Remnants of Pelham's Boy Scout Cabin Near The Hutchinson River Parkway

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

On July 19, 2005, I published to the Historic Pelham Blog a posting entitled "Pelham's Boy Scout Cabin Near The Hutchinson River Parkway". That posting included an image of the Boy Scout Cabin that once stood near the Hutchinson River Parkway in Pelham Manor and provided information about the cabin that was designed by Charles M. Hart, a prominent Pelham Manor architect. Today's posting will provide an image of the remnants of the cabin, razed long ago, as well as information about visiting those remnants.

Vine-Covered Great Stone Chimney and Hearth of

the Pelham Boy Scout Cabin.  Photograph by the

Author on October 30, 2005.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

The photograph above shows virtually all that is left of what once was the cabin. It is a vine-covered great chimney that once stood with the cabin. The architect's original sketch of the cabin clearly shows the chimney at the back of the cabin. See below.

Architect's Sketch of the Pelham Boy Scout Cabin Published

in the August 29, 1941 Issue of The Pelham Sun (Page 6).

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

To reach the remnants, the explorer should proceed westward on Secor Lane in Pelham Manor until passing beneath the bridge that carries the Hutchinson River Parkway over Secor Lane. Immediately west of the bridge is a small roadway with a pair of chain link gates that leads uphill to a small parking lot for cars visiting Friendship Field baseball park and the Glover Field complex down below. Next to the main portion of the gravel parking area stands the large stone chimney that once served the cabin.

The cabin stood, essentially, where a large portion of the parking lot sits today. The front of the cabin faced today's parking area while the rear of the cabin faced today's Glover Field complex and Mount Vernon. The cabin stood on a high rise. Behind the cabin is a wonderful view of the lands that form Mount Vernon and surrounding areas. Virtually all that is left of the cabin today is the chimney and what appears to be a little rubble behind that chimney.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."    

Westchester County 300th Anniversary Collectible Plate Included Pelham's Split Rock

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

Periodically I have published to the Historic Pelham Blog postings that deal with Split Rock, a Pelham landmark. For example, on March 28, I published an entry entitled "Split Rock: A Pelham Landmark for Centuries". Similarly, on July 26, I published an entry entitled "Recent Views of Split Rock".

While many in Pelham know the importance of the landmark in the history of Pelham, fewer likely know that in 1983 the landmark was featured on a special collectible plate issued in connection with Westchester County's 300th anniversary. A photograph of one such plate appears below.

The center of the plate has an image of a woman in colonial garb seated at a spinning wheel surrounded by the phrases "Westchester County 300th Anniversary" "1683 1983" and "Anne Hutchinson Chapter NSDAR". In a circular pattern on the outer edges of the plate are eight images depicting important landmarks associated with the history of Westchester County. At the very bottom center of the plate, in the so-called "6:00 position", is an image that depicts a Native American standing in front of Split Rock. Beneath are the words "1640 Pelham Split Rock".

The collectible plate may occasionally be found for sale online or at local antique shops.

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

The Camera Used by Town Historian William R. Montgomery

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

Several times this year I have published Blog postings that deal with the treasures contained in the William R. Montgomery Glass Negatives Collection maintained by The Office of The Historian of The Town of Pelham. On February 17, I posted to the Historic Pelham Blog an extensive item entitled "The Glass Negatives of Former Town Historian William R. Montgomery". On April 11, I posted an item entitled "More From the William R. Montgomery Glass Negatives Collection". On September 8 I posted an item entitled "Glass Lantern Slides Included in the William R. Montgomery Glass Negatives Collection". Today's posting will provide information about the camera that William R. Montgomery used to take the historic photographs of Pelham and surrounding areas in the 1920s.

After Mr. Montgomery's death, a large collection of glass plate negatives and lantern slides were found in his attic. Many contained images of buildings, structures, gardens and other such things in and around Pelham during the 1920s. Stored with the collection was a camera that Montgomery apparently used to take the many photographs. That camera, pictured immediately below, is in the collection of The Office of The Historian of The Town of Pelham.

Image Courtesy of The Office of

The Historian of The Town of Pelham.

The camera is an Eastman Kodak Company Premo 9 manufactured in about April, 1918. The photograph of the camera that appears above shows it without the camera bellows extended. To see an example of a Premo No. 9 with the bellows extended, click here. Found with the camera in Mr. Montgomery's attic was the owner's manual for the camera. The image below shows the cover of that booklet.

Image Courtesy of The Office of

The Historian of The Town of Pelham.

Compared to the ease with which high resolution digital images can be created today with professional quality high resolution digital cameras, seeing Mr. Montgomery's camera makes clear the burdens and difficulties that he faced to photograph Pelham and surrounding areas.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

Remnants of the Battlefield on Which the Battle of Pelham Was Fought on October 18, 1776

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

In the last week or so I have been contacted by a number of students in the Advanced Placement History class at Pelham Memorial High School. Various members of the class are engaged in research regarding the Battle of Pelham fought on October 18, 1776. I have tried to respond as helpfully as possible to each inquiry, but one question keeps coming up: where was the Battle actually fought?

Local historians continue to this day to argue over precisely where and how the battle was fought. To put it bluntly, the few first hand accounts of the battle, including Col. John Glover's letter, are not sufficiently specific to allow historians to determine exactly where and how the battle was fought. It seems clear that much of it was fought along portions of Split Rock Road that still remain within the Split Rock Golf Course in Pelham Bay Park. Indeed, sunken portions of the ancient road still exist along a couple of the holes of the golf course (holes 2 and 3, for example) with remnants of stone walls that likely stood at the time of the Battle.

Although the Golf Course does not permit visitors who are not golfing onto the course, I have had the opportunity as part of organized historical inquiries (and with the permission of the administrators of the Split Rock Golf Course) to visit the site. I, and others, were able to climb down into the overgrown and bramble-infested sunken roadway that once was a Native American trail and later evolved into the old Split Rock Road along which much of the Battle of Pelham was fought. The photograph below shows the brush filled sunken roadway near the first hole of the Split Rock Golf Course.



One year ago on October 18, 2004, the Executive Director of St. Paul's National Historic Site (used as a field hospital by German troops after the Battle of Pelham), I and a handful of others who have studied the Battle extensively met and walked the route of the old road with full-sized color copies of the Blaskowitz map and the Sauthier map (both created at about the time of the Battle by engineers involved with the troops). There was fairly animated disagreement over precisely where the events described in Col. Glover's letter describing the Battle took place. Conventional wisdom among most who have studied the battle closely seems to be that the small "rise" described by Col. Glover where the initial skirmish (marked with an X on the Blaskowitz map) took place likely is near the tee box for the third hole on the Split Rock Golf course.
The troops fought for much of the day, moving along the old Split Rock Road back toward Prospect Hill.

