The Whereabouts of the Pelham Coach: Colonel Delancey Kane's Famed 19th Century Tally-Ho Road Coach

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In 1876 a horse-drawn road coach known as “The Pelham Coach” (also known, informally, as the "Tally-Ho") began running between New York City’s Hotel Brunswick and the “Pelham Manor” of yore. This road coach was not a simple hired coach that ferried passengers from New York City.  Rather, this road coach was driven by Colonel DeLancey Kane, one of the so-called “millionaire coachmen,” who engaged in a sport known as “public coaching” or “road coaching” as it sometimes was called. The purpose of the sport was to rush the carriage between designated points on a specified schedule, with quick changes of horses at strategic points along the way, and to maintain that schedule rigorously. 

Colonel DeLancey Kane became quite famous for his handling of The Pelham Coach, a bright canary yellow coach that was cheered along its route from the Hotel Brunswick in New York City to Pelham Bridge in the Town of Pelham and, later, along Shore Road into New Rochelle. The iconic image of the Tally Ho! immediately below appeared on song sheets, in etchings and engravings distributed throughout the United States. It shows The Pelham Coach. 

Click on Image to Enlarge.

Colonel Kane changed the terminus of the Tally Ho! a number of times. In various years the coach traveled to the Lorillard cottage (Arcularius Hotel) at Pelham Bridge, the Pelham Bridge Hotel, the Huguenot House in New Rochelle, and a number of other locations in the region in and around Pelham. The Tally Ho! route always, however, either terminated at Pelham Bridge or continued through Pelham along Shore Road past the settlement of Bartow and Bolton Priory on its way to New Rochelle.

The first "Coaching Season" for the Delancey Kane's Tally Ho! was in 1876.  According to a number of sources, Delancey Kane ran his Pelham Coach at least during the coaching seasons of 1876, 1877, 1880, and 1882.  

Kane, who reportedly was the first to "put on a public coach" in sport, inspired others.  For example, as I have noted before, On April 25, 1881 a coach named the Tantivy was put on the road to Tarrytown by Colonel W. Jay, George Peabody Wetmore, T. A. Havemeyer, Hugo O. Fritsch, Isaac Bel, Jr., and F. Bronson.  The Tantivy ran at least six months that year and, the following year, was put back on the road to Yonkers.  In 1884, 1887, and 1889, public coaches were run by J. Roosevelt Roosevelt, C. Oliver Iselin, F. Bronson, R. W. Rives, and the Coaching Club (of New York).  See Whitney, Caspar W., "Evolution of the Country Club" in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. XC, No. DXXXV, pp. 16 & 28 (Dec., 1894).  

I have written for many years and on many occasions about the Pelham Coach established by Col. Delancey Kane in 1876.  For dozens of examples, see the list of articles with links at the end of today's Historic Pelham Blog article.

A fascinating article about the current location of the Pelham Coach appeared in the August, 2009 issue of The Carriage Journal, the journal of the Carriage Association of America.  The article describes recent events leading to a change in the ownership and location of the Pelham Coach since I last visited that issue more than thirteen years ago in 2005.  See Fri., Feb. 11, 2005:  Col. Delancey Kane's "Pelham Coach", Also Known as The Tally-Ho, Is Located.  The wonderful article, by Ken Wheeling is available within Google Books.  See Wheeling, Ken, "The Tally-Ho:  A Road Coach," in The Carriage Journal, Vol. 47, No. 5, p. 261 (Oct. 2009).  

Although, as one would expect, Ken Wheeling's article focuses on the coach itself, the article also includes fascinating information about the color lithograph of the Pelham Coach included above (and in a number of other Historic Pelham Blog articles).   The lithograph was published by J. B. Brewster & Co., a New York City firm.  It was taken from a massive five-foot-long painting on the coach created by Philadelphia artist Henry C. Bispham who was "more known for his western art."  According to Ken Wheeling's article:

"It was also in 1876 that the Tally-Ho made its first appearance in art.  The Philadelphia artist Henry C. Bispham (1841-1882) painted a five-foot canvas depicting the coach and gave a reception at the Brunswick Hotel to unveil it.

'The picture . . . represents the coach and four-in-hand in a swinging trot out on the road, the Colonel driving and the horses well in hand, the nigh leader pacing and the others trotting.  The seats and top of the coach are filled with passengers, the box seat occupied by Colonel Kane and his wife, and just behind are seated Colonel Jay, the president of the Coaching Club; Mr. Sherman and Colonel Kane's brother, with the guard standing and sounding the horn.  The back seats are occupied by several passengers denoting the business element of the establishment.  Inside is one of the old-fashioned elderly women who have seen enough of this world to be content with quiet and retirement.  The horses are portraits and careful attention has been paid to the details of the gold mounted harness.  The extra straw collar hangs at the side of the coach, to be used in emergencies, and on the side under the window is painted in gilt letters the sign, 'Mott Haven and Pelham Bridge' . . ."

Id., p. 264 (endnotes omitted).  

According to Ken Wheeling's article, the Pelham Coach was built by Holland & Holland of Oxford Street in London.  The article states:

"John Holland was Master of the Worshipful Company of Coachmakers and Coach Harness Makers in 1873, exhibiting his carriages five years later at the Paris Exhibition of 1878.  Ten years later the company was owned by V. Kesterton.  In 1912, Thrupp & Maberly bought out the business along with Wyburn & Co. and Silk & Sons.  Holland & Holland coaches were highly desirable then and very much prized today."

Id., p. 261.  

The Pelham Coach, as the Tally-Ho was called by many, was a striking sight.  As the image at the outset of today's Historic Pelham Blog posting shows, it was a striking canary yellow (with matching risers).  As noted by Ken Wheeling, the "lettering was red, highlighted in black.  When used for public coaching, the names of the terminal cities were painted in the crest panels, and the New York terminus points were altered accordingly".  Id., p. 262.  

