The Eastchester Bridge Company Raised Tolls on Pelham Bridge Before It Was Even Built

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On March 6, 1812, the New York State Legislature enacted a statute incorporating the "Eastchester Bridge Company" and authorizing it to build a bridge over the Hutchinson River where it empties into Eastchester Bay.  I have written before about that initial authorizing statute.  See  Mon., May 12, 2014:  The March 6, 1812 New York Statute Authorizing Construction of the Pelham Bridge.  

The first Pelham Bridge was built between June 4, 1814 and March 18, 1815.  Shortly before construction of the bridge began, however, the Eastchester Bridge Company was able to obtain an amendment to the original March 6, 1812 statute authorizing construction of the bridge and granting the exclusive toll franchise to the company for a period of thirty years.

On March 25, 1814, New York passed "An ACT to amend an act, entitled 'an act to Incorporate the Eastchester Bridge Company,'" 37th Sess. Ch. LIV.  The amended statute did several things to benefit the Eastchester Bridge Company.  It extended the exclusive toll franchise period from thirty years to thirty-five years.  It substantially increased the amounts of the tolls the company was authorized to charge for crossing the bridge.  The original statute required the company to account annually to the comptroller for monies received and expended.  The amended statute repealed this obligation, alleviating some of the company's administrative burdens.  

The amended statute added penalties that could be enforced in court against any disgruntled travelers who damaged the bridge or its facilities or who made it past the toll gate without paying the required toll.  Moreover, in recognition of the fact that the War of 1812 was raging at the time the statute was amended, the amendments required the company to allow Federal and state troops and their wagons, carriages, and equipment to cross the bridge toll free.

The increased tolls seem amusing today.  The amended statute authorized the following tolls:

• every four wheeled pleasure carriage with two or more horses, nineteen cents; 
• every two wheeled pleasure carriage and horses, ten cents; 
• every pleasure sleigh and horses, ten cents; 
• every common waggon and horses, six cents; 
• every stage-waggon and horses, twelve and an half cents; 
• every common sled and horses, six cents; 
• every ox cart and oxen six cents; 
• every horse cart and horse, five cents; 
• carriages of all kinds, drawn by mules, shall pay the same tolls as if they were drawn by horses; 
• every man and horse or mule, five cents; 
• every horse, mule, ox, cow or steer, one cent; and
• every dozen hogs, sheep or calves, and so in proportion for a greater or less number, six cents; for every foot passenger, one cent.

Once these increased tolls were authorized by New York State, it appears that the Eastchester Bridge Company was prepared to move forward.  Within the next few months construction began on the famed Pelham Bridge, the first bridge to cross the Hutchinson River where it meets Eastchester Bay.  

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Below is the text of the statute that forms the basis for today's article.  It is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"CHAP. LIV.

An ACT to amend an act, entitled 'an act to Incorporate the Eastchester Bridge Company.'

Passed March 25, 1814.

Recital.

WHEREAS the president and directors of the Eastchester Bridge Company, have by their petition to the legislature under their corporate seal, prayed that certain amendments may be made to the act whereby they are incorporated:  Therefore, 

Corporation confirmed and continued.

I.  BE it enacted by the People of the state of New-York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That the persons created a body politic and corporate in and by the act hereby amended, and their successors, shall be and continue a body politic and corporate, by the names and with all the powers and privileges in the said act mentioned, for and during the term of thirty-five years and no longer, any thin in the said act to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding.

7th sec. of former now repealed.

II.  And be it further enacted, That the seventh section of the said act hereby amended,be and the same is hereby repealed.

Toll which may be demanded.

III.  And be it further enacted, That instead of the toll which by the said act the said company are authorized to demand of of all persons passing the said bridge, a toll not exceeding the following rates, to wit:  For every four wheeled pleasure carriage with two or more horses, nineteen cents; for every two wheeled pleasure carriage and horses, ten cents; for every pleasure sleigh and horses, ten cents; for every common waggon and horses, six cents; for every stage-waggon and horses, twelve and an half cents; for every common sled and horses, six cents; for every ox cart and oxen six cents; for every horse cart and horse, five cents, and carriages of all kinds, drawn by mules, shall pay the same tolls as if they were drawn by horses; for every man and horse or mule, five cents; for every horse, mule, ox, cow or steer, one cent; for every dozen hogs, sheep or calves, and so in proportion for a greater or less number, six cents; for every foot passenger, one cent;

Power of toll-gatherer.

and it shall be lawful for the toll-gatherer at the said gate, to stop any person or persons from passing through the said gate until they shall have respectively paid the toll herein allowed to be collected:  Provided always nevertheless, That any troops in the service of this state or of the United States and all artillery waggons and other carriages and stores of every kind belonging to this state or to the United States, shall be permitted to pass the said bridge free of toll.

Penalty for injuring the bridge, &c.

IV.  And be it further enacted, That if any person or persons shall wilfully do, or cause to be done, any act whereby the said bridge to be erected as aforesaid, or any thing appertaining thereto, or the toll-house or gate of the said company shall be destroyed or injured, the person or persons so offending, shall pay and forfeit to said corporation, double the amount of the damages sustained by such offence or injury, to be recovered by the said corporation with costs of suit, in an action of trespass, in any court of record having cognizance thereof, which action shall in every instance be considered as transitory in its nature.

Penalty for not paying toll.

V. And be it further enacted, That if any person or persons shall pass the gate to be erected in pursuance of this act, or shall cause his, her or their horse, carriage, waggon, cart, sleigh, sled, cattle, or other thing or things to pass the said gate without having paid the legal toll therefor, every such person shall forfeit and pay ten dollars for every such offense, to be recovered by the said company for their use, in an action of debt, in any court having cognizance thereof, and which action shall be considered as transitory in nature.

