Tarrytown, New York

Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the New York metropolitan area. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line. To the north of Tarrytown is the village of Sleepy Hollow (formerly "North Tarrytown"). The Tappan Zee Bridge crosses the Hudson at Tarrytown, carrying the New York State Thruway (Interstates 87 and 287) to South Nyack, Rockland County and points in Upstate New York. The population was 11,860 at the 2020 census.^[3]

The Native American Wecquaesgeek band of the Wappinger people, related to the Mohicans, lived in the area prior to European settlement. The Wecquaesgeek fished the Hudson River for shad, oysters and other shellfish. Their settlement in present-day Tarrytown was most probably at what is now the foot of Church Street near the Hudson River shore, at a place they called Alipconk (also spelled Alipconck) or the "Place of Elms".^[4][5]

The first European settlers of Tarrytown were Dutch farmers, fur trappers, and fishermen. Records show that the first Dutch residence in Tarrytown was built in 1645; however, the exact location of this residence is not known. Tarrytown sits within the lands of the former Dutch Colony of New Netherland which fell under English rule in 1674 with the signing of the Treaty of Westminster. The name may come from the Dutch tarwe, meaning "wheat".^[6]

During the American Revolutionary War, Tarrytown was situated within the "neutral ground" of Westchester County, an unprotected buffer zone between British-controlled territory to the south and American lines to the north. Lacking formal military protection, residents were vulnerable to devastating raids from both sides. In 1780, in a famous incident, British Major John André was arrested in Tarrytown, which exposed the plans of American defector Benedict Arnold. André was traveling south through the village on the Albany Post Road when he was stopped and searched by three local militiamen David Williams, John Paulding, and Isaac Van Wart. When suspicious papers were found in his boot, he was arrested as a spy, and later convicted and hanged. A circumstantial account of André's capture by militiamen was written in 1903 by the owner and publisher of the Tarrytown Argus, Marcius D. Raymond.^[7]

The writer Washington Irving described Tarrytown in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820). Irving began his story, "In the bosom of one of those spacious coves which indent the eastern shore of the Hudson, at that broad expansion of the river denominated by the ancient Dutch navigators of the Tappan Zee, and where they always prudently shortened sail and implored the protection of St. Nicholas when they crossed, there lies a small market town or rural port which by some is called Greenburgh, but which is more generally and properly known by the name of Tarry Town. This name was given, we are told, in former days, by the good housewives of the adjacent country, from the inveterate propensity of their husbands to linger about the village tavern on market days."^{[8][note 1]}

The Underground Railroad ran through Tarrytown during the U.S. Civil War. Tarrytown's famous Foster Memorial AME Zion Church, founded in 1860 by former slaves and abolitionists, served as a vital Underground Railroad stop. Known as the “Freedom Church,"^[9] it provided food and shelter to escaped slaves en route to Canada or helped them settle in Tarrytown if they wished. One of the church's founders was herself an escaped slave, as were many parishioners.

By the middle of the 19th century, Tarrytown was developing as a trading center on the Albany Post Road and a busy commercial port on the Hudson River.^[10] The Industrial Revolution brought to it a station on the Hudson River Railroad, factories, banks, and waves of new arrivals. The first Croton Aqueduct, New York City’s original water supply system, passed through Tarrytown as part of its route to the city. It was built primarily by Irish immigrants^[11] (as was the Hudson River Railroad^[12]), many of whom settled in Tarrytown and the adjacent Beekman Town. Tarrytown incorporated as a village in 1870, and Beekman Town followed suit in 1874. The latter assumed the name North Tarrytown, drawing on the commercial success of its closest neighbor,^{[note 2]} (it would change its name to "Sleepy Hollow" in 1996). Italian, German, and Eastern European immigrants began settling in the Tarrytowns in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to open stores and shops or work in mills, factories, and plants, the largest of which was the North Tarrytown Assembly.

The area around Tarrytown also became a favorite residence for many wealthy industrialists and merchants. During the Gilded Age, the stretch of estates on both sides of Broadway/Albany Post Road from Irvington to Briarcliff Manor was known as "Millionaires' Colony."^[13] Kykuit, the Rockefeller family's elaborate mansion, still overlooks Tarrytown from a nearby hill. The Rockefellers worshipped in the First Baptist Church of Tarrytown and generously supported the church and other local establishments and causes. Their close friends, the Warners, whose estate was in Tarrytown's Wilson Park neighborhood, built Tarrytown's imposing library. Lyndhurst mansion, located on the boundary between Tarrytown and Irvington, was successively owned by New York City mayor William Paulding Jr., merchant and industrialist George Merritt, and railroad tycoon Jay Gould. The latter donated money for the construction of Tarrytown Reservoir. His daughter Helen Miller Gould Shepard, who inherited the estate, repurposed some of Lyndhurst's buildings for a sewing school for young local women, a cooking school for boys, and a "fresh-air farm" for disabled and underprivileged children.^[14][15]

