The village was originally known as Hammond's Mills, and was part of Frederick Philipse's estate Philipsburgh. On September 23, 1780, Major John André stopped here on his way to New York to ask directions after meeting with Benedict Arnold. After the Revolutionary War, the name of the village changed to Unionville. The hamlet's population consisted mostly of farmers. The Reformed Church of Unionville was built here in 1818. In 1832, a one-room school house was built. In 1847, a railroad station was established on New York Central's Harlem Division, with the name Unionville. A post office was established on February 10, 1851, and was designated Neperan after the Indian name for the Saw Mill River. In the early 1890s, real-estate developer Louis Smadbeck began buying up the area farms to subdivide into parcels, which were sold to working- and middle-class people looking to live outside the city. In 1901, Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, also known as Mother Mary Alphonsa, O.P., a convert to Catholicism and daughter of Nathaniel Hawthorne, founded Rosary Hill Home in Sherman Park for those suffering from incurable cancer. Mother Mary Alphonsa also founded a Dominican Order now known as the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne. Shortly after the opening of the cancer home, the hamlet was renamed Hawthorne in Mother Mary Alphonsa's honor. Rosary Hill Home is still operated by the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne and is located on a hilltop on Linda Avenue. Hawthorne is the final resting place of Babe Ruth, James Cagney, Billy Martin, Malachi Martin, Dorothy Kilgallen, Ernesto Lecuona and many other notables interred at Gate of Heaven Cemetery. The Hammond House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Hawthorne and neighboring Valhalla are fairly densely packed with cemeteries, albeit not as densely as Colma, California.
Geography
Hawthorne is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of, all land. Bounded by Route 9A to the west, the Taconic State Parkway to the east, and split in the middle by the Sprain Brook Parkway, Hawthorne lies near the geographic center of Westchester County. Corporate parks and nurseries line Hawthorne's Route 9A corridor. Commerce Street, the main commercial thoroughfare serving both Hawthorne and Thornwood, runs north to south, parallel to Metro-North's Harlem Line tracks. It is a 40-minute train ride from the Hawthorne station to Grand Central Terminal. The majority of Hawthorne consists of residential homes and small businesses. Stores on Elwood Avenue include The Lock House, the Hawthorne Station Deli, Pop's Deli, Office Dynamics, and Hawthorne Pizzeria. On July 12, 2006, an F2 tornado struck the hamlet, causing major damage to the California Closets Warehouse and minor injuries to three people. It was the strongest tornado to strike in Westchester County.
Hawthorne's residents are served by the Mount Pleasant Police Department, the Hawthorne Volunteer Fire Department, and the Mount Pleasant 37 Medic.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,083 people, 1,581 households, and 1,258 families residing in the hamlet. The population density was 3,006.0 per square mile. There were 1,590 housing units at an average density of 940.3/sq mi. The racial makeup of the hamlet was 87.13% White, 4.34% African American, 0.02% Native American, 1.48% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.16% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.02% of the population. There were 1,581 households, out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.1% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.4% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.36. In the hamlet the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males. The median income for a household in the hamlet was $71,370, and the median income for a family was $82,042. Males had a median income of $52,477 versus $39,142 for females. The per capita income for the hamlet was $28,664. About 1.4% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 1.3% of those age 65 or over.