[Note. -- The Eastchester bridge company, was incorporated March 6, 1812. -- Sess. 35, c. 22  --  Its charter was originally limited to 30 years.  --  The 7th section of the act amended, and which is repealed by this emendatory [sic] act, required the company to account annually to the comptroller for monies received, expended, &c.  --  The toll is considerably increased by this act, as will be seen by comparing its 3d section with the 5th section of the original act, but the company are to allow troops, &c. to pass toll free.  --  [See proviso to section 3.]  --  The original act did not provide for injuries, &c. done to the bridge, and for frauds, &c. upon the toll-gatherer -- this is remedied by section 4 and 5.]"

Source:  37th Sess., CHAP. LIV., An Act to amend an act, entitled 'an act to Incorporate the Eastchester Bridge Company, Laws of the State of New-York, Passed at the Thirty-Sixth, Thirty-Seventh and Thirty-Eighth Sessions of the Legislature, Commencing November 1812, and Ending April 1815, Vol. III, pp. 53-54 (Albany, NY:  Websters and Skinners, 1815).

"Pelham Bridge in 1865 From a sketch by W. J. Wilson"

Source: Jenkins, Stephen, The Story of the Bronx From

the Purchase Made by the Dutch from the Indians in

1639 to the Present Day, Opposite p. 318 (NY and 

London: G.P. Putnam's Sons The Knickerbocker Press,

1912).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Below are examples of previous postings that address the histories of the various Pelham Bridges that have spanned Eastchester Bay for the last two centuries.

Wed., Oct. 12, 2016:  More on the Early History of Pelham Bridge Including Ownership of the Bridge Between 1834 and 1860.

Tue., Oct. 11, 2016:  Is It Possible The First Pelham Bridge Built in About 1815 Was Repaired After Near Destruction by a Storm?

Wed., Oct. 1, 2014:  Bridge Keepers of the Pelham Bridge from 1870 to 1872.

Mon., Jul. 21, 2014:  Image of the Second Pelham Bridge Built in 1834 From a Sketch Created in 1865.

Thu., Jul. 17, 2014:  Sabotage Brought Down the 70-Ton Draw Span of Pelham Bridge in 1908 and Delayed its Opening. 

Tue., Jun. 10, 2014: Construction of the Concrete Arch Pelham Bridge.

Mon., May 12, 2014: The March 6, 1812 New York Statute Authorizing Construction of the Pelham Bridge.

Tue., Sep. 22, 2009: Names of Early "Keepers of Pelham Bridge" Appointed by Westchester County.

Thu., Jan. 08, 2009: Another Brief History of The Pelham Bridge.

Thu., Jan. 1, 2009: A Brief History of Pelham Bridge.

Wed., Jan. 2, 2008: New York State Senate Report on Petition by Inhabitants of Westchester to Allow Construction of Toll Bridge Across Eastchester Creek in 1834.

Tue., Aug. 28, 2007: The Laying Out of Pelham Avenue From Fordham to Pelham Bridge in 1869.

Wed., Jul. 4, 2007: 1857 Real Estate Advertisement for Sale of the Pelham Bridge.

Fri., Jul. 22, 2007: 1857 Real Estate Advertisement for Sale of "Country Seat" at Pelham Bridge.

Fri., May 18, 2007: Celebration at Pelham Bridge in 1872.

Wed., May 16, 2007: Board of Supervisors of Westchester County Vote to Build New Iron Bridge to Replace Pelham Bridge in 1869.

Tue., May 15, 2007: The Owner of the Pelham Bridge Hotel Sold it for the Princely Sum of $22,000 in 1869.

Mon., May 14, 2007: Plans to Widen Shore Road in the Town of Pelham in 1869.

Fri., May 11, 2007: A Sad Attempted Suicide at Pelham Bridge in 1869.

Thu., Dec. 08, 2005: The First Stone Bridge Built Across Eastchester Creek in Pelham, 1814-1815.

Thu., Aug. 18, 2005: The Opening of the New Iron "Pelham Bridge" in 1871.

Tue., Aug. 9, 2005: Cock Fighting at Pelham Bridge in the 19th Century.

Thu., Jul. 21, 2005: Today's Remnants of the Bartow Station on the Branch Line Near City Island.

Tue., Jun. 28, 2005: The Hotel and Bar Room at Pelham Bridge.

Thu., Mar. 24, 2005: The Bartow Area of Pelham in the 19th Century: Where Was It?

Wed., Mar. 23, 2005: Prize Fighting at Pelham Bridge in 1884.

For more about the Pelham Bridge and its history, see Pelham Bridge, Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelham_Bridge (visited May 6, 2014).

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."

Is It Possible The First Pelham Bridge Built in About 1815 Was Repaired After Near Destruction by a Storm?

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."

The first Pelham Bridge over the Hutchinson River where it empties into Eastchester Bay was built by about 1815 and was destroyed within its first few years by a major storm.  According to longstanding conventional wisdom, the bridge was not rebuilt until 1834 when George Rapelje built a replacement bridge and received the right to charge tolls on the bridge for thirty years.  Is it possible that the conventional wisdom is wrong?  Is it possible that a replacement bridge or, perhaps, a temporary structure was built on the remnants of the original Pelham Bridge?  Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog will explore this possibility.

Brief History

According to longstanding history of the Pelham Bridge, on March 6, 1812, the New York State Legislature enacted a statute incorporating the "Eastchester Bridge Company" to build a bridge over the Hutchinson River where it empties into Eastchester Bay.  The bridge was built shortly afterward and is believed to have been completed by about 1815.  In 1817, the Westchester and Pelham Turnpike Company was incorporated to construct a turnpike from the causeway at Westchester to the bridge.  That bridge came to be known as "Pelham Bridge" -- the name it bears today.  Even in its first iteration, Pelham Bridge was a draw bridge to permit masted ships to pass. 

