Town of Pelham Seeks Grant of Underwater Land to Build Town Dock in 1871

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In 1871, Elbert J. Roosevelt owned lands in the Manor of Pelham on the shore of Long Island Sound near and south of today's Shore Park.  That year he conveyed to the Town of Pelham a right of way over his lands extending from Shore Road to the Sound in exchange for an agreement by the Town to build and maintain a dock at the end of the right of way for use of the Town of Pelham.  

Elbert J. Roosevelt died in 1885. The Town of Pelham built the dock. The people of the Town used the dock for years.  Immediately below is an image (admittedly of rather poor quality) from a map of the area published in 1889 noting the location of the dock.  Travers Island is visible just north of the dock.

By 1902, the dock was in a terrible state of disrepair.  It even lacked flooring boards and supporting stringers across the decrepit piers driven into the land beneath the waters of the Long Island Sound.  According to one account, no use of the dock had been made for many years "except that men and boys occasionally 'fished from the dock and went in swimming'". 

In September, 1902, persons including Augustus V. H. Ellis purchased the land that included the right of way to what was left of the dock.  The new owners claimed that the Town had breached a condition in the grant of the right of way to the dock by failing to maintain it. They commenced a lawsuit to clear title to the land. Ultimately, New York courts agreed with their claim. The Town of Pelham lost its right to use what was left of the dock for access to Long Island Sound. To read one of the number of reported opinions issued by courts in the case, see Ellis, et al. v. Town of Pelham, 94 106 A.D. 145, 94 N.Y. Supp. 103 (App. Div. 2d Dep't 1905).

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes a notice that appeared in local newspapers in May, 1871 regarding the Town of Pelham's plans to use the underwater land conveyed by Elbert J. Roosevelt.  The notice followed special legislation enacted by the State of New York the previous month to authorize the Town of Pelham to use the underwater land as a town dock.

I have written about the Pelham Town Dock before.  See Fri., Jan. 06, 2006:  Pelham Loses its Right To Use the Town Dock in the Early 1900s.

"NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR A GRANT OF LAND UNDER WATER. -- Notice is hereby given that the town of Pelham, in the county of Westchester, in pursuance of an act of the legislature of the State of New York, passed April, 1871, with the consent of Elbert J. Roosevelt, the owner in fee and occupant of the upland adjoining high-water mark of the waters of Long Island Sound, at a point called Shoal Harbor, in said town of Pelham, will make application to the Commissioners of the Land Office of the State of New York, in the city of Albany, on Wednesday, the 5th day of July, 1871, at ten o'clock in the forenoon of that day, for a grant from the State to the said town, for the purpose of building a dock for the use of the people of the town of Pelham, and between high and low-water makr, and to promote the commerce of the State, and which lands are situated in the said town of Pelham, Westchester County, and State of New York, and are bounded and described as follows:  Beginning at original high-water mark on the northwesterly shore of Long Island Sound, at a point on the land of Elbert J. Roosevelt, distant from the Pelham road ninety-seven feet, at a point on said Pelham road forty-seven feet from the easterly line of land owned by Miss Annette [sic] Bolton; thence running north, twenty-nine degrees east, fifty-seven feet; thence south, twenty-nine degrees west, sixty feet; thence north, sixty-one degrees west, fifty-seven feet; thence north, twenty-nine degrees east, thirty feet, in the place of beginning.  The upland in front of and adjacent to the said land -- a grant of which is to be applied for -- is situated as aforesaid, and owned by Elbert J. Roosevelt, and is bounded on the east and west by lands owned by Miss Annette Bolton, and on the north by the Pelham road, and is occupied by the said parties. -- Dated May 15, 1871.  

BENJAMIN HEGEMAN, Supervisor.
JAMES HYATT, Town Clerk.
C. H. Roosevelt, Att'y and Counsel."

Source:  NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR A GRANT OF LAND UNDER WATER, Eastern State Journal [White Plains, NY], May 26, 1871, Vol. XXVII, No. 5, p. 4, col. 4.

Detail of 1881 Map of the Town of Pelham Showing "DOCK" Area.

Source: Bromley, George Washington & Bromley, Walter Scott,

"Town of Pelham, (With) Pelham-Manor. (From Actual Surveys and

Official Records by G.W. Bromley & Co., Civil Engineers, Published

by Geo. W. & Walter S. Bromley, 1881)" in Atlas of Westchester

County, New York, From Actual Surveys and Official Records,

pp. 56-57 (Washington, D.C.: G.W. Bromley & Co. 1881).  NOTE:

Click to Enlarge the Image.

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Article from April 23, 1910 Issue of The Pellham Sun

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Peter Ceder founded The Pelham Sun on April 9, 1910 and nurtured the growing newspaper until shortly before the advent of the Roaring Twenties when he turned his attention, full time, to real estate development in the Town of Pelham.  In 1919, Ceder began a search for a new owner to whom he could turn to continue the institution he had created. He turned, first, to J. Gardiner Minard, a resident of the Village of North Pelham who had some newspaper experience.  Having just returned from World War I, Minard demurred, telling Ceder "I am sick of wars and running newspapers." 

Soon it began to appear that Ceder might close the newspaper, leaving the growing and increasingly-prosperous town without its own newspaper.  A group of nine civic-minded citizens led by Pelham Manor multi-millionaire William T. Grant, the founder of the nationwide chain of W. T. Grant 25 Cent Stores, formed The Pelham Sun Corporation and bought the newspaper from Peter Ceder. 

