Thornwood, New York

History

Thornwood once had a large and thriving Westchester marble quarry near its heart, the intersection of Route 141 and Kensico Road (known as Four Corners). The quarry pit was filled in during the mid-1980s, and the Town Center shopping center was constructed over it.

Thornwood once had a station on the Harlem Line of the Metro-North Railroad and was about a 48-minute ride to Grand Central Terminal. The station building remains on Commerce Street, but the stop was eliminated when the upper Harlem Line (north of North White Plains) was electrified in the mid-1980s. Thornwood was the only stop eliminated as a result of the electrification process. While the station could accommodate diesel trains, the curvature of the tracks as proceeding north to Pleasantville made the construction at Thornwood of an elevated platform, necessary for electric trains, impractical.

The arson murder of baby Kristie Fischer occurred in 1991.

Geography

Thornwood is located at 41°7′18″N 73°46′37″W (41.121557, -73.777071).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the hamlet has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.9 km²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,980 people, 1,886 households, and 1,559 families residing in the hamlet. The population density was 1,760.9 per square mile (679.1/km²). There were 1,921 housing units at an average density of 565.7/sq mi (218.1/km²). The racial makeup of the hamlet was 90.97% White, 2.36% African American, 0.03% Native American, 4.00% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.39% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.80% of the population.

There were 1,886 households out of which 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.5% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.3% were non-families. 14.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.06 and the average family size was 3.39.

In the hamlet the population was spread out with 28.3% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males.

The median income for a household in the hamlet was $88,971, and the median income for a family was $98,313. Males had a median income of $73,438 versus $40,365 for females. The per capita income for the hamlet was $36,254. About 2.2% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Thornwood is the home to the North American headquarters for the Carl Zeiss Corporation, a multinational German manufacturer of optical systems, industrial measurements and medical devices.

Religious institutes

The Legion of Christ, a Roman Catholic religious institute, operates the Our Lady of Thornwood Conference, Education and Training Center on the site of a former IBM facility on Columbus Avenue. The seminarians studying here for the Catholic priesthood usually major in philosophy at the Thornwood Conference Center. However, due to a lack of vocations and private funds—partly due to the shocking abuse scandal caused by the order's founder, Father Marcial Maciel Degollado (who had at one time been admired by Pope John Paul II), which resulted in a Vatican investigation and revision—the entire course of Seminary studies will now be taken at the Legionaries' Seminary in Rome, Italy and the building will be sold.

Emergency services

Thornwood's residents are served by the Mt. Pleasant Police Department and the volunteer Thornwood Fire Department. The fire department serves approximately 5,000 residents in a 5-square-mile (13 km²) suburban area. Its equipment includes:

Thornwood is under the jurisdiction of Pleasantville Volunteer Ambulance Corps. The Pleasantville VAC fleet consists of 7601, 7602, 7603.

Education

Thornwood is part of the Mt. Pleasant Central School District, which includes the Hawthorne Elementary, Columbus Avenue Elementary School, Westlake Middle School and Westlake High School. The former Thornwood Elementary School was closed and converted to condominiums in the 1980s.

Notable residents