On November 19, 1915, a powerful dynamite bomb was discovered at Cedar Cliff, the Tarrytown estate of John D. Archbold, president of the Standard Oil Company.^[16] Police theorized the bomb was planted by anarchists and Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) radicals as a protest against the execution of IWW member Joe Hill.^[16][17] The bomb was later defused by police.^[16]

Throughout its history, Tarrytown has hosted leading companies in various industrial sectors, with past examples including General Foods and Hitachi. Today, sectors such as medical services, pharmaceuticals, and technology are prominently represented by such companies as Siemens Healthineers, Xerox, and Regeneron. In 2014, Tarrytown was ranked second in the list of the top 10 places to live in New York, according to the national online real estate brokerage Movoto.^[18]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 5.7 square miles (15 km²), of which 3.0 square miles (7.8 km²) is land and 2.7 square miles (7.0 km²) (47.54%) is water.

The boundary between Tarrytown on the south and Sleepy Hollow on the north runs more or less along Andre Brook^{[note 3]} (formerly, Clark's Kill). Since Tarrytown is part of the town of Greenburgh, and Sleepy Hollow is part of the town of Mount Pleasant, Andre Brook also forms the boundary between these towns. The brook originates on Kykuit Hill above the villages and empties into the Hudson River near Tarrytown Boat Club. These days, the brook flows mostly through culverts under streets and roadways, daylighting in a few places near the Sleepy Hollow High School and in Patriot's Park. The two villages share the postal (ZIP) code 10591.

In the south, Tarrytown extends to Sunnyside Brook, which separates it from Irvington; in the west, the village borders the Hudson River; and in the east, it extends just past Midland Avenue, bordering unincorporated areas of the town of Greenburgh. The Lower Lake in Tarrytown Lakes Park is within the village limits. The village of South Nyack in New York's Rockland County is located directly across the Hudson River from Tarrytown.

As of the census^[21] of 2000, there were 11,090 people, 4,533 households, and 2,765 families residing in the village. The population density was 3,724.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,438.1/km²). There were 4,688 housing units at an average density of 1,574.5 units per square mile (607.9 units/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 77.44% White, 7.04% African American, 0.22% Native American, 6.49% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 5.29% from other races, and 3.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.17% of the population.

There were 4,533 households, out of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.95. In the village, the population was spread out, with 19.7% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 34.8% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.8 males. The median income for a household in the village was $68,762, and the median income for a family was $82,445. Males had a median income of $61,699 versus $41,054 for females. The per capita income for the village was $39,472. About 1.8% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

Tarrytown has access to highways I-87 and I-287, and is the site of the eastern end of the New York State Thruway's Tappan Zee Bridge. I-87 continues south to New York City, while I-287 heads east across Westchester to link up with the Saw Mill River Parkway, the Sprain Brook Parkway, the Merritt Parkway/Hutchinson River Parkway and I-95.^[22]

Tarrytown railway station is served by Metro-North Railroad commuter service.^[23] Metro-North trains go to New York City's Grand Central Terminal, and also go as far north as Poughkeepsie. Tarrytown is a major stop on the Hudson Line due to a large number of commuters crossing the Tappan Zee Bridge on Hudson Link buses from Rockland County to catch express service to Manhattan.

Bee-Line Bus System service is also provided within Tarrytown:

• BL1T: Tarrytown Railroad Station, Getty Square intermodal transit hub in Yonkers, or IRT 242nd Street Station, Bronx
• BL1W: White Plains, Getty Square intermodal transit hub in Yonkers, or IRT 242nd Street Station, Bronx (via NY 119)
• BL13/BL13B: Ossining Railroad Station or Port Chester

• Carrollcliffe, a turn-of the-20th-century castle-like building
• Christ Episcopal Church (Christ Church San Marcos], early Gothic Revival church associated with Washington Irving
• First Baptist Church of Tarrytown, of which the Rockefellers were members
• Foster Memorial AME Zion Church, the oldest Black church in Westchester County
• Hackley School, historic private school
• Lyndhurst, Gothic Revival mansion and grounds
• North Grove Street Historic District, including the exhibits at the, Historical Society of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown at 1 Grove St.
• Patriot's Park, site of John André's capture
• Reformed Church of the Tarrytowns, continuation of the original congregation of the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow
• Sunnyside, historic home of author Washington Irving
• Tarrytown Music Hall, one of the oldest surviving theaters in Westchester County; one of 6% in the US built before 1900
• Tarrytown Lakes Park, created from the decommissioned Tarrytown Reservoir
• Tarrytown section of Westchester RiverWalk,^[24] featuring interpretive signage describing the ecology, culture, and history of the area
• Warner Library, Neoclassical library building constructed in 1928
• Former Washington Irving High School