Only a tiny portion of the road still exists, technically, inside Pelham Manor. The Battle was not necessarily fought immediately along the roadway, however. Most feel that it is unlikely that the British and German troops stood in the midst of the narrow roadway while being fired upon though, of course, that would have been possible. In any event, the events moved across an area now beneath the New England Thruway and onto Prospect Hill. (There is a monument to the Battle near the western tip of the Prospect Hill School playground). Below is a photograph of remnants of one of the stone walls that once stood next to Split Rock Road. This particular wall is near the sunken roadway along the fairway of the second hole on the Split Rock Golf Course.




Portions of the Battle likely were fought between there and further to the west to what remains of Split Rock road. The rise of Prospect Hill is likely the hill described by Col. Glover in his letter where the Americans realized that as they continued their fighting retreat and backed down the hill, the British would have the advantage shooting from higher ground. It is from that point that they began their true "retreat" back to what was left of the bridge across the Hutchinson River where today's Colonial Avenue crosses the river (see below).

The Americans likely began their retreat in earnest down the remainder of Split Rock Road and onto Wolf's Lane (which was located slightly differently in those days -- there was no "Boston Post Road" as we know it now. (The "Boston Post Road" of those days was actually today's Colonial Avenue as we know it). The troops continued a fighting retreat along today's Wolf's Lane to the old Boston Post Road (Colonial Avenue) where they turned west / left (toward today's Mount Vernon which did not exist at the time).

They crossed the Hutchinson River where the bridge that now exists on Colonial Avenue beneath the Hutchinson River Parkway stands. (American Troops had pulled up the planks of the bridge earlier in the day.) The British and German troops stopped their pursuit at the river and camped on the grounds of PMHS and, in effect, on both sides of today's Colonial Avenue from the Hutchinson River eastward toward New Rochelle. The Americans set up artillery on the Mount Vernon side of the river. The British set up artillery on the PMHS side of the river. The two sides shelled each other without really doing much damage to each other for the remainder of the evening and into the night. There are monuments to local events involving the Battle at two nearby locations: inside the chain link fence on PMHS's Ingalls Field at the corner of Colonial Avenue and Wolfs Lane; and immediately inside the entrance to Memorial Stadium (by the flag pole) where Colonial Avenue turns into Sandford Boulevard in Mount Vernon.
The Americans then slipped away eventually to join Washington's retreating army.

The text of Col. Glover's letter describing the Battle may be found here: http://www.historicpelham.com/Articles/BellVillagePelham3.htm

The description of the Battle contained in William Abbatt's book, The Battle of Pell's Point, is considered to be an inaccurate depiction of the progress of the Battle. The text of the book may be found here: http://www.historicpelham.com/eBooks/AbbattPellsPoint.htm

A better description of the progress of the battle may be found in Chapter V of Otto Hufeland's book printed in 1926. The text may be found here: http://www.historicpelham.com/eBooks/Hufeland1926.htm However, don't be fooled by the fact that Hufeland -- like Abbatt -- seems so certain of his conclusions. It truly may never be possible to match the text of Col. Glover's letter against today's layout of the land, so to speak, in a fashion that allows us to say with certainty where all the troops were positioned and how they moved during the Battle.

Another excellent resource, which is not available online because it is not in the public domain and, thus, remains subject to copyright restrictions, is a booklet on the battle by Dr. Alfred Franko of Mount Vernon. There are three versions of the booklet: one printed in 1963, another revised version printed in 1966 and a reprint issued in 1975. The 1975 version would be the version to use since Dr. Franko made numerous revisions and corrections by that time. A citation appears below.

Franko, Alfred Michael, Pelham Manor: The Forgotten Battle of the Revolution: Near Mount Vernon, N.Y. (Pelham Manor, N.Y.: The Bicentennial Committee of the Town of Pelham, New York Oct. 1975) (republication of 1963 publication, revised in 1966; 67 pp., 12 pp. of plates, ill., 22 cm with bibliographic references).

The Town of Pelham Public Library has a copy of Sue Swanson's book / pamphlet entitled The Neutral Ground. It tells a lot about the years during which the Pelham area was part of the "neutral ground" between the two warring armies.

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

Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site Hosts Encampment to Commemorate "Battle of Pell's Point"

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

Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site held its annual "Battle of Pell's Point Encampment" to commemorate the 229th anniversary of the Battle of Pelham fought on October 18, 1776. The site sponsored the three-day Revolutionary War encampment October 20-22. Photographs of the events held on Saturday, October 22 appear below.

The site conducted educational programs for school groups on Thursday and Friday, October 20-21. On Saturday, October 22, activities included the encampment conducted by re-enactors. It also included lectures on the Revolution in the museum, musket firings and militia drills, wreath laying ceremonies at the graves of Revolutionary Soldires including the so-called "sand pit" within which the remains of German troops who fought with the British are believed to be buried. Activities also included period music and dramatizations, Revolutionary War era crafts and cooking as well as historic children's games and toys.


The rains on Saturday morning lifted long enough for an enjoyable outing for the many who attended. Inside the Church building, there were demonstrations of 18th century medical tools and techniques used to treat soldiers wounded on the battlefield. Musicians played in the 18th century style while onlookers milled about the box pews of the 18th century Church building. The Church building, unfinished at the time, was used as a hospital by German troops after the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Muskets boomed and belched white smoke in the rear of the old Church building while children watching in awe. Re-enactors of a British light infantry unit that fought at the Battle of Pell's Point drilled on the grounds. Re-enactors representing the Hessian (German) regiment that used the Church building as a hospital following the battle were not able to attend due to weather conditions.

The museum on the grounds of the site was in spectacular condition with its typically wonderful exhibits including Revolutionary War artifacts, a display of uniform styles of the era, several dioramas including one depicting the battle, one depicting the Church grounds at the time and another showing the village green in the 18th century. Pelham Memorial High School students involved in history projects concerning the battle wandered the grounds, notebooks in hand, questioning re-enactors and others.

As usual, David Osborn and Sharon Mills of the Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site did a magnificent job in coordinating the well-attended event.

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

More Information on the Portrait of 17th Century Mathematician John Pell

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

On October 7, I published to the Historic Pelham Blog a posting entitled "Important Portrait of 17th Century Mathematician John Pell, Brother of Thomas Pell, is 'Rediscovered'". This weekend I received a wonderful note from Pell family patriarch and well-known family historian Robert Pell-deChame of Fort Ticonderoga, New York. He pointed out, quite rightly, that describing the portrait as "rediscovered" implies that it was somehow "lost" though it never was! My inartful reference to "rediscovered" -- in quotation marks -- was in fact intended to suggest that it was not truly "lost". It seems best, however, to clarify that point and to provide an excerpt of Mr. Pell-deChame's note regarding the portrait:

"I just happened across the web article, 'Important Portrait of 17th Century Mathematician John Pell, Brother of Thomas Pell, is "Rediscovered',

( http://www.historicpelham.com/BlogArchive/Blog20051007.htm)

It was indeed my grandfather, Robert Thompson Pell, who located and purchased this (and other family portraits) during his Paris sojourn with the US Diplomatic Corps and subsequent journalist's career. He has left us a lengthy published account of how he located these.

