Historic Pelham: The Beginnings of Today's Shore Park in Pelham Manor

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Today's posting to the Historic Pelham documents the early history of the development of "Manor Shore Park," the name of the Village of Pelham Manor Park known by most residents as "Shore Park." For any who ever have wondered why use of the park is limited to residents of the Village of Pelham Manor and their guests, read below.

Town of Pelham Builds a Town Dock

Since at least the early 1870s, Pelham residents longed to have easy public access to Long Island Sound near the end of today's Pelhamdale Avenue where it intersects with today's Shore Road. In 1871, Pelham resident 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 extending into Long Island Sound for use of the Town of Pelham. The easement Roosevelt conveyed to the Town included a critical condition that provided as follows:

"And it is further agreed that in case the party of the second part [i.e., the Town of Pelham] shall fail to maintain the said dock for the use of the town and shall abandon the same, then and in that case this grant shall become null and void and the said right of way shall cease and determine, and the party of the first part, his heirs or assigns, shall be at liberty to close the same and exclude all persons therefrom."

The Town of Pelham built the planned dock. The area where the dock was built was known locally as "Shoals Harbor." The Town Dock Pelham built at Shoals Harbor extended quite distant from the shore, hundreds of feet into the Sound so that it could be used to access the water even when the tide receded. It became known as the "Town Dock."

A few remnants of pilings stand roughly where the the Town Dock once stood. Pelham resident Paul Mottola points out that those piling remnants were installed for the starting docks for a rowing course that was built for the 1964 U.S. Olympic team trials and that they were still functional up through the early 1980s.

Remnants of Pilings Believed to Be from the Starting Dock
Built for the 1964 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Still Visible Along

the Southern Edge of Today's Shore Park (Thank You to Paul Mottola).
Photograph by the Author, Taken on April 18, 2015.

Remnants of Pilings Believed to Be from the Starting Dock
Built for the 1964 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Still Visible Along

the Southern Edge of Today's Shore Park (Thank You to Paul Mottola).
Photograph by the Author, Taken on April 19, 2015.

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.

Area Owners Begin to Purchase Rights to Underwater Lands

In 1888, the New York Athletic Club purchased nearby Travers Island as the site for the Club's new summer clubhouse. Travers Island was nearly adjacent to the Town Dock that extended into Long Island Sound. Included as part of the Club's purchase was certain surrounding "land under water" to permit the club to enlarge the island and, later, to connect it to the mainland more substantially than through a mere causeway.

The move by the New York Athletic Club to include adjacent lands "under water" as part of its purchase may have prompted other nearby property owners over the next few years to acquire similar such underwater interests. Among such nearby property owners was Adele Stevens Allen, wife of Frederick Hobbes Allen and owner of Pelham Priory on Shore Road across from the Town Dock. In the late 1890s, Adele Stevens Allen purchased from the State of New York underwater lands extending into the Long Island Sound adjacent to those acquired by the New York Athletic Club.

The Town of Pelham Loses its Easement and is Barred from Use of its Dock

Pelham residents used the Town Dock for many years. By the turn of the century, however, the Town Dock was in a terrible state of disrepair. In September, 1902, persons including a man named Augustus V. H. Ellis purchased the land that included the right of way to what was left of the Town Dock from the heirs of Elbert J. Roosevelt.

Apparently fearing that the poorly-maintained Town Dock might be deemed by Ellis and the other new owners of the property to be out of compliance with the condition that it be "maintained" for the use of the Town as required by the easement, Pelham attempted to repair the dock. The new owners blocked the effort, claiming that the Town had breached a condition in the grant of the right of way to the dock by failing to maintain it for the use of the Town. They commenced a lawsuit to clear title to the land by cutting off the right-of-way across their land and ending the easement owned by the Town of Pelham. Ultimately, New York courts agreed with the new owners' claims. The Town of Pelham lost its right to use what was left of the Town Dock for access to Long Island Sound. To read one of a number of reported opinions issued by courts in the case, see Ellis, et al. v. Town of Pelham, 106 A.D. 145, 94 N.Y. Supp. 103 (App. Div. 2d Dep't 1905).

I have written before about the circumstances leading to the Town's loss of the Town Dock. See:

Fri., Jan. 06, 2006: Pelham Loses its Right To Use the Town Dock in the Early 1900s.

Wed., Dec. 31, 2014: Town of Pelham Seeks Grant of Underwater Land to Build Town Dock in 1871.

The Village of Pelham Manor Acquires Land on the Mainland for a Shorefront Park

For more than two decades after the Town of Pelham lost access to its dock, Pelham residents were left with no easy public access to Long Island Sound from the area where Pelhamdale Avenue intersects Shore Road. As the Roaring Twenties progressed, however, the Village of Pelham Manor began to covet such access. A portion of the land was still owned by Augustus V. H. Ellis who was among those who had bought it in 1902 and had successfully blocked the Town of Pelham from the use of its former easement.

During the Spring of 1927, the Village of Pelham Manor entered into a contract with Augustus V. H. Ellis to acquire 1.1 acres of land on the mainland where the Town Dock once stood. The Village hoped the land would eventually become part of a much larger parcel to serve as a major recreational park with bulkheads intended to provide easy access to the Sound even when the tide was out. According to an announcement at the time:

"On the proposed park site, property rights extend for several hundred feet into the Sound and the territory made between can be bulkheaded and filled in order that the village may enjoy shore front advantages regardless of tide conditions. The program of improvement is an extensive one and includes the installation of a fully equipped recreation center." (See article below.)