When last I wrote (in 2005) of the whereabouts of the Pelham Coach, it was in the possession of the Museum of the City of New York.  At the time, I noted:

"The Pelham Coach still exists. I have corresponded with Ms. Melanie Bower, Collections Access Associate of the Museum of the City of New York.  On February 10 she wrote me saying '[t]he Museum does own the Tally-ho coach used by Col. Delancey [Kane]. The coach is currently stored in the Museum's off-site curatorial facility. While it is possible to schedule an appointment to view the coach in storage, it is currently not on display at the Museum.'"

Since then, ownership of the coach has changed, as has its location.  Ken Wheeling has detailed the provenance and location of the Pelham Coach as follows:

"Colonel DeLancey Kane died on Easter Sunday, April 3, 1915, ironically preceded in death by Colonel William Jay on March 28.  The two founders of the Coaching Club, both of whom had contributed so much to its success, died within days of each other.  The Tally-Ho remained at 'The Paddocks,' Colonel and Mrs. Kane's home in New Rochelle, New Jersey, until 1933, when Mrs. Kane donated it to the Museum of the City of New York.  In September 2008, ownership of the coach was transferred to the Long island Museum of American Art, History & Carriages. . . . Any subsequent chapters remain to be 'written.'"

Id., p. 267 (endnotes omitted).

The Pelham Coach that played a role in making Pelham famous in the 19th century as a playground of the rich and famous lives on.  Indeed, its "subsequent chapters remain to be written."

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Below is a list of articles and blog postings that I previously have posted regarding the subject of "Coaching to Pelham."

Tue., Apr. 10, 2018:  Crash of Col. Delancey Kane's "Pelham Coach" During its First Season in 1876.

Mon., Feb. 12, 2018:  Is This a Rare Photograph of the Famed Pelham Coach?

Tue., Aug. 15, 2017:  1877 Advertisement for Colonel Delancey Kane's Pelham Coach Known as the "Tally Ho".

Bell, Blake A., Col. Delancey Kane and "The Pelham Coach" (Sep. 2003).

Thu., Jul. 28, 2016:  The Chicago Tribune Lampooned Coaching to Pelham in 1884.

Wed., Jul. 30, 2014:  Yet Another Attempt in 1894 to Resurrect the Glory Days of Coaching to Pelham.  

Tue., Jul. 29, 2014:  Wonderful Description of Coaching to Pelham on the Tally-Ho's First Trip of the Season on May 1, 1882.

Wed., Apr. 14, 2010:  Col. Delancey Kane Changes the Timing and Route of The Pelham Coach in 1876.

Tue., Sep. 08, 2009:  1877 Advertisement with Timetable for the Tally Ho Coach to Pelham.

Mon., Mar. 23, 2009:  The Greyhound and the Tantivy-- The Four-in-Hand Coaches that Succeeded Col. Delancey Kane's "Tally-Ho" to Pelham.

Fri., Jan. 16, 2009: The Final Trip of the First Season of Col. Delancey Kane's "New-Rochelle and Pelham Four-in-Hand Coach Line" in 1876.

Thu., Jan. 15, 2009:  The First Trip of Col. Delancey Kane's "New-Rochelle and Pelham Four-in-Hand Coach Line" on May 1, 1876.

Thu., Mar. 06, 2008:  Auctioning the Tantivy's Horses at the Close of the 1886 Coaching Season.

Wed., Mar. 05, 2008:  Coaching to Pelham: The Tantivy Has an Accident on its Way to Pelham in 1886.  

Thu., Jan. 24, 2008:  An Account of the First Trip of Colonel Delancey Kane's Tally-Ho to Open the 1880 Coaching Season.

Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008: Brief "History of Coaching" Published in 1891 Shows Ties of Sport to Pelham, New York

Thursday, August 3, 2006: Images of Colonel Delancey Kane and His "Pelham Coach" Published in 1878.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005: Taunting the Tantivy Coach on its Way to Pelham: 1886.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005: 1882 Engraving Shows Opening of Coaching Season From Hotel Brunswick to Pelham Bridge.

Thu., Jun. 09, 2005:  Coaching to Pelham: Colonel Delancey Astor Kane Did Not Operate the Only Coach to Pelham.

Fri., Feb. 11, 2005:  Col. Delancey Kane's "Pelham Coach", Also Known as The Tally-Ho, Is Located.

Bell, Blake A., Col. Delancey Kane and "The Pelham Coach", The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XII, No. 38, Sept. 26, 2003, p. 1, col. 1.

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Rare Images of the Lorillard Cottage of "Coaching to Pelham" Fame

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The Lorillard Cottage once stood overlooking Eastchester Bay in an area near the location where today's Pelham Bridge reaches the shores of Throgg's Neck.  Images of the "cottage" are somewhat rare.  Built by Pierre Lorillard, Jr., the two story "cottage" was a substantial structure highlighted by a distinctive two-story portico supported by four simple columns that were unfluted and capped with ionic-style capitals.  

Although images of the Lorillard Cottage before it was razed by Robert Moses are somewhat rare, one recently popped up on eBay.  The image gives a clear picture of what the structure looked like at about the end of the 19th century or the very beginning of the 20th century.  

Undated Image of the "Lorillard Cottage" that Once Stood

on Throgg's Neck Near the Foot of the Old Pelham Bridge.

Source:  eBay.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

I have written before about the Lorillard Cottage, a structure that later became the "Arcularius Hotel," as part of an article about the Grand View Hotel that once stood at Pelham Bridge.  See Thu., Jan. 21, 2016:  Research Regarding David Blizzard's 19th Century Grand View Hotel at Pelham Bridge.  In that article I included two additional images of the Lorillard Cottage, taken from tiny engravings depicting the structure on sheet music.

"ARCULARIUS HOTEL"

This is a Tiny Detail, Difficult to Reproduce, From Armstrong,

W.A. & Pratt, Charles E., Coaching To Pelham Song And Chorus

[Music Sheets], Pg. 1 [Cover] (NY, NY: American Music Publishing

Co. 1876). NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.