The Christ Episcopal Church (Christ Church San Marcos), First Baptist Church of Tarrytown, Foster Memorial AME Zion Church, former Washington Irving High School, North Grove Street Historic District, Patriot's Park, and Tarrytown Music Hall are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Lyndhurst and Sunnyside are listed as National Historic Landmarks.^[25]

Tarrytown was home to Marymount College, an independent women's college established in 1907. Amid financial struggle, Marymount was taken over by Fordham University in 2002, but the effort was unsuccessful: the last graduates of "Marymount College of Fordham University" received diplomas in 2007. The historic hilltop campus was sold to the Swiss firm EF and became a branch of its foreign exchange secondary school, the EF International Academy.^[26][27]

Tarrytown is divided between two school districts: Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns and Irvington Union Free School District. The former school district also includes most of Sleepy Hollow.^[28] The Tarrytown school district supervises four separate K-8 schools, as well as Sleepy Hollow High School.^[29] A Roman Catholic elementary, the Transfiguration School (of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York), was established in 1949 and is maintained by the local parish.^[30]

Tarrytown is also home to the Hackley School, a private K–12 college preparatory. Situated on Castle Ridge, the school first opened in 1899.^[31][32]

The Warner Library, member of Westchester Library System, is located on North Broadway just south of Patriot's Park where Tarrytown ends and Sleepy Hollow begins. The library has served both villages since 1929. It was built and gifted to the two communities by Worcester Reed Warner and his wife, Cornelia.^[33] Warner was a mechanical engineer, astronomer, wealthy industrialist, and philanthropist, who had an estate in Tarrytown and was a close friend of John D. Rockefeller, who was his neighbor, and of President Herbert Hoover, a fellow member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.^[34] The library cost $250,000 (approximately $4,700,000 in today's value as of 2025) to build, and the Warners further endowed it with $50,000 (some $950,000 in today's value as of 2025) for the purchase of books.^[34]

Constructed of Vermont limestone, the symmetrical Neoclassical building was designed by Walter Dabney Blair. Rockwell Kent's painting "Vision of a Simpler America" is prominently displayed in one of the library halls. The artist, who was born in Tarrytown, donated it to the library himself.

The library provides a wide variety of cultural and educational resources, from bilingual storytimes and thematic lectures to concerts and art workshops. The Westchester Library System has its headquarters just outside Tarrytown, in the adjacent village of Elmsford.

The shared religious history between Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow is centered around the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow, which was the only house of worship in the area for over 150 years. This tradition of shared spiritual community is continued to this day by local churches of major denominations (Catholic, Episcopalian, Baptist, Christian Science, Reformed, Pentecostal, Methodist, and Presbyterian, including two Korean churches), which serve both municipalities. Many churches are located on Broadway,^[35] the two villages' largest thoroughfare).

Among landmark churches are: the Reformed Church of the Tarrytowns, which is the continuation of the original congregation that worshipped at the Old Dutch Church; the Foster Memorial AME Zion Church on Wildey Street, the oldest black church in Westchester County;^[36] the First Baptist Church of Tarrytown, historically tied with the Rockefeller family; and Christ Episcopal Church (currently referred to as Christ Church San Marcos), which historically is associated with Washington Irving and now includes the San Marcos Mission, a Spanish-language ministry.

Tarrytown's single largest religious denomination is Roman Catholicism, with between 50% and 60% of residents of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow identifying as Catholics. The Church of the Transfiguration and St. Theresa's in Sleepy Hollow serve the community's Roman Catholics and provide numerous social services including the Transfiguration Parish School. Sleepy Hollow's former Immaculate Conception Church (now St. John Paul II Maronite Catholic Church at the Immaculate Conception) serves as the home for a Maronite Catholic community and the Una Voce Westchester community. Tarrytown is also the home of the Eastern American Area headquarters of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, a Catholic women's religious order.

Tarrytown also has a large Jewish community, which encompasses all major denominations. Temple Beth Abraham, located on Leroy Avenue, services both the Reform and Conservative communities. The local Jewish community center, Shames JCC on the Hudson, features family programs, camps, and educational opportunities from a non-denominational approach.

