Yonkers [key], city (1990 pop. 188,082), Westchester co., SE N.Y., on the east bank of the Hudson, in a hilly region just N of the Bronx (New York City); inc. 1855. Manufactures include chemicals, cable, wire, machinery, clothing, electronic equipment, and railroad cars. There are also printing and publishing industries. The area was included in the land grant given (1646) by the Dutch West India Company to the New Netherland lawyer Adriaen Van der Donck. It was a trading center in colonial days. Water power from the Nepperhan River attracted early industries, such as the Otis elevator works (1852), sugar refining, and the country's largest carpet mill (now all closed or relocated). Yonkers is the seat of St. Joseph's Seminary. Also in the city are Philipse Manor, built in the 17th cent. by Frederick Philipse; and the Hudson River Museum and Andrus Planetarium.
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