The various portraits resided in my grandfather's various homes for a while until they were brought here to Ticonderoga, where my great-grandparents were busy restoring the fortress and the family house, built in 1826 by William Ferris Pell. Several copies of these were also made by the American expatriate artist Bradford Johnson, which we have in my family home, along with Johnson's portraits of my mother and uncle William Harding Pell. These were returned to us by my grandmother, Alice Harding Pell Allen, who had them displayed in the home of her second husband Julian Broome Livingston Allen, "Bolton Priory," where I recall them as a boy. Sister Parish, in her well-documented redecoration of "The Pavilion" in 1962, continued to give these portraits places of prominence in the entry hall and the dining room, where thousands of guests passed by them, such was the immediate recognition of these icons.

But really, it is nonsense to say that it has been 'rediscovered.' It was never lost as we have known very well where it has been all these years (it and its mates having been long displayed in 'The Pavilion,' our family seat, and very familiar to us all), has been published numerous times, and has been well recorded as far as all but the greenest of researchers is concerned."

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

Christ Church Dedicated its Columbarium in 1943 As Part of Its Centennial Celebration

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

During 1943, Christ Church in Pelham Manor (today's Parish of Christ the Redeemer) celebrated its Centennial. The Rev. Robert Bolton and members of his family laid the cornerstone of the beautiful little church on the Friday after Easter, April 28, 1843. In a report by the Right Reverend Treadwell Onderdonk, D. D. to the 1843 Diocesan Convention, Rev. Onderdonk stated:

"On the Friday after Easter, April 28, 1843, laid on the Rev. Robert Bolton's estate, the cornerstone of Christ Church at Pelham -- an edifice which he formed of pious design of erecting for the benefit of the above mentioned spiritually destitute neighborhood, and the first building devoted to religious worship ever commenced in the Town of Pelham."

Christ Church began its year-long Centennial celebration on May 2, 1943 with dedication of a War Shrine and a Columbarium. That day, among many other events, the Right Reverend William Thomas Manning, D. D., the Bishop of New York, as well as the church clergy, choir and acolytes, led the entire congregation in procession to the Garden of Resurrection. There the Bishop consecrated the Altar and Columbarium and blessed the Garden, a gift of Hildegarde Whittaker Gause in memory of Mary Sargent Gause and Rowland Southworth Hubbell.

To learn more about that day and its events, see Christ Church Centennial Begins With Dedication of War Shrine And Columbarium In Dignified Ceremony, The Pelham Sun, Vol. 33, No. 5, May 7, 1943, p. 7, col. 1; Christ Church Celebrates Its 100th Birthday, The Pelham Sun, Vol. 33, No. 4, Apr. 29, 1943, p. 1, col. 4.

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

Historic Loutrel Briggs Garden "Discovered" in Pelham Manor

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

In the last few days, the owners of the home located at 20 Beech Tree Lane in Pelham Manor known as The Lockwood Barr House (after the man who built it in 1927-28) have discovered that the garden in the rear of the house was designed by the renowned landscape architect Loutrel Winslow Briggs (1893 – 1977). An early photograph of a small portion of the garden taken shortly after its initial planting appears immediately below.

Briggs is widely noted as among the “Pioneers of American Landscape Design” who literally shaped our history. See Birnbaum, Charles A. & Karson, Robin, eds., Pioneers of American Landscape Design, pp. 35-37 (The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 2000). An expert on his work and the work of many of his contemporaries has described him saying “Briggs, above all others, is credited with establishing what is generally known today as ‘Charleston’s garden style.’” Cochran, James, Preserving Charleston’s Landscape Legacy, Historic Preservation, Vol. XV, No. 1, p. 2 (American Society of Landscape Architects, Spring 2005). In the last few years, heightened awareness of the importance of his work has led to surveys intended to identify remaining gardens that he designed, preservation workshops dedicated to teaching the owners of Briggs gardens how to preserve, document and maintain his original work, as well as lectures, tours and a weekend charrette all dedicated to Loutrel W. Briggs and his landscape architecture. See id., p. 3.

Loutrel Briggs was born in New York City on December 12, 1893. Id., p. 2. He graduated from Cornell University in 1917 with a degree in “Rural Art”, the then equivalent of a landscape architecture degree. Id. After graduation, he served as head of the department of landscape architecture at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art. Id.

As James Cochran recently observed in a brief biography of Loutrel Briggs, during the 1920s and 1930s wealthy New Yorkers and other northerners began to buy townhouses and “low-country plantations” in and around Charleston, South Carolina as “winter retreats”. Id. The young landscape designer, apparently sensing an opportunity, changed his practice to take advantage of this seasonal migration and “opened an independent practice of landscape architecture” in Charleston in 1921. Id. Soon, according to the same source, he was practicing landscape architecture in Charleston during the winter months and in New York during the summer.

By the time Lockwood Barr designed and built his home at 20 Beech Tree Lane, Briggs was coming into his own as a nationally renowned landscape architect. Indeed, by the late 1920s and early 1930s he was beginning to receive important and lucrative commissions for landscape design in Charleston, New York and elsewhere. According to one source:

“One of Briggs’s first commissions in Charleston was in 1929 for Mrs. Washington Roebling, widow of the famous engineer who supervised the construction of New York’s Brooklyn Bridge. Briggs later became involved in the design of gardens and grounds of other Charleston properties, including numerous Low-country plantations like Mulberry for Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Chapman of New York (1930), Rice Hope for Senator J.S. Fraulinghuysen of New Jersey (1932), and Mepkin for Henry and Clare Booth Luce (1937).” Id.

Today Loutrel Briggs is best known for the more than one hundred gardens that he designed that now rest within or near Charleston’s National Register Historic District. In recent years, citizens of Charleston began to realize that due to “changes in property ownership, poor maintenance, and natural disasters” some of the finest Briggs gardens were being lost. Thus:

“In the spring of 2003, the Historic Charleston Foundation in concert with James Cothran, FASLA (an Atlanta landscape architect and author of Gardens of Historic Charleston), sponsored a workshop at the Foundation’s headquarters to highlight important contributions made by Loutrel Briggs to Charleston’s landscape legacy. . . .

Following a consensus of workshop attendees to participate in a survey / documentation program of Loutrel Briggs’s gardens, Historic Charleston Foundation agreed to serve as the coordinating organization for this effort. . . .

The Briggs project has achieved many milestones in its first year and a half. In addition to the successful documentation of over ten Briggs gardens, extensive archival material (surveys, plans, photographs, etc.) has been assembled and catalogued. In addition, Historic Charleston Foundation has sponsored two lectures on Loutrel Briggs and tours of his gardens during its annual Spring Festival of House and Garden tours.” Id.

