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

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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.