Image Depicting the Arcularius Hotel.

This is a Tiny Detail, Difficult to Reproduce, From Speck,

Samuel H., New Rochelle and Pelham Coach Galop [sic],

[Music Sheets], Pg. 1 [Cover] (Boston, MA: Oliver Ditson &

Co., 1876). NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.

Numerous sources indicate that the Lorillard Cottage was built by Pierre Lorillard II (also known as Pierre Lorillard, Jr.).  For a full biography of Pierre Lorillard II, see "Pierre Lorillard II" in Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia (visited May 14, 2016).  

Pierre Lorillard II was born in New York on September 7, 1764.  He was a son of American tobacco magnate and founder of the Lorillard Tobacco Company, Pierre Abraham Lorillard, and Catherine Moore.  He married Maria Dorothea Schultz in 1788.  The couple lived at 521 Broadway in New York City and had five children.  

Members of the Lorillard family became associated with the areas known today as Bronx Park, Pelham Bay Park, and Throgg's Neck due to the family business.  The original business, started by Pierre Abraham Lorillard was a small snuff-grinding factory located in a rented house in lower Manhattan known as "Lorillard's Snuff and Tobacco Company."  Id.  Peter Abraham Lorillard was killed during the Revolutionary War.  Two of his sons, Pierre Lorillard II and George Lorillard took over the business.  As the business prospered, the Lorillards moved the manufacturing concern in 1792 to an expanded location adjacent to the Bronx River.  Various members of the Lorillard family built a variety of mansions, homes and cottages in the region not far from the manufacturing facility. 

In 1840, the Lorillards build the Lorillard Snuff Mill near an earlier such structure on the Bronx River , a building that still stands and serves as a cafe and meeting space on the grounds of today's New York Botanical Gardens.  

Lorillard Snuff Mill in 2011.

Source:  "Lorillard Snuff Mill" in Wikipedia -- The Free

Encyclopedia (visited May 14, 2016).  NOTE:  Click on

Image to Enlarge.

Among the many such Lorillard structures built in the region was the "Lorillard Cottage" built by Pierre Lorillard II before his death on May 23, 1843.  By 1853, the structure seems to have been converted to a hotel as a map prepared that year seems to refer to the structure simply as "Hotel."

Detail of Map Published in 1853 Showing What

Is Believed to Be the Location of the "Lorillard

Cottage" Naming it "Hotel."  Source:  Detail from

Map Published in 1853, Ten Years After the Death

 of Pierre Lorillard II.  Source: Dripps, Matthew & Conner,

R.F.O., Southern Part of West-Chester County N. Y.

(1853) (Museum of the City of New York, No. 29.100.2628).

NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

By 1853, the Pelham Bridge area and City Island in the Town of Pelham already were known as a summer resort area and a sportsman's paradise.  By the 1870s, a man named George P. Arcularius began operating a hotel named the "Arcularius Hotel" in the Lorillard Cottage.  During the mid-1870s, the Arcularius Hotel became, for a short time, the destination of the famed "Pelham Coach" operated by Col. Delancey Kane.  As the destination for the famous "Tally-Ho" driven by Col. Kane, the Arcularius Hotel became well-known in its own right.  See, e.g., COL. DELANCEY KANE'S COACH -- The Trip to be Made To-Morrow to Pelham Bridge and Back -- The First Passengers, The Sun [NY, NY], Apr. 30, 1876, p. 5, col. 3.

A number of sources of the day indicate that the Arcularius Hotel was established in the old "Pierre Lorillard mansion."  See, e.g., The New Coach Line. Charming Ride to Pelham Bridge, N.Y. Times, May 2, 1876, p. 10 ("Arcularius Hotel is the old Pierre Lorillard mansion, situated on the shore of the Sound, surrounded with beautiful lawns and shade trees, and affording excellent opportunity for boating, fishing, and bathing. There could not be a pleasanter place in which to while away an afternoon."). 

References to the "Lorillard mansion" at Pelham Bridge would seem to be references to the "neat cottage" of "Mr. Pierre Lorillard Jr." that stood on the on the "north side of the neck [i.e., Throgg's Neck] at Pelham Bridge" referred to in Thomas Scharf's History of Westchester County published in 1886.  See Scharf, J. Thomas, History of Westchester County New York, Including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, Which Have Been Annexed to New York City, Vol. I, p. 816 (Philadelphia, PA: L. E. Preston & Co., 1886).

Once New York City acquired Lorillard Point and the Lorillard Cottage as it assembled parcels and estates in the region to create Pelham Bay Park, the property became one of many in the park that were repeatedly misused in a pattern of graft.  Commissioners "rented" the properties for amounts that were well below market rent to cronies and local politicians and other insiders who curried their favor.  

For example, in 1895 the New York Times reported that the secretary of the City Parks Department, Charles De Forest Burns, admitted to one of its reporters that he lived in the Lorillard Cottage rent free and even had his personal coachman carried on the City's payroll as a "laborer."  The newspaper made much of the fact that on his simple City salary, Burns had a vast coterie of "servants" who served him at the Lorillard Cottage.

Later, after the Burns scandal had passed, the Lorillard Cottage was "leased" to the "Tallapoosa Club" for only $25 per month.  The Tallapoosa Club was an organization headed by then-Bronx President Louis Haffen that used the Lorillard Cottage as a hotel and roadhouse  at great profit.

New York City newspapers repeatedly probed misuse of such properties as the Lorillard Cottage.  With each new probe, another great scandal unfolded and played out in the local newspapers for months.  A few examples of such articles that mention the Lorillard Cottage at Pelham Bridge appear below.

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"MAY DISMISS MR. BURNS
-----
Park Board Not Prepared Yet to Discuss Charges Against Him.
-----
THE SECRETARY BECOMES ENRAGED
-----
Admits However, that He Lived in Lorillard Cottage and Employed Brown -- Some Wonder at His Array of Servants.

