Nikki D. McMann

Situated in the northeastern part of Westchester County, Lewisboro is a town composed of 6 hamlets: Goldens Bridge, Cross River, Waccabuc, South Salem, Lewisboro Hamlet and Vista. Lewisboro is located about 18 miles north of White Plains, 40 miles north of mid-town Manhattan. It is bordered by Ridgefield and New Canaan, CT to the east, Somers to the west, North Salem to the north and Bedford to the South. The town was first formed in 1747 and named Salem. Later the town was named Lewsiboro after John Lewis, a prominent financier who game monies for the school district.

CHARACTER

The town is distinguished by its scenic country sides dappled with rambling stone walls, open meadows, farms, horse properties and many lakes (Lake Katonah, Lake Waccabuc, Lake Rippowam, Lake Oscaleta, Truesdale Lake and Lake Kitchawan). The scenic country setting offer a New England beauty close to Manhattan. Drawn to Lewisboro by its quality of life, a wide variety of people, professions and interests blend their talents and tastes to create a civic minded community proud of its "hometown" flavor. Rich in natural areas, Lewisboro is bordered by two Westchester County parks and boasts town parks with pools, tennis courts, ball fields, hiking trails and many nature preserves for walking, hiking and cross country skiing.

KATONAH-LEWISBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT

The town is served by the Katonah-Lewisboro School District with 4 elementary schools (Lewisboro, Meadow Pond, Increase Miller, & Katonah), John Jay Middle School and John Jay High School. Together, they provide instruction for more than 3,600 students. 99% of the high school students moved onto higher education. The average SAT scores in 2011 was 1461.

Distance to NYC: 47 miles
Area: 39 square miles

The Town of Bedford consists of three hamlets; Bedford Village, Katonah and Bedford Hills. Elegant country estates, horse farms, rural neighborhoods, and weekend hideaways, all blend to form the peaceful atmosphere of colonial New England that so captures the flavor of Bedford. There are approximately 18,133 residents.

What You’ll Pay

As of Feb. 16, 129 homes were on the market in the Town of Bedford. On the low end is a charming cape cod home for $379,000 for 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, 993 square feet on 0.8 acres. In the middle, a 4 bedroom colonial with 5.2 baths, 6312 square feet on 4.0 acres is listed at $1,799,000. For $15 million, there is a new 5 bedroom, 5.3 bath colonial with 6 car barn, caretaker’s cottage, barn, pool and poolhouse on 11.9 acres.

Out of the 48 homes that have sold in the town of Bedford over the past 6 months, 33 went for less than $1 million. The median sales price over the past 6 months is $766,250; the lowest was $333,500 and the highest was $5.5 million.

Bedford Transportation

Located 47 miles North of New York City.
Metro North Hudson Line travel time to Grand Central Station is 56 minutes from Bedford Hills
Served by Bedford Hills, Katonah, and Mt. Kisco Metro North Stations
Education Facilities

Bedford is served by the Bedford Central School District and the Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District
There are two junior high schools and two high schools serving the Town of Bedford: Fox Lane Middle School and High School (Bedford-Central) and John Jay Middle School and High School (Katonah-Lewisboro)
There are five elementary schools in Bedford Central that serve this area; Bedford Village Elementary School, Bedford Hills Elementary School, West Patent Elementary School, Pound Ridge Elementary School, Katonah Elementary School
Bedford area Private/parochial schools include The Harvey School, Rippowam-Cisqua, The Long Ridge School, St. Patrick’s School

What To Do

The Bedford area, without doubt, is a horse lover’s paradise. The Bedford Riding Lanes Association offers, for a small yearly membership fee, the use of over 200 miles of riding trails. For peaceful, uninterrupted riding through open fields and dense forest, the equestrian can enjoy fabulus views of the countryside, while traveling from the southern-most part of Bedford, through the Jay Homestead and into the Pound Ridge Ward Reservation.