The work of Loutrel Briggs is distinctive and, some say, easy to spot. As one author has noted regarding his work in Charleston gardens:

“Briggs’s ability to work within these tiny spaces resulted in many creative and aesthetic designs. . . . In the design of Charleston’s small town gardens, Briggs adhered to certain design principles that proved to be tremendously effective throughout his career. He believed that each space and its surroundings should be carefully considered in determining the design of an individual garden. Briggs also believed that, if at all possible, a garden should be visible and easily accessible from the house to establish a clear interior / exterior relationship between the house and garden plan. His desire was to create a garden that served as an outdoor room.” Id.

Another author has said that Briggs “defined the Charleston garden style: High brick or stucco walls enclosing a sequence of outdoor rooms with lawns outlined in old brick and stone paving; fountains, pools, statuary, arbors and trellises as focal points; and a palette of 25 to 30 plants, often shade-tolerant.” Lowry, Patricia, Charleston Radiates a Seductive Charm, The Cincinnati Post, Oct. 16, 2004 (originally published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).

Such words easily could be used to describe the simple, small garden that Loutrel Briggs designed for Lockwood and Berenice Barr at 20 Beech Tree Lane. The back entrance of the home opens onto a slate patio that is perfectly level with and flows into the central portion of the garden with a small, slate framed pond in the center designed for a fountain sculpture. The center “room” of the garden is framed on three sides by low stone walls on which rest slabs of slate that, once again, match the patio site. It is “open” with no wall on the side facing the rear of the house so as to those within the house and those who step outside into the garden.
At the rear of the garden is an opening in the low stone wall with a series a stone steps leading to a slate terrace with a birdbath in its center. The steps and terrace are built upon a natural rise at the very rear of the property, thus using the lay of the land masterfully to create another quiet and somewhat secluded area for contemplation visible from the house with the decorative garden birdbath as a focal point in the design of the terrace at the rear of the garden.

The photograph above, likely taken in the 1940s, shows the pond, known as the "Lilly Pool" within the "Evergreen Garden" -- one of the four "rooms" that form the Garden. The birdbath on the terrace is visible in the background.

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

Acquiring the Land for the Martha Emmons Weihman Memorial Park in Pelham Manor

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

Regular readers of this Blog have read much about the history of the Martha Emmons Weihman Memorial Park located on the Esplanade at Boston Post Road behind Huguenot Memorial Church. I have been doing research on the history of the park to assist The Junior League of Pelham, Inc. That organization is engaged in an effort to raise funds to restore the park. Recent postings on the topic include:

Wed., Aug. 10, 2005: More on the Martha Emmons Weihman Memorial Park: The Landscape Designer.

Wed., July 20, 2005: The Pelham Manor Village Board Decides To Dedicate Park as "Martha Emmons Weihman Memorial Park" on September 8, 1941.

Mon., June 6, 2005: Martha Emmons Weihman Memorial Park in Pelham Manor - Origins of the Idea to Create a Park.

Thu., June 2, 2005: Obituary of Martha Emmons Weihman From The Pelham Sun, August 16, 1940.

Tue., May 31, 2005: The June 6, 1940 Fire That Destroyed the George M. Reynolds Mansion (Part I of II).

Wed., June 1, 2005: The June 6, 1940 Fire That Destroyed the George M. Reynolds Mansion (Part II of II).

Tue., May 24, 2005: Clifford and Martha Weihman of Pelham (Part I of II).

Wed., May 25, 2005: Clifford and Martha Weihman of Pelham (Part II of II).

Today's Blog posting will provide information about efforts by the Village of Pelham Manor to fund acquisition of the land for a park after the fire that destroyed the George M. Reynolds mansion.

Acquisition of the land for a park was no small matter. On December 9, 1940, the Pelham Manor Board of Trustees approved a $16,000 bond issue to finance purchase of the property. See $16,000 Park Land Purchase Bonds Approved, The Pelham Sun, Vol. 30, No. 37, Dec. 13, 1940, p. 1, col. 7. Sale of such bonds was planned for January 24, 1941. See Park Bonds to be Sold on Jan. 24th, The Pelham Sun, Vol. 30, No. 41, Jan. 17, 1941, p. 1, col. 6.

When the bonds were offered, a host of bidders stepped forward. The Village sold the bonds to George B. Gibbons Co. of New York City. According to an account of the sale:

“The Pelham Manor Board of Trustees on Friday afternoon accepted the bid of the George B. Gibbons Co. of New York City for the $16,000 park bond issue floated to finance the purchase. . . . The successful bidder offered a premium of $57.44 and an interest rate of 2.1%. The village will pay off the bonds at the rate of $1,000 per year. The issue will be paid up by 1954.”

Gibbons Company Buys Manor Bonds, The Pelham Sun, Vol. 30, No. 44, Jan. 31, 1941, p. 8, col. 3.

The park opened during the summer of 1942. An article describing the history of Martha Emmons Weihman Memorial Park will appear within the next few weeks in The Pelham Weekly, Pelham's local newspaper.

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

Photograph of Farm House of Anthony Wolf After Whom Wolfs Lane Is Named

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

Anthony Wolf once owned a farm with a home that stood not far from the intersection of 3rd Street and Fifth Avenue in the Village of Pelham. A photograph of the home taken by former Pelham Town Historian William R. Montgomery on June 18, 1923 appears immediately below. A portion of the trail along which the home stood eventually became known as Wolfs Lane, a name by which portions of the roadway still are known.



In 1909, the Wolf home was moved to 210 South 6th Avenue in the Village of Pelham where it stood for many years. For many years after it was moved, the home was owned by Pelham resident Henry Stroehle and was known as the Henry Stroehle House on 6th Avenue.

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

The Firemen's Memorial of the Pelham Fire Department

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

In the lovely village park located at the corner of First Street and Wolfs Lane in the Village of Pelham stands a granite monument with a large bronze bell atop the stone block. The bell was cast more than 100 years ago at the turn of the 20th century. It is the Pelham Firemen's Memorial and has an interesting history of its own.

The large bronze bell contains the following incription:

"1ST FIRE DISTRICT TOWN PELHAM
ORGANIZED FEB., 1893.
BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONERS
V. BARKER, PRES.
C.A. BARKER, SEC'Y
J.H. YOUNG A. ANDERSON
A. FLETCHER J.F. FAIRCHILD, TREAS."

Though the inscription might suggest that the bell was cast in 1893, it was actually cast a few years later in 1900 in Baltimore, Maryland. Immediately below is an old photograph of the first firehouse in the Village of Pelham on the top of which the bell sat for many years.

The bell was used for at least twenty years early in the 20th century to call Village of Pelham firefighters to their duty. For a number of years a steam whistle at the Knickerbocker Brewery that once stood on Sparks Avenue was used in addition to the bell to summon members of the department to emergencies.

In connection with The Pelham Fire Department's 1993 Centennial Celebration planned by Volunteer Captain John Sinatra, the bell was polished, repaired and placed atop a granite granite monument created by DiNigris Monuments of New Rochelle at cost.

