Construction of the First Clubhouse of the Manor Club in 1887 and 1888

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Currently among the many, many eBay auction offerings related to the history of Pelham is a lovely postcard entitled "Manor Club, Pelham Manor, N. Y."  It depicts the original clubhouse of the Manor Club, known as the "Manor House," built in 1887-1888 (see image below).  The cornerstone of the structure was laid on Thanksgiving Day, 1887 (November 24, 1887).  Construction was completed and the Manor House opened in June, 1888.  The structure stood where today's clubhouse of the Manor Club stands.

Postcard View of the "Manor House," the Original Clubhouse of the

Manor Club Built on the Site of Today's Clubhouse in 1887-1888.

Postcard is Postmarked July 5, 1917.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Detail from 1899 Map Published by John F. Fairchild Showing

Location of the Original "Manor House" of the Manor Club.  Red

Arrow Shows View of Photographer Who Created the Image

of the Manor House on the Postcard Immediately Above.  NOTE:

Click on Image to Enlarge.

The precise origins of the Manor Club, unfortunately, are unknown. Some believe that in 1878, only five years after the Pelham Manor and Huguenot Heights Association formed to develop the area that came to be known as Pelham Manor, a few local residents began gathering socially in local homes. This group, with no organizational structure, is believed to have evolved into the Manor Club.

On January 10, 1882, “the greater part of the residents” of Pelham Manor gathered at the home of Mr. E.E. Hitchcock. See The Manor Club, THE HISTORY OF THE MANOR CLUB, p. 6 (Pelham Manor, NY: 1973). Their purpose was to “reorganize” the Manor Club which, for some unknown reason, “had formally been disbanded at a meeting held December 9, 1881” according to the minutes of the January 10 meeting.  Id.  A history of the club published in 1973 says that during the “reorganizational” meeting: “a constitution and by-laws were drawn up and unanimously adopted. Mr. John H. Dey, temporary chairman of the meeting, appointed a committee to nominate the officers of the new club and said officers were elected by acclamation.  This new constitution provided that the offices of vice president and treasurer must be filled by ladies.”  Id. 

Early meeting minutes suggest that the club held monthly meetings in various members’ homes.  Entertainment included recitations, singing and – even as early as 1882 – simple plays such as “a serio-comic representation of Oscar Wilde’s Dream”.  Id.

A previous Historic Pelham article detailed how the original clubhouse depicted in the postcard view set forth above came to be:

"There is a fascinating story about the origins of the Manor Club’s first clubhouse.  According to William Barnett, a member of the original Club and an early Club historian, it seems that Pelham Manor residents were unhappy with their lack of influence in local school affairs.  They decided to acquire lands, erect a clubhouse and give all members a "freehold interest" in order to qualify all members (including women) to vote as property owners during school elections. 

It appears that residents of Pelhamville (the area north of the New Haven line) dominated school affairs.  In the fall of 1882, residents of Pelham Manor supported one of their own, Mr. George H. Reynolds, as a candidate for the school board. At about this time, it was “suggested that lands be purchased under the auspices of the Club and freehold interest conveyed therein to each member, in this way qualifying all members (including the ladies) to vote at school elections.”  Id., p. 7. 

In effect, Pelham Manor residents had formed a plan to stuff the ballot box in school elections.  To implement that plan, however, they needed a large number of landowners. Common ownership of land set aside for a new clubhouse seemed to be the perfect solution.  According to a history of the Club prepared by Mrs. Earle E. Bradway: 

'In May 1883 the Club voted to purchase, for three hundred dollars, two lots of land on the Esplanade, numbers 161 and 162.  In order to effectuate the object of the purchase, it was desirable that an incorporate institution should first take title to the land from Mrs. [Robert C.] Black and then convey undivided interests therein to the voters.  Accordingly, Mr. Robert C. Black, Mr. John H. Dey, Mr. W.R. Lamberton, Mr. George H. Reynolds and Mr. G. Osmar Reynolds signed and filed articles of association under the provisions of an Act of the Legislature passed in 1875, and on the 28th day of May 1883 became incorporated under the name of the Manor Club.  This incorporated club in June 1883 took title to the land referred to and carried out the intention of the purchase by conveying life interests to the several members of the old Manor Club.'  Id.

At a meeting of the club held on June 7, 1883, members voted to build a permanent clubhouse. Mrs. Robert C. Black, whose family founded the settlement and owned large swaths of land in the area, donated a lot on the Esplanade as the site for the new clubhouse. 

During the summer of 1887, the Club raised $10,000 by subscription to fund construction of the new clubhouse. Club members selected Pelham resident F. Carles Merry as the architect. He designed a lovely shingle-style building with a large auditorium in the center and a deep “piazza” (porch) that surrounded nearly the entire building."

The day after the cornerstone laying ceremony on Thanksgiving that year, a local newspaper reported as follows:

 "The Manor Club of Pelham Manor, in Westchester County, is erecting a very picturesque and substantial club-house to be called the Manor House, from plans furnished by Mr. F. Carles Merry.  The material is the rough stone found upon the place, and it has been treated in a simple but very effective manner.  The Club subscribed $10,000 for building purposes during the summer, and broke ground this fall.  Yesterday the corner-stone was laid by Mrs. Robert C. Black with appropriate ceremonies."

