Washington Irving, the famous writer of stories such as "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," was the first to call New York City "Gotham". The intended reference was to a medieval English story of a town named Gotham which meant "Goat’s Town" and was populated by "simple-minded fools." Irving was also the first to associate the term "knickerbocker" with New Yorkers.
Sam Wilson, a meatpacker from Troy who's caricature Uncle Sam came to personify the United States is buried at Troy's Oakwood Cemetery. During the War of 1812, he stamped "U.S. Beef" on his products which soldiers interpreted the U.S. abbreviation as meaning Uncle Sam.
Mount Kisco's landmark, a statue of Chief Kisco, was once an elaborate fountain for watering horses. The statue stands at the intersection of Routes 117 and 133. D.F. Gorham, a strong supporter of prohibition, presented it to Mount Kisco in 1907. The inscription on the base to the statue reads "God's Only Beverage for Man and Beast."
New York was the first state to require license plates on cars.