On April 12, 1816, the company was authorized by the Legislature to sell its property and toll franchise for a period of forty-five years. Within its first few years, however, the first Pelham Bridge was destroyed by a storm.  The second bridge was built in 1834 by George Rapelje, with the right to charge tolls for a period of thirty years, but the supervisors of Westchester County purchased the bridge in 1860 and made it free.  The bridge was replaced with an iron bridge constructed in 1869-1870.  That bridge, in turn, was replaced by the present larger bridge, opened by the New York City Department of Bridges on October 15, 1908.

When Was the First Pelham Bridge Constructed?

A local real estate advertisement published on March 18, 1815 describes the bridge as "the new bridge lately erected across the mount of East Chester Creek."  (See full advertisement quoted below.)  Thus, it seems certain that the bridge was completed at least by mid-March, 1815.  

The bridge, it seems, was built between June 4, 1814 and March 18, 1815.  This can be deduced from an advertisement published on June 4, 1814 stating:

"EASTCHESTER BRIDGE COMPANY.

PROPOSALS will be received by the Company for the building of a Stone Bridge across Eastchester creek, from the town of Pelham to Throgs-neck, the distance across computed about thirteen hundred feet; any person inclining to contract for the erection thereof are desired to call on Mr. JAMES HARVEY, in the town of Pelham near New-Rochelle, county of Westchester, who will exhibit a survey of the creek, and enter into such other explanations as may be required.

May 13 -- 3w"

Source:  EASTCHESTER BRIDGE COMPANY, New-York Evening Post, Jun. 4, 1814, p. 4, col. 5.  See also  EASTCHESTER BRIDGE COMPANY, New-York Evening Post, Jun. 2, 1814, p. 4, col. 5; East-Chester Bridge Company, Connecticut Courant, May 31, 1814, p. 4, col. 2.  

When was the First Pelham Bridge Destroyed by a Storm and Flood?

Within about a year of the completion of the first Pelham Bridge and perhaps sooner, the new structure was destroyed by "an extraordinary storm and flood."  The destructive storm may have occurred only a few months after the bridge was built.  Indeed, on October 18, 1815, an illuminating advertisement appeared in the New-York Evening Post suggesting that something -- perhaps the storm -- had damaged the piers of the "East-Chester Bridge."  The advertisement stated:

"NOTICE TO DOCK BUILDERS.

PROPOSAL will be received by Mr. James Harvey in the town of Pelham, to repair the damages done to the Piers of the East-Chester Bridge, if made immediately.

Pelham, October 16, 1815.

Oct 17 iw"

Source:  NOTICE TO DOCK BUILDERS, New-York Evening Post, Oct. 18, 1815, p. 3, col. 4.  

Certainly by March 11, 1816, the first Pelham Bridge had been destroyed.  On that date, according to a newspaper report, the New York Assembly was referred a petition described as:

"Petitions referred -- . . . declaratory of an act, entitled an act to incorporate the East Chester bridge company, passed March 6, 1812 -- of Herman Le Roy and others, stockholders in the East Chester bridge Company, praying that a law may be passed, authorising them to make such sales as are therein mentioned, and upon certain conditions, there particulalry specified."

Source:  Legislature of New-York, House of Assembly, Monday, March 11, New York Herald, March 16, 1816, p. 3, col. 2.  

New York State soon passed such a law.  Within a month, on April 12, 1816, it passed "AN ACT for the relief of the President and Directors of the Eastchester Bridge Company and their Creditors" with a preamble that stated, in part, as follows:

"it is represented to the legislature, by the stockholders in the corporation created by the act, entitled 'an act to incorporate the Eastchester bridge company,' that the bridge erected by the said company, over the Eastchester creek, in pursuance of the said act, has been destroyed by an extraordinary storm and flood; That the funds of the company are inadequate to rebuild it; and that the said corporation is moreover largely indebted to the builders and workmen who were employed in its erection."

The statute authorized the President and Directors of the Eastchester Bridge Company to sell at auction "the remains of the said bridge, and all the other property and estate of the said corporation, to the highest bidder or bidders."  It further provided that the purchaser would be "authorized to rebuild the said bridge, in the manner required by the said act, provided the same be completed by the first day of August, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventeen."

Only one week later, on April 19, 1816, notice appeared in a local newspaper whereby a committee consisting of Pelham residents John Hunter, James Harvey, William Bayard, and Tolbert Roosevelt provided public notice that "all the remains of the bridge lately erected by the said Company across the Eastchester Creek, and all the estate of the Company" would be sold at public auction "at the Tontine Coffee House, in the city of New-York, on Friday the seventh day of June next, at twelve o'clock at noon."  No report of the resullt of the public auction, if it was held, has yet been found.  That said, it certainly seems that the first Pelham Bridge was not rebuilt by August 1, 1817.  There are, however, intriguing suggestions that some form of bridge, temporary or otherwise, may have been built on the site (or on the remnants) within five or six years.

Some Real Estate Advertisements Later Reference a Bridge at the Site

 On March 31, 1821, a real estate advertisement offering the old George Rapalje estate on Pelham Neck for sale made no mention of a bridge across Eastchester Creek.  In contrast, six years earlier when the bridge was first erected and before its destruction by an "extraordinary storm and flood," an advertisement for sale of the same property made much of the "new bridge lately erected across the mount of East Chester Creek."  This certainly suggests -- but certainly does not establish -- that the first Pelham Bridge had not yet been rebuilt.  

Nearly one year later, however, Peter and George Lorillard offered for sale a 105-acre tract in the same area by referencing in their advertisement the Pelham Bridge.  The ad stated:

"Also, 105 acres of land in the town of Pelham, adjoining East Chester Creek, near the bridge; being about 18 or 20 miles from this city."

Was this merely an imprecise reference to the remnants of the first Pelham Bridge that had been destroyed by the storm?  Alternatively, is it possible that a permanent (or even temporary) bridge had been constructed on the remnants or, perhaps, in place of the remnants?