The club completed construction of the "Manor House" over the next few months and opened it to members in June, 1888.  

Only a few weeks after the Manor House opened in June 1888, another local newspaper reported:

"An attractive, cozey [sic] and popular resort for Manorites and their friends is the Manor House, but quite recently opened by the Manor club.  It presents an appearance of ease and comfort well calculated to attract after a day spent in the busy metropolis over scorching pavements and within sizzling brick walls."

Little did anyone suspect that the Manor Club would still be going strong nearly 130 years later, in an even larger and more impressive clubhouse built to replace the first one.

Manor Club Advertisement From Local Newspaper Published Only

a Few Months After the Original "Manor House" of the Club Opened

in 1888.  Source:  THE MANOR CLUB, AMATEUR THEATRICALS

[Advertisement], The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Nov. 2, 1888,

p. 2, col. 4.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

I have written about the original Manor Club clubhouse built in 1887-1888 on several previous occasions.  See:

Early History of the Manor Club, The Pelham Weekly, May 14, 2004, Vol. XIII, No. 20, p. 12, col. 2.

Tue., Dec. 13, 2005:  The Manor Club's First Clubhouse Built in 1887-1888. 

Wed., Dec. 28, 2005:  The Mystery of the "Manor Club Girl" That Set Pelham Tongues Wagging in 1913. 

Fri., Aug. 4, 2006:  Early Images of the Original and Current Clubhouse Structures of the Manor Club in the Village of Pelham Manor, New York. 

Mon., Feb. 15, 2010:  Early History of the Manor Club in the Village of Pelham Manor. 

Thu., Sep. 25, 2014:  The Manor Club's Celebration of its Golden Anniversary in 1932.

Mon., Feb. 08, 2016:  Laying of the Cornerstone of the First Manor Club Clubhouse on Thanksgiving Day in 1887.

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"New York.

A NEW CLUB-HOUSE AT PELHAM.

The Manor Club of Pelham Manor, in Westchester County, is erecting a very picturesque and substantial club-house to be called the Manor House, from plans furnished by Mr. F. Carles Merry.  The material is the rough stone found upon the place, and it has been treated in a simple but very effective manner.  The Club subscribed $10,000 for building purposes during the summer, and broke ground this fall.  Yesterday the corner-stone was laid by Mrs. Robert C. Black with appropriate ceremonies."

Source:  New York -- A NEW CLUB-HOUSE AT PELHAM, The Evening Post [NY, NY], Nov. 25, 1887, p. 3, col. 5.  

"PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND.

The Public School of Pelham Manor has lost the valuable services of Mr. E. B. Dumond who for the past six years has been its able principal.  Mr. Dumond's resignation takes effect September 1st.  He will be greatly missed as he has made a host of friends by his gentlemanly deportment and upright character.  He goes back to Fishkill where he taught for a period of twelve years previous to his coming to Pelham Manor.

The Trustees of School District No. 1, Pelham, have appointed a young lady Principal of the Pelham Manor School in place of Mr. Dumond.  The schools of this town will re-open September 4th.

Mr. W. E. Robinson of Pelham Manor has gone to Buffalo.  Mr. James M. Townsend, Jr., and family have left for New Haven.

A week from to-morrow the New York Athletic Club will have their annual swimming match from headquarters on 'Traver's' formerly 'Hunter's' Island.  September 23 they will have their annual regatta and games.  On Monday next, it is understood, the club will break ground for the new club house which is to cost sixty thousand dollars.  This will add another to the many fine club houses which already grace the north shore of Long Island Sound. 

Quite a lively school election is anticipated in the First District on the 28th.  Pelham Manor proposes to place a ticket in the field for Trustees.  There is some talk of dividing this district by setting either Pelhamville or Pelham Manor off by itself.  It is certainly a good suggestion; this having the entire main land of the town one school district should not be; it is too large a territory.

Mrs. A. S. Wilson of City Island died on Sunday last of pneumonia and was buried Tuesday.

Miss Annie Horton is putting up a handsome residence near Belden's.

Arrangements are making for Grace Church pic-nic which will be at Glen Island as heretofore.

An attractive, cozey [sic] and popular resort for Manorites and their friends is the Manor House, but quite recently opened by the Manor club.  It presents an appearance of ease and comfort well calculated to attract after a day spent in the busy metropolis over scorching pavements and within sizzling brick walls.

Miss Windsor, daughter of Rev. Windsor of Grace Church is going to give a lawn party to-morrow, Saturday evening, on the grounds of Mr. George W. Horton.  The revenue will be devoted to the church.

Fishermen are said to be having some fine sport these days taking blue-fish and weak-fish from LeRoy's Cove on the banks of which Mose Secord holds forth to fit one out with necessary tackle, bait, etc.  It is convenient to Barton [sic; should be Bartow], being but a short distance on the road to City Island.  Mose had a big clam bake on the Point, Wednesday, for the delectation of his patrons and friends.

An Electorama was given in Trinity M. E. Church, City Island, last night, by Mr. Elmer Poulson.  Some very fine views were exhibited.