Initial plans were to place the monument on Town Property near the Daronco Town House, but those plans failed and the monument was placed in the Village Park at the corner of First Street and Wolf's Lane. The memorial was dedicated on September 11, 1993 with the following inscription, among others:

"In dedication to all those past, present,
and yet to come who have been and
always will be known as Pelham's Bravest.
This monument shall forever stand
to honor those who selflessly put themselves
in harm's way time and time again to
protect the lives and property of this
community. Let no one forget the
service they provide."

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

A Reunion of Alumnae of Mrs. Hazen's School for Girls

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

During the late 1880s, The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York had a star teacher. Her name was Emily Hall Hazen. A few Pelham Manor landowners coveted the teacher’s talents and experience. They still were trying to develop the remnants of the subdivision planned by the Pelham Manor and Huguenot Heights Association founded in the early 1870s.

To attract “upper class buyers”, a Pelham Manor landowner named Silas H. Witherbee recruited Mrs. Hazen to open a girl’s preparatory school in Pelham Manor. According to one account, “although Mrs. Hazen was urged to locate elsewhere, she yielded to the persuasion and promise of support given by the residents of Pelham Manor.” In 1889 the little school opened, only to become one of the finest girls’ schools in the country before it closed twenty-five years later at the end of the 1914-1915 school year.

On Saturday, January 23, 1943, a group of alumnae of Mrs. Hazen's School for Girls (also known as "Pelham Hall") gathered at the home of Mrs. Abbott Geer on Clay Avenue. They held a reunion. Mrs. Geer graduated from the school in 1911. An account of the reunion appeared in the January 29, 1943 issue of The Pelham Sun. The account provides a helpful list of the participants as well as a brief description of some of the traditions they recalled from their days at Pelham Hall.

According to the article, besides the hostess of the reunion, the following alumnae attended: Eleanor Jacob Randall, Phoebe Randall Radcliffe, Harriett Duncan Gillett King (all from Pelham); Peggy Ferris Mans (Scarsdale); Marian Hoyle Powers (Rye); Emeroy Seymour Burton (New Canaan); Sophie Young Hubbell (Garden City); Grace Reynolds Adams (New Rochelle); and Esther Norton Soule, Katherine Seymour and Elizabeth Eyre de Lanoux of New York City.

Regarding senior traditions at Pelham Hall, the account of the reunion noted:

"At the luncheon on Saturday the former pupils grew sentimental as they recalled the traditions observed at Commencement time. There was the planting of the ivy by the departing seniors. Most touching of all was the singing on Commencement Day. Familiar old hymns with new tunes were sung in four parts. Composed by their own Professor Jacoby, these tunes today remain as a creation of old Pelham Hall. In solemn procession, the Seniors in their white caps and gowns, led the entire school, way down to the smallest girls, out onto the porch. Back through the open windows could be heard the echoes of their voices singing 'On Our Way Rejoicing.'"

The account of the reunion may be found at: Call Reunion Of Pupils Of Mrs. Hazen's School, The Pelham Sun, Vol. 32, No. 43, Jan. 29, 1943, p. 8, col. 7. For those who may want to learn more about the history of Mrs. Hazen's School, see Bell, Blake A., Mrs. Hazen's School for Girls: Pelham Hall, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 40, Oct. 1, 2004, p. 12, col. 1.

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

Two More Pelham Ghost Stories

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

Students of Pelham history may know that I have written a number of articles about supposed "ghosts" seen in and around Pelham. See the following:

Pelham's Ghosts, Goblins and Legends, The Pelham Weekly, Oct. 25, 2002, p. 1, col. 1.

More Ghosts, Goblins of Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 43, Oct. 29, 2004, p. 12, col. 1.

HistoricPelham.com Web Site: Pelham's Ghosts, Goblins and Legends

With yet another Halloween fast approaching, it is time once again to turn to thoughts of local ghost stories. For years I have collected local legends and ghost stories. Recently I turned up a couple more that I had never seen before. Today's Blog posting will relate these two stories, both of which involve the lovely home at 45 Iden Avenue known as Pelhamdale. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

During the 1970s, Pelhamdale was owned by Le Roi L. Elliott, an "international public relations" expert. In 1978, he told a local writer a story about unusual things seen by visitors to his home on two occasions. He cited a local legend that the ghost of Anne Hutchinson, who was murdered in 1643 by Native Americans a mile or so from the home, still wanders the neighborhood. According to the account:

"On two occasions, Le Roi reports there have been instances in which, with a certain degree of imagination, Anne's ghost might have made appearances in recent years.

One morning, when Mrs. Elliott's mother was visiting, she commented that Le Roi had been very active moving things around early in the morning in the third-floor studio above her bedroom. As it happens, it was a Saturday, and at the time the sounds were emanating from the studio, everyone in the family was soundly sleeping. There was no one in the studio.

The second occasion was on a bright summer morning. The Elliott's oldest son was the first to get up. As he walked from the kitchen towards the pantry, he passed the door leading into the dining room, and he was somewhat dismayed to see a diminutive woman standing just inside the doorway. He reports that the woman appeared to be quite elderly, and wore a plain cotton dress with a shawl around her shoulders. She smiled at him, and nodded. Not thinking at first, he continued on into the pantry. But he stopped short, turned to take another look at her, and found she was gone."

Source: Legend of Pell House, Texaco Westchester, Apr. 21, 1978 (page from publication, copy of which is in the author's files).

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

Pelham's First Automotive Taxi Service from the New Haven Line Train Station

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

The Pelham Sun printed an interesting record of what likely was Pelham's first automotive taxi business based at the New Haven Line train station in its February 25, 1943 issue. The account appeared in connection with the thirtieth anniversary of the business, known as Curry Bros., held on February 13, 1943. See Curry Bros. In Tax Service Thirty Years, The Pelham Sun, Vol. 32, No. 47, Feb. 25, 1943, p. 6, col. 3.

Early Post Card View of Pelham Train Station
as it Looked at About the Time Curry Bros.
Began its Taxi Service on February 13, 1913.

Joseph J. Curry and his brother, Dennis F. Curry, were born in New York City and moved to Pelham in about 1908. For many years they lived with a sister in a home located on Seventh Avenue near Fourth Street. They first operated a trucking business in Pelham. In 1913, however, they began operating cabs from Pelham Station on the New Haven Line. According to the account of their business published in The Pelham Sun:

"When they began, the Town of Pelham was just beginning to feel its growth as a residential suburban community. Automobiles were few, and good roads quite scarce in the villages, so the taxi-cab business became popular. As the residential advantages of the Pelhams appealed more and more to the business man of the nearby metropolis as an ideal place for a home, the town grew and the demand for taxi service increased."

Times, of course, were different then. Early brass-trimmed cars, according to the same account were just making their debut in Pelham, but they had removable tops fastened to the body of the vehicle with straps that rendered them "noisy, cold, drafty and uncomfortable in winter or wet weather".