A real estate advertisement apparently offering the same 105-acre tract two years later on February 2, 1824 once again made much of the fact that the tract adjoined "East Chester Creek and Pelham Bridge."  Moreover, the following year on March 5, 1825, a real estate advertisement offering the Lorillard property at Eastchester Bay for sale once again referred specifically to the property as "adjoining East Chester Creek and Pelhams Bridge, bout 16 miles from this city."

Perhaps most intriguing, in 1827, a bridge referenced as the "East Chester Bridge" was offered for lease together with a "Toll House, shed and garden."  Obviously an offer to lease a bridge -- rather than remnants -- strongly suggests the bridge was rebuilt in some fashion, temporarily or otherwise (assuming the reference to "East Chester Bridge" is a reference to the bridge over the Hutchinson River at Eastchester Bay).  See below for quote of entire advertisement with link to source.

Until more dispositive evidence can be uncovered, we can only speculate.  These real estate advertisements published in 1822 and later make specific reference to a "bridge" at the location -- not "remnants" or "remains" of any such bridge.  Rather than simply omitting any such reference at all as seems to have been done when the March 31, 1821 advertisement offering the Rapelje tract was published, the later advertisements contain an express reference to such a "bridge."

Although no person or group seems to have purchased the bridge and the estate of the Eastchester Bridge Company and replaced the bridge by August 1, 1817 as required by the relief statute, it seems at least plausible to speculate that some form of bridge -- temporary or otherwise -- may have been crafted on the remnants of the bridge destroyed be the "extraordinary storm and flood" that occurred in about the first few months of 1816.  

Whether there ever was a bridge at the site -- temporary or otherwise -- in the years shortly after the first Pelham Bridge was destroyed, it is clear that a replacement bridge was built at the site in 1834 by George Rapelje, with the right to charge tolls for a period of thirty years.  Until dispositive evidence is located, we are left to wonder if the bridge built in 1834 was the second -- or third -- bridge on the site.

"Pelham Bridge in 1865 From a sketch by W. J. Wilson"

Source: Jenkins, Stephen, The Story of the Bronx From

the Purchase Made by the Dutch from the Indians in

1639 to the Present Day, Opposite p. 318 (NY and 

London: G.P. Putnam's Sons The Knickerbocker Press,

1912).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Below is the text of a number of items on which today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog is based.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.  

"FARM.

FOR SALE the valuable farm on which the subscriber now lives, (formerly the property of Geo. Rapelye, Esq.) on the manor of Pelham county, Westchester, 15, 1-2 miles from the city of New-York, and adjoining the new bridge lately erected across the mount of East Chester Creek, containing near 200 acres, and is bounded on three sides by the waters of the sound, of which there is a full view, and of all vessels passing up or down.  There is on said farm a large well built dwelling house, and farm house, barn, carriage house, stable, grainery [sic], dairy, smoke house, sheep fold and house, with racks complete for 200 sheep, and other necessary out buildings, three orchards in full bearing, of the best grafted apples, with a great abundance of every other kind of fruit; 50 acres of fresh meadow, a proportion of salt meadow, about 30 acres of wood land, the rest under first rate pasture land, the whole capable of being made excellent meadow, and in quality of soil is surpassed by none in the county.  Attached to which is a large body of sedge.  100 loads of drift stuff may yearly be collected from the shores, the waters of which abound with all kinds of scale and shell fish.  For further particulars apply on the premises.

Feb 2     rf

JAMES HARVEY."

Source:  FARM [Advertisement], New-York Evening Post, Mar. 18, 1815, p. 4, col. 3.

"CHAP. CXXXII.

AN ACT for the relief of the President and Directors of the Eastchester Bridge Company and their Creditors.

Passed April 12, 1816.

Preamble.

WHEREAS it is represented to the legislature, by the stockholders in the corporation created by the act, entitled 'an act to incorporate the Eastchester bridge company,' that the bridge erected by the said company, over the Eastchester creek, in pursuance of the said act, has been destroyed by an extraordinary storm and flood; That the funds of the company are inadequate to rebuild it; and that the said corporation is moreover largely indebted to the builders and workmen who were employed in its erection, and praying legislative aid and relief in the premises; Therefore,

Remains of the bridge may be sold

I.  BE it enacted by the people of the State of New-York represented in Senate and Assembly, That it shall and may be lawful for the president and directors of the said company, to sell, at public auction, in the city of New-York, all the remains of the said bridge, and all the other property and estate of the said corporation, to the highest bidder or bidders, and thereupon to grant and convey the same to the purchaser or purchasers thereof; Provided, that six weeks notice of the time and place of such sale be given in the nearest newspaper printed in the county of Westchester, and also in two of the public newspapers printed in the city of New-York.

Avails to be applied to the company's debts.

II.  And be it further enacted, That such conveyance being duly acknowledged or proved, shall be recorded in the clerk's office of the county of Westchester; and that the monies arising from such sale, after paying all incidental expenses attending the same, shall be applied in the first place to the payment of the debts of the said corporation, and that the residue and surplus of the said monies, shall be divided and paid to and among all the stockholders in the said company, in proportion to the number of shares which they may respectively hold therein.

The purchasers may rebuild the bridge.

III.  And be it further enacted, That the purchaser or purchasers at such sale, and his or their assigns or associates, shall be and hereby are authorized to rebuild the said bridge, in the manner required by the said act, provided the same be completed by the first day of August, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventeen; and in case the same shall be so completed by that day, then the said purchaser or purchasers, his or their assigns and associates, shall thereafter be considered as the stockholders of the said company, in proportion to the sums they shall respectively pay and advance towards the said purchase, and the rebuilding of the said bridge an other necessary objects:

And be a body corporate for 45 years.