Mr. E. W. Waterhouse has set an example that others would do well to emulate.  He has place in his grocery store what is known as the O. M. Whitman Patent Butter Cooler.  It is, without exception, the finest thing in the line of a refrigerator that we have seen.  Besides holding about 400 pounds of ice, this one is also calculated for three tubs or firkins of butter, besides a large quantity of small articles.  It is fitted with oval glass fronts for each firkin of butter which stand on revolving pedestals and when open there is no escape of cold air.  Should any of our enterprising Mount Vernon grocers read this, we advise them to take a look at the 'cooler.'

By the burning of the house occupied by Mr. Jacob Gruse on City Island, last week, that gentleman loses about $1,200.  His total loss was $1,700 and he had insurance for $600, but the Insurance Companies, we understand, claim about $75 salvage.  The report that two men called at Mr. Gruses' in the night for drink and were refused and that when he discovered his house on fire he saw two men running away, was untrue.  Mr. Gruse attributes the barking of his dog, which woke him, not to any noise made by persons outside, but to animal instinct, that there was danger.  The old German is very loud in praise of his dog to which he owes so much; a few minutes more and escape from the burning building might have been cut off unless, possibly, by hazarding a jump from windows.  The dog saved him and his family."

Source:  PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Aug. 17, 1888, Vol. XIX, No. 1,116, p. 3, col. 3.

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Did Pelham Residents Truly Want New York City to Annex the Town in 1887?

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Did residents of the Town of Pelham really want the town to be annexed by New York City in 1887?  On March 22, 1887, the New York Times published the following report:

"WANTING TO BE NEW-YORKERS.

A meeting of Pelham, East Chester, and West Chester to urge the annexation of those towns to the city of New-York, was held last night at Stephen Odell's hotel, at East Chester.  Representative men from all the towns were present, and it was resolved that a petition should be circulated extensively and submitted to the Legislature at the earliest possible date, asking that the boundary lines of New York City be extended so as to include East Chester, West Chester, Pelham, and Washingtonville.  Ex-Assemblyman Charles P. McClelland made a speech in favor of the proposed annexation.  James T. Lane, editor of the West Chester Independent, presided over the meeting."

Source:  WANTING TO BE NEW-YORKERS, N.Y. Times, Mar. 22, 1887, p. 1, col. 3 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).

No, despite this news report, Pelham residents did not want their town to be annexed by New York City in 1887.  Things were moving fast in March, April, and May of that year.  Pelham residents had come to the realization that New York City's condemnation and purchase of Pelham lands for the new Pelham Bay Park would take those lands off the tax assessment rolls and, thus, would more than double the property taxes of remaining Pelham residents.  Pelham residents were furious and were looking for any way possible to avoid such a tax increase.

Within a matter of days, the threatened petition to have Pelham annexed by New York City evolved into a petition asking cooperation from the Mayor and Common Council of New York City in requesting the State Legislature to repeal so much of the act of 1884 as related to the assumption of lands in Westchester County for a park to be known as Pelham Bay Park.

On March 24, 1887, a Pelham delegation led by Dr. John A. Hardenbrook of Bartow-on-the-Sound met with New York City Mayor Abram Stevens Hewitt and presented the petition signed by Pelham taxpayers.  The Pelham delegation also included Town Supervisor Sherman T. Pell, Postmaster Hogan, Roadmaster Hall, stage line operator Fred Vickery, Judge Henry D. Carey, Charles Mahoney, and a dozen others.

Mayor Hewitt accepted the petition and reportedly stated:  

"Gentlemen, I am very glad to meet you.  I appreciate the situation exactly.  I think it is an outrageous thing that the Legislature should have passed a bill to acquire lands for park purposes eight miles from the Harlem Bridge, and saddling the expense upon the taxpayers of this city.  I suppose you were a happy and contented community until some speculative rascals set their eyes upon your locality and sought to use it for their own selfish ends.  I am glad you have called, and I assure you I shall send your petition with my recommendation to the Board of Aldermen at its next meeting.'"

Truth be told, neither New York City nor Pelham was happy with the proposal to create Pelham Bay Park.  New York was furious that the State Legislature had passed a statute in 1884 requiring the City to purchase lands within the Town of Pelham to create Pelham Bay Park and to fund the purchase with New York City Taxpayer money.  The City argued that the lands were far too distant from the Harlem River Bridge and would not be easily accessible to most New York City residents.

New York City was willing to cooperate with Pelham to have the 1884 statute repealed, but it was furious with Pelham as well.  New York City had made an attempt in 1885 to have the statute repealed but had received no support from the Town of Pelham on that first occasion.  Pelham, it seems, was not aware at the time that the lands would be removed from the tax assessment rolls, driving up everyone's real estate taxes.  In this second attempt, in 1887, Pelham offered a weak excuse for its inaction two years earlier.  It said that so many Pelham citizens were getting such high prices from New York City for the lands being taken by the city for the park (up to $2,000 an acre, about $60,000 an acre for rural land in today's dollars), that Pelham did not want to risk bad political feelings by trying to stop the transactions.  

Within a short time, New York City came up with a multi-step plan to gain repeal of the 1884 law.  It decided first to seek a new State law that would allow the city to use eminent domain to take small parcels of neighborhood land in neighborhoods throughout the city to create smaller neighborhood parks rather than a giant park on the edge of the city in the Town of Pelham in Westchester County.  At the same time, it worked to gain repeal of the 1884 statute requiring the creation of Pelham Bay Park.  If all else failed, New York City Mayor Hewitt hoped to get power to negotiate with the landowners who had agreed to sell their lands for specific prices for releases from liability, and then to abandon Pelham Bay Park.  

