Lewisboro is a town in Westchester County, New York. It's a suburb of New York City. In 2020, about 12,265 people lived there. The town got its name from an early settler named John Lewis.

Lewisboro's History
- Interesting Historical Figures
Lewisboro's Geography
Lewisboro's Population
Town Life in Lewisboro
Communities and Locations
Parks and Preserves
Lakes and Reservoirs
Schools in Lewisboro
Transportation
Notable People
Images for kids
See also

Lewisboro's History

The first settlers came to the Lewisboro area around South Salem. They bought land from the local native people. The town was first called "Salem" in 1747. Over time, its borders changed, and it became its current size by 1790.

In 1806, the name changed to South Salem. Later, a rich person named John Lewis asked for the town to be named after him. He promised to help the town financially, but he didn't keep his promise about building a railroad link. Lewisboro is known for its many natural open spaces, old Dry-stone walls, and beautiful Colonial-style houses.

Interesting Historical Figures

Lewisboro has two famous historical characters:

Sarah Bishop was known as the hermit of West Mountain. During the American Revolution, she was treated badly by British soldiers. Because of this, she decided to live alone in the Lewisboro area. You can find a place called "Sarah Bishop's Cave" on a hill north of Lake Rippowam. It's near Mountain Lakes Camp.
The Leatherman was a wanderer who lived around the time of the American Civil War. He wore clothes he made himself from leather, which is how he got his name. He often visited Lewisboro in the mid-1800s. For 25 years, he walked a route, stopping at homes where people would offer him food. He would always return to the same houses. One of the hiking trails in Ward Pound Ridge leads to the Leatherman's cave, which was one of his favorite places to stay. Since 1987, a 10k trail race called "The Leatherman's Loop" has been held every spring at the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation to honor him.

The Mead Memorial Chapel is an important historical building. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Lewisboro's Geography

Map of Westchester highlighting Lewisboro

Lewisboro is located on the border of Ridgefield, Connecticut and Wilton, Connecticut to the east. To the south, it borders New Canaan, Connecticut. The major highway Interstate 684 runs close to the western side of the town.

The town has an unusual chevron shape. This shape is partly because of an area called The Oblong. This area was created to settle a border argument between Connecticut and New York a long time ago.

Eastwoods Reservoir in Lewisboro

The United States Census Bureau says that Lewisboro covers about 29.1 square miles (75.5 square kilometers). Most of this area, about 27.9 square miles (71.8 square kilometers), is land. The rest, about 1.3 square miles (3.6 square kilometers), is water.

Lewisboro's Population

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	1,453	—
1820	1,429	—
1830	1,537	7.6%
1840	1,619	5.3%
1850	1,608	−0.7%
1860	1,885	17.2%
1870	1,601	−15.1%
1880	1,612	0.7%
1890	1,417	−12.1%
1900	1,311	−7.5%
1910	1,127	−14.0%
1920	1,069	−5.1%
1930	1,427	33.5%
1940	1,929	35.2%
1950	2,352	21.9%
1960	4,165	77.1%
1970	6,610	58.7%
1980	8,871	34.2%
1990	11,313	27.5%
2000	12,324	8.9%
2010	12,411	0.7%
2020	12,265	−1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census

Map of Westchester County showing population density

In 2000, the census showed that 12,324 people lived in Lewisboro. These people lived in 4,218 homes. About 3,425 of these were families.

Most of the people in Lewisboro were White (95.18%). There were also smaller groups of African American (1.19%), Asian (2.09%), and Hispanic or Latino people (2.48%).

Many homes (47.4%) had children under 18 living there. The average household had about 2.91 people. The median age in Lewisboro was 39 years old.

The median income for a family in Lewisboro was $157,412. This means half of the families earned more than this, and half earned less. Only a small number of families (1.4%) lived below the poverty line.

