There was an Indian settlement known as Nappeckamack where Yonkers is presently located. In 1639 a large tract of land was purchased by the Dutch East India Company. The patent was turned over to a lawyer named Adriaen Cornelissen Van der Donck. He was called "De Jonkheer" or "the young lord" by others who lived and worked on the land and it was from this term that Yonkers takes its name. After the British took over in 1664 the land passed to Frederick Philipse who eventually amassed even more land from Spuyten Duyvil Creek to Croton.
Yonkers was incorporated in 1855 as a village and in 1872 as a city. Today with a population of 188,082, it is one of the largest cities in New York State. It is a manufacturing center. It is the home of the Hudson River Museum.