Pelham resident Thomas M. Kennett was appointed the editor of The Pelham Sun on February 28, 1921.  In 1925, Kennett purchased The Pelham Sun from the nine Pelham residents who had acquired it from Ceder.  Kennett operated the newspaper with his son, Frederick T. Kennett for many years thereafter.

Sadly, however, many issues of the newspaper published in its early years have been lost forever.  Thus, it is a particular joy to locate an article that appeared in The Pelham Sun less than two weeks after the newspaper was founded.  The article, entitled "PELHAM MANOR MURMURS," was reprinted in the New Rochelle Press a week after it originally appeared in The Pelham Sun on April 23, 1910.

The article reports on a number of interesting issues including the baseball team of the Pelham Country Club and the location of the field on which it played, the state of disrepair of the horse watering fountain on Boston Post Turnpike at the Esplanade, and the newly-created U.S. Postal Service mail delivery service for Pelham Manor established in 1910 and operated out of the Pelham Manor Post Office.

The text of the article appears immediately below, followed by a citation and link to its source.   

Post Card View of the Horse Drinking Fountain at Boston

Post Road and Esplanade, Circa 1910, Referred to in the
"PELHAM MANOR MURMURS" ARTICLE.
NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

"PELHAM MANOR MURMURS
-----
(From the Pelham Sun, April 23).

The younger members of the Pelham Country Club, who has leased the old Iden residence, will organize a baseball team again this year.  They had one last year and played many successful games.  The diamond is situated three hundred feet west of Wolf's Lane, opposite the club house.

Miss Grace M. Hubbard's dancing class closed its season at the club house last Saturday.  The Misses Elizabeth Eyre, Elizabeth Tanner, Elizabeth Sawyer, Louise Abbott, Marguerite and Catherine Ferns, Eleanor Tyson and Helen Fairchild, combined with twelve little girls, made a very pretty picture.  The flower dance was especially fascinating and the class acquitted itself delightfully.

The shabby condition of the drinking fountain on the Boston Turnpike and the Esplanade is the subject of some comment in the Manor.  This fountain was presented to the village by Mrs. Iselin, of New Rochelle.  The bronze dogs at either side of the main trough are badly mutilated by wagon poles coming in contact with them.  The ornamental lamps that adorn the whole are sadly in need of paint and badly rusted.  On the whole, the fountain presents a rather neglected appearance.  

The Split Rock road is being improved by the employees of Pelham Bay Park and the conditions now stand in strong contrast with past years of neglect.  The brushes and shrubbery are being cut away for a distance of thirty feet on each side of the highway and it is now possible to drive there with a reasonable degree of safety.  Heretofore the sharp curves of the road have been hidden from view by dense foilage [sic] making autos and vehicles coming in an opposite direction obscured to each other until dangerously close.  Only an experienced driver dared negotiate the road during the past.  As this is the nearest highway between Pelham Manor and City Island and also draws considerable traffic from Mt. Vernon, East Chester and Yonkers, it can readily be seen that the course just pursuded by the Board of Park Commissioners is commendable.  Many residents of the Manor, daily, take an early morning drive down this historic and picturesque road.

The free delivery service recently instituted at the Pelham Manor post office is now in successful operation.  Two deliveries are made daily, at 7 a.m. and 4.15 p.m.  Carrier Benj. Hobson serves all that section which lies south of Boston Turnpike, with the exception of Pelhamdale avenue, and Carrier David Wagner serves the section north of Boston Turnpike.  Both of these are men of many years' experience as letter carriers and on the routes which they formerly served in New York they were highly regarded by the business men and residents.  At the time of delivery, collections of mail are made from the various street letter boxes that have been placed at convenient locations.  New arrivals and departures of mail are also in operation, thereby affording this section improved facilities.  The office, which is now a branch of the New York post office, is in charge of Superintendent L. Dreyfus who is assisted in the work by Clerk R. J. Wilson.  They also have behind them long years of service in the post office department and are well qualified to render to the public efficient service."

Source:  PELHAM MANOR MURMURS, New Rochelle Pioneer, Apr. 30, 1910, p. 6, col. 3 (reprinted from Apr. 23, 1910 issue of The Pelham Sun).  

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Abstracts of Audited 1884 Town Accounts for Pelham, New York Published in 1885

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The abstract of town accounts for the Town of Pelham in 1884 sheds interesting light on the day-to-day issues that faced the tiny little town.  Clearly a number of interesting issues faced the tiny town.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the abstract is the fact that so much in the way of town resources was spent on legal matters, attorneys, and the satisfaction of judgments against the Town.  There appear to have been two judgments entered against the town in favor of Edward L. Studwell totaling $881.78.  Additionally, attorneys representing the town were paid $1,383.07.  Thus, legal matters seem to have consumed $2,264.85 (the equivalent of $58,639.30 in 2014 dollars) -- about 19.82% of the total of town funds appropriated for the year 1884.  

In addition, it is clear that maintenance of the town's unpaved roads also was a difficult and expensive issue for the taxpayers.  Taxpayers also funded local care for the poor of the town including the funding of a poormaster as well as medical assistance for the poor.   

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes the published abstract of the 1884 audited town accounts of the Town of Pelham, published in 1885.

Map of Town of Pelham with Inset of City Island, 1868.