As New York City embarked on its plan, the New York City Corporation Counsel expressed doubt that plans to open the park could be stopped.  Indeed, he could not resist chastising the Town of Pelham for arriving late to the party.  According to one account, he wrote in a letter as follows:

"'It is greatly to be regretted that the large number of residents and taxpayers of the town of Pelham, of whom you speak, did not appear in the early part of 1885 to assist the local authorities in passing the bill, which was then being urged to repeal the act of 1884, before any particular expenditure had been had or damage accrued under its terms.  They sedulously kept aloof at that time, the excuse advanced in favor of some of them being that their social surroundings would be made so unpleasant for them if they undertook to secure the repeal of the bill that they would not dare to oppose the wishes of their neighbors in the matter.  Had they possessed at that time some measure of the courage which they now exhibit, the passage of the repeal act, at a time when it could do least harm to the city, might have been secured.'"

New York City took an interesting tack.  It argued that those involved in convincing the State Legislature to pass the statute authorizing the creation of Pelham Bay Park in 1884 had, in effect, defrauded the State Legislature by using "false maps" of the area that failed to indicate that more than 300 acres of the lands were "swamp" that the city "could not use for park purposes."  

Things seemed to go a bit awry when State Senator Daly consequently proposed a bill to reduce the size of Pelham Bay Park rather than flatly repealing the original statute directing creation of the park.  On May 3, 1887, the State Senate Cities Committee held a hearing in which witnesses hotly contested whether the Daly bill should be reported out of Committee favorably.  

Barely two weeks later, the Governor signed into law a new statute authorizing New York City to use eminent domain to acquire small parcels of land in the city to create small neighborhood parks for the benefit of neighborhood residents.  Though the Mayor was happy with the result, efforts to gain repeal of the original 1884 statute failed miserably.

Pelham's love-hate relationship with the plan to create Pelham Bay Park would continue for years until the park and offshore islands including City Island were annexed by New York City in 1895.

1905 Map of Pelham Bay Park. Source: Office of the President of

the Borough of the Bronx Topographical Bureau, Topographical

Survey Sheets of the Borough of the Bronx Easterly of the Bronx

River, Sheet 29 "Map of Pelham Bay Park City of New York

Forming Sheet 29 of the Topographical Atlas of the Territory East

of the Bronx River" (1905) (Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map

Division, The New York Public Library). NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.

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Below is the text of a number of news articles that form the basis for today's Historic Pelham article.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"PELHAM TAXPAYERS SEEK RELIEF.

Acting Mayor Beekman has received a letter signed by [Sherman] T. Pell, Supervisor of the town of Pelham; W. R. Lamberton, attorney; and Assemblyman William H. Hornridge, stating that Pelham Bay Park contains 1,700 acres; assessed at $500,000.  The total area of the town of Pelham is 3,0000 acres, assessed at $1,200,00.  Deducting the park area leaves only 1,300 acres and an assessment of $700,000, they ask that the park property bear its share of taxation, and as it now belongs to the City of New-York it should, under existing laws, be exempt.  Mr. Beekman has replied to this that the Legislature of 1884 compelled the city to take the property for a park, although the city authorities and its representatives in the Legislature protested.  Mr. Beekman suggests that the aggrieved officials prepare a bill to be presented to the Legislature providing for the release of the city from the ownership of this land, and the city authorities will gladly use every endeavor to have it become a law.  The city authorities will certainly not do anything to increase its burden of taxation."

Source:  PELHAM TAXPAYERS SEEK RELIEF, New-York Tribune, Mar. 5, 1887, p. 8, col. 3 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"WANTING TO BE NEW-YORKERS.

A meeting of Pelham, East Chester, and West Chester to urge the annexation of those towns to the city of New-York, was held last night at Stephen Odell's hotel, at East Chester.  Representative men from all the towns were present, and it was resolved that a petition should be circulated extensively and submitted to the Legislature at the earliest possible date, asking that the boundary lines of New York City be extended so as to include East Chester, West Chester, Pelham, and Washingtonville.  Ex-Assemblyman Charles P. McClelland made a speech in favor of the proposed annexation.  James T. Lane, editor of the West Chester Independent, presided over the meeting."

Source:  WANTING TO BE NEW-YORKERS, N.Y. Times, Mar. 22, 1887, p. 1, col. 3 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"THE PELHAM PARK.
WESTCHESTER PEOPLE ASK MAYOR HEWITT'S AID TO KILL THE SCHEME.

A large delegation from the town of Pelham, Westchester County, waited on Mayor Hewitt yesterday afternoon.  Dr. John A. Hardenbrook, of Bartow-on-Sound, introduced Supervisor Sherman T. Pell, Postmaster Hogan, Roadmaster Hall, Frederick Vickery, Henry D. Carey, Charles Mahoney, and a dozen or more other gentlemen.

Supervisor Pell, in addressing the Mayor, said that the delegation appeared for the purpose of presenting a petition signed by the taxpayers of the town, asking his co-operation and that of the Common Council in requesting the Legislature to repeal so much of the act of 1884 as related to the assumption of lands in Westchester County for a park to be known as Pelham Bay Park.  The petition sets forth that the taking of these lands in Westchester County was mainly in the interest of a few landed proprietors who expected to get upward of $2,000 an acre for swamp lands.

