News From the Pelham Press of June 4, 1897

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In 1896 and 1897, the new Village of North Pelham was so tiny that one could stand "in the center and see every neighbor across its boundaries."  Yet, the tiny little settlement previously known as Pelhamville had its own little newspaper:  the Pelham Press.  

The few reports from the Pelham Press that exist are extant only because the editor of the newspaper, J. Gardner Minard, provided transcriptions of news from the little newspaper to The Pelham Sun which published the news thirty years later, in 1926 and 1927, in a series of columns entitled "Pelham 30 Years Ago."  Historic Pelham has transcribed a number of such columns given their historical significance and interest.  See, e.g.:

Wed., Oct. 07, 2015:  The Week that Was in 1896: Pelham Press News of Pelham, November 19, 1896 to November 25, 1896.

Tue., Aug. 30, 2016:  News Reported by the Pelham Press on February 13, 1897. 

Wed., Jan. 31, 2018:  News from the Pelham Press Printed on May 21, 1897.

 Fri., Sep. 29, 2017:  Professor David A. Van Buskirk's Scandalous Musicale in North Pelham in 1897 (transcribing "PELHAM 30 YEARS AGO" that reproduced news from the Pelham Press published Jan. 23, 1897).

Today's Historic Pelham article focuses on news from the Pelham Press published on June 4, 1897.  The news, reprinted by The Pelham Sun on June 10, 1927, is transcribed at the end of today's article.  

As one might imagine, in a tiny settlement like North Pelham in 1897 with a series of dirt roads that criss-crossed the neighborhood, there were no street signs.  Though many of the dirt roads had street names, even some North Pelham residents did not know the name of the streets on which they lived.  Consequently, the Pelham Press began agitating for the erection of street signs.

As the Pelham Press noted, the expense necessary to erect such signs would not require the issuance of a bond.  The newspaper admitted, however, that it was "True it is no easy matter to get lost in a village where you can stand in the center and see every neighbor across its boundaries, but many local residents would like to be enlightened as to the name of the street on which he resides."  Interestingly, the paper cited one example involving Park Place in North Pelham, a tiny one-block street that still extends between Eighth Avenue and Ninth Avenue just north of today's Lincoln Avenue.  The newspaper said:  "One gentleman who has resided on Park place for over six months just learned from us yesterday the name of his street."

Another fascinating aspect of the news from the Pelham Press of June 4, 1897 involved the new-fangled "safety bicycle" that swept the nation during the last two decades of the 19th century.  A variety of news reports Pelhamville and, later the Village of North Pelham, make clear that from the time wood plank sidewalks were first established in Pelhamville in the mid-1880s, bicyclists using the sidewalks instead of the muddy, rutted roadways were an annoying and dangerous problem.  In 1897, the Village of North Pelham had a relatively new ordinance forbidding bicyclists from using its sidewalks to ply their hobby.

Despite the ordinance, bicyclists continued to avoid the roadways and use the local sidewalks.  The Pelham Press expressed sympathy for local bicyclists, however.  It noted:  "
North Pelham should repair the streets of the village, especially Fifth avenue, so as to make it passable in wet weather.  Who can blame bicyclists for using the sidewalks."

One bicyclist who found himself in the clutches of the law in the Village of North Pelham in 1897 was William Howe of nearby Mount Vernon.  Howe, it seems, was a resident of Third Avenue in Mount Vernon and was a long-time bicycle enthusiast.  He is noted in a local newspaper as early as 1892 as having fallen from his bicycle and "strain[ing] both hands."  

On Monday, May 31, 1897, William Howe was delivering a new bicycle to a family in the new neighborhood of Chester Park in North Pelham.  The family was none other than that of Mr. and Mrs. William T. Standen, the founders of Chester Park.  The couple had purchased a new "Safety Bicycle" for their daughter.

A "Safety Bicycle" as it then was called, was a bicycle that resembled what we think of today as an ordinary bicycle with two equally-sized wheels.  This distinguished it from the so-called "High Wheelers" with a giant front wheel and tiny rear wheel.  Such High Wheelers were difficult to mount, difficult to dismount, and could be wobbly and hard to maneuver.

Image from 1904 Dictionary of Technology Showing an 1880

"High Wheeler" Bicycle on the Left and a So-Called "Safety

Bicycle" on the Right.  Source:  "Safety Bicycle" in Wikipedia --

The Free Encyclopedia (visited Feb. 4, 2018).  NOTE:  Click on

Image to Enlarge.

Howe rode the Safety Bicycle through North Pelham on his way to deliver it to Chester Park that day.  As he rode, a Town Constable at the corner of Fifth Avenue and First Street near Lyman's Pharmacy saw him and shouted at him to stop riding on the sidewalk.  According to the Pelham Press, "Howe was going at a good speed and tried to obey the command but not fast enough to please Marks who promptly placed him under arrest."  Howe was hauled before Judge Lyon who fined him $10 under the new bicycle ordinance (about $355 in today's dollars).  After Howe protested and threatened to test the new ordinance in court, Judge Lyon reduced the fine to $5.

