Editing Yorktown, New York (section)

== History ==
Yorktown has a rich historical heritage. It was originally inhabited by one or more bands of [[Wappinger]] people, including the [[Wappinger#Kitchawank|Kitchawank]]. Most of Yorktown was part of the Manor of Cortlandt, a Royal Manor granted by [[William III of England|King William III]] for the [[Van Cortlandt family]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historic Yorktown |url=http://yorktownhistory.org/history/historic-yorktown/ |access-date=October 6, 2022 |website=yorktownhistory.org}}</ref>

The [[Croton River]], which runs through the southern part of Yorktown, was dammed by the [[New York City water supply system]] to provide the city with its first major source of clean and reliable water. [[Old Croton Dam|The first Croton Dam]] was located in Yorktown and broke in 1842, causing significant damage to property and major loss of life.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}

[[File:Yorktown NY Presby PHS837.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|First Presbyterian Church of Yorktown in [[Crompond, New York|Crompond]]]]
During the [[American Revolution]], Yorktown saw limited action. Late in the war, the Pines Bridge crossing of the [[Croton River]] was guarded by the [[1st Rhode Island Regiment]] made up of White, [[African American]], and [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] soldiers. Several of the soldiers were killed, including the regiment's commander, Colonel [[Christopher Greene]], on May 14, 1781, at the [[Battle of Pine's Bridge]] in Croton Heights. A memorial was erected at the Presbyterian Church in [[Crompond, New York]].{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} Major [[John André]], a British officer who communicated with [[Benedict Arnold]], ate his final breakfast at the Underhill House at 370 Underhill Avenue on Hanover Street just before his capture and eventual [[hanging]] as a spy.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}

In 1788, the township was officially incorporated as Yorktown, commemorating the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] victory of the Franco-American [[siege of Yorktown]], near [[Yorktown, Virginia]], on October 19, 1781. The area had previously been known as [[Electorate of Hanover|Hanover]], with a now unwanted association with King [[George III]].

Moving north after the battle of Yorktown, the French army camped at the site of today's French Hill Elementary School, where cannonballs and other relics have been found.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} Although rumors claim that [[George Washington]] passed through Yorktown, no factual records confirm this.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}

A Bicentennial Committee in 1988 reviewed the town's remaining historic sites and determined which should be preserved.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}