And they and their successors shall be and continue a body corporate and politic, by the name, and with all the powers, privileges and immunities mentioned in the said act, and in the act to amend the same, for and during the term of forty-five years from the passing of this act, and no longer, any thing in the said acts, or either of them, contained, to the contrary notwithstanding:  Provided always,

This act not to prevent prosecution against the former company.

IV.  And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to bar or prevent any public prosecution, or any action or actions, which any person or persons would have if this act had not been passed against the said president and directors, or against all or any of the stockholders of the said company, or against any person or persons who is, are or have been in their employ, or to prevent the abating of any nuisance."

Source:  "CHAP. CXXXII:  AN ACT for the relief of the President and Directors of the Eastchester Bridge Company and their Creditors" in Laws of the State of New-York, Passed at the Thirty-Ninth, Fortieth and Forty-First Sessions of the Legislature From January 1816 to April 1818, Vol. IV, pp. 149-50 (Passed April 12, 1816) (Albany, NY:  William Gould, and David Banks and Stephen Gould, 1818).

"NOTICE.

THE subscribers being a Committee, appointed for that purpose by the President and Directors of the Eastchester Bridge Company, hereby give notice, that in pursuance of an act of the legislature of this state, passed on the 12th day of April instant, entitled 'An Act for the relief of the President and Directors of the Eastchester Bridge Company and their creditors,' all the remains of the bridge lately erected by the said Company across the Eastchester Creek, and all the estate of the Company, will be exposed to sale at the public auction, at the Tontine Coffee House, in the city of New-York, on Friday the seventh day of June next, at twelve o'clock at noon.

The purchaser or purchasers at such sale, will be entitled to all the privileges and immunities heretofore granted by law to the said Company, for the term of 45 years from the 12th instant, on condition that the bridge is rebuilt by the 1st day of August, 1817.  -- By order of the Board of Directors of the Eastchester Bridge Company.

JOHN HUNTER,             )
JAMES HARVEY,            }     Committee
WM. BAYARD,                 )
TOLBERT ROOSEVELT, )

Pelham, April 19, 1816.           ap 22law6w"

Source:  NOTICE, New-York Evening Post, May 18, 1816, p. 4, col. 2.  See also NOTICE, The Evening Post, May 9, 1816, p. 1, col. 4 (same text).  

"Beautiful Country Residence

TO LET, (and immediate possession given,) the country seat of George Rapelje, Esq. in the Manor of Pelham, Westchester county, about 17 miles from the city of New York; containing about 65 acres in a good state of improvement, with a commodious mansion and suitable out houses, garden, orchard, &c.  The premises being bounded on three sides by the waters of the Sound, can scarcely be excelled for combining beauty of prospect with ample facilities for fishing and fowling.  Part of the furniture of the house will be let if required.  Enquire at 234 Broadway.

Mb 29 tf"

Source:  Beautiful Country Residence [Advertisement], New-York Evening Post, Mar. 31, 1821, p. 3, col. 4.  

"ABOUT 280 ACRES OF LAND.

A valuable farm for sale, situated at the 14 mile stone, which is divided by the Boston Post Road, in the town of West Chester, containing a Farm House, and other out houses, all enclosed with good stone wall.  The land is well calculated for a grazing farm.

Also, 105 acres of land in the town of Pelham, adjoining East Chester Creek, near the bridge; being about 18 or 20 miles from this city.  For particulars, apply at No. 42 Chatham street.

PETER & GEORGE LORILLARD.

Jan 25 1m"

Source:  ABOUT 280 ACRES OF LAND [Advertisement], New-York Evening Post, Feb. 8, 1822, p. 4, col. 2.

"FOR SALE. . . . 

1 farm at Pelham, adjoining East Chester Creek and Pelham Bridge, about 15 miles from this city, containing 15 acres, occupied by C. Valentine. . . ."

Source:  FOR SALE [Advertisement], New-York Evening Post, Feb. 2, 1824, p. 4, col. 1.  

"--FOR SALE--
* * *
One hundred and fifty acres of Land in the town of Pelham, adjoining the East Chester Creek and Pelhams Bridge, about 16 miles from this city. . . 

GEORGE LORILLARD."

Source:  --FOR SALE--, New-York Evening Post, Mar. 5, 1825, p. 4, col. 1.  

"TO LET,

The East Chester Bridge, with the Toll House, shed and garden, to a small family, that would be willing to accommodate a number of Boarders for the ensuing year.  It is viewed as one of the best stands for a tavern in that neighborhood.  Possession will be given immediately.  For further particulars, apply to THOMAS C. TAYLOR, 41 Robinson st. or at his house, Bowery Hill.

m26 tf"

Source:  TO LET, The New-York Evening Post, Mar. 27, 1827, p. 3, col. 5.

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Below are examples of previous postings that address the histories of the various Pelham Bridges that have spanned Eastchester Bay for the last two centuries.

Wed., Oct. 1, 2014:  Bridge Keepers of the Pelham Bridge from 1870 to 1872.

Mon., Jul. 21, 2014:  Image of the Second Pelham Bridge Built in 1834 From a Sketch Created in 1865.

Thu., Jul. 17, 2014:  Sabotage Brought Down the 70-Ton Draw Span of Pelham Bridge in 1908 and Delayed its Opening. 

Tue., Jun. 10, 2014: Construction of the Concrete Arch Pelham Bridge.

Mon., May 12, 2014: The March 6, 1812 New York Statute Authorizing Construction of the Pelham Bridge.

Tue., Sep. 22, 2009: Names of Early "Keepers of Pelham Bridge" Appointed by Westchester County.

Thu., Jan. 08, 2009: Another Brief History of The Pelham Bridge.

Thu., Jan. 1, 2009: A Brief History of Pelham Bridge.

Wed., Jan. 2, 2008: New York State Senate Report on Petition by Inhabitants of Westchester to Allow Construction of Toll Bridge Across Eastchester Creek in 1834.