Source: Beers, F.W., Atlas of New York and Vicinity, p. 35 

(NY, NY: Beers, Ellis & Soule, 1868).

"ABSTRACT OF TOWN ACCOUNTS.

I hereby certify that the following are true and correct copies of the abstracts of the audited town bills of the several towns in the Second Assembly District of the county of Westchester presented to the Supervisors of said towns to the Board of Supervisors of said county, at its annual session for the year 1884:

Dated White Plains, Jan. 22, 1885.

CHARLES E. JOHNSON, Clerk.
-----

PELHAM.

Abstract of Accounts audited by the Board of Town Auditors of the town of Pelham, at their Annual Session, November 6, 10, 17, 20, 1884.

Claimant and Services.
Claimed.
Allowed.

Thomas McCrosson, salary as health officer
$130.00
$150.00 

Thomas McCrosson, for medical attendance, by order of poormaster
10.00
10.00

Wm. N. Baxter, overseer of the poor
50.00
........

Valentine B. Hall, constable
24.65
22.05

Alberto Ulmer, poll clerk
6.50
6.50

R. Vickery, carriage hire
5.00
5.00

R. Vickery, do.
36.00
36.00

W. S. Bertine, commissioner of excise
30.00
30.00

Charles Merritt, do. 
36.00
36.00

Fred. Vickery, carriage hire
3.00
3.00

Fred. Vickery, commissioner of highways
47.00
47.00

Wm. Munson, inspector of election
6.00
6.00

John G. Spies, interpreter
5.00
5.00

Daniel S. Pell, poll clerk
6.25
6.25

James Anderson, constable
68.60
61.00

Burton & Watson, for lumber for pound
30.89
30.89

E. A. Patterson, justice of the peace
42.75
42.75

Joseph B. Horton, member of board of health
12.00
12.00

Wm. Barry, commissioner of highways
50.59
50.59

Judgment in favor of Edward L. Studwell (assigned to C. E. Galis & Co.)
413.07
413.07

John Case, assessor
66.00
66.00

James Hyatt, supervisor
199.50
199.50

James D. Bell, ex-town clerk
169.29
153.09

Samuel T. Graham, town clerk
214.55
187.56

John N. Munson, constable
13.75
10.75

Bowne & Co., stationers
50.85
50.85

Chronicle, printing, Joseph S. Wood, proprietor
13.50
13.50

Dudley R. Horton, as counsel 
471.50
471.50

Grenzebach & Carpenter, for lumber
879.09
879.09

Mrs. Josephine Leviness, by order of poormaster
6.75
6.75

James B. Prout, commissioner of excise
9.00
6.00

Chas. Baxter, work and material

101.70
101.70

Chas. Baxter, assessor
76.00
70.00

Chas. Baxter, work and material
524.83
501.83

Chas. Bell, inspector of election
6.00
6.00

James F. Horton, assessor
76.00
76.00

Wm. Cockran, commissioner of highways
109.74
109.74

Edward Kelly, constable
13.75
12.85

W. R. Lamberton, town counsel
75.00
75.00

W. H. Carll, clerk of the court
2.00
2.00

David Carll, material for bridge 
33.15
33.15

Thomas Martin, justice of the peace
106.25
106.25

Wm. P. Cook, inspector of elections 
12.12
12.12

Wm. N. Baxter, overseer of the poor 
20.00
20.00

James H. Smith, printing
59.50
59.50

W. W. Waterhouse, commissioner of excise
36.00
36.00

I. S. Kinsey, work on town dock
39.00
39.00

Mt. Vernon Argus, for printing
41.00
41.00

Thomas McCrosson, medical attendance on poor
6.00
6.00

C. F. Heywood, medical attendance on poor
60.00
60.00

M. Hogan, justice of the peace
36.80
36.80

Jerome Bell, do.
57.40
57.40

M. J. Keogh, for legal services
219.07
219.07

M. J. Keogh, do.
78.00
78.00

M. J. Keogh, do.
160.50
160.50

M. J. Keogh, do.
250.00
250.00

M. J. Keogh, do.
50.00
50.00

M. J. Keogh, do.
38.00
38.00

M. J. Keogh, do.
50.00
50.00

M. J. Keogh, do.
66.00
66.00

Edgar Studwell, judgment (assigned to D. W. Pollock)
488.71
488.71

[Total Claimed]  $6,032.14
[Total Allowed]  $5,862.25

We, the undersigned, Board of Town Auditors of the town of Pelham, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct statement of bills against the town of Pelham, audited and allowed by us for the year 1884.

THOMAS MARTIN,
JEROME BELL,
E. A. PATTERSON, 
MICHAEL HOGAN, 

Justices of the Peace.

SAMUEL T. GRAHAM, Town Clerk.

I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the abstract of town accounts audited by the Board of Town Officers of the town of Pelham, on file in my office.

SAMUEL T. GRAHAM, Town Clerk.

TAXES.

State tax.....................$2,404.53
School tax..................  1,574.40
County tax.................   4,981.55
School Commissioner.      18.68

[Total Taxes]                8,979.16

APPROPRIATIONS.

