Peekskill, New York

City: Peekskill

County: Westchester

State: New York

Lat/Long: 41.334572, -73.881363

Located in southeast New York on the Hudson River thirty-nine miles north of New York City, Peekskill was originally the site of the Sackhoes village of the Kitchawang or Kitcktawane tribe. In 1609, the English explorer Henry Hudson anchored his ship Half Moon at the village. The Dutch named the area "Peckskill" after Jan Peck, a Dutch navigator, and Europeans began settling the area in larger numbers in the mid-eighteenth century. The village became a thriving center for trade, commerce, and early industry. Its success and strategic location made it a target during the American Revolution; the British burned it in 1777. Peekskill was incorporated in 1839. By 1848, it had over 3,000 inhabitants, thirty stores, and a variety of manufacturing businesses.

Webster's New Geographical Dictionary (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1988), 935; Frederic Shonnard and W. W. Spooner, History of Westchester County New York (New York: New York History, 1900), 26; Corey Sandler, Henry Hudson: Dreams and Obsession (New York: Citadel, 2007), 167; Robert Bolton, A History of the County of Westchester, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time (New York: Alexander S. Gould, 1848), 1:62-63.