The Village of Pelham Manor Supplements its Purchase by Acquiring Underwater Lands Off the Shore of its New Property

In 1929, after the New York Athletic Club had used landfill to create new land attached to the mainland connecting Travers Island to the real estate along Shore Road, the Village of Pelham Manor was able to convince Mrs. Adele Stevens Allen to sell her interest in the underwater lands adjacent to those of the New York Athletic Club to the Village of Pelham Manor for $57,860. The Village prevailed upon Mrs. Allen to sell her interest to permit it to create a new park for the benefit of residents of the Village of Pelham Manor.

In conveying her underwater interest to the Village, however, Adele Stevens Allen included a restriction that the property "shall be utilized for the purpose of a public park for the residents of the Village of Pelham Manor exclusively." The only exceptions to this restriction were that the property could be sold to the New York Athletic Club (that owned property on one side of her underwater interest) or to Augustus V. H. Ellis (who owned property on the other side of her interest) free and clear of the deed restriction. See Westchester County Records of Land Conveyances, Liber 2951, Folio 9 (special thanks to Pelham Manor resident and New York Athletic Club member Mark Gaffney for providing the citation and a copy of the deed.)

In short, for those who wonder why the Village of Pelham Manor continues to restrict use of Shore Park to its own residents and their guests even to this day, it is to preserve its continuing ownership of the underwater property on which most of Shore Park is built through continued compliance with the deed restriction imposed by Mrs. Adele Stevens Allen in 1929.

The Unbuilt Park Becomes Known as "Beecroft's Beach"

The underwater lands were not filled promptly and, thus, the planned park was not constructed before the advent of The Great Depression. Soon after the Great Depression began, the planned park was derisively called "Beecroft's Beach" apparently in honor of former Pelham Town Supervisor Edgar C. Beecroft who was in office when the Town lost its right to use the Town Dock. In 1932, the local newspaper reported:

"'Beecroft's Beach' is apparently a lasting name. When we used it jokingly a few years ago in reference to the proposed shorefront park in Pelham Manor little did we think that it would become a political issue. The Democrats' criticism of the park prompted increased interest in the future garden sport and it is evident that the name will stick. * * * Campaign propaganda is not without its humor, and at the meeting of the Pelham Manor Village Board on Monday night there were frequent references to the Democrats charge that 'Beecroft Beach' was a breeding place for mosquitoes. When a sudden hailstorm sounded on the roof of the building one wag suggested that it might be 'the mosquitoes.'"

Source: [Untitled], The Pelham Sun, Mar. 17, 1932, p. 12, col. 2.

Over time, of course, landfill was used to create Mannor Shore Park. Eventually, the landfill was sealed with a membrane and landscaped to become the lovely and inviting park that serves Pelham Manor residents and their guests today. The story of how all of that came to pass, however, is another story for another day. . . .

* * * * *

Below is text of a number of articles relevant to the beginnings of Shore Park.

"Manor To Acquire Shorefront Land For Village Park
-----
Ten Acre Section to Be Taken Over By Village At Cost of $40,000 For Development As Recreation Center
-----
Site Was Formerly Town Dock Which Was Lost By Failure of Town to Care For Property
-----

Approximately one half mile of Long Island Sound shorefront property is to be acquired by the Village of Pelham Manor for the purpose of improvement as a park for the benefit of the residents of the village. Such acquisitiion will afford an opportunity for the residents of the village to enjoy aquatic pleasures without expense incident to membership in Shore or Beach clubs. At the meeting of the Board of Trustees held Tuesday night the Village fathers voted to take up the proposition. It will entail an expenditure of $40,000. Under the amended Village Law which becomes effective July 1, this amount can be appropriated in a bond issue without submitting the proposal to the taxpayers at a special election.

The proposed park covers approximately ten acres and is situated between the property of the New York Athletic Club and the property of Arthur W. Cole [a real estate developer of the time]. It is now owned by A. V. H. Ellis and the Westchester County Park Commission. The first step in the program has already been consummated by the execution of a contract with Mr. Ellis for the acquisition of 1.1 acres of the property. The village expects to acquire a part of the remaining properties through negotiation with the Park Commission.

The property includes the site of the old Town Dock, which was granted to the Town of Pelham in 1880 by Isaac Roosevelt [sic, actually Elbert J. Roosevelt]. Stipulation was made at the time of the grant that the town should forever maintain his property as a dock. Subsequently the grantors contended that the town had not fulfilled its part of the contract and after lengthy litigation, the Court of Appeals rendered decision that the town had forfeited the right to the property.

While the Town of Pelham is fortunate enough to have a substantial water front, no means of access to the water have been provided for its citizens. On the proposed park site, property rights extend for several hundred feet into the Sound and the territory made between can be bulkheaded and filled in order that the village may enjoy shore front advantages, regardless of tide conditions. The program of improvement is an extensive one and includes the installation of a fully equipped recreation center."

Source: Manor To Acquire Shorefront Land For Village Park, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 3, 1927, Vol. 18, No. 15, p. 1, col. 1.