To pay audited town bills
$5,862.25

To pay principal of City Island bridge bonds
2,000.00

To pay interest on town bonds
1,156.92

To repair culvert on Pelhamville avenue
25.00

To repair and grade Pelham lane
50.00

To repair and grade Pelham road
50.00

To repair and grade Boston turnpike
100.00

To balance due for repairing Pelhamdale avenue
58.00

To balance due for repairing Wolff lane
85.00

To balance due for repairing Old Boston road
75.00

To balance due for repairing 5th avenue, Pelhamville
67.00

To balance due for repairing 4th street, Pelhamville
65.00

To balance due for repairing City Island road
135.00

To balance due for repairing Shore road 
95.00

To balance due for repairing Pelham lane
125.00

To balance due for repairing culvert, Pelham lane
10.00

To balance due for repairing Boston turnpike
125.00

To balance due for Main street
265.00

To balance due for repairing culvert, Fordham avenue
50.00

To balance due for planking City Island bridge
65.00

For repairing and grading Main street
280.00

For grading Fordham avenue, west of Main street
100.00

For repairing and grading City Island road
360.00

For repairing and grading Wolff's lane
100.00

For grading and repairing Old Boston road
50.00

For grading and repairing 1st avenue, Pelhamville
30.00

[TOTAL APPROPRIATIONS]  $11,424.17"

Source:  ABSTRACT OF TOWN ACCOUNTS, Eastern State Journal [White Plains, NY], pr. 17, 1885, Supplement to Eastern State Journal, p. Supp. 2, col. 4.  

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Van Cott's Grove: Once a Famed Picnic Destination in 19th Century Pelham

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Over the years I repeatedly have run across references to "Van Cott's Grove" in the Town of Pelham.  I have puzzled over the references and have tried to determine precisely where Van Cott's Grove was located to no avail.  

Recently I mustered the energy to collect all the references I could find to "Van Cott's Grove" in an effort to pinpoint its location.  Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes many of the references I have collected and theorizes as to the location of Van Cott's Grove.

Van Cott's Grove was a major picnic destination for many in and around Pelham.  It seems to have been located near the water on a point located on Pelham Neck on the Rapelje estate.  It was known as a major picnic destination at least between the 1870s and the mid-1890s (and likely for a much longer period).

Many of the picnics at Van Cott's Grove were large and grand affairs sponsored by local Churches, Sunday Schools, and organizations including fraternal organizations.  Picnickers gathered a central locations and boarded horse drawn "excursion wagons" that were festively decorated.  Indeed, a local Mount Vernon business built a massive excursion wagon to ferry excursionists.  It named the wagon "The Pride of Westchester."  The picnics began with wagon departures in wagon trains of ten to thirteen wagons leaving at 9 a.m.  At Van Cott's Grove, excursionists put up hammocks, swings, and arranged row boats and sail boats to enjoy the adjacent waters.  The events often lasted all day, with the excursion wagons departing for home by about 6 p.m.

The Area Known as Van Cott's Grove Was a Popular Picnic Destination

The references to Van Cott's Grove as a popular picnic destination, particularly for churches, are legion.  Below are a few of the many, many examples I have located.

"LOCAL NEWS. . . . 

Perseverance Lodge, L. O. G. T., will hold their annual picnic at Van Cott's Grove, August 4. . . . 

The annual picnic of the Universalist Church and Sunday School, was held at Van Cott's Grove, on Thursday of this week. . . . 

The M. E. Sunday School picnic will be held at Van Cott's grove, on the 21st inst., and the M. E. Mission Sunday School picnic, at the same place, on the 28th inst."

Source:  LOCAL NEWS, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 9, 1880, Vol. XI, No. 564, p. 2, col. 6.  

"LOCAL NEWS. . . . 

The Reformed Church Sunday Scholo [sic] were the first in the field, or rather off for the grove, this year with their annual picnic.  It was held on Wednesday last at Van Cott's Grove near City Island.  It took ten excursion wagons to convey the picnickers to the grove; once there, those of the adults who had been previously delegated, swung hammocks and put up the swings.  Ten row boats were engaged and two sail boats were in attendance independently and with this amount of floating material there was no need for any one to return home without having had plenty of pleasure on the water.  The time was all industriously taken up.  At six o'clock the excursionists re-embarked in the wagons and the word having been given, they were headed for home where they arrived tired with a day's enjoyment."

Source:  LOCAL NEWS, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 14, 1882, Vol. XIII, No. 669, p. 3, col. 2.  

"LOCAL NEWS. . . . 

The annual picnic of the Seventh Avenue Lutheran Sunday-school will be held next Wednesday, in Van Cott's grove. . . . 

The annual excursion and picnic of the M. E. Sunday-school of this village will take place on Tuesday next, at Van Cott's grove, Pelham.  Tickets entitling the holder to transportation to and from the grove, are for sale by members of the school, at 50 cents each."

Source:  LOCAL NEWS, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 21, 1882, Vol. XIII, No. 670, p. 3, col. 1.  

"PRESBYTERIAN PICNIC.--The picnic of the Presbyterian Sunday School of this village at Van Cott's Grove, near City Island, on Wednesday last, was nicely gotten up and the programme fully carried out.  It was a highly entertaining affair to the children of the school and interesting to all who attended, old or young.  The day was all that could be desired, and at such a lovely spot as the one chosen, with a bountiful supply of refreshments at hand, it is no wonder the children and all were delighted.  This Sunday School at present numbers considerably over one hundred children and is in a very flourishing condition, reflecting much credit on both superintendent and teachers.  We certainly wish them the greatest prosperity."

