Another possible factor is that children born during a time when the divorce rate has been booming might be more cautious about getting married, Newman said. There is not always pressure to marry just because people are involved sexually, she said. The completion five years ago of a Jehovah's Witnesses conference and educational center in Patterson, called the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, accounted for a majority of the increase. Between 1,200 and 1,300 people are volunteers at any one time and live on-site, a spokesman said. Many assist with planning and administrative functions for the Jehovah's Witnesses congregations throughout the country.
Volunteers live in dormitory-style buildings on the sprawling campus.
But one of the major effects of Putnam's population spurt, and its 16.4 percent overall growth in households, has been that housing remains in short supply. Residential contractors can't put buildings up fast enough, said Michael Catalano of Prudential World Homes Realty in Carmel. The homeownership rate jumped from 88 percent in 1990 to 93 percent last year. In Westchester, it rose from 95 percent in 1990 to 96 percent in 2000. Of the 35,030 housing units in Putnam, 93.4 percent are occupied.