The Park Commissioners declared yesterday that they were not prepared to discuss in detail the revelations made in THE NEW-YORK TIMES regarding Charles De Forest Burns, the Secretary of the department, and the frauds and pillage at Pelham Bay Park.  They acknowledged that stories affecting Burns, and the manner in which he had lived, rent free, in one of the park houses, using a park laborer as his private watchman, had reached them, and they intimated that these stories had been discussed at their meeting last week, and that some action would probably soon be taken.

'The public may rest assured,' said Col. Cruger, President of the board, 'that we will go to the bottom in all matters affecting the department, and that our action will be as prompt as circumstances will permit.  During the short time we have been in office we have already found much that should be changed, and as fast as we can get at it improvements will be made.  There is much to clean out, I believe, and we will not shirk our duty.'

'Have you decided on any action regarding Burns?' Col. Cruger was asked.

'I cannot speak in advance of what we have decided to do,' was the answer.  'It would not be good policy.'

Commissioner Stiles was equally guarded.  He said the charges made by THE NEW-YORK TIMES would be carefully considered, and prompt action would follow.

'Supposing it is proved to your satisfaction,' said the reporter,  'that Burns occupied the Lorillard cottage without paying the department a cent of rent, and that he caused his coachman to be carried on the city pay rolls as a laborer?'

'Then,' replied Mr. Stiles, with much vehemence, 'I would insist that he be turned out at once.'

This opens a very sorry prospect for Burns, as he himself admitted to a reporter for THE NEW-YORK TIMES that he lived in the Lorillard cottage in Pelham Bay Park, without paying any rental, and there are dozens of persons who can testify that Peter Brown acted as coachman and man of all work for the Secretary during all the time the department pay rolls show that Brown drew regular laborer's pay from the city.

Mr. Burns grew furiously angry when the charges regarding himself and his political friends at Pelham Bay Park were submitted to him.  He first insisted that he did not know any such man as Peter Brown; had never known; but after a time, when his growing excitement made him less cautious, he admitted a rather intimate and extended acquaintance with the man.

'Never heard of a man named Peter Brown,' insisted Mr. Burns in the beginning.  'I don't know that there is such a man.'

'Then he did not act as your coachman during your stay at Pelham Bay Park?'

'No, Sir.'

'You are quite sure of that?'

'I am.'

'As a matter of fact, Mr. Burns,' asked the reporter, 'isn't the man working for you now at your place at Riverdale?'

The Secretary's face grew fiery red, and his rage went beyond all bounds.  He gave vent to a stream of violent language, and finally shouted:

'What business is it of yours who my servants are?  I employ a cook and a housemaid and other servants.  I suppose you want to know who they are.'

The excited Secretary stopped here as if waiting for an answer, and, getting none, he grew angrier than ever, finally blurting out:

'Yes, Peter Brown is my coachman today,' he exclaimed, pounding the table in front of which he sat.  'Whose business is it?  I employ him and I pay him.  He works for me, as he has a right to do.'

'Is he still on the department pay rolls?'

'No, Sir; he is not.'

'But he was.'

'He never was.'

'The pay rolls show it.'

'I don't care what they show, and I will end this interview right here.'

'Did you live in the Lorillard cottage rent free, Mr. Burns?' the reporter asked.

'What of that?  That is an old story,' was the answer given after some moments of hesitation.

'Nothing; only is it true you lived there?'

There was another silence, and then Mr. Burns said:

'Yes, I did.'

'The records do not show that you paid any rental.'

'Perhaps I didn't.  I went to live in the house at the request of the Commissioners, and therefore paid no rent.'

The Commissioners, the Secretary went on in response to questions, had asked him to Pelham Bay Park in order to 'supervise the work that was being done.'

He could not say which of the Commissioners had asked him to move there, and he could not explain how he could supervise the work being carried on, in view of the fact that he had to be in the Chambers Street offices of the department from 9 A.M. until 4 P.M., and it required three hours a day to travel back and forth.  The workmen, in consequence, were just beginning their labors when Mr. Burns left the park, and were just getting through in the evening when he returned.  The Secretary waved all these items aside, and, when he was too closely pressed, he took refuge behind the irrelevant exclamation:

'What business is it of yours who my servants are, who my coachman is, who my cook is?  Simply because I am in a public office, can't I employ whom I please?'

When these little interruptions were overcome, Mr. Burns was asked as to the pillaging of the park by the political gang that has held control there, and as to the doings of 'Jack' Elliott, his personal representative, and the carrying of the other saloon keepers on the department payrolls.

'I don't know anything about them,' answered Mr. Burns to all these questions.

'And William Burke, who, it is alleged, furnished you with a cow and with fresh vegetables in consideration of being carried on the payrolls?'

'Don't know anything about him.  Never heard of Burke in my life.'

This reference to Burke seemed to revive the memory of Peter Brown anew, and the Secretary broke forth wrathfully again:

'Whose business is it whom I employ?'

As to the free cow and vegetables, Mr. Burns declared that the story was 'a lie!'

It is perhaps interesting, in connection with Mr. Burns's statement that he keeps a coachman, cook, housemaid, and other servants, to note that his salary is only $4,000 a year, or less than $80 a week -- a rather slender sum on which to keep up such an establishment.  The men who have known him for many years down town were surprised when they heard of the coachman and the rest.

'What has he got for a coachman to drive?' they asked, and when told that he had a very complete stable outfit, they wanted to know where he could have gotten it.  There are no legitimate sources of income to be drawn on by the Secretary of the Park Department from the city, except the salary, and as Mr. Burns, previous to his advent to this department, had been merely an assistant secretary in the Fire Department, there is much speculation as to the probable manner in which he has grown rich enough to maintain the place where he now lives at Riverdale."

