Port Ewen, New York | |
|---|---|
 Location inUlster County and the state ofNew York. | |
| Coordinates:41°54′25″N73°58′43″W / 41.90694°N 73.97861°W /41.90694; -73.97861 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Ulster |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.74 sq mi (7.10 km2) |
| • Land | 2.09 sq mi (5.41 km2) |
| • Water | 0.65 sq mi (1.69 km2) |
| Elevation | 184 ft (56 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 3,678 |
| • Density | 1,760.65/sq mi (679.74/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 12466 |
| Area code | 845 |
| FIPS code | 36-59311 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0960965 |
Port Ewen is ahamlet (andcensus-designated place) inUlster County,New York, United States. The population was 3,678 at the2020 census. Port Ewen is in theTown of Esopus, south ofKingston, alongU.S. Route 9W. Port Ewen is bounded by theRondout Creek to the north, theHudson River to the east, the hamlets of Connelly and Sleightsburgh to the northwest and northeast, respectively, the hamlet of Ulster Park to the south, and New Salem to the west.
The prospect of finding work with the Pennsylvania Coal Company attracted many to Port Ewen. Port Ewen was served by theWest Shore Railroad, which shipped, among other freight, high explosives produced by the Nitro Powder Company in Kingston.[2]
Before the opening of theKingston–Port Ewen Suspension Bridge in 1921, those wishing to cross theRondout Creek would have to take theSkillypot, achain ferry that ran to Sleightsburgh, noted for its sporadic service.
Hercules Powder Company was formed in 1882 byDuPont andLaflin & Rand Powder Company. In 1902 byDuPont purchased Laflin & Rand which it operated as a subsidiary. In 1904 it dissolved Hercules as it continued to consolidate it holdings. However in 1912 successful antitrust litigation forced Duport to divest itself of Laflin and much of its explosive manufacturing.[3] Laflin's patents for smokeless powder went to a revived Hercules Powder Company based in Wilmington, Delaware.[4] The Port Ewen plant produced a range of special detonators designed for military use, as well as construction jobs that required blasts of dynamite.[5] In 1973, two women were injured in an explosion of blasting caps.[6]
Port Ewen has been served by several religious establishments, including the Town of Esopus United Methodist Church, the Catholic Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Reformed Church of Port Ewen.
A Catholic mission ofSt. Mary's inRondout had been established in Port Ewen for the large number of boatmen who lived on the northern side of Rondout Creek in Kingston. In 1873 the mission was split off as a separate parish and placed in the charge of Rev. Michael Phelan. The Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was dedicated by ArchbishopJohn McCloskey on June 14, 1874.[7] Aside from attending to missions in the nearby hamlets of Eddyville and Esopus, Phelan also traveled to southern Ulster County, where he formed the nucleus of a parish in the hamlet ofMilton.
Rev. Thomas O'Hanlon became pastor of Port Ewen's Church of the Presentation in 1877. O'Hanlon built the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart in Eddyville. He died in 1883 and was buried at the entrance of the church.[8]
Port Ewen and adjacentUlster Park were once a work site ofDyno Nobel explosives, listed as a manufacturing/distribution location in the 2012 Sustainability Report issued by Dyno Nobel /Incitec Pivot Limited.[9] The location of the formerHercules Inc./Dyno-Nobel site has been designated a state Superfund site: "The site is listed as a "Class 2" site in the State Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites (list of State Superfund sites). A Class 2 site represents a significant threat to public health or the environment and action is required."[10] The downstream spread of contaminants has impacted Port Ewen from the original site in Ulster Park. "The primary contaminants of concern at the site are inorganic (metals) in the soil site-wide and creek sediments and "energetic" (potentially explosive) materials in wetland sediment and in specific locations in the manufacturing area. Volatile organic compounds (e.g., chlorinated solvents such as trichloroethene or TCE) are also present in the groundwater near the former shell plant. The presence of potentially explosive materials complicate implementation of a remedy at this site."[10]
TheNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) had identified in a May 2023 state report, "mercury, lead, copper, zinc, and dozens of other chemicals" in sediment investigations of Plantasie Creek, adjacent to the public elementary school.[11][12] According to the NY DEC, "Former manufacturing operations for primers and igniters for explosives took place in the developed portion of the site, which occupies approximately 100 acres. However, present-day operations include producing electric detonators within a smaller portion of the site.Disposal activities occurred within the plant area and in wetland areas in the eastern portion of the property. Most of the surrounding areas are naturally vegetated with cover types ranging from old fields to forested areas."[13] ANew York State Department of Environmental Conservation Superfund Community Report for June 2024 indicated that "On May 21, 2024, DEC issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to the town of Esopus for the unpermitted work. The town immediately worked closely with DEC to implement corrective measures, including covering areas of soil disturbance and installing temporary fencing near the elementary school to reduce the risk of public exposure."[13]
Levels of lead exceeding 15 ppb have been found in some water supplies of Robert R. Graves Elementary, Port Ewen's public elementary school, according to an August 2021 analysis completed by EnviroTest Laboratories, LLC, with the highest recorded level of 90 ppb.[14] Lead levels in water supplies exceeding 15 ppb have also been found in nearby Anna Devine Elementary School, located in Ulster Park, according to an analysis completed on behalf of Ulster BOCES. The highest level of lead recorded in the Anna Devine report was 230 ppb.[15]
Port Ewen is on the west bank of theHudson River at the mouth ofRondout Creek.
Port Ewen is located at41°54′25″N73°58′43″W / 41.90694°N 73.97861°W /41.90694; -73.97861 (41.906980, -73.978599).[16]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.7 square miles (7.0 km2), of which 2.0 square miles (5.2 km2) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2) (26.97%) is water.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3,650 | — | |
| 2010 | 3,546 | −2.8% | |
| 2020 | 3,678 | 3.7% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[17] | |||
As of the 2020census,[18] there were 3,678 people, in 1,434 households (down from 1,475 in the 2000 census) in the census-designated place (CDP). There were 1,784 housing units (up from 1,564 in 2000), with 1,660 occupied housing units, and 124 vacant housing units in 2020.
The racial makeup of people in the CDP was 3,020White, 211African American, 3Native American, 59Asian, 108 fromother races, and 277 from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 255 of the population.[19][20]
There were 1,434 households in 2020 (down from 1,475 households in 2000), out of which 20.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them in 2020, (down from 31.2% in 2000). Of those households, 41.1% weremarried couples living together in 2020, down from 51.1% in 2000. Family households with a female householder with no spouse present comprised 32.1% in 2020, (from 10.3% in 2000), while those with a male householder with no spouse present made up 14.7% of households in 2020. The average family size was 2.91 in 2020.[19][20]
Updated information for 2020 is available. In the CDP, the population in 2000 was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
Updated information for 2020 is available. The median income for a household in 2000 was $41,949, and the median income for a family was $50,208. Males had a median income of $37,043 versus $27,583 for females. Theper capita income for the CDP was $22,040. About 5.1% of families and 8.8% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.
The school district for the CDP isKingston City School District.[21] The comprehensive high school of the Kingston City district isKingston High School.
Sojourner Truth, American abolitionist and activist, was enslaved in West Park, a few miles south of Port Ewen, also within theTown of Esopus. Truth was enslaved by Martinus Schryver from 1808-1810, forced to work at the tavern in town, until Schryver legally trafficked her to John Dunlap, also of West Park. Truth was finally able to escape being held against her will in 1826. A statue of her now stands at the corner of Broadway and Salem Street.
Luann de Lesseps, former countess and current star ofReal Housewives of New York City, purchased a home along theHudson River in 2018. It has even been featured on the television show.[citation needed]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
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