Notable current and former residents of Tarrytown include:

• Jacob M. Appel, author
• Adam Badeau, Union Army brevet brigadier general and author
• J. David Bleich (born 1936), rabbi and authority on Jewish law and ethics
• Cab Calloway (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994), jazz singer and bandleader
• Greg Fitzsimmons, comedian
• Stuart W. Frost, entomologist, author, and professor at Pennsylvania State University
• Barbara Bel Geddes, actress in Dallas
• Eric Gaffney, former band member of Sebadoh
• Charles Griffes, composer and educator
• Milo Hastings, early 20th century science fiction writer and health food advocate
• Washington Irving, writer and diplomat
• Caitlyn Jenner, Olympian athlete
• Rockwell Kent, artist, illustrator
• Bud Kerr, professional football player
• Louis Klopsch, world famous Christian philanthropist and editor of the Christian Herald, buried in the Tarrytown Cemetery
• Moon Kook-jin, founder of Kahr Arms
• Carolyn Ringer Lepre, academic administrator
• Tim Maia, Brazilian singer, a.k.a. "Jimmy the Brazilian", lived in Tarrytown for a time during the late 1950s and early 1960s (1959–1963) before being arrested in Miami and deported back to his South American home country after a stint of six months in jail.^[37]
• Kevin Meaney, stand-up comedian and actor
• Norman Mingo, illustrator
• Sylvia Nasar, author recognized for A Beautiful Mind
• Florence Oberle, actress
• Moses F. Odell, congressman
• Clara Claiborne Park (1923–2010), author who raised awareness of autism^[38]
• Brett Pesce, professional hockey player for the New Jersey Devils
• William Prince, actor
• Joe Queenan, writer
• Jenifer Rajkumar, politician
• David Sanborn, musician
• Jerome David Salinger, writer^[39]
• Jesse Lee Soffer, actor
• Sam Tanenhaus, American historian, biographer, editor of The New York Times Book Review and Week in Review, and journalist
• Mark Twain, writer
• Worcester Reed Warner, designer of precision instruments and industrialist, who built Tarrytown's Warner Library
• Mark Whipple, football coach
• Vanessa L. Williams, actress
• Greg Murphy (politician), Congressman ^[40]

• The 1962 release of The Brain That Wouldn't Die was shot in and around Tarrytown in 1959
• In the movie On the Waterfront, Edie mentions that St. Ann's, the Catholic college where she is studying to be a teacher, is in Tarrytown, out in the country.
• Main character in the movie The Commuter (2018) lives in Tarrytown.

• The Frankie Valli song "Patch of Blue" (1970) references the town.
• The Vampire Weekend song "Finger Back" (2013) references the town.

• Washington Irving's story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is set in and around Tarrytown. The name "Sleepy Hollow" comes from a secluded glen located north of Tarrytown. In 1996, the residents of North Tarrytown (a village north of Tarrytown around the area of Sleepy Hollow) voted to formally change the village's name to Sleepy Hollow.
• The Ellery Queen novel The Dragon's Teeth is set primarily in Tarrytown.
• Gabrielle Zevin's young adult novel Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac is set primarily in the Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow area.
• Judy Blume's children's novel Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great is mostly set in Tarrytown, where the title character and her family spend their summer vacation.
• In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and Damned, millionaire Adam Patch's estate is said to be in Tarrytown.

• In the TV series Divorce, Frances Dufresne lives in nearby Hastings and opens an art gallery on Main Street in Tarrytown.
• In the TV series Forever, episode 21 takes place in Tarrytown.
• In the TV series Mad Men, Betty Draper plans to take her children on an antiquing trip to Tarrytown (Season 3, Episode 2), and her and Don's third child, Eugene Scott Draper, is born here.
• In 1970s sitcom Rhoda, Marion, the ex-wife of Rhoda's husband Joe, lives in Tarrytown.
• In season 3 episode 25 ("Sons and Lovers, Part 2") of the TV series Will & Grace, Karen Walker says that she can imagine her friend Grace Adler living in Tarrytown.
• The children's TV series Jay Jay the Jet Plane centered on aircraft that live in Tarrytown.

• The Tarrytown Widow, farcical comedy written by Charles T. Dazey, 1897.^[41][42]

• In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Tarrey Town and its founder Hudson are named after Tarrytown and the nearby Hudson River.
• Tarrytown is going to be included as a playable location in the upcoming Penny Blood video game (spiritual successor of the Shadow Hearts series of games, a franchise well known for its usage of places which exist, or existed before, in real life).

• Historic Hudson Valley
• History of Westchester County, New York

• Village of Tarrytown official website
• The Hudson Independent, local newspaper
• Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollow Patch, local news website