Tue., Aug. 28, 2007: The Laying Out of Pelham Avenue From Fordham to Pelham Bridge in 1869.

Wed., Jul. 4, 2007: 1857 Real Estate Advertisement for Sale of the Pelham Bridge.

Fri., Jul. 22, 2007: 1857 Real Estate Advertisement for Sale of "Country Seat" at Pelham Bridge.

Fri., May 18, 2007: Celebration at Pelham Bridge in 1872.

Wed., May 16, 2007: Board of Supervisors of Westchester County Vote to Build New Iron Bridge to Replace Pelham Bridge in 1869.

Tue., May 15, 2007: The Owner of the Pelham Bridge Hotel Sold it for the Princely Sum of $22,000 in 1869.

Mon., May 14, 2007: Plans to Widen Shore Road in the Town of Pelham in 1869.

Fri., May 11, 2007: A Sad Attempted Suicide at Pelham Bridge in 1869.

Thu., Dec. 08, 2005: The First Stone Bridge Built Across Eastchester Creek in Pelham, 1814-1815.

Thu., Aug. 18, 2005: The Opening of the New Iron "Pelham Bridge" in 1871.

Tue., Aug. 9, 2005: Cock Fighting at Pelham Bridge in the 19th Century.

Thu., Jul. 21, 2005: Today's Remnants of the Bartow Station on the Branch Line Near City Island.

Tue., Jun. 28, 2005: The Hotel and Bar Room at Pelham Bridge.

Thu., Mar. 24, 2005: The Bartow Area of Pelham in the 19th Century: Where Was It?

Wed., Mar. 23, 2005: Prize Fighting at Pelham Bridge in 1884.

For more about the Pelham Bridge and its history, see Pelham Bridge, Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelham_Bridge (visited May 6, 2014).

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."

The Early Development of Pelham Schools in the Late 18th and Early 19th Centuries

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."

For years I have continued a quest to assemble research on the history of education in the Town of Pelham.  A small portion of that quest has involved research to identify the earliest schools in Pelham and to understand the context within which early Pelham schools developed.

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog is an effort to summarize some of the current research on early efforts to educate the young people of Pelham.  Unlike most such postings, so as not to interrupt the flow, I have chosen to use "Endnotes" to document sources.

Undated Photograph of the One-Room Schoolhouse Built

in About 1838 in City Island on Land Now Thought To Be

the Current Playground of Public School 175 Located at

200 City Island Avenue, City Island, The Bronx, NY, 10464.

The Earliest Years of Schools in Pelham

The Duke of York’s Laws in the Province of New York included a decree implemented in 1665 that constitutes New York’s first compulsory education law.  It required that all children in New York receive instruction not only in “Matters of Religion and the Lawes of the Country,” but also in reading, writing, and arithmetic.”[i]  According to one authority on the subject, under the Duke of York’s decree: 

“The inhabitants were not obliged to send their children, and servants or apprentices to school, but they were required to ‘instruct or cause to be instructed’ all children in their care.  Instruction was given by parents, masters, older children, tutors, ministers and schoolmasters.” [ii]

There is no evidence that, during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the handful of residents of the Manor of Pelham did anything other than to instruct their youngsters in the home and, later, in "Sunday School" for religious instruction in churches such as St. Paul's Church of Eastchester and Trinity Church of New Rochelle.  

The earliest school yet identified by this author as built on any of the lands acquired by Thomas Pell in 1654 is a school erected on lands that Pell sold to the ten families who settled in Eastchester.  According to Bolton:

“The first school-house was erected in 1683, for at a public meeting of the inhabitants, held on the 15^th of October of that year, it was ordered, ‘that a school-house be erected upon a site between the property of Richard Shute and William Haiden, and encouragement given to Mr. Morgan Jones to become the school-master.’

This building occupied the site of the present village school-house.  Thus the ground has been used for this purpose one hundred and sixty-four years.” [iii]

Although nearby communities began to develop schools during the eighteenth century, the Manor of Pelham remained in the hands of relatively few landowners who apparently saw no need for dedicated schools, continuing to teach their young people in the home or by sending them away to school.  After the Revolutionary War, however, on April 9, 1795, the State of New York undertook its first effort to create a system of common schools throughout the State.  It enacted “An Act for the Encouragement of Schools” which provided, in part:

“out of the annual revenue arising to this State from its stock and other funds, excepting so much thereof as shall be necessary for the support of government, the sum of twenty thousand pounds, shall be annually appropriated for the term of five years for the purpose of encouraging and maintaining schools in the several cities and towns in this State, in which the children of the inhabitants residing in this State shall be instructed in the English language or be taught English grammar, arithmetic, mathematics and such other branches of knowledge as are most useful and necessary to complete a good English education; which sum shall be distributed among the several counties”. [iv]

In April, 1795 when this statute was enacted, the Town Supervisor of the Town of Pelham was Philip Pell.  Philip Pell was among the members of the Board of Supervisors of the County who participated in the apportionment of State education funds under the statute to the various Towns of the County.  The extant records of the Town of Pelham begin in 1801, however.  Thus, no record of the apportionment of funds to the Town of Pelham in 1795 has yet been uncovered.  It seems rather likely, however, that some amount was apportioned to the Town of Pelham.  If so, this likely would have been the origin of public funding of public schools in Pelham.[v] 

It is clear, however, that by 1801 there was a school house in the Town of Pelham.  It is not known where that school house stood.  Given that the Town’s population at the time resided principally along the roadway known today as Shore Road, on Rodman’s Neck and nearby areas, and on City Island, it is possible that the school was near the shore on the mainland not far from City Island. 

