The Town of Cortlandt, New York is located in the northwestern corner of Westchester County.  The Town is bounded on the west by the Hudson River, the north by Putnam County, the east by the Town of Yorktown and on the south by the Towns of New Castle and Ossining. Cortlandt includes two incorporated villages, Croton-on-Hudson and Buchanan and several hamlets including Montrose, Crugers and Verplanck.  The Hudson River, the New York City Watershed Lands, numerous wooded hills and steep slopes, wetland areas and streams define the rural character of the Town. Hendrick Hudson discovered the Hudson River in 1609, sailing his ship the Half Moon north anchoring at Verplanck’s Point.

Cortlandt derived its name from the Van Cortlandt family who began purchasing land in 1677 from the Croton River north to Anthony’s Nose and east to Connecticut.  Cortlandt was the site of many skirmishes during the Revolutionary War.  Local Roads, such as Watch Hill and Furnace Dock Road, where the furnaces that made ammunition for the war effort were located, bear names reflecting the Revolutionary time. Cortlandt is in the North County portion of Westchester County.  The City of Peekskill, estimated 1998 population 21,111, fronts along the Hudson River and is surrounded by the Town of Cortlandt on the other three sides.  With the exception of the older industrial City of Peekskill and the industrial section of the Village of Buchanan, development in the North County area is predominantly residential. 

Community character ranges from suburban to semi-rural.  Rugged terrain, large public water reservoirs, and heavily wooded areas characterize the area. For the most part, the communities in northern Westchester are less densely populated and have less commercial development than those in central and southern Westchester.   Urban development in the North County area is generally confined to historic transportation corridors along the Hudson River, the New York to Albany rail line, and the Route 9 highway, the old New York to Albany Post Road.  The eastern part of the North County area, including the Towns of North Salem, Lewisboro, and Pound Ridge, tends to be less developed than the western part. 

The major employers in the Town are mostly institutions, such as school districts, Town Government, the Hudson Valley Hospital, and the FDR Veterans Administration Hospital.   The exception of this is the Cortlandt Town Center Shopping Center, the largest employer in the Town.