.6 miles around Congers Lake.

Notable people

References
  1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  2. "2020 Census Redistricting Data: Congers CDP; New York". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  3. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  4. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  5. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  6. "Congers Family Papers 1772–1911 SC18698" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  7. "Comments On The West Shore from James Knecht". Nyc.railfan.net. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  8. "New York Central Railroad, Table 50". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 92 (7). December 1959.
  9. Lafort, Remigius. The Catholic Church in the United States of America, Vol. 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York, Section 1: Comprising the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn, Buffalo and Ogdensburg. (New York City: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914), p.400
  10. "Congers Elementary School Closed After Being Deemed Unsafe". Newyork.cbslocal.com. August 30, 2013.
  11. "Clarkstown keeps Congers Elementary closed". Eu.lohud.com.
  12. "Congers Lake Memorial Park Trailway". Scenesfromthetrail.com. November 5, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  13. "Congers Lake Park". Google.com. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  14. "Chief Edward R. Gleason, Jr Memorial Page". Policememorial.com. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  15. "Chief of Park Police Dies". The New York Times. July 24, 1972.
  16. Sherrill Grace, Mina Benson Hubbard's "A Woman's Way Through Unknown Labrador" (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2004)
  17. Roberta Buchanan, Anne Hart, and Bryan Greene, The Woman Who Mapped Labrador: The Life and Expedition Diary of Mina Hubbard (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005)
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