Minutes of the Town Board of the Town of Pelham for the year 1801 reflect the following reference to “the school house in the town of Pelham”:

“At a town meeting held at the school house in the town of Pelham, on Tuesday the seventh day of April, 1801, for the purpose of electing town officers for the said town to serve the ensuing year, the following persons were appointed to the following offices and places . . .”[vi]

Additionally, the “Town Minute Book 1801 – 1851” for the Town of Pelham contains a list of the “Commissioners of Schools” for the Town of Pelham in 1801.  They were:  Philip Pell, John Bartow, Alexander Henderson, William Bayley, Esaie Guion, Rem Rapelyea [aka Rem Rapelje] , and John Williams.[vii]  

It is clear from the same records that at least as early as 1801 and apparently for each year thereafter until 1818, the annual town meeting during which town elections were held took place in a structure referred to as “the school house in the town of Pelham,” “the school house,” or “the schoolhouse in said Town.” [viii]

In short, it is likely that some arrangement for a public school in Pelham was made shortly after New York enacted a statute entitled "An Act for the Encouragement of Schools" on April 9, 1795.  It seems certain, however, that a school existed in Pelham at an as yet undetermined location as early as 1801 and during at least the first two decades of the 19th century.    

The Early “Common School” Years in Pelham

The records of the annual meetings of the Town of Pelham held from 1802 through 1813 reflect no elections for any “Commissioners of Schools.”  In 1814, however, the records reflect a significant change in the history of schools in Pelham.

The records of the annual meeting of the Town of Pelham for the year 1814 reflect that on April 5, 1814, town voters elected three men to serve as “Commissioners of Schools.”  They were Philip Pell, David J. Pell, and Augustine J. F. Prevost.[ix]  Voters, for the first time, also elected six men as “Inspectors of Schools.”  They were Augustine J. F. Prevost, David J. Pell, Caleb Pell, George Crawford, Nicholas Haight, and William Crawford.[x]  Most significantly, voters authorized the Town to raise a sum of money equal to the sum provided by the State of New York “for the support of common schools.”[xi]

The April 5, 1814 entry is significant.  As early as 1784 (four years before the Legislature created the Town of Pelham by statute), the Board of Regents and the Governor of New York began urging the Legislature to establish and fund a system of “common schools” throughout the State.  Finally, in 1795 (as noted above), New York enacted its law authorizing the expenditure of 20,000 pounds annually for five years to support schools with the state aid being augmented by a local tax.[xii]  Although the Legislature ended the program in 1800, it authorized use of funds from a statewide lottery to support the State’s “common schools.”[xiii]  Five years later the New York Legislature created a fund for support of the common schools and allocated to that fund “proceeds from state land sales and other assets.”[xiv] 

In 1812, New York enacted a landmark “common schools” law.  In 1814, New York amended the law to require local authorities to establish common school districts, a then-developing factor that seemed to prompt the votes at the annual town meeting of the Town of Pelham held on April 5, 1814.[xv]  As one authority on the subject has written:

“In 1812 a landmark law established a statewide system of common school districts and authorized distribution of interest from the Common School Fund.  Town and city officials were directed to lay out the districts holding school at least three months a year, according to population aged 5-15.  Revenue from the town/county property tax was used to match the state school aid.  While the 1812 act authorized local authorities to establish common school districts, an 1814 amendment required them to do so.  After 1814, if the cost of instruction exceeded the total of state aid plus local tax, as it generally did, the difference was made up by charing tuition, or ‘rates,’ itemized on ‘rate bills.’ . . . The typical district had a one- or two-room schoolhouse where children learned reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, and geography.  The 1812 common school act shaped the future of public education in New York by establishing that 1) common schools are a state function under state control; 2) funding of public schools is a joint state-local responsibility; 3) the school district – not the county or the town – is the primary administrative unit for public education.”[xvi]

There seems to have been some form of technical irregularity in the election of the Commissioners of Schools and the Inspectors of Schools during the annual town meeting held on April 5, 1814.  Town records reflect that a special town meeting was held “at the Schoolhouse in the Town of Pelham” on June 18, 1814.  Minutes of the special meeting state:

“At a special Town Meeting held at the Schoolhouse in the Town of Pelham in the County of Westchester on Saturday the 18^th day of June 1814 for the purpose of electing two Commissioners and six Inspectors of Common Schools to serve the ensuing year They being choose [sic] the last annual Town Meeting but are not qualified therefore [sic] the law directs that they may be reelected by special Town Meeting when the following persons were elected to the following Ofices [sic] and places Viz: 

James Harvey

}  Commissioners of Common Schools

Joshua Huestis

Augustine J. F. Prevost

David J. Pell

Caleb Pell

                                          }  Inspectors of Schools

Nicholas Haight

William Crawford junr.

George Crawford

                                          David J. Pell, T. Clk.”[xvii]

It seems safe from the foregoing to infer that by 1814, the Town of Pelham had at least one school funded in part by the State and in part by the Town that operated at least three months a year.  It seems likely that the school was on the mainland because, as will be seen shortly, there are indications that City Island began educating children on the island during the 1830’s.

By 1821, there were only 65 school age children in the entire Town of Pelham.  According to a report filed by the Commissioners of Common Schools for the Town of Pelham with the State Superintendent of Common Schools in September, 1821, Pelham had a single school district with a single school overseen by a single instructor with an annual budget of $50.  The County of Westchester provided $15 toward the budget; the Town of Pelham raised the remaining $35 through Town taxes.  Thirty-five children attended the school for four months and twenty-one days during the year with plans that year not to operate the school during the winter season.  The textbooks used by the students were "Pickets’ American School Class Books."  Albert Picket (1771-1850) was the principal author of this series of textbooks first published in the early 19^th century with many subsequent editions that included works on spelling, reading, grammar, geography, and writing.[xviii]   

City Island Begins Schooling Its Children on the Island

By the 1830s, it would appear that Pelham residents who lived on City Island were beginning to agitate for arrangements to teach their school age children on the island.  (This, of course, further supports the earlier inference that Pelham's only school house in the early 19th century likely was located on the mainland, though likely near City Island.) 