Source:   MAY DISMISS MR. BURNS -- Park Board Not Prepared Yet to Discuss Charges Against Him -- THE SECRETARY BECOMES ENRAGED -- Admits However, that He Lived in Lorillard Cottage and Employed Brown -- Some Wonder at His Array of Servants, N.Y. Times, Nov. 23, 1895, p. 8, col. 1 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link.).  Click here for free version.

"MORE 'HONEST' GRAFT.
-----
Big Houses Leased from City for Small Rents -- Exposed by Metz.

Father Knickerbocker as a landlord is not a success.  Perhaps it is because he is such a plethoric old fellow financially that he does not look too sharply at the acts of his agents.  'See one of the commissioners' he says, possibly, when some one steps into his office in the City Hall to inquire about a house for rent, rattling his cane upon the floor in an irritated sort of way, as if it was too small a matter for him to attend to.  So off to the Park Commissioner or some other official the visitor hurries, almost glad to be out of the presence of the gruff old gentleman.  The visitor finds that he can get almost anything to fit his purse and his taste, from an unsanitary tenement house at $200 a month to a spacious mansion fronting on the shores of Long Island Sound and surrounded by several acres of shaded ground for $25 a month.  Father Knickerbocker's agents, even, will build additions to the better houses, costing several thousands of dollars, for the benefit of the tenants without increasing the rentals.  At least that is what recent investigations indicate.

In Pelham Bay Park are still standing a number of the large country houses which were once the homes of those who owned the estates of which the park were made.  A recent report made to Father Knickerbocker's financial manager, Controller Metz, by the latter's bureau of investigation tells of some of the conditions in the Bronx parks.

The stone De Lancey house, for instance, opposite the bridge leading to Hunter Island, is rented for hotel purposes for $30 a month.  The city added an extension in the rear, containing seven new rooms on the upper floor and a pantry, storeroom and barroom on the main floor, without adding anything to the rent by way of compensation for the increased value of the premises.  The house has large grounds about it and stands on the New Rochelle road, fronting the waters of Long Island Sound.

On the same road, between Bartow and Baychester, is the Pierre Lorillard house.  It stands at the foot of a tree bordered drive on the crest of a gentle slope running down to the edge of Pelham Bay.  It is a three story house with Grecian pillars and presents a stately appearance.  A feature of the interior is the carved black walnut staircase.  This twenty room house is leased by the year at $25 a month to the Tallapoosa Club, known as the club of Louis F. Haffen, the President of the Borough of The Bronx.  It is used as a road house. . . ."

Source:  MORE "HONEST" GRAFT -- Big Houses Leased from City for Small Rents -- Exposed by Metz, N.Y. Tribune, Mar. 31, 1907, Part V, p. 2, cols. 2-4 (NOTE: Paid subscription required to access via this link.).

"SOME NOTABLE VAGARIES IN THE CITY'S SYSTEM OF

LEASING ITS PROPERTY. . . . No. 5.  The Pierre Lorillard

house, in Pelham Bay Park; leased to Louis Haffen's Tallapoosa

Club for $25 a month, and used as a hotel."  Source:  MORE

"HONEST" GRAFT -- Big Houses Leased from City for Small

Rents -- Exposed by Metz, N.Y. Tribune, Mar. 31, 1907,

Part V, p. 2, cols. 2-4 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to

access via this link.).  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

"SOME NOTABLE VAGARIES IN THE CITY'S SYSTEM OF

LEASING ITS PROPERTY. . . . No. 2.  The Hunter Island Inn,

in Pelham Bay Park, leased for $30 a month after extensive

improvements by the city."  Source:  MORE

"HONEST" GRAFT -- Big Houses Leased from City for Small

Rents -- Exposed by Metz, N.Y. Tribune, Mar. 31, 1907,

Part V, p. 2, cols. 2-4 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to

access via this link.).  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.  

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Research Regarding David Blizzard's 19th Century Grand View Hotel at Pelham Bridge

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Introduction

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog collects, and tries to make some sense of, research regarding David Blizzard's Grand View Hotel at Pelham Bridge that was taken over by George P. Arcularius in 1880.  As students of Pelham history might suspect, any history of Blizzard's Hotel necessarily overlaps with that of the famous Arcularius Hotel.  

The purpose of this posting is not to present the story of the Grand View Hotel.  Instead, it is intended to collect many of the incomplete and disparate references to the hotel and its history and to assemble such references to encourage debate regarding how the hotel (and the Articularius Hotel) evolved at Pelham Bridge over time given their importance to Pelham history.  

The Grand View Hotel:  Early Years

The Grand View Hotel once was located near the northeasterly end of the Pelham Bridge overlooking Eastchester Bay.  David Blizzard was the proprietor of the Grand View Hotel during most of the 1870s.  Known for many years, informally, as "Blizzard's," the hotel was extremely popular with excursionists and fishermen while Blizzard was its proprietor.  David Blizzard was a resident of the settlement located only a few hundred yards away known as Bartow.  Cf. Grand View Hotel [Advertisement], The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 26, 1878, Vol. IX, No. 462, p. 3, col. 2 (stating "Address D. BLIZZARD, Bartow Station, Westchester Co., N.Y.").  

The precise location of the hotel remains somewhat of a mystery.  Beers Atlas maps of the area published in 1867 and 1868 do not seem to show the hotel (although the 1868 map shows another early hotel marked as the "J. Davis Hotel" located on the mainland near the southwesterly end of Pelham Bridge.  Likewise the Bromley Atlas map of the area published in 1881 makes no reference to the hotel, although there is a cryptic reference to a "BOAT HO." on the mainland near the northeasterly end of the bridge.  

There is some evidence to suggest that the hotel was accessible by boat or by walking to it at low tide, but that still does not resolve its precise location.  Jorge Santiago of the Northeast Bronx History Forum has hypothesized that the hotel may have been built on an outcropping near the center of Pelham Bridge, but warns that we cannot be sure of this.  

1896 NOOA Nautical Chart Detail Depicting the Area of Pelham Bridge

And Suggesting a Possible Location of Blizzard's Grand View Hotel.

