Carmel, New York

Carmel, New York
Town
View of Carmel from US 6
Location of Carmel, New York
Coordinates: 41°23′6″N 73°43′46″W / 41.38500°N 73.72944°W / 41.38500; -73.72944Coordinates: 41°23′6″N 73°43′46″W / 41.38500°N 73.72944°W / 41.38500; -73.72944
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Putnam
Area [2]
• Total	40.69 sq mi (105.39 km2)
• Land	35.91 sq mi (93.00 km2)
• Water	4.79 sq mi (12.40 km2)  11.26%
Elevation	646 ft (197 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	34,305
• Estimate  (2016)[1]	34,255
• Density	953.99/sq mi (368.34/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)	10512 & 10541
Area code(s)	845 Exchanges: 225,228
FIPS code	36-12529
GNIS feature ID	0978793
Website	www.carmelny.org

Carmel (pronounced /ˈkɑːrməl/) is a municipality in Putnam County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 34,305.^[3]

The Town of Carmel is on the southern border of Putnam County, abutting Westchester County. There are no incorporated villages in the town, although the hamlets of Carmel and Mahopac each have populations sizable enough to be thought of as villages.

History[]

The statue of Sybil Ludington on Gleneida Avenue

The original 1814 Putnam County Courthouse. General James Townsend, Architect.

The town was settled around 1740 by George Hughson. On the night of April 26, 1777, after learning the news that the British had begun burning nearby Danbury, Connecticut, sixteen-year-old Sybil Ludington rode her horse, Star, the entire night through the hamlets of Carmel, Mahopac, Kent Cliffs and Farmers Mills, warning those along the way that the British were coming before returning home at dawn. A statue memorializing Sybil Ludington sits alongside Lake Gleneida.

Carmel was formed with Franklin town from part of Frederick town on March 17, 1795, while still a part of Dutchess County. (Franklin was renamed Patterson April 6, 1808. Frederick changed its name to Kent April 15, 1817.)^[4] Carmel was transferred to Putnam County when Dutchess County was split to form Putnam County in 1812 and Carmel was designated the county seat. In 1861, a small part of Carmel was taken to be added to the town of Putnam Valley.

Putnam County Courthouse[]

The Putnam County Courthouse was built in 1814. It is the second oldest working^[5] courthouse in New York State. General James Townsend, of Carmel, was the architect. A landmark on Gleneida Avenue in Carmel, the building has a classical front facade. There was one hanging there in 1844. A jail was added in 1855. A new Putnam County Courthouse was completed in early 2008, located nearby on Gleneida Avenue.

Carmel High School

Significant events[]

• December 4, 1965 – A Trans World Airlines Boeing 707 plane en route to San Francisco collided with an Eastern Airlines Constellation flightcollided in mid-air, killing four people.
• July 29, 1971 – A F-2 tornado 1.9 miles (3.1 km) away from the city center caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages.
• October 22, 1974 - A large row of businesses on Gleneida Avenue^[6] is destroyed in a fire that required over 200 volunteer firefighters to fight the blaze.
• September 1982 – June 1983 – Carmel High School Boys Track star Mike Stahr is ranked first in the US for the mile run, losing only one high school track race during his junior and senior year. He set state records and was the Millrose mile winner two years in a row.
• July 10, 1989 – A F-2 (max. wind speeds 113–157 mph) tornado 0.7 miles (1.1 km) away from the Carmel town center traveled east across Fair Street near the King's Grant condos, injured five people and caused between $5,000,000 and $50,000,000 in damages.
• September 11, 2001 – eight Carmel residents^[7] died in the September 11 terrorist attacks: Police Officer Stephen Patrick Driscoll, Firefighter Daniel Harlin, Firefighter Thomas Joseph Kuveikis, Firefighter Robert Minara, George Paris of Cantor Fitzgerald, Firefighter Christopher Blackwell, David Fodor of Fiduciary Trust, and Firefighter George Cain. The town has a memorial dedicated at Spain-Cornerstone Park on the corner of Fair Street and Route 52.
• 2002 – A scene for the Adam Sandler movie Mr. Deeds was filmed at the Wendy's in the Putnam Plaza. Although most of the scene was edited from the film, they do show the helicopter sitting in the parking lot in the movie.
• April 27–28, 2007 – The Town of Carmel hosted a two-day militia encampment along Lake Gleneida. The event celebrated the 230th anniversary of the heroism of Sybil Ludington.

Government[]

Carmel is governed by a Town Supervisor and the Town Board. The Carmel Town Hall is located at 60 McAlpin Avenue in Mahopac.

Emergency Services[]

Law Enforcement is primarily handled by the Carmel Police Department, with the Putnam County Sheriff's Department and the New York State Police supplementing coverage.

Fire Protection Services are provided by the Carmel Fire Department, Croton Falls Fire District, Mahopac Volunteer Fire Department, and Mahopac Falls Volunteer Fire Department.

Emergency Medical Services are provided to the town based on nature and location of emergency. Basic Life Support Ambulance service is provided by Carmel Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Mahopac Volunteer Fire Department, Mahopac Falls Volunteer Fire Department, and North Salem Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Advanced Life Support Ambulance and First Response service is provided by EMStar Ambulance under contract by Putnam County Bureau of Emergency Services.

