Situated in the Hudson Valley, Westchester County was established in 1683, being named after the city of Chester, England. The county seat is the city of White Plains, located at 40km north of Midtown Manhattan. The county shares its southern boundary with New York City and its northern border with Putnam County. It is bordered on the west side by the Hudson River and on the east side by the Long Island Sound and Fairfield County, Connecticut.
Westchester's Long Island Sound shore is generally rocky, interspersed with tidal mud flats, marshes and wetlands, as well as several natural and artificially-maintained sand beaches. A number of islands can be found off the shore, most of which are located in New Rochelle. The Hudson River is tidal and brackish through Westchester and contains a small number of estuarine marshes. Two bridges span the Hudson in Westchester: the Bear Mountain Bridge crosses at Cortlandt and the Tappan Zee Bridge at Tarrytown.
At the time of European contact, the Native American inhabitants of present Westchester County were part of the Algonquian peoples, whose name for themselves was Lenape, named the Delaware people by early European settlers. The first European explorers to visit the area were Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524 and Henry Hudson in 1609. Dutch settlers began arriving in the 1620s, followed by settlers from England in the 1640s. Westchester County was one of the original twelve counties of the Province of New York.
Two developments in the first half of the 19th century – the construction of the first Croton Dam and Aqueduct, and the coming of the railroad – had enormous impact on the growth of Westchester. The period following the American Civil War enabled entrepreneurs in the New York area to create fortunes, and many built large estates, such as Lyndhurst. During the 20th century, the rural character of Westchester would transform into the suburban county known today.
The headquarters of MasterCard and PepsiCo are situated in the hamlet of Purchase. Philipse Manor Hall, built around 1682, is the oldest standing building in Westchester. The county has 6 cities, 19 towns, and 23 villages.According to the 2010 Census, it had a population of 949,113, estimated to have increased by 2.9% to 976,396 by 2015. Although the county historically leaned Republican, it swung Democratic in the early 1990s - much like other New York City suburbs.
About the stamps
The first two stamp are part of the series A Flag for All Seasons,about which I wrote here. The last stamp is part of the series Modern Art in America: 1913-1931, about which I wrote here.
References
Westchester County - Wikipedia
Sender: Denise
Sent from Greenvale (New York / United States), on 29.01.2014
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