Yonkers (yon'kurz) [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. Its elevator works date from 1852. Other manufactures are chemicals, cable, wire, machinery, clothing, and electronic equipment. 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 and several carpet mills. Yonkers is the seat of St. Joseph's Seminary, Elizabeth Seton (junior) College, and the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research. Also in the city are Philipse Manor, built in the 17th cent. by Frederick Philipse; and the Hudson River Museum and Space Planetarium.