Mayor Hewitt emphatically said:  'Gentlemen, I am very glad to meet you.  I appreciate the situation exactly.  I think it is an outrageous thing that the Legislature should have passed a bill to acquire lands for park purposes eight miles from the Harlem Bridge, and saddling the expense upon the taxpayers of this city.  I suppose you were a happy and contented community until some speculative rascals set their eyes upon your locality and sought to use it for their own selfish ends.  I am glad you have called, and I assure you I shall send your petition with my recommendation to the Board of Aldermen at its next meeting.'"

Source:  THE PELHAM PARK -- WESTCHESTER PEOPLE ASK MAYOR HEWITT'S AID TO KILL THE SCHEME, N.Y. Times, Mar. 25, 1887, p. 2, col. 5 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"Pelham as Sick of the Park as We Are.

A delegation of officials and residents of the town of Pelham introduced by Dr. John A. Hardenbrook, called upon Mayor Hewitt yesterday, and urged the propriety of amending the scheme for the new uptown parks by taking off the park situated in the town of Pelham.  Mayor Hewitt received them graciously, and said:

'I am glad to meet you.  I appreciate the situation.  I think it was outrageous for the Legislature to pass the bill compelling the city of New York to buy a park eight miles from Harlem River Bridge, and compelling the taxpayers to pay for it.  I am opposed to such special legislation, and I will cheerfully cooperate with you to recommend its repeal.  I will forward your request to the Common Council at its meeting next Tuesday.'

Pelham got very tired of the park scheme when it discovered that the park lands would not be subject to taxation, and that taxes on the rest of the town for local purposes would, therefore, be doubled."

Source:  Pelham as Sick of the Park as We Are, The Sun [NY, NY], Mar. 25, 1887, p. 4, col. 3 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"Fainthearted Citizens of Pelham.

Corporation Counsel Lacombe has replied in a long letter, with reference to Mayor Hewitt's inquiries as to the effect of the repeal of the act requiring the city to purchase Pelham Bay Park.  He is in doubt as to whether the courts would compel the city to pay damages, or to what extent such damages might be recovered.  He concludes as follows:

'It is greatly to be regretted that the large number of residents and taxpayers of the town of Pelham, of whom you speak, did not appear in the early part of 1885 to assist the local authorities in passing the bill, which was then being urged to repeal the act of 1884, before any particular expenditure had been had or damage accrued under its terms.  They sedulously kept aloof at that time, the excuse advanced in favor of some of them being that their social surroundings would be made so unpleasant for them if they undertook to secure the repeal of the bill that they would not dare to oppose the wishes of their neighbors in the matter.  Had they possessed at that time some measure of the courage which they now exhibit, the passage of the repeal act, at a time when it could do least harm to the city, might have been secured.'"

Source:  Fainthearted Citizens of Pelham, The Sun [NY, NY], Mar. 29, 1887, p. 4, col. 2 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"NO PARK WANTED THERE.

The residents of Pelham, through the authorities of that town, having asked the authorities of this city to join in an application to the Legislature to repeal the act of 1884 which provides for Pelham Bay Park, Mayor Hewitt wrote to the Aldermen yesterday commending the suggestion.  He agrees with the people of Pelham that they ought not to be despoiled of so much territory, and protests that this city could buy breathing spots for $5,052,158.96 -- the sum wanted by the owners of the park -- much nearer the homes of those who need fresh air recreation.  Breathing and resting places for the poor in the crowded districts should be the first concern of the municipality, he says.  Such privileges are enjoyed fully where they exist, and cannot be multiplied too soon for the good order and general welfare of the community.  The Mayor reminds the Aldermen, however, that the incubus may not be easily unloaded.  If the Legislature should repeal the act without imposing specially onerous conditions in regard to damages, the Mayor would welcome the repeal as a relief from an unwise and unjust obligation, and as a positive benefaction so far as it would release the means required for numerous small parks.  If an unconditional repeal cannot be secured the Mayor thinks it would be desirable to get power to negotiate with the owners for a release, and then to abandon Pelham Bay Park.  Otherwise it would be necessary to go on and complete the purchase, in which case the Mayor would hope that authority would be secured to sell the property and apply the proceeds to the establishment of small parks."

Source:  NO PARK WANTED THERE, N.Y. Times, Mar. 30, 1887, p. 2, col. 2 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"HEARD IN COMMITTEE.
------
THE IVES POOL BILL TO BE REPORTED FAVORABLY.

ALBANY, May 3. . . .

The Senate Cities Committee listened to an argument by Mr. Frederic R. Coudert this afternoon against Senator Daly's bill empowering the Park Commissioners to diminish the area of Pelham Park.  He maintained that the land for the purpose had already been condemned and taken, and endless litigation would flow from the enactment of this bill.  The projected park system was a great blessing to New-York's future, and ought not, he believed, to be disturbed.

Assistant Corporation Counsel Scott favored the bill, as the Pelham Park project had been passed on false maps to deceive the Legislature of 1884, and about 300 acres were useless swamp, which the city could not use for park purposes. . . ."