Image Courtesy of Jorge Santiago of the Northeast Bronx History

Forum, Used with Permission.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Suffice it to say that, for now, the best we can settle on from newspaper accounts of the day was that Blizzard's Grand View Hotel was located somewhere near the northeasterly end of Pelham Bridge.

Detail from Engraving Published in 1884 Showing Pelham Bridge.

Structures in the Background May Possibly Include Blizzard's

Grand View Hotel, But This Is Not Known With Certainty.

 Source: "PELHAM PARK, NEW YORK. -- DRAWN BY CHARLES

GRAHAM.", Harper's Weekly, Vol. XXVIII, No. 1442, 1884, pp. 514 & 521.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

The Grand View Hotel was a seasonal hotel open principally during the summer months.  See New Advertisements, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon], Aug. 16, 1878, p. 3, col. 3.  Early advertisements indicate that the hotel offered "facilities for Boating, Fishing, Yachting and Riding" with "Boats kept constantly on hand."  See, e.g., id.  Additionally, the hotel boasted that "PIC-NIC PARTIES and EXCURSIONISTS accommodated at the shortest notice."  Id.

The earliest newspaper reference yet located to the Grand View Hotel is reflected in a brief article published in October, 1872.  The article indicates that as of that early date, the Grand View Hotel was operated by two men:  "Blizzard & Mahony."  The brief reference reads as follows:

"ON LAST THURSDAY EVENING A SUMPTUOUS EN-tertainment was given by Mr. Griffith Thomas, at the Grand View Hotel, Pelham Bridge, kept by Blizzard & Mahony, and on this occasion, as on all others, his generosity was boundless, and the whole affair was the most brilliant we ever witnessed in Westchester county; 140 variegated lanterns illuminated the arched platform of the hotel, on which the guests assembled, and while the New Rochelle Brass Band filled the air with delightful music, magnificent fireworks were set off in front of the balcony, where his lovely wife and her lady friends were seated. The supper was delicious, the table was splendidly arranged and elegantly decorated with choice flowers. But its chief ornament was Mrs. Thomas, in her surpassing beauty, void of that haughty consciousness that is so painfully perceptible in Nature's favorites, reminding us of Raphael's Madonna. Mr. Thomas is a very wealthy gentleman, and, being one of Nature's noblemen, the wealth could not have fallen into better hands. His sole happiness appears to be centered in making others happy, and his kind deeds will be remembered long after he has joined his loved ones, gone before him to a happier land than this."

Source:  [Untitled], N.Y. Herald, Oct. 2, 1872, p. 1, col. 2 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via link.).

Advertisements during the time that David Blizzard served as proprietor of the Grand View Hotel indicate that in addition to overnight guests, the hotel accepted "Regular Boarders" under "very moderate" terms.  See, e.g., Grand View Hotel [Advertisement], The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 26, 1878, Vol. IX, No. 462, p. 3, col. 2 ("Terms for Regular Boarders very moderate.").  

George P. Arcularius and the Arcularius Hotel in the Old Lorillard "Cottage"

During the 1870s, a man named George P. Arcularius also operated a nearby competing Pelham Bridge hotel named the "Arcularius Hotel."  While Blizzard's Grand View Hotel was advertising its services in July, 1878, a local newspaper reported that Arcularius was improving his own Arcularius Hotel at Pelham Bridge that same month.  See Westchester, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 19, 1878, Vol. IX, No. 461, p. 1, col. 6. 

During the mid-1870s, the Arcularius Hotel became, for a short time, the destination of the famed "Pelham Coach" operated by Col. Delancey Kane.  As the destination for the famous "Tally-Ho" driven by Col. Kane, the Arcularius Hotel became well-known in its own right.  See, e.g., COL. DELANCEY KANE'S COACH -- The Trip to be Made To-Morrow to Pelham Bridge and Back -- The First Passengers, The Sun [NY, NY], Apr. 30, 1876, p. 5, col. 3. 

The Arcularius Hotel appears to have been established in a rather notable structure.  It was the old Lorillard "Cottage" (as distinct from the main Lorillard mansion once located in today's Bronx Park).  A number of sources of the day indicate that the Arcularius Hotel was established in the old "Pierre Lorillard mansion."  See, e.g., The New Coach Line. Charming Ride to Pelham Bridge, N.Y. Times, May 2, 1876, p. 10 ("Arcularius Hotel is the old Pierre Lorillard mansion, situated on the shore of the Sound, surrounded with beautiful lawns and shade trees, and affording excellent opportunity for boating, fishing, and bathing. There could not be a pleasanter place in which to while away an afternoon.").  

References to the "Lorillard mansion" at Pelham Bridge would seem to be references to the "neat cottage" of "Mr. Pierre Lorillard Jr." that stood on the on the "north side of the neck at Pelham Bridge" referred to in Thomas Scharf's History of Westchester County published in 1886  See Scharf, J. Thomas, History of Westchester County New York, Including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, Which Have Been Annexed to New York City, Vol. I, p. 816 (Philadelphia, PA:  L. E. Preston & Co., 1886).   

There seems to be a great deal of confusion over the concept of a "Lorillard Mansion" in our Pelham region prompted by many 19th century references to the "Lorillard Mansion" without regard to the location of multiple family-associated structures.  For example, there are many references to an important and well-known structure in today's Bronx Park that was, at the time, known as the "Lorillard Mansion."  Yet, there were also many references to another Lorillard property at Pelham Bridge usually referenced as the "Lorillard Mansion" but, more accurately, as the Lorillard family "cottage."  

"ARCULARIUS HOTEL"

This is a Tiny Detail, Difficult to Reproduce,

From Armstrong, W.A. & Pratt, Charles E.,

Coaching To Pelham Song And Chorus [Music

Sheets], Pg. 1 [Cover] (NY, NY:  American Music

Publishing Co. 1876).  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.   

Image Depicting the Articularius Hotel.