Bedford’s Parks include: Bedford Village Memorial Park and Bedford Hills Memorial Park

Bedford Places of Worship

Antioch Baptist Church
Bedford Community Church
Bedford Presbyterian Church
First Church of Christian Scientist
First Presbyterian Church
Katonah United Methodist Church
St. Luke’s Episcopal
St. Mary’s Roman Catholic
St. Mathias Church
St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church
St. Patrick’s Church
Temple Shaaray Tefila

1. 4th of July Celebration in Town Park (5K Road Race & Fireworks)
2. Harvest Festival (Town block party with live music, games, food)
3. Halloween Walk (trick or treat in Business District downtown)
4. Arts & Crafts Festival
5. Lobster Festival
6. Leatherman's Loop (trail race in Ward Pound Ridge)
7. Egg Scramble at Pound Ridge Elementary School (PRES)
8. Free Band Concert at Town Pool
9. Movie in the Park
10. N2N Senior Picnic in the Park

Distance to NYC: 48 miles
Area: 23 square miles

Pound Ridge is located on the Connecticut border of Westchester County, adjacent to New Canaan, Bedford and Lewisboro, about 18 miles northeast of White Plains, 40 miles from mid-town Manhattan. Pound Ridges population is 4,450. Pound Ridge is the smallest town in Westchester and is known for it's rural feel, stone walls, rock outcroppings and ponds. A community with pride and privacyfor those who enjoy the involvement of small town lifeor the peacefulness of a country retreat. Residents have included celebrities like actor Richard Gere, newscaster Tom Brokaw and the Bush White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

What Youll Pay
As of Jan. 30, 69 homes were on the market. On the low end is a fixer upper listed at $380,000 for 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2070 square feet on 2.1 acres. In the middle, a 4 bedroom colonial with 4.1 baths, 4769 square feet on 2.7 acres is listed at $1,649,000. For $10 million, there is a 6 bedroom, 5.1 bath colonial with caretakers cottage on 11.9 acres. Out of the 21 homes that have sold in Pound Ridge over the past 6 months, 13 went for less than $1 million. The median sales price over the past 6 months is $800,000; the lowest was $405,000 and the highest was $3.1 million.

Educational Facilities
Pound Ridge is served by two school districts. Children in the central and southern portion of the town attend Bedford Central Schools; Pound Ridge Elementary [Grades K to 5], Fox Lane Middle School [Grades 6, 7 and 8] and Fox Lane High School. The northern part of the town is in the Katonah-Lewisboro district and children attend Lewisboro Elementary [Grades K to 5], John Jay Middle School [Grades 6, 7 and 8] and John Jay High School. Both school systems offer high quality education and a broad variety of interscholastic sports and activities.

What to Do
Most of the shopping and dining is concentrated in Scotts Corners, an area of several blocks with restaurants, wine stores, a cheese shop, grocery store, antique shops, clothing stores, appliance store, hardware store and others. Youll often find a farmers market on the weekends at Antiques and Tools of Business and Kitchen. Scotts Corners is also where local kids go treat-or-tricking on Halloween followed by a haunted house and party at the Fire Station. On weekends, families often take their children to the Town Park, which has ball fields, tennis courts, playgrounds, pools and picnic areas. In the winter, youll see people ice skating on the pond or sledding. The local library is a cultural center with a variety of programs and events for all ages.

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation offers 4,315 acres of marked trails for hiking, ski trails and stone shelters for camping enthusiasts. It is possible to take part in nature and biology studies year-round. Various other reserved land such as the Nature Conservatory, Halle Ravine and gifted land to the town all total over one third of the towns acreage reserved for green space and or recreation use.

The Commute
Most residents use the Metro-North Railroad station at Mount Kisco. Some residents drive across the state border to the railroad station in New Canaan and Stamford, which has ample parking. The rush-hour ride takes about 50 minutes to Grand Station and runs about $259 for a monthly ticket. For those venturous enough for the drive into Manhattan are looking at a least an hour drive into Midtown.

Houses of Worship
Include Pound Ridge Community Church; Temple Shaaray Tefilia, Bedford; St. Matthews Episcopal Church, Bedford; Bedford Presbyterian, Bedford; St. Patricks Church, Bedford; and Jewish Family Congregation, South Salem.

Top 10 Things I Love About Pound Ridge
1. Small, tight community
2. Beautiful, rural country community
3. Great schools
4. One of most active recreation departments with numerous events throughout the year
5. Spirited residents with large number of residents that volunteer
6. Ward Pound Ridge Reservation - 4700 acres and 35 miles of hiking trails & cross country skiing, horse trails, and campgrounds
7. One of best golf course in the country - Pound Ridge Golf Course
8. Active Library
9. Beautiful Town Park and pool
10. Nice walking trails to downtown Scotts Corners (restaurants, bars, stores, grocery store, etc)