Carmel Tutors

About Carmel

Just a short drive north from New York City near the border with Connecticut, Carmel, New York is part of Putnam County. When Dutch settlers began trickling into Connecticut and the Hudson River Valley in the 1600’s, they found the Wappinger tribe of Native Americans living an idyllic lifestyle fishing, hunting, trapping and growing maize. Pressure from these European incursions convinced many of the Wappingers to sell their land. Others, however, waged war, suffering terrible losses and eventually driven from the land. By the early 1700’s wealthy New York merchant Adolph Philipse owned much of what would become Carmel. Soon enough the New York and Harlem Railroad extended into the area and the town was given the name Carmel, after Mount Carmel, a northern mountain range in northern Israel. The town’s claim to fame came at the outset of the Revolutionary War when 16-year old Sybil Ludington rode her horse several miles at night through local villages to alert residents that the British, having just burned nearby Danbury, Connecticut, were indeed coming. Ludington rode over 40 miles, 20 more than Paul Revere two years earlier, on bad roads through outlaw infested areas to alert her neighbors to the threat. Sybil, the daughter of Colonel Henry Ludington, needed to alert the local militia who were home planting crops when the British attacked. Because of her heroics, the colonists scored a strategic victory at the Battle of Ridgefield and she received personal congratulations from General George Washington. In 1975 Ludington was again honored with a postage stamp during the United States Bicentennial celebration. In the 19th century Carmel became a popular destination for vacationers looking to escape the big city and enjoy the many lakes in the area. Today, Carmel is an affluent city in eastern New York with an average median household income exceeding $100,000 a year.

A Carmel tutor will help you catch up on your most challenging academic subjects so you can take time away from the books to experience the many things to do in Carmel. Wonder Lake State Park on Ludingtonville Road in nearby Patterson offers 1,100 acres of green space with a 30-acre lake, three-acre pond and more than eight miles of hiking trails. Acquired by the state in 1998, Wonder Lake was created by New York City bakery owner A.L. Cushman in the 1930’s as a getaway for his family. The park includes access to the Highlands Trail which connects with trails traveling all the way to New Jersey.

Other parks in the area include Veterans Memorial Park and Tilly Foster Conservation Area. Veterans Memorial Park features a wide variety of recreational opportunities from swimming to ice skating. There are six different trails which wind their way around the park’s lake. Tilly Foster includes a farm museum to educate the public about the region’s historical contributions to agriculture. The park also has hiking trails, fishing and a community garden.

For something completely different, the Chuang Yen (“Majestically Adorned”) Monastery in Carmel houses the largest indoor statue of Buddha in the United States. Built in the 1970’s in the architectural style of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, the monastery is open to visitors of all faiths and denominations. The monastery holds services for world peace and community service. The Great Buddha Hall, home to the impressive statue, was dedicated by the Dalai Lama in 1981.