Town Life in Lewisboro

Lewisboro is different from nearby towns like Katonah and Ridgefield. It doesn't have one main downtown area for shopping. Most people in Lewisboro do their shopping at plazas in smaller areas like Golden's Bridge, Cross River, Vista, or in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Communities and Locations

Lewisboro is made up of several smaller communities and areas:

Cross River
Golden's Bridge
South Salem
Vista
Waccabuc

Parks and Preserves

Lewisboro has many natural areas and is part of an important wildlife corridor. There are two large Westchester County Parks and several town parks and community preserves.

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is the biggest park in Westchester County, covering about 4,700 acres (19 square kilometers). It has many trails for hiking and places to camp. There's also a Trailside Museum. The main entrance is on Route 121 in Cross River.
Mountain Lakes Camp is a county park on Lewisboro's northern border. It has beautiful ponds and forest trails. A popular trail leads to "Look Out Point," which is a cliff overlooking Lake Waccabuc, Lake Oscaleta, and Lake Rippowam.
Onatru Farm on Elmwood Road is a major park in Lewisboro. It has tennis courts, sports fields, and some town offices. There are also walking trails here.
The Lewisboro Town Park on Route 35 has tennis courts, the town swimming pool, ball fields, and outdoor basketball courts. In winter, if the ice is safe, you can go ice skating there. This park also has walking trails that connect to the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.
The Leon Levy Preserve was bought by the town in 2006 to protect its open space. It covers about 370 acres (1.5 square kilometers) and has trails for horses and hikers.
The Brownell Preserve is 118 acres (0.48 square kilometers) of forest land given to the town. It has a 2-mile (3.2 km) trail that goes past a viewpoint overlooking Lake Katonah.
The Old Field Preserve was acquired in 2003. It has about 100 acres (0.40 square kilometers) of woods, wetlands, and large old fields. These meadows are kept to help birds and animals that need this kind of habitat.
Fox Valley Park offers many sports facilities for the town. It has busy soccer fields, ball fields, and tennis courts.

Lakes and Reservoirs

Lewisboro has seven lakes. Lake Waccabuc, Lake Oscaleta, and Lake Rippowam are connected and are known as the Three Lakes. These are natural lakes, not man-made. Lake Waccabuc is the largest. Lake Oscaleta and Lake Rippowam are also called the Twin Lakes.

The other lakes in town are Lake Truesdale, Lake Katonah, Lake Kitchawan, and Timber Lake. In 2007, the town formed a Lakes Committee to help protect these important lake communities.

Lewisboro also has several reservoirs. These reservoirs provide water to other cities, like Norwalk, Connecticut.

Browns Reservoir seen from Silver Spring Road in the hamlet of Vista

Schools in Lewisboro

The public schools in Lewisboro are part of the Katonah-Lewisboro School District. John Jay High School, located in Cross River, is the only high school in the district. Newsweek magazine has ranked it as one of the top 200 high schools in the country. John Jay Middle School is also in Cross River, on the same campus as the high school.

Transportation

New York State Route 123 runs through Lewisboro. This road continues from the Connecticut state route of the same name. It goes through Lewisboro until it meets New York State Route 35.

The Housatonic Area Regional Transit (HART) runs a shuttle service on weekdays. This shuttle takes commuters between Katonah station and the South Salem Municipal park and ride lot.

Notable People

Many interesting people have lived in Lewisboro. Here are a few:

John Callahan, a politician from Wisconsin
Richard B. Handler, a business leader
Robert Castelli, a State Assemblyman
Andy Milonakis, a comedian
Chris Jasper, a musician and composer, member of the Isley Brothers
Roger Stone, a political strategist
Jeffrey Tambor, an actor
Stanley Tucci, an actor
Henry A. Wallace, a former Vice President of the United States

Images for kids

The historic Osborn–Bouton–Mead House in South Salem.
The official seal of Lewisboro.
A map showing Lewisboro's location in Westchester County, New York.

Lewisboro, New York facts for kids

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