This is a Tiny Detail, Difficult to Reproduce,

From Speck, Samuel H., New Rochelle and

Pelham Coach Galop [sic], [Music Sheets],

Pg. 1 [Cover] (Boston, MA:  Oliver Ditson & Co., 1876).

NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

The view from the Lorillard "cottage" during its years as the Articularius Hotel clearly was splendid.  See "PUBLIC PARKS IN NEW YORK CITY" in Fifteenth Annual Report, 1910, of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society To the Legislature of the State of New York Transmitted to the Legislature April 19, 1910, p. 65 (Albany, NY:  J. B. Lyon Co., 1910) ("Lorillard Mansion:  Now known as the Tallapoosa Club House, this once splendid mansion was erected by Pierre Lorillard, Jr., and is a typical example of the grand array of country residences that once were the pride of lower Westchester county.  Its location just this side of Pelham bridge, commanding a glorious view of the waters of the sound, whose waves break almost at its very doors, cannot be excelled for romantic beauty.").  

George P. Arcularius Becomes Proprietor of the Grand View Hotel

It appears that in early 1880, George P. Arcularius "obtained a lease" of the Grand View Hotel property with the intent to renovate and reopen the hotel in the coming season.  It appears that the Blizzard family continued to own the property until, eventually, it was sold to New York City as Pelham Bay Park lots were assembled before annexation.  References to the sale seem unusual until one tries to imagine exactly what David Blizzard owned

It is not known if Arcularius added these facilities to his own hotel to form a complex or if Arcularius gave up his proprietorship of the Arcularius Hotel to become the Proprietor of the Grand View Hotel.  In any event, Arcularius took over the Grand View Hotel and, interestingly, apparently retained the services of the former proprietor, David Blizzard, to manage the leasing of boats and, perhaps, other such accoutrements to excursionists on his behalf.  As one article noted, "The house has been largely refurnished and put in complete order for the approaching season's business.  Boats etc. will be to let, as heretofore, and will be under the management of Mr. Dave Blizzard."  See City Island and Pelham, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Mar. 5, 1880, Vol. XI, No. 546, p. 2, col. 5.  At least by this time the Grand View Hotel included a dance platform and ballroom.  See id.

George P. Arcularius was born in about 1824 and, as a young man, served as Commissioner of Deeds in New York City until resigning that post in 1866.  Thereafter he became an owner or operator of several small hotels in the New York region.  He died on September 14, 1936.  

The End of the Grand View Hotel

By the early 1890s, it appears that the Grand View Hotel building was no longer used as a hotel.  In fact, it was among a number of Pelham Bay Park properties noted in a report as "badly cared for," although the same report listed it as among a number of park properties that "are to remaain" rather than to be "removed."  See BUILDINGS IN THE NEW PARKS, N.Y. Times, Jul. 17, 1890, p. 3, col. 4 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via link.). 

Athough nothing is left today of the Grand View Hotel building, there is a location that serves as a remembrance of the hotel that once stood nearby and its hotelier.  It is a very small, rocky prominence that once was an island but is now connected at low tide to the northeasterly shore line.  It is known as "Blizzard Island," once used by bthers and fishermen who visited Blizzard's Hotel during summer months and rented boats, fishing equipment and the like from David Blizzard.  

View Looking South Show Tip of Blizzard Island with

the Pelham Landfill in the Distance.  Photograph Taken

by, and Provided Courtesy of, Jorge Santiago of the East

Bronx History Forum and Used with Permission.  NOTE:

Click on Image to Enlarge.

For a number of years after his time as proprietor of the Grand View Hotel, David Blizzard served as the appointed "Keeper of Pelham Bridge," appointed to that position annually by the members of the Town Board of the Town of Pelham.  

*          *          *          *          *

Clearly much of the histories of the Grand View Hotel and the Arcularius Hotel need to be developed.  Nevertheless, below are excerpts from articles and transcriptions of advertisements that tell a little of the story of Grand View Hotel and form the research that is the basis of this article.

"ON LAST THURSDAY EVENING A SUMPTUOUS EN-tertainment was given by Mr. Griffith Thomas, at the Grand View Hotel, Pelham Bridge, kept by Blizzard & Mahony, and on this occasion, as on all others, his generosity was boundless, and the whole affair was the most brilliant we ever witnessed in Westchester county; 140 variegated lanterns illuminated the arched platform of the hotel, on which the guests assembled, and while the New Rochelle Brass Band filled the air with delightful music, magnificent fireworks were set off in front of the balcony, where his lovely wife and her lady friends were seated. The supper was delicious, the table was splendidly arranged and elegantly decorated with choice flowers. But its chief ornament was Mrs. Thomas, in her surpassing beauty, void of that haughty consciousness that is so painfully perceptible in Nature's favorites, reminding us of Raphael's Madonna. Mr. Thomas is a very wealthy gentleman, and, being one of Nature's noblemen, the wealth could not have fallen into better hands. His sole happiness appears to be centered in making others happy, and his kind deeds will be remembered long after he has joined his loved ones, gone before him to a happier land than this."

Source:  [Untitled], N.Y. Herald, Oct. 2, 1872, p. 1, col. 2 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via link.).

"COL. DELANCEY KANE'S COACH.
-----
The Trip to be Made To-Morrow to Pelham Bridge and Back -- The First Passengers.

At half past 10 o'clock to-morrow morning Col. Delancey Kane will start with hhis four-in-hand from the Hotel Brunswick for Pelham Bridge.  He expects to arrive in Harlem thirty-four minutes after leaving Twenty-seventh street, and will be in Mott Haven at 11 o'clock.  Fox Corners will be reached at 11:26, and the coach will start from Union Port at 11:40, from Westchester at 11:43, from Middletown at 11:50, and the passengers are to be at Arcularius's Hotel, at Pelham Bridge, at noon.  Returning, the coach will start at 4, mmaking the homeward trip as follows:  Middletown, 4:11; Fox Corners, 4:35; Mott Haven, 4:50; Harlem, 4:53; and the Hotel Brunswick will be reached at 5:00.  The fare for the trip will be $1.50 each way, or fifty cents to Harlem, seventy-five cents to Fox Corners, a dollar to Union Port, and a dollar and a quarter to Middletown -- returning, twenty-five cents to Middletown, fifty cents to Westchester, seventy-five cents to Fox Corners, and a dollar to Harlem.  The coach will stop anywhere on the route to take or relinquish paassengers, but for a long time to come all the seats, inside and outside, will be occupied by the same persons going and returning.  Each passenger will be permitted to carry 85 pounds of baggage free, but it is not anticipated that many will avail themselves of this privilege, unless for hampers of edibles.

