Pearl River, New York

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Pearl River is a hamlet (and a census-designated place) in Rockland County, New York, United States. The population was 15,553 at the 2000 census.

Pearl River is in the western part of the Town of Orangetown.

Pearl River is also the site of One Blue Hill Plaza, Rockland County's first commercial skyscraper and the home of the former Lederle Laboratories, now Wyeth. Wyeth is one of the largest non-governmental employers in Rockland County.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 Notable Achievements 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

Pearl River was originally called "Muddy Flatts." In the early 1870s, the town was divided in five different parts; Naurashaun, Middletown, Sickletown, Pascack and Muddy Brook. According to historians, a resident of the town by the name of Dr. Ves Bogert found pearls in mussels on a creek running through the town, thus naming the town Pearl River.^{[citation needed]}

Pearl River was a deserted area purchased by Julius E. Braunsdorf in 1872. It is said that Branusdorf was the "Father of Pearl River" and designed it to be a company town.^{[citation needed]}

Braunsdorf built:^{[citation needed]}

• 1872 - The Aetna Sewing Machine Company - the largest factory in Pearl River and ceded land to the railroad company so workers from New York City could get to his factory.
• 1873 - Two brick train stations (Passenger/Freight) that are still in use today.
• The Pearl River Hotel
• Low-cost housing for the factory employees that he attracted from Germany.

Another story behind the town's name says that Braunsdorf named the town Pearl River because of stories of people finding pearls in the Muddy Brook.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Geography

Pearl River is located at 41°3′50″N, 74°0′37″W (41.063996, -74.010298).^GR1 According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 18.6 km² (7.2 mi²). 17.7 km² (6.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.9 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (4.87%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 15,553 people, 5,539 households, and 4,209 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 877.9/km² (2,273.2/mi²). There were 5,636 housing units at an average density of 318.1/km² (823.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.13% White, 0.39% African American, 0.05% Native American, 3.16% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.57% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.44% of the population. There were 5,539 households out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.4% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.0% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $76,692, and the median income for a family was $91,618. Males had a median income of $58,966 versus $39,452 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $31,417. About 2.2% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.

Pearl River is well-known for its large Irish American community and hosts the second largest Saint Patrick's Day parade in New York state, typically on the Sunday following St. Patrick's Day. This large Irish and Irish American population also supports the largest youth Gaelic Athletic Football team in the United States.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Notable Achievements

• Pearl River High School is a recipient of the Malcom Baldridge Award ^[1]
• Pearl River High School is home of the 2005 NYPHSAA Class B Boys Cross Country Team State Champions and is well known for its outstanding long distance runners, for both girls and boys cross country and track. ^{[2] [3]}
• Home of the 2nd Biggest St. Patrick's Day in New York and RCF ^[4]

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.quality.nist.gov/Contacts_Profiles.htm
2. ^ http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061114/SPORTS02/611140340/1136/SPORTS0265
3. ^ http://www.pressrepublican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060901/SPECIAL/609080307
4. ^ http://www.saintpatricksdayparade.com/pearl_river/pearl_river_parade.htm

[edit] External links

• Pearl River Railroad
• Founding of Pearl River

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 41.063996° -74.010298°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

	v • d • e  Municipalities and Communities of Rockland County, New York County Seat: New City
Towns	Clarkstown | Haverstraw | Orangetown | Ramapo | Stony Point
Villages	Airmont | Chestnut Ridge | Grand View-on-Hudson | Haverstraw | Hillburn | Kaser | Montebello | New Hempstead | New Square | Nyack | Piermont | Pomona | Sloatsburg | South Nyack | Spring Valley | Suffern | Upper Nyack | Wesley Hills | West Haverstraw
Communities and CDPs	Bardonia | Blauvelt | Central Nyack | Congers | Garnerville | Grassy Point | Hillcrest | Jones Point | Ladentown | Monsey | Mount Ivy | Nanuet | New City | Orangeburg | Palisades | Pearl River | Sparkill | Stony Point | Tappan | Thiells | Tomkins Cove | Valley Cottage | Viola | West Nyack