Chappaqua, New York

Chappaqua (/ˈtʃæpəkwɑː/ CHAP-ə-kwah) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of New Castle, in northern Westchester County, New York, United States.

Chappaqua was founded by a group of Quakers in the 1730s and was the home of Horace Greeley, New-York Tribune editor and U.S. congressman.

Leo Esaki, a Japanese physicist, was living in the town when he won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1973.

In the early 1730s, a group of Quakers moved north from Purchase, New York, to settle in present-day Chappaqua.

The border was drawn from the southwest corner of Bedford to the northeast edge of Mount Pleasant.

New Castle's borders have remained the same since 1791, except for a small piece of land received from Somers in 1846 and the secession of Mount Kisco in 1978.

Other popular industries from Chappaqua included shoes, hardware, vinegar, pickles, eyeglasses, and furniture.

These businesses included a hotel, livery stables, a public library, and various stores and small factories.

[citation needed] According to the 2020 U.S. census, Chappaqua has a total area of 0.45 square miles (1.2 km2), all land.

It includes many commercial buildings such as Pizza Station, Little Thai Kitchen, a Bank of America office, and various local hardware shops.

South Greeley Avenue is also home to Robert E. Bell Middle school, the Chappaqua Library, and the local police station.

[18] In November 2006 a disbarred attorney drove the body of his severely injured wife to Northern Westchester Hospital, claiming that the couple had been ambushed and shot in the nearby town of Millwood.

For over a year, police expressed skepticism about the husband's account and did not rule him out as a suspect.

In December 2007 the man was charged with his wife's murder after trying to collect on life insurance policies.

[34] Schools currently operating in Chappaqua include:[35] Small, one-room schoolhouses devoid of windows were prevalent in the 1800s.

The hamlet is protected by the New Castle Police Department, which also provides first-response services for medical emergencies.

South Greeley Ave (2024)
Chappaqua Farm, West Chester County, N.Y., The Residence of Hon. Horace Greeley , Currier & Ives , c. 1870
Statue of Horace Greeley in Chappaqua
Reader's Digest headquarters at Chappaqua