Education[]

The Town of Carmel is served primarily by two school districts

Carmel Central School District Carmel Central Schools The district encompasses 85 square miles and serves approximately 5000 students from six different towns. The district welcomes students and their families from the town of Kent, as well as parts of the towns of Carmel, Putnam Valley, Patterson, Southeast and East Fishkill.

George Fischer Middle School is Carmel's primary Middle School. Built in 1963, it was named after a former school board member, George F. Fischer. It contains a large number of students (1,000+), and contains grades 5–8. It is notable for its music program.^[8]

Constructed in 1929, Carmel High School, which serves 1,843 students, is located on Fair Street across the street from the post office in the heart of town. The original building had four additions built over the years. One was built in 1936 with money from the New Deal. One was built in 1969, and another in 1980. The fourth was opened in September 2007. The new wing holds science classrooms and a library.

St. James the Apostle is a Catholic elementary school in Carmel that opened in 1954; it serves as an additional educational option for families.

Mahopac Central School district Mahopac Central School District For the 2021 school year, there are 6 public schools serving 4,138 students in Mahopac, New York. The Mahopac Central School District is divided into five schools: three K-5 schools (Lakeview Elementary School, Fulmar Road Elementary School, and Austin Road Elementary School), a middle school for grades 6-8 (Mahopac Middle School) and a high school for grades 9-12 (Mahopac High School). The Mahopac Falls school is still operated by the district and contains a nursery school.

Historically, Mahopac had five one-room school houses that were united into one central school (now Lakeview Elementary School) in 1935.

St. John the Evangelist was a Catholic elementary school in Mahopac from 1955 until its closing in 2011. The school building remains with the active Church across the street from Lake Mahopac.

Geography[]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 40.7 square miles (105 km²), of which 36.1 square miles (93 km²) is land and 4.6 square miles (12 km²) is water. The total area is 11.26% water.

The south town line is the border of Westchester County, New York. The town is located approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City (measured from Central Park) and approximately 10 miles (16 km) west of Danbury, Connecticut.

Notable sites and organizations[]

• Gilead Cemetery
• Putnam Hospital Center, which opened in 1964, is a 164-bed not-for-profit acute care hospital on Stoneleigh Avenue.^[9]
• Reed Memorial Library
• Smalley's Inn & Restaurant

Communities and locations in Carmel[]

• Boyds Corners-
• Carmel – A hamlet in the northeast corner of the town and home to the seat of Putnam County.
• Baldwin Place – A hamlet at the junction of US 6 and NY 118.
• Carmel Hills – A hamlet south of Carmel village.
• Crafts – once a hamlet of Carmel with its own Post Office, off of Drewville Road, south of Route 6, named after the Craft Family, descendants of Pilgrims.
• Field Corners –
• Hopkins Corners –
• Houseman Corners –
• Kent-
• Kent Cliffs-
• Lake Carmel-
• Ludington -
• Mahopac – A hamlet where the town government is located.
• Mahopac Falls – A hamlet in the southwest corner of the town.
• Mahopac Mines – Abandoned mines on the east side of town near the old Ames building.
• Mahopac Point – The easternmost section of Carmel
• Mahopac Golf Club – Located on the north side of Lake Mahopac is a 18-hole private golf and beach club
• McLaughlin Acres –
• Rock Hill Camp – A Girl Scout camp opened in 1922, located in Mahopac on Long Pond.^[10]
• The Sedgewood Club – (Previously the Carmel Country Club) A private community with golf and tennis facilities near the Hamlet of Carmel,
• Thompkins Corners-
• Secor Corners –
• Seven Hills-
• Stillwater – A hamlet in the southwest corner of the town.
• Tilly Foster – A hamlet southeast of Carmel village near the east town line

Demographics[]

• Total Population: 33,196
• Males, 49.0%; Females – 51.0%
• Median Age: 40.1 years
• By Race
  • White, 90.5%
  • Hispanic (of any race), 8.0%
  • Asian, 3.0%
  • Black or African American, 1.0%
  • Other Race, 2.7%
• Average Household Size: 2.99
• Median Household Income: $105,406 (2015^[12])
• Per Capita Income: $42,034 (2015)
• High School Graduation Rate: 94.1%
• College Graduation Rate: 42.1%

Source: US Census^[13]

Notable people[]

• Lou Albano ("Captain Lou"), professional wrestler/manager
• Nancy Allen, classical harpist
• William Francis Bailey, Wisconsin politician and judge
• Bob May, an American actor and stuntman, best remembered for playing The Robot on the 1965-68 television series Lost in Space
• Leo Burmester, stage and television actor
• Daniel Drew, businessman, developer and financier
• Dave Fleming ("Mr. Mahopac"), professional baseball player (pitcher)
• Ryan Kelly, professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets
• Larry Laoretti, professional golfer
• Lewis Ludington, businessman, lumber baron, and real estate developer.
• Caleb McLaughlin, star of Stranger Things
• Tom Newton, running back for the New York Jets
• Jim Ryan, former Good Day New York anchor
• Amedee J. Van Beuren, film producer
• Sabrina Vega, USA Gymnastics Senior National Team member

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carmel, New York.

• Town of Carmel official website
• Greater Mahopac-Carmel Chamber of Commerce
• History of Carmel, NY
• Reed Memorial Library (Carmel)