The distance from the Hotel Brunswick to Pelham Bridge is about fifteen miles and there will be three relays of horses on the road.  The coach can carry fifteen passengers, exclusive of the coachman and guard -- eleven outside and four inside.  To-morrow Mr. Van Allen will occupy the box seat, paying fifty cents extra for the privilege of sitting beside the driver.  Mr. and Mrs. Bronson have taken the two front seats to the left, and Mrs. Kane and Mrs. Van Allen will occupy the two to the left.  Mr. B. R. Winthroop and Mr. H. Hunnewell have each engaged two middle seats.  Mr. J. Sherman, and Mr. W. Jay will have the rear seats beside the guard, and the four seaats inside will probably be taken by members of the press."

Source:  COL. DELANCEY KANE'S COACH -- The Trip to be Made To-Morrow to Pelham Bridge and Back -- The First Passengers, The Sun [NY, NY], Apr. 30, 1876, p. 5, col. 3.  

http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%209/New%20York%20NY%20Sun/New%20York%20NY%20Sun%201875%20Sep-%201876%20Apr%20%20Grayscale/New%20York%20NY%20Sun%201875%20Sep-%201876%20Apr%20%20Grayscale%20-%201039.pdf

"Westchester. . . . 

Mr. Arcularius, proprietor of the hotel at Pelham Bridge, now called Arcularius Hotel, has removed his bar across the road in the building built by L. G. Fowler, for that purpose.  It has been very neatly fitted up and many changes for the better have been made. . . ."

Source:  Westchester, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 19, 1878, Vol. IX, No. 461, p. 1, col. 6.  

Source:  Grand View Hotel [Advertisement], The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 26, 1878, Vol. IX, No. 462, p. 3, col. 2 (stating "Address D. BLIZZARD, Bartow Station, Westchester Co., N.Y.").  

The above advertisement reads as follows:

"Grand View Hotel,
PELHAM BRIDGE.
-----
THIS comfortable and delightfully located SUMMER HOTEL IS NOW OPEN for the season.  The view of the Sound and Pelham Bay is unsurpassed and the facilities for Boating, Fishing, Yachting and Riding are unequaled.

PIC-NIC PARTIES and EXCURSIONISTS accommodated at the shortest notice.  Boats kept constantly on hand.

Terms for Regular Boarders very moderate.

Address D. BLIZZARD, Bartow Station, Westchester Co., N.Y."

Source:  New Advertisements, The Chronicle
[Mount Vernon], Aug. 16, 1878, p. 3, col. 3.
NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

The above advertisement reads as follows:

"New Advertisements.
-----
Grand View Hotel, 
PELHAM BRIDGE.
-----

THIS comfortable and delightfully located SUMMER HOTEL IS NOW OPEN for the season. The view of the Sound and Pelham Bay is unsurpassed and the facilities for Boating, Fishing, Yachting and Riding are unequaled.

PICNIC PARTIES and EXCURSIONISTS accommodated at the shortest notice.  Boats kept constantly on hand.

Terms for Regular Boarders very moderate.

Adress D. BLIZZARD, Bartow Station, Westchester Co., N.Y."

"City Island and Pelham.

Mr. George P. Arcularius, of Pelham Bridge, has obtained a lease of the Grand View Hotel, formerly Blizzard's, and has reopened the same.  The house has been largely refurnished and put in complete order for the approaching season's business.  Boats etc. will be to let, as heretofore, and will be under the management of Mr. Dave Blizzard. . . ."

Source:  City Island and Pelham, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Mar. 5, 1880, Vol. XI, No. 546, p. 2, col. 5. 

The above advertisement reads as follows:

"Grand View Hotel.
(FORMERLY BLIZZARD'S)
Pelham Bridge,

THE above House has changed hands and will hereafter be under the management of the undersigned.

THE HOUSE HAS BEEN REFITTED AND THE BAR RESTOCKED WITH THE BEST.
-----
FISHING AND BOATS, as formerly, under that veteran Fisherman, DAVE BLIZZARD.
-----
EXCURSIONS, PIC-NIC AND FAMILY PARTIES INVITED.
PLATFORM AND BALL-ROOM ON PREMISES.

Geo. P. Arcularius, 
Manager."

Source: GRAND VIEW HOTEL [Advertisement], The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Mar. 5, 1880, Vol. XI, No. 546, p. 3, col. 1.

"BUILDINGS IN THE NEW PARKS.

President Gallup made a report at yesterday's meeting of the Park Board on the various buildings in the new parks.  It set forth that the annual income of the department for rentals of the buildings is $12,000, about one-half the amount expended in keeping the roads in repair.  Many of the buildings are badly cared for, and he recommended the removal of many of them and an  increase in the rental of those that are to remain.

The latter include the Grand View Hotel at the northerly end of the Pelham Bridge, the Schuyler house, Steer's house, Jones's place, and Marshall's place in Pelham Park, the Old Country Club house at Bartow Station, stone houses on Hunter's and Twin Islands, the Lorillard mansion in Bronx Park, and the Van Cortlandt mansion, Disbrow house, and Tremper house in Van Cortlandt Park.  No action was taken on the report."

Source:  BUILDINGS IN THE NEW PARKS, N.Y. Times, Jul. 17, 1890, p. 3, col. 4 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via link.).  

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