Historic River Towns of Westchester


The communities along the Hudson River Valley all share a rich common history.  The valley and its communities played an important role in the military history of the American Revolution; witnessed the development of iron, textile, rope and wire industries in the 19th century; gave birth to important movement in the American art and architecture; and were home to some of America’s most prominent individuals and families.  
Today, the area is abundant with important historical, cultural and natural resources representing themes of settlement and migration, transportation and commerce.  Congress recognized the significance of the Hudson River Valley in 1996 by the establishment of the area as a  “National Heritage Area”.
The Historic River Towns of Westchester, HRTW, is a consortium of 13 municipalities along the east bank of the Hudson River, including Peekskill, Cortlandt, Buchanan, Croton-on-Hudson, Town and Village of Ossining, Briarcliff Manor, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, Irvington, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Yonkers and Historic Hudson Valley. 

The HRTW is a non-profit organization comprised of representatives of the 11 municipalities noted above.  The unique combination of riverine environment and cultural wealth has been attracting visitors to the HRTW region for years.  Until recently, there were no area-wide comprehensive and coordinated tourism marketing efforts.  Historic River Towns of Westchester was established in 1994 to address this issue.

Westchester County was approached by the HRTW in early 1996 to produce technical support to the vitally important intermunicipal efforts of the HRTW. The County has

also been providing funding support to the HRTW since 1995 for tourism related activities.  Westchester County Department of Planning prepared four plans at the request of the HRTW:

      1.       Tourism and Economic Development Plan, 1997
2.       Hudson River Waterfront Present and Future, 1998
3.       Building Livable Downtowns, 1999

4.   Growing Smarter Together; A Greenprint for the
        Future HRTW Compact Region, 2000.


Website:  http://www.hudsonriver.com/rivertowns/welcome.html
For further information, contact:

Chairman - Phil Zegarelli
Project Manager - Nancy Gold

Historic River Towns of Westchester

c/o The Gold Standard
143 Bedford Road, Katonah, NY 10536
(914) 232-6583
marketing@thegoldstandard.com

Jeff Williams, AICP Associate Planner/Historic Preservation
148 Martine Avenue, Room 432
White Plains, NY 10601
(914) 995-2412

jaw5@weschestergov.com


|Back to Top|   |Planning Dept. Home Page|  |Westchester Home Page|