In the late 1640's Adriaen Van der Donck received grant of land from the Dutch East India Company which he called Colon Donck (“Donck’s Colony”), and built one of the first saw mills in the New World at the junction of the Hudson and Nepperhan Rivers. Van der Donck was referred to as Jonk Herr ("young Gentleman" or "young Nobleman") by reason of his status in Holland, and these words evolved through several changes to the Jonk Heer's land and The Younckers, The Yonkers and finally to the present Yonkers.
The Village of Yonkers (then extending approximately two miles along the Hudson River) was incorporated on April 12, 1872 with a population of approximately 7,500. On June 1, 1872, Governor Hoffman signed the charter establishing Yonkers as the first in Westchester County to be incorporated and designated as a city. The population had grown to about 20,000 by that time, and today there are nearly 200,000 people residing in Yonkers.
|