For a time in the 1920s, the taxicab business might be described as chaotic at best. The Curry Bros. had obtained the concession to operate taxicabs from Pelham Station. Rival taxicab services reportedly tried to muscle in on the brothers' Pelham Station business. Among those who sought to compete with the Curry Brothers were Charles Cammerano, Charles Tamke, Tom Stewart, Charles Stockman and Tom Spafford. "Some of these", The Pelham Sun reported, "paid for sub-concessions but more often the Curry Brothers were called upon to resist invaders by force of words and wielding of fists."

As the business thrived, a third brother -- Cornelius Curry -- joined the business. The business was successful for many years due to the hard work of the threesome. In 1943, the local newspaper wrote:

"Thirty years in the taxi business in the Pelhams has meant 30 years of sleeping in the few hours between the last train at night and the first one in the morning, and getting a little rest in between. Thirty years means the service must have been good or it would not have survived those years."

Source: Curry Bros. In Taxi Service Thirty Years, The Pelham Sun, Vol. 32, No. 47, Feb. 25, 1943, p. 6, col. 3.

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

The Toonerville Trolley Pays its Bills -- Late!

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

Nearly everyone familiar with Pelham history and those familiar with the once-popular "Toonerville Folks" comic strip know that the little trolley car that inspired comic strip artist Fontaine T. Fox to create the "Toonerville Trolley" ran through Pelham Manor during the early 20th century. Occasionally I have published Blog postings about the famous "Toonerville Trolley" such as the ones listed below:

Tuesday, September 20, 2005: Pelham's "Toonerville Trolley" Goes To War

Friday, June 17, 2005: "Skipper Louie" of Pelham Manor's Toonerville Trolley

Tuesday, April 19, 2005: Pelham Manor Residents Fight Construction of the Toonerville Trolley Line

While many in Pelham remember the trolley line that ran through Pelham Manor, few may remember that the "Toonerville Trolley" line failed to pay its bills to Pelham Manor until long after the line was shut down.

It seems that in about 1943, two members of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Pelham Manor were doing some research on an entirely unrelated matter when they ran across the original contracts between the Village of Pelham Manor and the Westchester Electric Railway Co. According to the agreements, the Westchester Electric Railway Co. would be allowed to run a trolley line through the Manor free from Village taxes for a short period of time. Thereafter, the company would pay to the Village a tax of one percent of its gross earnings from the line for the first taxable year with a one percent increase in the amount payable until the amount capped at five percent of gross earnings during the fifth taxable year and would remain at five percent of gross earnings from the line each year thereafter.

The deal reportedly was struck in 1910 -- then was promptly forgotten by all parties involved. In 1943, however, six years after the line was closed and replaced with a bus line on July 31, 1937, the Village of Pelham Manor hired George W. Townley and one of his colleagues from the New York City law firm of Townley, Updike & Carter to obtain the back taxes never paid by the Westchester Electric Railway Co.

In February, 1943, the Village settled the matter with the Westchester Electric Railway Co. and received a check for $17,500 in full settlement of its claims for unpaid taxes based on percentages of the company's gross earnings from the line.

To read more about the dispute, see Street Car Co. Remits $17,500 Check To Manor, The Pelham Sun, Vol. 32, No. 46, Feb. 18, 1943, p. 1, col. 3. The article was a follow up to an article that appeared in a previous issue of The Pelham Sun, Vol. 32, No. 44, Feb. 5, 1943, p. 1, col. 1.

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

Photos of the Pelham of Yore: An Ice Truck and a Vintage Bus

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

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog includes two nostalgic pictures taken during the 1920s showing the Pelham of yore. The first is an ice truck that plied the streets of the town delivering ice for local ice boxes and to cool Pelham residents during the hot months of summer. The second shows a lovely bus acquired by the New York Athletic Club to ferry its members between the clubhouse on Travers Island and the Pelham Train station on the New Haven line -- direct competition to the little Toonerville Trolley that met all the trains.

The photograph immediately above shows ice delivery business owner Leo Giustino in 1925 sitting in his new ice truck with solid rubber wheels and acetylene gas headlights. In the background can be seen the rear of the Peldean Court apartment building. To the right of the photograph, behind the truck, is a building that once housed the law offices of Joseph Valente.

The photograph immediately above, taken in 1927, shows a bus that the New York Athletic Club acquired to ferry club members between Travers Island and the Pelham Train Station on the New Haven Line. The passenger stepping on the bus reportedly is believed to be then-Pelham resident, Bill Russell.

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

Important Portrait of 17th Century Mathematician John Pell, Brother of Thomas Pell, is "Rediscovered"

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

[Editor's Note: On October 21, 2005 I received a wonderful note from Robert Pell-deChame pointing out that, of course, the portrait that is the subject of this posting has not actually been lost. My inartful effort to make precisely such a point by placing the reference to "Rediscovered" in quotation marks clearly was not enough. Click here to read my October 24, 2005 posting providing additional information.]

On May 19, 2005, I published to the Historic Pelham Blog a posting entitled "Scholarly Book About the Father of John Pell, 2nd Lord of the Manor of Pelham, Is Published". In it, I provided a brief and enthusiastic review of a lengthy and scholarly book that addresses the life (and, especially, the mathematics career) of John Pell (1611 - 1685). Pell was the brother of Thomas Pell, first Lord of the Manor of Pelham, and the father of John Pell, second Lord of the Manor of Pelham. I now have a fascinating story of one man's recent "rediscovery" of the existence of a famous portrait of John Pell (1611 - 1685).

Eddie Mizzi with The Geometric Press in Oxford, England has an abiding interest in mathematics history. On Friday, September 30, 2005 he was doing research in the British Library when he ran across reproductions of two portraits of mathematician John Pell and his son, John Pell (second Lord of the Manor of Pelham). The 17th century portrait of the elder Pell was executed by Sir Godfrey Kneller a German-born Baroque Era portraitist who worked in England. Kneller was born in 1646 and died in 1723. He studied under Ferdinand Bol and Carlo Maratta. His students included noted painter Johann Broeckhorst. During his career he painted ten reigning European monarchs and was knighted for his work by William III. According to one biography, "he was also head of the Kneller Academy of Painting and Drawing 1711 - 1716 in Great Queen Street, London. He died of fever in 1723 and his remains were interred in Twickenham Church."

A Pell family member (Robert T. Pell) reportedly acquired the portrait from French descendants of mathematician John Pell's wife in Paris in 1934. Amateur historian and author Howland Pell obtained reproductions of the two portraits and reportedly provided the reproductions to the British Library also in 1934.

After seeing the two portrait reproductions while doing research at the British Library, Mr. Mizzi began corresponding via email with a number of people including me. I provided him with an obituary of Howland Pell and information about a descendant of Howland Pell as he sought to track down the portrait of mathematician John Pell.

Within a week, Mr. Mizzi located the original Kneller portrait of mathematician John Pell. He spoke with New York resident Howland Rogers, a grandson of Howland Pell, who set him on the right track. He contacted the Fort Ticonderoga Museum, a repository of many important Pell family papers and artifacts. He learned that the Kneller portrait is, indeed, in the collection of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum.

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

Does This Photograph Show Members of the "Pelham Manor Junior Base Ball Team"?