Source:  PRESBYTERIAN PICNIC, The Pioneer [New Rochelle, NY], Jul. 22, 1882, Vol. XXIII, No. 15, p. 3, col. 3.  

"LOCAL NEWS. . . . 

Last Tuesday, the M. E. Sunday school of this village, held their annual picnic, at Van Cott's grove.  The day, although oppressively warm, was otherwise fine.  There was plenty of rowing and sailing, with the usual amount of land sports, so the children's cup of pleasure was well full."

Source:  LOCAL NEWS, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 28, 1882, Vol. XIII, No. 671, p. 3, col. 1.

"LOCAL NEWS. . . . 

The M. E. Mission Sunday School will have their annual picnic this year on the 27th inst.  They will go to Van Cott's grove."

Source:  LOCAL NEWS, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Aug. 15, 1884, Vol. XV, No. 778, p. 3, col. 1.

The Area Known as Van Cott's Grove Seems to Have Been on Pelham Neck

The area known as Van Cott's Grove seems to have been on Pelham Neck and encompassed, at least in part, a point of the neck with an old home on a "point" of the Neck located within the Rapelje estate.  In 1886, a brief reference to Van Cott's Grove shed some light on its location.  A much later reference addressing events that occurred during 1897 seemed to confirm the 1886 reference to the location of Van Cott's Grove.

The references are quoted immediately below.

"PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND. . . . 

Mrs. Holcombe hires the property on Pelham Neck, belonging to the Rapelye Estate, and known as Van Cott's Grove.  For about a year past, the old house on the point has been occupied by an old man named Richard Kinsella.  The building, until he went to it was utterly untenantable, but he fixed it up and made it habitable, and it is said expended, what was to him, considerable money.  Recently Mrs. Holcombe has wanted the house, and notified Kinsella to vacate, but failing to comply, on Tuesday last, he was ejected and his household effects set out on the street."

Source: PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], May 28, 1886, Vol. XVII, No. 884, p. 1, col. 4.  

Only about eight years later, it seems, the area became known as "Jack's Rock."  A reference published in 1895 reads as follows:

"Congregational Church. . . . 

The annual picnic of the First Congregational Church Sunday School will be held at Jack's Rock (old Van Cott's Grove) next Saturday, June 30th.  The School will assemble at 8.45 A.M., the stages to leave the church, Ninth avenue and Valentine street, at 9 o'clock.  Returning, the departure will be made from the grove at 5.30 P.M."

Source:  Congregational Church, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jun. 28, 1894, p. 3, col. 1.  

"Silver Anniversaries Came Fast.  In 1897, A Year Of Celebrations . . . 

During the months of July and August of this year (1897) there were a number of picnics of the different Sunday Schools and other organizations that were held mostly in Van Cott's Grove between Bartow and City Island, now a portion of Pelham Bay Park.  Transportation in those days was by picnic wagons and on one of these occasions there were 13 of them taking the M. E. Sunday School led by the newly designed vehicle built especially for Burr Davis & Son called the Pride of Westchester, which many of the old residents will doubtless remember as it became very popular for private picnics, etc."

Source:  Silver Anniversaries Came Fast.  In 1897, A Year Of Celebrations, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Oct. 18, 1930, p. 6, cols. 1-2.   

1881 Map Detail That Shows a Point Off the "Rapelyea" Estate

Immediately below is a detail from Bromley's 1881 map of Pelham and Pelham Manor focused on Pelham Neck.  On the upper part of the Neck is an area designated "Rapelyea Homestead."  There seems to be a pronounced point visible on the estate, likely the area once known as Van Cott's Grove and, later, Jack's Rock.  

Detail of 1881 Map of the Town of Pelham Showing Pelham Neck

and the "Rapelyea Estate."  Source: Bromley, George Washington

& Bromley, Walter Scott, "Town of Pelham, (With) Pelham-Manor. 

(From Actual Surveys and Official Records by G.W. Bromley & Co., 

Civil Engineers, Published by Geo. W. & Walter S. Bromley, 1881)"

in Atlas of Westchester County, New York, From Actual Surveys and

Official Records, pp. 56-57 (Washington, D.C.: G.W. Bromley & Co. 1881).

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Christmas in Pelham in 1926

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The Roaring Twenties were well underway in 1926.  It was a simpler time in a simpler town.  The commercial district in today's Village of Pelham would seem incredibly quaint to us today.  Yet, merchants at the time faced the same issues with advertisements running in local newspapers urging Pelhamites to "Buy in Pelham!"  

The merchants of the commercial district and the Chamber of Commerce, however, certainly new how to celebrate Christmas and attract shoppers!  In 1926, town shopkeepers pooled more than $600 (the equivalent of more than $8,000 in today's dollars).  They erected Christmas trees every hundred feet or so covered in red and white lights.  The evergreens extended from Sparks Avenue to a point 200 feet north of today's Lincoln Avenue.  The Chamber of Commerce hired a New York City based "electrical decorative specialist" for the work.  The brightly lit avenue welcomed shoppers Wolfs Lane and Fifth Avenue from December 16, 1926 to the New Year.  

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog is intended as a reminder that many of the festive traditions that Pelhamites embrace have long been embraced by our forbears.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all!

Front Page, The Pelham Sun "Christmas Edition"

Published on December 17, 1926.  NOTE:  Click

on Image to Enlarge.

"CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ON MAIN STREETS SHINE FOR FIRST TIME LAST NIGHT
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Merchants Contribute Over $600 to Provide for Illuminative Decoration Which Will Continue Until the New Year -- Chamber of Commerce Responsible For Movement
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Fifth avenue and Wolf's Lane were aglow last night with Christmas lights.  From Sparks avenue all along the main thoroughfare to 200 feet north of Fourth street [today's Lincoln Avenue], the street has been decorated with evergreens.  Every hundred feet or so two clusters of red and white lights are pendant from the guy wires of the street-car system.  The lights will shine every night until the end of the year.  

Credit for Pelham's attractive holiday lighting scheme must be given to the Chamber of Commerce.  President Wm. A. Rose and Messrs. Robert Ghames and Thomas Kennett, with Secretary Mrs. Charles Singer, are the committee responsible for the work.  The energy of Mrs. Singer and Robert Ghames was responsible for raising over $600 by voluntary contributions from the business men of the street.

Joseph Capone, electrical decorative specialist of New York City, obtained the contract for the work.  Pelhamites generally are expressing approval of the progressive spirit shown by the business men."

Source:  CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ON MAIN STREETS SHINE FOR FIRST TIME LAST NIGHT,  The Pelham Sun, Dec. 17, 1926, Vol. 17, No. 42, Third Section, p. 17, cols. 5-6.  

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Description of a "Pleasant Country Walk" in Pelham in 1878

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Pelham once was considered a pleasant country settlement just far enough from New York City to avoid the congestion and urban spillover from that behemoth but just close enough to be a recreational playground for those who wished to escape the city for the country.  In 1878, a travel writer described what it was like to take a "pleasant country walk" throughout Pelham, describing the countryside and local items of historic interest in detail.  The article is a quaint reminder of what Pelham once was like in days when it was mostly farmland interspersed with summer homes of the wealthy along the shore of Long Island Sound.

The article is transcribed in its entirety below, followed by a citation to its source.  

"Edgewood, Pelham" by Rickarby Miller, 1855.

Original Held in Private Collection.

This Painting Shows the Countryside of Pelham

and New Rochelle as It Once Looked, as Seen

From Long Island Sound.

"AS OTHERS SEE US.

A writer in the New York Times has of late been writing up a series of articles descriptive of the many delightful walks one can enjoy in the neighborhood of New York City.  Last Sunday he gave one in which he treated of this vicinity.

The choice of a route for walking is half the battle.  You need pleasant scenery, means of transportation to and from the city, good roads or paths, and, if possible, some historic interest, to enliven the mind with a little fancy of sentiment.  A map, to suit the walker, should indicate all the roads and the chief paths, the hills as well as the mountains, the waters as well as the swamps, the points of remarkable views and objects of historic interest, and the distances along every road.  Such maps are the delight of tourists in Switzerland, and the geographic basis of the millennium for the New York walker.  In the present lack of such a map here, one has to depend on the limited information to be gathered from others, or on the chances guessed from the railroad maps now published.  Hills and water courses are generally the most attractive features represented on the average map.  Choose, then, a route along some stream or shore, or over some range of mountains.  But the pleasure of a walk depends so much on details, that you never know whether you will be pleased or not till you have ended your labor.  My own troubles in this regard may be instructive to others, and therefore I shall tell the methods and the results of my last choice.  I knew in a general way that Westchester County had delightful scenery, many railroads, good country roads, and rich historical interest; but I did not know any particular line where these elements are united within the compass of a day's walk.  I asked my friends about the routes but received no definite information.  In this connection let me say that all good walkers may help the cause by taking me into their select circle, and sending me a statement of the desirable routes they know, the places of departure and arrival, the distances,, the general features of scenery along the road, and the objects of special interest to visit.  For I intend to perfect and extend these articles to make a little volume on the walks about New York.  In the lack of better sources I studied various maps of Westchester County, and, after some tribulation, decided to take the first walk near this city.  I reserve the remoter regions for future occasions.  After consulting history also, I concluded that an interesting route might be found from Kingsbridge, through Eastchester, Pelham Neck, New Rochelle to Rye Beach.  The question now was, would that route offer an interesting variety of woods, views, and details to make a pleasant walk?  I accordingly set out from Kingsbridge and walked, via Woodlawn, to Eastchester.  And, as in many other cases, I found that the way was not sufficiently entertaining to recommend, and that another route must be chosen and examined.  After other explorations, I concluded that either Westchester or Bartow is the best point to begin the walks along the Sound.  It is not to be concluded from this statement that there is no interest in the intervening region, but, as far as I have examined, the effects of civilization there are so numerous, and frequently so objectionable, that the region cannot offer pleasant country walks of any considerable length.  In regard to choosing routes, under the present lack of adequate directions, the practical advice to offer is therefore equally unsatisfactory and self evident.  Ask your friends, study the map, and then guess.

Out route, then, begins at Bartow, on Pelham Neck [sic], and extends along the Sound as far as the walker chooses to go.  Your train starts from Harlem Bridge.  With digressions to City Island and to Eastchester, the walk to New Rochelle is about 11 miles long.  The historic interests of the region and the beauty of the scenery will lead us to saunter along the shady ways, rather than in hurry for the sake of a long walk.  It may be well, therefore, to spend the day between Bartow and New Rochelle.  You may, however, take as an introduction the train from Westchester to Fort Schuyler, where a very extensive view is had up and down the Sound; then back to Schuylerville and on to Bartow -- a distance of about nine miles.