Source:  HEARD IN COMMITTEE -- THE IVES POOL BILL TO BE REPORTED FAVORABLY, N.Y. Times, May 4, 1887, p. 2, col. 2 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"MORE PARKS FOR THE POOR.
-----
NEEDS OF THE TENEMENT DISTRICTS.
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A BILL TO FURNISH BREATHING-SPOTS IN CROWDED QUARTERS -- VIEWS OF CITY OFFICERS.

Among the most interesting schemes of public improvement which the present municipal government had undertaken is the proposition to provide a number of small parks or open places throughout the city below One-hundred-and-fifty-fifth-st., but particularly among the densely populated tenement districts.  Mayor Hewitt and President Beekman, of the Board of Aldermen, are warmly interested in the matter, and have had Corporation Counsel Lacombe prepare a bill, which, having passed through the Legislature, has just received the Governor's signature and has become a law.  It authorizes the local authorities to take the necessary land and apply it for the purposes of a public resort.  All the heads of the city departments are warmly opposed to the present law creating the larger parks up in Westchester County, and ask its repeal.  They look upon that plan as extravagant and not immediately necessary, while the small parks will not be extremely costly, and are pressingly demanded.

'I am very glad the bill has passed,' said the Mayor yesterday.  'It ought to have passed.  It is the city's duty to provide at least as many facilities for the poor as it does for the rich.  So far that has not been done.  The working-people and the poorer classes, so-called, have a substantial ground of complaint against the city in this respect.  The crowded parts of the city downtown are left almost wholly without breathing places.  The provision of such necessaries is a proper way to spend money.'

'Is it instead of the big Westchester parks that you have offered this measure?'

'Not at all.  I believe that every generation should take care of itself, and that it is unwise to spend money for the Pelham Bay property now.  But I didn't want this measure to depend on the repeal of the acts which require the city to take that park land.  If the Legislature won't let us out of that bad bargain, we must stand by it; that's all.  But those parks will not meet the exigencies of this case.  Even if we took them, they are much too far away to serve the needs of that vast body of poor people for whom the small parks are intended.  What they require are breathing places near their tenement-houses, where they can go in the evenings of hot summer days and rest in quiet with pure air and flowers and trees and other agreeable surroundings.  It is the lack of such things that has made an opportunity for Henry George.  The poor people feel that they are denied the commonest necessities of life, and they lend a willing ear to any one who promises them better things.  The only way to meet this case is to remove the causes of this discontent.  No person who has any human feeling could walk on hot nights through the crowded tenement districts and see these people forced to crowd up together on the tops of their houses and, indeed, to sleep there, in order to get a breath of fresh air, and then oppose this measure.  The bill provides for the expenditure of $1,000,000 a year in acquiring property to be thus employed.  That is not too large a sum.'

'For how many years!'

'The limit is not fixed.  Why should it be?  The work should be done thoroughly and it should go on year by year until enough of these places are provided to accommodate the people.  It should be done in a rational and not immoderate spirit, but it should be effectively done.  I should be in favor of utilizing the ends of blocks thus taken.  The ends looking out upon a park ought to be sold for half as much money as the block would cost.'

President Beekman, of the Board of Aldermen, is highly enthusiastic over the plan, and immensely gratified that it has received the Legislature's approval.  He thus presented his views to a TRIBUNE reporter:

'The city has very few parks for the recreation of the people south of Fifty-ninth-st., especially on the extreme east and west sides.  From the Battery up to Eighty-fourth-st. on the east side there are only two.  Tompkins Square and Stuyvesant Square.  It hardly needs argument to satisfy any mind that this portion of the city has been neglected.  In making proper provision for large open places where the people may find purer air and the opportunity for rest and recreation out of doors.  This necessity is especially pressing in the case of the masses of the people, who, because of their narrow means, are compelled to remain in the city during the heat of the summer months.  What it must mean to them and their families can only be appreciated by those who have gone in midsummer through the densely populated districts on the east and west sides, and have seen the streets filled with people trying to bear up under the exhaustion of the extreme heat.

'The purpose of this bill -- Assembly Bill No. 728 -- is to vest in the local authorities full discretionary power to locate and lay out public parks in any portion of the city south of One hundred-and-fifty-fifth-st.  The exercise of this discretion is confided to the Board of Street Opening and Improvement, which consists of the Mayor, the Controller, the Commissioner of Public Works, the President of the Department of Public Parks and the President of the Board of Aldermen, of whom three, Mr. Hewitt, Mr. Loew and myself, are members of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, in exercising this power, should the bill pass, the Board of Street Opening would no doubt, select plots of land in the thickly-populated tenement district.  There are many plots of land in New-York which have not only been built up along the streets and avenues bounding them, but so choked up by rear buildings that the internal space, which should always be kept open for ventilation, and must be under the new law, has been entirely closed.  All ventilation is thus impossible.  Of course, the sanitary condition of such blocks is about as bad as can be.  To take such blocks, remove the buildings and throw them open as parks would be to confer on the people an immense benefit.  Of course, this could not be done in all such cases.  The Board would use its best judgment as to the location of the squares.

