 The area was originally settled by Native Americans of the Wecquaesgeek tribes; "Pocantico" means "stream between two hills", a reference to the meandering Pocantico River.The hamlet was once a part of Philipsburg Manor.The area was once called Beeckmantown, after the family of Stephen D. Beeckman, who had lived in a residence on the highest ground of the area, just west of the "Irving Institute".