From Bartow Station go south along Pelham Neck to City Island.  The road is shaded by large trees, and bordered by stone walls, with gray lichens and climbing vines.  The old houses, orchards, and lanes of Pelham Neck have not lost the quiet spirit of the past.  The place refreshes you with silence, simplicity, and the effect of nature made domestic by human touches.  You cannot shut out the pleasant influence of spring when she meets you in such quiet nooks.  The meadows are now gemmed with dandelions; the winter wheat is already waving with the advanced graces of summer, and showing a deep rich green between plowed fields; the blackberry vines have crowned the walls with wreaths of crisp and crimpled leaves; the lilacs hold up their little cones of buds almost ready to flower, and the sweetbrier, with exquisite fragrance, already lures you to a seat by the hedge under the edge of the woods.  The forest is just coloring from gray to the olive tints of bursting buds; the willows across the field are soft clouds of green; the maples have almost lost their little tufts of coral flowers among their olive leaves; the horse-chestnut is spreading its palms above you; the larches are drooping with their soft green tassels studded here and there with a crimson cone; cherry trees are clouds of white blossoms, and pear and peaches are in full bloom.  The apple trees are just returning from their trance; they are still as shadowy and spiritual as if sketched by Corot.  But, on looking closer, you see that their clusters of leaves inclose [sic] a bouquet of dark-red buds, each in a silvery sheath.  They will soon bloom; so if you wish for a Mayday under the apple blossoms, hasten to the old orchard.  Pelham Neck was not always so peaceful as on this spring day.  The British landed here on the 18th of October, 1776.  Three or four American regiments came down from Eastchester to drive them off, and formed their line behind a stone wall.  They waited till the English came within very short range and then poured a destructive fire.  But the Americans were unable to stand against the enemy, superior in numbers, and at last were compelled to fall back to their camp, near Eastchester, while the British advanced along the Sound toward Connecticut.  The end of Pelham Neck, the old Browne homestead, is where Thomas Pell lived, who bought the Neck of the Indians in 1654.  Before that time this region was an important burial grounds of the Indians; for their graves have been found all over it, but chiefly on the Rapelje estate.  The neck was years ago a favorite resort of the fish-hawk.  This bird came, it is said, quite regularly at the vernal equinox to make its nest in the tall forests and live on the numerous fish along the neck.  It was regarded as a bird of good omen by the fishermen, and protected by their kindly superstition.

Pelham Bridge, from the neck to City Island [sic], was celebrated for bass fishing 30 and 40 years ago.  It could repeat many a long-drawn yarn of hook and line.  Great quantities of ducks and other water fowls were then killed about these islands.  Brothers of the angle still congregate at the bridge, but your chief interest now will be in the charming view of the Westchester shores, Points and bays of every size and form interlock the land and water with long arms.  The beaches curving here and there are peopled with great dumb rocks, shaggy with pendant locks of brown sea-weed.  Back of these are stone walls, and then the fields stretching away smooth and green in the woods.  Here and there an ancient house, bleak and silent, looks out of the forest, or the gables of a sumptuous villa rise above a grove on a knoll.  The waters are quite near and social, with the sloops at anchor in the bay, the fishing boats and groups of anglers, the sails and steamboats further off, and the many picturesque rocks and cultivated islands encircled by the waves.  The scene is filled with harmonious details of forest, field, beach, points, bays, and islands, all lighted and blended by the changing water.

If you wish a wider view of the Sound and of Long Island, go to the south side of City Island.  This name was given the island by its first ambitious owners, who laid it out for a large metropolis, and did some work in paving and flagging before they discovered the site was too exposed for shipping [sic].  Return to the main road across the neck, and proceed toward New Rochelle.  Take the first road leading north-north-east, and follow the telegraph wires to Easchester.  On your right, at this corner, is the old Bartow house, a large brown-stone mansion, in the Grecian style, with a wing at each end.  Under a very large oak on this estate the Indian chiefs sold these lands to Mr. Thomas Pell, in 1654.