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

The Historic Pelham Blog provides me with a wonderful forum to hypothesize on historical issues of interest to residents of The Pelhams. Today's posting presents one such hypothesis regarding a photograph passed down to descendants of Samuel Pell Jr. who once lived on City Island when it was part of the Town of Pelham. The photograph shows a baseball team of youngsters wearing uniforms with "PELHAM JR A C" stitched on their jerseys.

Those who know me know that I have an abiding love for the sport of baseball and its history. Those who have followed my research regarding the history of Pelham also know that I have written about baseball in 19th century Pelham. For three such examples, see:

September 15, 2005 Historic Pelham Blog Posting: Newspaper Item Published in 1942 Sheds Light on Baseball in 19th Century Pelham

February 10, 2005 Historic Pelham Blog Posting: New Discoveries Regarding Baseball in 19th Century Pelham

Baseball in Late 19th Century Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 17, Apr. 23, 2004, p. 8, col. 2.

Those who read this daily Blog closely may have noticed something interesting in yesterday's posting entitled "Second Page of the May 12, 1902 Issue of The Pelham Republican". In that posting I transcribed the contents of the second page of the newspaper including the following entry:

"The Pelham Manor Junior Base Ball team defeated the Trinity Place school team, of New Rochelle, last Saturday."

The entry started me thinking. I thought of a photograph from the collections of the descendants of Samuel Pell Jr. of City Island. The image appears below.

I can only hypothesize, but it seems at least possible that the photograph above depicts members of the team described in the reference from The Pelham Republican as the "Pelham Manor Junior Base Ball team".

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

Second Page of the May 12, 1902 Issue of The Pelham Republican

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

Yesterday I published to the Historic Pelham Blog a posting entitled "Front Page of the May 12, 1902 Issue of The Pelham Republican". The posting was a follow-up to my September 5, 2005 posting entitled "The Pelham Republican: Official Newspaper of The Villages of Pelham and North Pelham in 1902". In yesterday's posting I presented an image and a transcription of the contents of the front page of the May 12, 1902 issue of the newspaper. As promised at the conclusion of yesterday's post, today I will present an image of the second page of the newspaper as well as the text of the page.




"purchase of a hose cart and organizing a fire company. They can join Liberty Hose Company for a limited time for a course of instructions. The drill season is now almost here, and all firemen will be put through the mill.

At the regular monthly meeting of the Liberty Hose Company held at the company rooms last Monday night, Philip D. Stuart and McDonald Croff were unanimously elected members.

Relief Hook and Ladder Company hold their regular monthly meeting at the fire house to-night.

Liberty Hose Company's fire horse is dead.

-----

Didn't Sell His Horse.

Fran Bienz had an exciting experience with an Italian by the name of Patune, of Mount Vernon, last Tuesday. Bienz is on the market for a couple of food horses for the express business and the above named party, having heard of this, brought a horse over and offered it to him cheap. Bienz wanted to try the animal and Patune consented. He hitched up the horse to the express wagon and proceeded to the station to get a trunk. Everything went all right until he started to go. The horse, perhaps, did not understand English, as he refused to go when told to.

Frank struck him with the whip and immediately the hindquarters of the horse became active. You could not tell whether his hind feet were four, six or eight.

After considerable difficulty he succeeded in dragging the animal back to the yard where Patune was waiting for the money. Bienz refused to accept the horse and Petro wanted three dollars for his services. Frank told him the horse was spavined, knuckled, foundered, balky, etc., but it was no use, he refused to leave the yard.

Constable Robinson was sent for and when the officer arrived, Patune suddenly changed his mind. He says Pelham is a poor field to sell horses in.

-----

Mrs. Hazen's school commencement will be on the first Thursday in June.

A family from New York has taken the Johnson house.

Mrs. Corlis gave a most delightful Tea to a number of friends on Saturday.

Mr. and Mrs. Black are expected to arrive from Europe the latter part of the month.

Mr. George H. Reynolds has been seriously ill with rheumatic fever at the Flower Hospital.

Mr. and Mrs. Penfield and Major and Mrs. Walker expect to return to Pelham Manor for the summer.

The Pelham Manor Junior Base Ball team defeated the Trinity Place school team, of New Rochelle, last Saturday.

The Pelham Manor regular base ball team will open the season on the twenty fourth with the New Rochelle High School team.

The Rev. Mr. Robinson officiated as moderator at the installation of the new pastor of the Presbyterian church, Portchester, on Sunday last.

Mrs. Beecroft and daughter, May, have returned from a three month's sojourn in Cuba, and are now residing in New York. They expect to go to Chicago.

A lawn party and dance will be given next Monday evening and night at Straehle's Pelham grove by the Young Folks Tribune Club of New Rochelle.

The Manor club is being greatly improved externally. The present color is more agreeable than the dark color. The tea room is in excellent order and already in use.

Mr. J. H. Dey, elder of the Presbyterian church, has been appointed commissioner to the general assembly, which begins its meetings on Wednesday the 14th, and will continue for ten days.

Herbert Barker's eight years old son Jack fell from a tree in Mr. John Godfrey's yard last Tuesday and broke his arm. Dr. Ives, of Mount Vernon, was called and set it. He is at present resting easily, and will no doubt be around in a few weeks.

Dimmick, the nine-year old son of Charles Smith, of Third street, North Pelham, met with a very painful accident last Tuesday. While fishing for suckers up the brook his hook caught in the palm of his hand. Dr. Knapp cut it out and he is now able to be about.

COUNTY GLEANINGS.

Suicide in Reservoir.

Two men who were fishing in Kensico Lake discovered in a strange way the body of a man in the water. One of them had his line caught and at first thought it was a large fish at the end of it, but further investigation proved it to be a decomposed body. The coroner was notified after the body was towed to shore. A gold watch was found on the dead man but outside of that there was nothing by which to identify him.

It is believed to be a case of suicide.

-----

Killed on the Railroad.

Two well dressed men were killed last Tuesday on the New Haven railroad near Portchester.

The men were walking on the track and they left one track to avoid an approach[ing] freight train. As they did so an express train came rushing on the track they had just stepped on and they became so frightened that they were powerless to move. They clung to each other and were killed instantly.

-----

An Italian named Nicholas Gallia was killed on the Harlem Railroad near White Plains, on the same day. He seemed to be dazed when he saw the engine approaching.

-----

Badly Injured on the Railroad.

James Cairigan and James McKay were struck by a train near Harrison and are badly injured.

They were taken to the New Rochelle hospital. McKay, who comes from Manchester, N. H., had both legs cut off. He is only eighteen years of age. The other man had his legs and one arm badly crushed.

-----

FRANKEL'S

CLEANING, SCOURING, DYEING, ALTERING & REPAIRING ESTABLISHMENT

147 SOUTH FOURTH AVENUE

MOUNT VERNON, N. Y.