'In its ninth section the bill provides that after the title to the various pieces of ground has been acquired the Department of Public Parks shall be vested with their care, custody and construction, and authorizes the Department to erect and furnish therein for public purposes, for the comfort, health and instruction of the people, such and so many buildings as the said Department of Public Parks, with the concurrence of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, shall determine to be necessary and expedient.'  The tenth section provides for an issue of bonds to meet the necessary expenditures under the bill.  I desire to call particular attention to the careful way in which the act has been drawn, so as to prevent any improvidence or extravagance.  No contract can be entered into or liability incurred until the plans therefor, and in the case of buildings, an estimate of their cost, have been prepared by the Park Department and approved by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment.  The act limits all expenditures to $1,000,000 in any one year.

'My idea with reference to the construction of these parks is to lay them out into lawns and paths, planting them with such carefully selected trees, shrubs and flowers as are best adapted to city life, and providing them with fountains and with means of holding occasional outdoor concerts, and with large spaces specially provided as playgrounds for children.  I would also, from time to time, proceeding in a conservative way, erect buildings along the exterior lines of these parks for lecture-rooms, restaurants, circulating libraries, and hot and cold baths.  The lecture-rooms I would place at the disposal of the Board of Education, under an arrangement providing for the free instruction of the public in the ordinary sanitary rules of everyday life, and in cookery, of which the people are so lamentably ignorant, and upon a correct knowledge of which their physical well-being so much depends.  The buildings for the circulating libraries could well be placed at the disposal of the Tilden Trust.  In this way the city could properly co-operate with the trustees in giving the widest possible scope to this noble benefaction of Mr. Tilden.  A proper provision for personal cleanliness and refreshment is, I think, indispensable to the health, not to speak of the comfort of a great city.  Public baths are provided for the people abroad, sometimes at great expense.  Hosts of poor people in New-York lack the proper facilities for bathing purposes.  It is a condition of affairs which cannot be remedied too soon.  The buildings for the restaurants could be leased upon the same conditions as apply to the rental of similar buildings in Central Park, the lessees paying to the city a certain percentage of their gross receipts, the Park Department reserving the right to control the prices charged for all supplies.

'I do not wish to convey the idea that all these buildings would or should be immediately erected.  Of course the Park Department and the Board of Estimate will proceed, especially at first, experimentally, testing the manner in which these various improvements work before going into any extensive construction.  The subject is an exceedingly interesting one, and deserves, as no doubt it will receive, a close and sympathetic study at the hands of the public.'"

Source:  MORE PARKS FOR THE POOR -- NEEDS OF THE TENEMENT DISTRICTS -- A BILL TO FURNISH BREATHING-SPOTS IN CROWDED QUARTERS -- VIEWS OF CITY OFFICERS, New-York Tribune, May 15, 1887, p. 9, col. 6.

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I have written before about Pelham's efforts to fight the threatened tax burdens its citizens would face if New York City were permitted to avoid Pelham property taxes.  See, e.g.:  

Mon., Jul. 10, 2017:  Proposal to Permit Pelham to Tax New York City Land in Pelham Bay Park in 1888.

Thu., Dec. 29, 2016:  Even New York City Didn't Want to Pay Pelham Taxes.

Fri., Jun. 13, 2014:  1887 Letter to Editor Details Tax Burdens Pelham Bore Due to the Creation of Pelham Bay Park.

Thu., Jun. 05, 2014:  Pelham Fights City Hall: Pelham Fights Creation of Pelham Bay Park During the 1880s. 

Tue., Jan. 19, 2010:  Pelham to New York City in 1888: "You Should Pay Taxes"! 

Fri., Feb. 06, 2009:  More on Pelham's Displeasure with the Loss of Pelham Bay Park Lands from the Tax Rolls in the 19th Century. 

Thu., Feb. 05, 2009:  New York City Corporation Counsel to Pelham in 1887:  We Told You So! 

Wed., Feb. 04, 2009:  Pelham Has Second Thoughts in 1887 About the Proposal To Create Pelham Bay Park. 

Mon., Jan. 21, 2008:  Litigation Over Compensation for Pelham Property Owners Whose Lands Were Taken by New York City for the New Pelham Bay Park. 

Fri., Sep. 23, 2005:  Pelham Tries To Kill the Plan to Create Pelham Bay Park:  1887. 

Fri., May 20, 2005:  1888 - Pelham Fears Bankruptcy Due to the Creation of Pelham Bay Park.

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Bitten by a Dog Showing Rabies Symptoms, Pelham Woman Traveled to Europe to See Pasteur

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After developing the process of pasteurization whereby liquids such as raw milk are boiled to kill microorganisms that might spoil the liquid or cause illness in those who consume it, French chemist and biologist Louis Pasteur turned his attention to a more thorough study of bacteria and other microorganisms.  During the 1880s, Pasteur's work as the director of scientific studies at the Ecole Normale in Paris focused on so-called germ theory and efforts to develop vaccines against some of the most prevalent diseases of the day.  Pasteur worked on a rabies vaccine, initially, by infecting rabbits with the rabies virus then, after death, drying their affected nerve tissue to weaken the virus so it could be applied as a safe vaccine.

On July 6, 1885, nine-year-old Joseph Meister was brought to Pasteur.  The young lad had been attacked by a rabid dog.  Pasteur administered his experimental vaccine to the boy who survived the ordeal and was spared a painful death from rabies.  

The world was stunned.  Pasteur became a national hero and an internationally-acclaimed scientist.  Publications throughout the world breathlessly acclaimed his success with treating the rabies virus.  People throughout the world read about his successful vaccination against the disease -- people including many who lived in the Town of Pelham, an ocean away from Paris, France.  