Eastchester is on a knoll beside the salt meadows, and surrounded by low hills.  The old town now consists of a graveyard, St. Paul's Church, and ten locust trees. But the surroundings are pretty, with groves, slopes of green sod, the meadow with its brook, and the receding hills, diversified with plowed fields, fresh grain, orchards and farm houses.  The most attractive feature is the old stone church, rising above its vaults, graves and tottering trees -- a plain, weather beaten witness of historic incidents, that are interesting, though not of national importance.  Eastchester was founded in 1664.  In 1689 it furnished a company of 70 men to the Leisler party, 'who had all subscribed a solemn declaration to preserve the Protestant religion and the Fort of New York for the Prince of Orange and the Governor whom the Prince might appoint as their protector.'  The village green beside the church was the training-ground for that part of the county, and the place where the elections occurred.  The New York Weekly Journal of Dec. 24, 1733, in giving an account of the election of Mr. Lewis Morris, as representative of Westchester County, outlines a scene that would be a striking picture here to day.  The High Sheriff was suspected of undue partiality for the opposing candidate, and his announcement of the election did not state the hour of opening the polls; so about fifty of the voters passed the night on the green, to be ready for emergencies, and to notify their party if the polls were suddenly opened.  In those times people traveled but little, and generally went on horse-back, and lodged with their friends.  Many of the electors from beyond New Rochelle rode a part of the night, and then, not finding room in the crowded village, slept about a fire in the street.  They resumed their way before day, to be at the polls as early as possible.  They were joined on the hill near Eastchester -- Prospect Hill -- by about 70 horsemen from the lower part of the county; here they formed in the following order, and marched down the hill toward the church; first rode two trumpeters and three violinists; next, four of the chief freeholders, one of whom carried a banner with 'King George' on one side and 'Liberty and Law' on the other, in gold capitals; then followed the candidate, Lewis Morris, Esq., ex-Chief Justice of the Province; next two colors, and finally about 300 horsemen, the chief freeholders of the county.  At sunrise they entered the village green and found themselves the first on the ground, and after riding around the place three times, they took their position in front of the houses of Fowler and Child.  At about 11 o'clock the opposite candidate appeared with a similar cavalcade.  They rode twice around the green and exchanged formal bows with their rivals.  But the elements thus parading were soon stirred up by closer contact and the shouts of 'No land tax!' and 'No Excise!' led on the turmoil to still more excitement.  About noon the High Sheriff came to town finely mounted and decked in the trappings of the old official splendor, with housings and holster-caps of scarlet, richly laced with silver.  Then the canvass began, and soon to an uproarious scene like the husting contests in England.  The result of the voting was at last demanded; the sheriff would not announce it; more demands and more evasions finally brought a clamor for polling.  Seats were erected under the trees and the freeholders proceeded to cast their votes.  The Sheriff illegally refused the ballots of a large number of wealthy Quakers unless they would swear on the Bible to their possession of property well known to the whole company.  The Quakkers would solemnly affirm, but they would not swear.  Sore complaints and even threates failed to correct the Sheriff's dishonesty; but for all that, Morris was elected.  Then the Sheriff express the hope that his mistake would be overlooked by Mr. Morris, who assured him his conduct had made him liable to prosecution for £10,000 damages. When all was done, the whole body of electors escorted their new representative to his lodgings, with the sounding of trumpets, the playing of violins, and the general rejoicing of everybody.  Now, all this occurred at the polling of only 269 votes.  And the news of the election was 14 days on the way to Boston by the stage on the Kingsbridge turnpike, passing through the green, and the news from Boston returned by the same route in 14 days.  The road had been built in 1671, but the first line of stages between New York had not been started until 1733.  The village green was also the place for less attractive scenes.  The village stocks stood there in 1720.  One of the ten old locusts yet standing, though without head or heart, had an iron staple imbedded [sic] in its side for holding culprits sentenced to public flogging.  This relic has recently been stolen by some person strangely moved by fear, mercy and acquisitiveness.

St. Paul's Church of Eastchester was built in 1764.  It is a very plain alone pile, with brick facings.  It has very little claim to beauty, but its weather-beaten walls and unpretending spire make an impression of honest service.  It is said the church was used as a hospital during the revolution.  Afterward it was the Court-house.  In the vestry room is a subpoena written by Aaron Burr summoning one John Green to appear as a witness at the Church of Eastchester on the 12th of June, 1787; and, among other old papers, a sermon delivered by the Rev. John Bartow, in 1722.  One piece of the silver service was presented by Mrs. John Quincy Adams.  Over the altar is a large painting by Edmonds, at one time a vestryman of St. Paul's, illustrative of the text 'And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance and judgment to come, Felix trembled.'  A tablet in the wall reads:  'To the memory of the Rev. Thomas Standard, A. M., M. D., a missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, the second Rector of this Church, inducted June 8, 1727.'  I climbed up the ladders of the belfry, through its square rooms of rough but honest and solid masonry, where the old mahogany communion table and other relics stay in becoming yet touching exclusion; upward again, where the wind moaned inj dim corners and shook the old timbers with irreverent glee; and at last came out on top, beside the bell.  This bears the inscription, 'The gift of Rev. Thomas Standard, 1758, Lester and Pack fecit.'  During the Revolution it was buried by the congregation to save it from being melted for war purposes.  The view is charming of the winding brook in the meadows, the receding hills varied with groves, orchards and farm houses.  But the graveyard below is the most attractive sight, with its plain marble slabs, its turf covered vaults, and its moldy-gray head stones, dating back even as far as 1704 and 1711.  Some old willows losing their locks, the ten old locusts tottering on the verge of the grave, a neighboring house of the olden time crumbling to pieces, and the silent plain old church, all inspire the mind with peace and regeneration.  But when you go out into the road again, if you wish for still older relics, you can be gratified with an antiquity equal to any yearning.  A large rock on the farm of Mr. Charles Schieffelin, west of the church, bears the impress of a human foot.  There you can ponder to your heart's content on the course of time.

Resume your route by going over Prospect Hill to Pelham Manor, and down to the shore road at Christ Church, Pelham.  The neighborhood is charming with varied scenery and pleasant roads and architecture.  The Pelham Priory is just west of the church on the shore road.  It is a picturesque house of brown stone in the old English style, with gables, towers and climbing vines that become its surroundings of woods and a rocky glen.  This residence of the Bolton family, one of whom wrote the History of Westchester County, has many works of art and objects of historic interest.  

The remainder of the walk to New Rochelle is delightful, through a fertile region made romantic by its scenes along the shore, and by its historic interest worthy of careful study.

C. H. F."

Source:  AS OTHERS SEE US, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], May 3, 1878, Vol. IX, No. 450, p. 1, cols. 3-7.   

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