Bedford (town), New York

Bedford is a town in Westchester County, New York, USA. The population was 18,133 at the 2000 census.

The Town of Bedford is in the central part of the county. The town has three unincorporated hamlets: Bedford Hills, Bedford Village, and Katonah.

The Bedford Free Library is located in Bedford, on the Village Green, and is a member of the Westchester Library System. Bedford Hills and Katonah also have libraries which are members of the same system.

History

The Town of Bedford was founded on December 23, 1680 when twenty-two Puritans from Stamford, Connecticut purchased a tract of land three miles square known as the "Hopp Ground" from Chief Katonah and several other Indians for coats, blankets, wampum and cloth.

Bedford was made a part of Connecticut in 1697 when a patent fixed the boundaries as a six-mile square and only when King William III of England issued a royal decree in 1700, to settle a boundary dispute, did Bedford became part of New York.

The Town served as the county seat of Westchester County during the American Revolutionary War after the Battle of White Plains until Bedford was burned by the British on July 11, 1779. After the Revolution, Bedford was made one of two seats of County government, alternating with White Plains, until 1870. Westchester County's oldest government building is the Court House in Bedford Village, which was built in 1787 and renovated in the 1960s

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 39.3 square miles (101.9 km²), of which, 37.2 square miles (96.5 km²) of it is land and 2.1 square miles (5.5 km²) of it (5.36%) is water. The town is bordered to the west by Mount Kisco, to the south by Armonk, to the north by Lewisboro, and to the east by Pound Ridge.

Landmarks

Bedford has a few minor landmarks, most of them centered around the Bedford Green, a small patch of green space at the center of the historical district (along Route 22). There is a small graveyard dating back to the founding of the town; the old one-room stone schoolhouse; and a few colonial-era houses, still lived in, which are kept painted white with black or green shutters. More information on the schoolhouse is available at [phone].

Also along Route 22, at Hook Road, there is a large 300+ year old oak tree known as the Bedford Oak.Fact|date=May 2008

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 18,133 people, 5,731 households, and 4,395 families residing in the town. The population density was 486.9 people per square mile (188.0/km²). There were 6,020 housing units at an average density of 161.6/sq mi (62.4/km²). The racial/ethnic makeup of the town was 87.50% White, 7.12% Black, 1.98% Asian, and 1.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.57% of the population. 0.09% ethnic Native American. 0.08% ethnic Pacific Islander and 1.88% from other ethnicities.

There were 5,731 households out of which 41.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.5% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.3% were non-families. 18.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $100,053, and the median income for a family was $118,820. Males had a median income of $88,561 versus $47,468 for females. The per capita income for the town was $53,046. About 2.4% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.9% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those of age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Bedford

*Bedford Village -- A hamlet in the southeast part of the town, also known as Bedford.
*Bedford Hills -- A hamlet in the western part of the town, just south of Katonah
*Cross River Reservoir -- A reservoir in the northern portion of the town.
*Katonah -- A hamlet at the north town line.
*Bedford Corners --A very small community neighboring the much larger independent village of Mount Kisco.

Notable people, past and present

*Joseph Abboud, fashion designer and author, owns a Bedford Village business, Herringbone
*Billy Baldwin, actor [http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/scn-sa-costaregni.12.3dec03,0,7356135.column?coll=stam-news-utility] Costaregni, Susie, "The Dish" column, "Christmas concert to help children in Rwanda", "The Advocate" of Stamford, Connecticut, December 3, 2006, accessed December 23, 2006]
*Mariah Carey, vocalist, actress
*Chevy Chase, comedian, writer, and television and film actor [Chamoff, Lisa, "Westport to host Clinton fundraiser", news article in "The Advocate" of Stamford, Connecticut, Norwalk edition, July 25, 2007, page A13 (" [...] Chevy Chase, a resident of Bedford, N.Y. [...] ")]
*Glenn Close, award winning film and stage actress
*Peter Frampton, Grammy-award winning musician
*Felicity Huffman, Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning film and television actress
*John Jay, founding father, diplomat, first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, co-author of the Federalist Papers
*Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., environmental activist and son of the late Robert F. Kennedy
*Ralph Lauren, fashion designer and business executive
*Theodore Mann, co-founded Circle in the Square Theatre along with Jose Quintero in 1951
*Kate Mara, film and television actress, raised in Bedford
*E.G. Marshall, actor, died in Bedford
*Jennifer O'Neill, actress, accidentally shot herself at her residence in the hamlet of Bedford Hills
*Chazz Palminteri, actor and writer
*Ted Sorensen, Special Counsel & Adviser, as well as speechwriter for President John F. Kennedy (Lives in neighboring Pound Ridge)
*George Soros, financial speculator, stock investor, philanthropist, and political activist
*Martha Stewart, business magnate, author, editor and homemaking advocate
*Donald Trump, business executive, entrepreneur, television personality and author
*Loudon Wainwright III, songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor, raised in Bedford
*Bill W., co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, resident of Bedford, 1941-1971
*Lois Burnham Wilson, wife of Bill W., co-founder of Al-Anon family groups, resident of Bedford, 1941-1988
*Helen Clay Frick, daughter of Industrialist Henry Clay Frick.
*Fred Gwynne, actor, resident of Bedford 1960's.
*Robert Goulet, singer,actor, resident of Bedford 1960's .
*Roone Arledge, sports broadcasting pioneer, resident of Bedford late 1960s - early 1970s.
*Stanley Tucci, actor, writer, director.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.bedfordny.info/ Bedford official website]
* [http://www.bedfordny.com/ Around and About Bedford New York]
* [http://www.bedford.relocale.com/ Daily blog about Bedford Real Estate]
* [http://dir.hudsonvalleysojourner.com/t/Bedford_Hills/ Bedford website directory]
* [http://nysparks.state.ny.us/sites/info.asp?siteID=16 John Jay Homestead State Historic Site web page]
* [http://www.johnjayhomestead.org/index.php John Jay Homestead, Friends of]
* [http://www.westchestergov.com/planning/research/Census2000/MunicipalProfiles/Bed.pdf Municipal profile from Westchester County Web site]
* [http://www.bedfordmagazine.com/ "Bedford Magazine"]
* [http://www.intownconnect.com/ InTown Westchester Magazine]
* [http://www.lohud.com/ The Journal News, the County newspaper]
* [http://www.steppingstones.org The historic home of Bill and Lois Wilson]