Among those who heard about the rabies vaccine was Mrs. John S. Ellis of the tiny settlement of Bartow-on-the-Sound in the Town of Pelham.  She was a sister of John M. Waterbury who also resided at Bartow.

Mrs. Ellis and her family had a beautiful collie as a family pet.  In the first week of January, 1887, the family collie had a fight with another local dog.  As Mrs. Ellis tried to break up the fight, her collie bit her on the hand and arm.  

She was shocked that the gentle family pet had turned on her, but attributed it to the fear and confusion of a dogfight.  As her wounds healed, however, the family pet became sick.  Soon the collie was acting mad and, shortly, it died.  Family and friends were terrified.  The dog exhibited signs of hydrophobia -- rabies!

Mrs. Ellis and her family became "greatly alarmed."  So did the local Board of Health.  A number of local dogs were killed and the Board ordered that all dogs that may have been bitten by the collie before it died were to be chained until further notice.

On Tuesday, January 4, 1887, only days after she suffered the dog bite, Mrs. Ellis and her husband boarded the Arizona and set sail for Liverpool from which they planned to travel to Paris to place Mrs. Ellis under the care of the famed Louis Pasteur who had previously saved the life of little nine-year-old Joseph Meister with his rabies vaccine.  

We may never know whether the collie did not have rabies or the rabies vaccine was administered by Louis Pasteur and saved the life of Mrs. Ellis.  We do know, however, that the following autumn, a healthy and robust Mrs. Ellis was hosting parties for members of The Country Club at Pelham. . . . . 

Louis Pasteur in His Laboratory.  A Painting by A. Edelfeldt.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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"THE COUNTY. . . .

A little over a week ago, Mrs. John S. Ellis, a sister of John M. Waterbury, who resides at Bartow, was bitten on the hand by her pet dog, while she was trying to stop him fighting with another dog.  The wound healed up and nothing more was thought of it until a couple of days afterward, when it was discovered the dog was mad.  This greatly alarmed the lady, and on Tuesday she sailed for Paris, to be treated by Pasteur.  A number of dogs have been killed, and the Board of Health has ordered that all dogs that may have been bitten by the Ellis dog, be chained."

Source:  THE COUNTY, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jan. 7, 1887, Vol. XVIII, No. 948, p. 2, col. 4.  

"CHATTER. . . .

-- Mrs. John S. Ellis of Bartow-on Sound has gone sailing over the sea to M. Pasteur.  A pet dog, a large and hitherto gentle collie, bit her somewhat severely in the arm.  Although Mrs. Ellis felt no apprehension regarding the injury, she has yielded to the persuasions of her family, and last Tuesday with her husband and son sailed for Paris.  Mrs. Ellis is the sister of Mrs. Pierrepont Edwards, wife of the British Consul, and of Mrs. C. C. Johnstou.  Her brother is James M. Waterbury, adjoining whose magnificent country seat, 'Plaisance,' is the handsome home of the Ellises where they live the year round.  Apropos of Mr. Waterbury's superb place, Baron Selliere (he with the noble showing of $5,000,000) says it is incomparably the prettiest and most complete country seat he has ever seen, excepting, of course, the show places of England."

Source:  CHATTER, The Daily Graphic [NY, NY], Jan. 8, 1887, p. 519, cols. 1-2.  

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOCIETY. . . .

The accident which has befallen Mrs. John S. Ellis at her home at Bartow on the Sound has cast a gloom over society in West Chester and caused grave anxiety in the Waterbury family.  The beautiful collie dog, which has been the special pet and companion of its mistress for several years, attacked her most unexpectedly a few days since and inflicted a severe wound on her arm with his teeth.  The animal soon afterward sickened and died, and Mrs. Ellis became so nervous and apprehensive that her medical adviser recommended her to go at once to Paris and put herself under Pasteur's care.  Mr. and Mrs. Ellis therefore sailed in the Arizona.  It is extremely unlikely that any serious consequences will follow, but if the patient can be persuaded in her own mind that M. Pasteur's treatment is infallible, more than half the battle will be won."

Source:  WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOCIETY, The Sun [NY, NY], Jan. 9, 1887, p. 8, col. 7 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"To be Treated by Pasteur.
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NEW YORK, Jan. 5. -- Mrs. John S. Ellis of Bartow-on-the-Sound, a well known society lady, sailed yesterday on the Arizona for Liverpoll and will go thence to Paris to be treated by Pasteur.  She was recently bitten by a pet dog which showed signs of hydrophobia, and while she does not apprehend danger her friends think it best to take all possible precautions."

Source:  To be Treated by Pasteur, The Daily News [Batavia, NY], Jan. 15, 1887, Vol. IX, No. 2,624, p. 1, col. 2.  See also Going to be Treated by Pasteur, Rome Daily Sentinel [Rome, NY], Vol. XV, No. 4,348, p. 3, col. 3 (same text).  

"SOCIETY SMALL TALK. . . .

Mrs. John S. Ellis, 'The Elms,' Bartow on the Sound, will give a dance at her country place tonight.  The guests will include the prominent members of the Country Club.  Pinard will serve the supper."

Source:  SOCIETY SMALL TALK, The Evening Telegram [NY, NY] Oct. 6, 1887, p. 2, col. 4.  

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