Port Chester is a village in the U.S. state of New York and the largest part of the town of Rye in Westchester County by population.

[4] Located in southeast Westchester, Port Chester forms part of the New York City metropolitan statistical area.

[8][citation needed][9] In 1660, three settlers from Greenwidge (now Greenwich, Connecticut)—Thomas Studwell, John Coe, and Peter Disbrow—arranged to buy Manursing Island and the land near the Byram River from the Native Americans.

This First Purchase on Peningo Neck comprised the lower part of the present town of Rye, on the east side of Blind Brook.

Over the next decade, additional purchases filled in the shoreline from Rye to Greenwich, made via land agreements with the Native Americans in the area.

Wiechquaskeck settlements were well-documented in shore areas from present-day Pelham to the Byram or "Armonk" river on the Connecticut state line.

Bolton gives the name to an Indian village which occupied the site of Dobbs' ferry, which he denominates 'the place of the bark kettle.'

In Albany Records, III, 379, is this entry: 'Personally appeared Sauwenare, sachem of Wieckqueskeck, Amenameck his brother, and others, all owners, etc., of lands situated on North river called Wieckquaeskeck, and declared that they had sold the same to Wouter Van Twiller in 1645" (source: Ruttenber, Edward Manning, History of the Indian Tribes of Hudson's River: Their Origin, Manners and Customs; Tribal and Sub-Tribal Organizations; Wars, Treaties, Etc., Etc., p. 366 (Albany, NY: J. Munsell, 1872).

The later treaties at West Farms and Hunts Point, where Shanarocke is labeled "Sachem of Rye", hint at his tribal affiliation.

The Saw Pit area remained largely untouched until Revolutionary times except for a few farms in the hills above the Byram River and a few taverns along the trail that became the Boston Post Road.

Families from Rye and Greenwich began to settle the Saw Pit area just before the Revolution, but even as late as 1800 there were only a handful of established homesteads.

[13] The local waterways (the Byram River and Long Island Sound) were a key part of the growth and development of Saw Pit/Port Chester.

After the Revolution, the harbor area became a shipbuilding site, with the Lyon family operating a considerable shipyard that produced some of the best sloops and seafaring fishing vessels.

The Byram river provided a decent harbor, which became a factor in the industrialization of Port Chester at the beginning of the 19th century.

The railroad's arrival in 1849 turned Port Chester into a destination for manufacturing and wealthy NYC families, with hotels, theaters, and large estates.

These exclusive properties included some of the East Coast's grandest mansions, but slowly gave way to the crushing need for housing.

Successive waves of immigrants from Germany, Ireland, and Italy each brought industry and prosperity as the village grew.

During the summer, Port Chester is typically warm, but far cooler than towns even a few miles inland, due to the sea's influence.

At the 2020 American Community Survey, the Latino population was 14.1% Mexican, 11.8% Guatemalan, 10.3% Ecuadorian, 7.3% Peruvian, 3.7% Dominican, 3.4% Colombian.

Although the renovation did not add square footage to the original three-story, 18,900-square-foot building, it provided a more open design, with better use of space and light to promote parent and child reading activities.

[39] Another notable cultural landmark in Port Chester is the Capitol Theatre, a music venue that has hosted bands and artists such as The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, and The Ramones.

Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead said, "There's only two theaters, man... that are set up pretty groovy all around for music and for smooth stage changes, good lighting and all that—the Fillmore [in Silver Spring, Maryland] and The Capitol Theatre."

Because of Garcia's fondness for the theatre, a section of Port Chester has Grateful Dead-themed adornments on sidewalks and telephone poles and in local businesses.

[41] To enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the United States Department of Justice brought a lawsuit in 2006 to compel the village government to change from an allegedly racially discriminatory at-large electoral system to one that was district-based.

In its December 15, 2006, complaint the Justice Department wrote, "the current at-large system for electing members of the Port Chester Board of Trustees results in Hispanic citizens having less opportunity than white citizens to participate in the political process and to elect candidates of their choice to the Port Chester Board of Trustees.

"[43] Local Latino activist Cesar Ruiz, State Assemblyman Peter Rivera, and National Institute for Latino Policy President Angelo Falcón held a news conference on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday (January 15, 2007) to display support for the Justice Department's lawsuit and the need to reform the village's electoral system.

On March 2, 2007, federal court judge Stephen C. Robinson ruled in favor of the Department of Justice and placed an injunction on the upcoming trustee elections.

The lobby features an array of four large New Deal murals and nine slightly smaller lunettes, designed by Domenico Mortellito with Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP) funding and installed in 1936.

They depict a wide range of human activities, including firefighting, shipbuilding, baking, iron working, medicine, music, and teaching.

Port Chester has at least six parks, together totaling nearly 50 acres (0.20 km2):[citation needed] The Bush-Lyon Homestead, Capitol Theater, Life Savers Building, Putnam and Mellor Engine and Hose Company Firehouse, St. Peter's Episcopal Church, and United States Post Office are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.