All kinds of Ladies', Gents' and Children's Garments Cleaned, Scoured, Dyed, Repaired and Altered into the

LATEST STYLE

Suits or Overcoats Sponged and Pressed 50c.
Pants " " " 15c
Luits Scoured and Pressed $1.00
Pants " " " 40c.
Overcoats " " " $1.00
Suits Dyed and Pressed $2.00
Pants " " " 60c.
Overcoats " " $2.00
Velvet Collars from 50c. up
Ladies Skirts sponged, pressed & rebound 75c.
Ladies' Skirts, cleaned, " " $1.00 up

Clothing Called for and Delivered Free.

Mail orders will receive prompt attention.

-----

FOR FIRST-CLASS

PICTURE FRAMES

GO TO

MARVIN'S

134 South Forrth [sic] Avenue

(next door to Women's Exchange)

-----

REPAIRING AND REGILDING

A SPECIALTY.

-----

THE CHESTER LAUNDRY

109 SO. FOURTH AVE.
MOUNT VERNON, N. Y.

Will call for and deliver your laundry at your residence whenever desired. We do the best work in Westchester county. Shirt waists and hand ironed shirts a specialty. Delivery prompt. Prices right. Work first-class."

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

Front Page of the May 12, 1902 Issue of The Pelham Republican

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

On September 5, 2005, I published to the Historic Pelham Blog a posting entitled "The Pelham Republican: Official Newspaper of The Villages of Pelham and North Pelham in 1902". In it I conveyed a little about the history of this early Pelham newspaper published from 1901 until about 1906.

Below is an image of the front page of Volume I, Issue No. 25 of The Pelham Republican published on May 12, 1902. Additionally, below the image of the front page I have transcribed the text of the weekly "ABOUT TOWN" column that typically appeared on the front page of the weekly newspaper.

"ABOUT TOWN.

An Exciting Smash Up.

About six o'clock Wednesday evening a smash-up took place at the junction of Wolf's Lane and First St. A wagon driven by a driver for Mr. Benjamin Fairchild was coming from North Pelham and was run into by a truck driven by Smith Bros' man, which was coming down First street. Mr. Fairchild's wagon was pretty well wrecked and his horse so badly cut that he will not be able to be used for some weeks to come.

After the collision Mr. Fairchild's rig was taken into Vaughan's livery stable and L. F. Barker was sent for.

-----

Men Arrested for Child's Play.

Wednesday morning officer Marks saw three men throwing stones at the sign which stands at the entrance of the Pelham Heights property at Wolf's Lane and Third street. He warned the men, but not knowing he was an officer they paid no attention to him until he made an attempt to arrest them. They then jumped on a car bound for Mount Vernon, but the officer followed, and when they saw he meant business, two of them jumped off and ran towards New Rochelle. The third man Marks 'nailed' in the car and took him before Judge Karbach. About half an hour afterward the officer got the other two men on a car coming from New Rochelle.

The three men were kept in the 'cooler' until seven o'clock that evening when the judge let them off with a severe lecture. They gave their names as C. Stevens, John O'Brien and James Reilly, and occupations as conductors. They plead and almost cried for mercy, and promised to be good if they were released.

-----

North Pelham Trustees meet.

Friday evening the board of trustees of North Pelham met at the town hall. The meeting was more harmonious than the previous one, the trustees agreeing on all the resolutions and motions except one.

The bonds of the tax collector and the village treasurer of $5,000 each were accepted.

All bills were laid over until the next meeting as the treasury was low.

An application was made by the Inter Urban Water Company to open the streets through which their water mains are to pass from Mamaroneck to New York city. A resolution was passed, allowing the company to open the streets on condition that they put the same in as good a condition as they found them and keep said streets in repair for one year after excavation. A time limit was embodied in the resolution, and the company's representative accepted it.

A telephone bill of $26.50 was presented to the board for foreign calls. A motion was made that the telephone company remove the telephone now placed in the town hall, as they were not disposed to pay for calls which could be made by anyone who chose to use the phone.

A resolution was passed to pay Mr. Henry Rupert $150 for services in the Marshall case, and that he should turn over all papers connected with it.

The treasurer notified the board that a certificate amounting to $2,136.58 was due, and a resolution was passed to take up another to cover that one with six months interest amounting altogether to $2,200.08.

The village clerk's report which we print in other columns, was read and accepted, a perusal of which will show how irregularly business was managed under the old board.

The street commissioner reported three hydrants out of place and several leaks in the water pipes. The clerk was instructed to notify the water company to make the necessary changes and repairs.

The meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m.

-----

Arrests in Prize Fight Case.

Tuesday afternoon four men who were principals in the recent Kerwin-Gleacher prize fight were brought before Judge Karback [sic]. It was generally believed that nothing would be done about the affair, as it was said the local constables were bribed to keep away, but by the untiring efforts of officer Marks the miscreants are gradually being brought to justice.

The alleged manager of the fight, Geo. Roberts, was arrested in White Plains. He plead guilty, saying that he was only a witness and not the manager. He was represented by counsellor VerPlank, of White Plains. 'Joe' Gleacher, one of the pugilists, was arrested a week ago in Mount Vernon. He was paroled until next Saturday in the custody of his counsel, Mr. Riggs, to appear at the time for examination.

M. Silverstein, one of the seconds of the prize fight, was arrested last Saturday in Yonkers. He was put under bonds to appear last Tuesday and was paroled in the custody of his attorney, George Higgs, for examination next Saturday.

Joe Kerwin, one of the fighters, is said to have gone to Philadelphia. 'Joe' Lackey, another principal in the fight, is said to have gone to Philadelphia also. If they do not return requisition papers will be gotten out for them.

-----

A Musical Treat in Store.

Those who are desirous of joining a Ladies Choral Club will be interested in the announcement of a concert given for the benefit of the Laides Choral Club of New Rochelle at the Trinity Parish House on Tuesday evening, May 20th. The club will render a cantata and are to be assisted by several well known artists. Mr. Carl. V. Lachmund's Women's String Orchestra will be engaged to accompany the club. It consists of thirty-five musicians who are individual artists and have played in the most exclusive circles of Washington and New York society including those of the late President and Mrs. McKinley and all the foreign and home diplomats.

Residents of the town of Pelham seldom have musical entertainments of such a high order come within such a short distance of their homes. The prices of tickets are ridiculously low for such an entertainment but the object of the entertainment is more to introduce the club than a means of making money. The sale of tickets are limited and it would be well to apply at the New Rochelle pharmacies at once for them.

-----

Fire Notes.

The Fire Commissioners have held no meeting this month so far, and the chances are they never will. The new members want keys and badges. There are two or three badges left, but no keys. The Hose Company offered to purchase a quantity of keys for their door -- exact duplicates of the ones now in use -- but the commissioners will not grant them the power. They will not stand competition.

It is understood that the residents of the village of Pelham are considering the [page 2 begins here].

Tomorrow the Historic Pelham Blog will carry an image of page 2 of the same issue of The Pelham Republican and will transcribe the contents of that page, including the remainder of the "Fire Notes" article.

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