Riddle Me This: How Well Do You Know Your Pelham History?

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Last year during Pelham's celebration of the 350th Anniversary of the signing of the Pell-Siwanoy Treaty on June 27, 1654, I prepared a set of riddles for students at the Colonial School. After answering each riddle, children had to identify marked letters that, when unscrambled, spelled the phrase "Happy Birthday Pelham". Many of the students were able to solve the riddles and uncover the scrambled secret message.

How well do you know your Pelham history? Below are the riddles prepared for the elementary school students. Answers follow at the end of today's Blog posting.

1. “I Want You” to tell me the full name of this famous artist and illustrator who was born in his grandfather’s home in Pelham Manor on June 18, 1877. Over four million copies of his famous recruiting poster for the U.S. Army were printed during World War I.

2. I was a Revolutionary War hero who rode on horseback as an escort of honor to General George Washington on Evacuation Day, November 25, 1783 upon Washington’s return to New York City at the end of the Revolutionary War. Colonial School sits on land that was once part of my farm. Who am I?

3. From the late 1890s until July 31, 1937 I clickety-clacked from the train station, along the middle of Wolfs Lane to Colonial Avenue where I turned left and then made an immediate right onto Pelhamdale. Everyone got out of my way as I carried my passengers to Shore Road. I inspired a famous comic strip that ran in nearly 300 newspapers for a half century. What was my name in that comic strip?

3. From the late 1890s until July 31, 1937 I clickety-clacked from the train station, along the middle of Wolfs Lane to Colonial Avenue where I turned left and then made an immediate right onto Pelhamdale. Everyone got out of my way as I carried my passengers to Shore Road. I inspired a famous comic strip that ran in nearly 300 newspapers for a half century. What was my name in that comic strip?

4. When first laid out I was known as the “New Road to New England”. By 1732 the first regular stage coach route between New York and Boston was established along me. Today I am known as Colonial Avenue (near Colonial School). George Washington rode on horseback along me through Pelham several times. What was my name when George Washington rode along me through Pelham?

5. I am a giant glacial boulder with a giant crack down my middle. I have been a Pelham landmark for as long as there has been a Pelham. But, today I do not sit within the boundaries of Pelham. I am located near the New England Thruway where it meets the Hutchinson River Parkway. What is my name?

6. Many consider me the founder of Pelham because I purchased lands that later became Pelham from Siwanoy Native Americans on June 27, 1654. Who am I?

7. Washington Irving, the famous author who wrote many wonderful stories including The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, is said to have personally laid the yellow bricks above my doorway that form the date “1838”. I am one of two existing buildings in Pelham that are on the National Register of Historic Sites. What am I called?

8. I led several hundred American Patriots in the Battle that saved General George Washington’s Army on October 18, 1776. The Battle has been called the Forgotten Battle of the Revolution, the Battle of Pelham, the Battle of Pell’s Point, the Battle of Pelham Manor, the Battle of Pelham Bay, the Fight at Pelham Heights and the Battle of Pelham Moor, among other names. I eventually became a general in George Washington’s Army. Who am I?

9. I am a street located in the Pelham Heights section of the Village of Pelham that was named after a ship on which Pelham resident and, later, United States Congressman Benjamin Fairchild was traveling when it was wrecked on an island off the coast of Alaska in the 19th Century. When Benjamin Fairchild was rescued and returned to Pelham, I was named after the ship. Other streets in the Heights were named after the island on which he was shipwrecked (Loring), the steamship that rescued him (the George W. Elder) and a city in California that he visited on the ill-fated trip (Monterey). What street am I?

10. I owned a home in Pelham known as The Shrubbery. I was a successful attorney. I served as Vice President of the United States during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. On July 11, 1804 I fought a duel and mortally wounded Alexander Hamilton. That was the beginning of the end of my political career. Who am I?

11. I am a central green, or park, around which homes have been built in the Village of Pelham. I am the only park in Pelham named after a President of the United States. What is my name?

12. Built sometime between 1836 and 1842, I am the only grand mansion that remains of the many that once stood in the area along what we know today as Shore Road. Although I once stood within the boundaries of Pelham, today I stand within Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx. I am on the National Register of Historic Places. What is my name?


[SCROLL DOWN FOR ANSWERS]


ANSWERS: 1. James Montgomery Flagg 2. Col. Philip Pell III 3. Toonerville Trolley 4. Boston Post Road 5. Split Rock 6. Thomas Pell 7. Bolton Priory 8. Col. (Later General) John Glover 9. Ancon Avenue 10. Aaron Burr 11. Chester Park 12. Bartow-Pell Mansion

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.