Three of the earliest efforts to educate the young people of City Island were: (1) a teacher named Rachel S. Fordham who conducted classes in her home during some unspecified time in the 1830s; (2) the opening of the first City Island public school (a one-room schoolhouse) on June 3, 1839; and (3) the construction of a newer and larger school house on property purchased in 1860 at the corner of Orchard Street and Main Street (now City Island Avenue).

I have written extensively of the development of early schools on City Island and will not repeat that account here.  For details, see:  Mon., Apr. 07, 2014:  History of A Few of the Earliest Public Schools in the Town of Pelham.  

---

ENDNOTES

[i]  See Seybolt, Robert Francis, The Act of 1795 for the Encouragement of Schools and the Practice in Westchester County, p. 3 (Albany, NY:  The University of the State of New York, 1919). 

[ii]  Id., pp. 3-4.

[iii]  Bolton, Robert, History of the Several Towns, Manors, and Patents of the County of Westchester, From Its First Settlement to the Present Time, Carefully Revised by Its Author, Vol. II, p. 214 (NY, NY:  Chas. F. Roper, 1881) (Edited by Cornelius Winter Bolton).  Cf.  Barr, Lockwood Anderson, A Brief, But Most Complete & True Account of the Settlement of the Ancient Town of Pelham Westchester County, State of new York Known One Time Well & Favourably as the Lordshipp & Manour of Pelham Also The Story of the Three Modern Villages Called The Pelhams, p. 149 (Richmond, VA:  The Dietz Press, Inc. 1946) (“THE first mention of a school in that section of Westchester County, in the tract owned by Thomas Pell, is found under the date of August 13, 1683. This school was located in the tract which he sold to the "Ten Families," not far from Old St. Paul's Church in Eastchester. The school was under the jurisdiction of the Rector of the Congregation, according to Bolton's History of Westchester, Vol. II, p. 100.  [sic]”; hereinafter “Barr”).

[iv]  Laws of the State of New York, 1789-1796, Vol. 3, pp. 626-31 (Albany, NY:  1881) (amended Apr. 6, 1796, as reflected in id., p. 702). 

[v]  The establishment of a school in Pelham at about this time seems all the more likely when the records of nearby localities are reviewed.  There seems to have been a rush to establish schools in the region around Pelham following passage of the new statute in 1795.  See, e.g., Seybolt, Robert Francis, The Act of 1795 for the Encouragement of Schools and the Practice in Westchester County, p. 13 et al. (Albany, NY:  The University of the State of New York, 1919) (reflecting establishment of a school near Delanceys Bridge in the Town of Westchester, another school in the upper part of the Town of Westchester near the Widow Bartow’s property, another school on Throggs Neck, and another school near the property of Cornelius Leggett in the Village of West Farms).

[vi]  Town Minute Book 1801 – 1851, Town of Pelham, New York State American Revolution Bicentennial Commission Historical Records Microfilm Program, Microfilm p. 1 (microfilm held in collections of New York State Archives) (hereinafter “Pelham Town Minute Book 1801 – 1851”). 

[vii]  Id. 

[viii]  E.g., id., p. 5 (1802); p. 6 (1803), p. 8 (1804), p. 12 (1806), p. 17 (1807),  p. 19 (1808), p. 21 (1809), p. 23 (1810), p. 24 (1811), p. 26 (1811 – special meeting), p. 28 (1812); p. 30 (1813); p. 32 (1814); p. 35 (1815), p. 38 (1816); p. 40 (1817).  The annual meeting began to be held in the “house of George Berrian, an innkeeper” beginning in 1818.  See, e.g., id., pp. 42 (1818); 46 (1819); 48 (1820); 51 (1821); 57 (1822).  Annual town meetings then began to be held in the “house of William A. Berrian” [perhaps the same location] beginning in 1823.  See, id., pp. 59 (1823); 61 (1824); 62 (1825);

[ix]  Id., pp. 32-33.  These same three men were re-elected “Commissioners of Schools” in 1815.  Id., p. 35. 

[x]  Id., pp. 32-33.  These same six men were re-elected “Inspectors of Schools” in 1815.  Id., p. 35. 

[xi]  Id., p. 34 (“Voted at this meeting that there be a sum equal to the sum of money given by the State raised in the Town for the support of Common Schools.”). 

[xii]  Folts, James D., History of the University of the State of New York and the State Education Department 1784-1996 (electronic version of history originally published in paper format in Jun. 1996 by the New York State Education Department), visited Sep. 21, 2014   (hereinafter, “Folts”). 

[xiii]  Id. 

[xiv]  Id. 

[xv]  At the time, a “common school” in New York was an elementary school (kindergarten through eighth grade) and a “common school district” was a school district authorized to operate elementary schools but not high schools.  In 1853 the Legislature authorized the creation of “union free school districts.”  Such districts typically were the union of two or more “common school districts” (i.e., school districts that were not authorized to operate high schools) to create a new school district “free” from the restrictions that barred common school districts from operating high schools. 

[xvi]  Id. 

[xvii]  Pelham Town Minute Book 1801 – 1851, p. 37.  The same town records continue to show the annual election of “Commissioners of Common Schools” and “Inspectors of Common Schools” in each of the following years:  1816 (p. 37); 1817 (p. 41); 1818 (pp. 43 & 45); 1819 (pp. 46 & 47); 1820 (p. 49); 1821 (p. 51); 1822 (pp. 54 & 56); 1823 (p. 59); 1824 (p. 60); 1825 (p.

[xviii]  Town Minute Book 1801 – 1851, Town of Pelham, New York State American Revolution Bicentennial Commission Historical Records Microfilm Program, Microfilm, Entry for Sept. “th,” 1821 (microfilm held in collections of New York State Archives). 

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