The Pelham Press further criticized the Town Constables for what it believed was uneven and unequal enforcement of the North Pelham bicycle ordinance.  The newspaper claimed that the ordinance was enforced against non-residents, but was not enforced against North Pelham residents.  As the newspaper put it:

"Complaint is being received at this office that the local constables are drawing a distinction in making arrests for violation of the North Pelham ordinances, especially the one relating to the riding of bicycles on the sidewalks.  We have seen enough evidence to give this report much color and would suggest that these officers of the law enforce against all, local as well as outsiders."

The Pelham Press of June 4, 1897 also reported on the status of efforts by the Village of Pelham Manor to install new sewers.  The village sewer commissioners, according to the account, voted during a meeting held on Friday, May 28, 1897 to award a contract for installation of the new sewers to Smith Brothers, a contracting firm based in the Village of North Pelham.

It is difficult to imagine a time in Pelham when the main news of the day involved the need for street signs so people would know the name of the street on which they lived, the enforcement of ordinances against riding new-fangled "Safety Bicycles" on the local wood plank sidewalks, and a contract to construct new sewers.  Yet, such was the time in Pelham on June 4, 1897 before our little town grew up.

 

*          *          *           *          *

"PELHAM 30 YEARS AGO
(Pelham Press, June 4, 1897)
-----

Bruce T. Dick and family have removed to Prospect Hill, Pelham Manor.
-----

A meeting of the board of trustees of the village of North Pelham will be held next week for the purposes of appointing a village treasurer.
-----

At the meeting of the sewer commissioners of the village of Pelham Manor held last Friday night, the contract for the installation of the new sewers was awarded to Smith Bros.
-----

Frank Benz killed a large muskrat in the stream in the rear of his residence last Sunday.  Frank says the stream is swarming with them.
-----

North Pelham should repair the streets of the village, especially Fifth avenue, so as to make it passable in wet weather.  Who can blame bicyclists for using the sidewalks.
-----

The Ivanohoe Giants of New Rochelle defeated the Pelham Manor Field Club last Saturday to the tune of 23 to 20.
-----

Louis Schwab, a driver for John Grab, a New Rochelle beer bottler, was arrested by Constable Marks last Friday for selling bottled beer in North Pelham in violation of the village ordinance in peddling without a license.  Schwab protested that he was only receiving orders and later delivering them, but was unable to produce an order book for evidence.  Judge Lyon found him guilty and imposed a fine of $5.
-----

The young son of John Lowery of Fifth avenue was run over last Tuesday by a wagon belonging to J. Trohn of New Rochelle.  The little fellow was crossing the street near Heisser's grocery store when he was struck and the rear wheel passed over his leg.  He was not seriously hurt, however.
-----

William Howe of Mount Vernon was arrested last Monday afternoon by Constable Marks for riding his bicycle on the sidewalk.  Howe was on his way to Chester Park to deliver a safety bicycle to the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William T. Standen.  Marks was on the corner of 5th avenue and First street at the time and shouted to Howe to get off the sidewalk.  Howe was going at a good speed and tried to obey the command but not fast enough to please Marks who promptly placed him under arrest.  Before Judge Lyon he was fined $10 but protested and the fine was reduced to $5.  This he paid with a threat to have the case tested in the higher courts to decide whether the paths in North Pelham come under the laws governing sidewalks.
-----

Relief Hook and Ladder company received an invitation from Clinton Hook and Ladder company to be its guests at the parade in Mount Vernon last Monday.  Unfortunately the invitation had to be declined with with thanks as the local company is reduced to five members while Clinton has sixty.
-----

One of the most necessary improvements in North Pelham and one which will require no bond issue is the installation of street signs.  True it is no easy matter to get lost in a village where you can stand in the center and see every neighbor across its boundaries, but many local residents would like to be enlightened as to the name of the street on which he resides.  One gentleman who has resided on Park place for over six months just learned from us yesterday the name of his street.
-----

Complaint is being received at this office that the local constables are drawing a distinction in making arrests for violation of the North Pelham ordinances, especially the one relating to the riding of bicycles on the sidewalks.  We have seen enough evidence to give this report much color and would suggest that these officers of the law enforce against all, local as well as outsiders."

Source:   PELHAM 30 YEARS AGO (Pelham Press, June 4, 1897), The Pelham Sun, Jun. 10, 1927, Vol. 18, No. 16, p. 10, cols. 1-3.

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Pelham Was on the "Ideal Route" for Bicyclists in the Late Nineteenth Century

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During the 1890s, as the sport of bicycling boomed in the New York region, a favored route for bicyclists evolved across the Bronx and into lower Westchester County.  The beautiful sights of Pelham along the shoreline in the region of Eastchester Bay and Pelham Bay were part of the "Ideal Route" followed by cyclists.

In the last few years I have run across literally dozens of articles describing the pasttime of cycling through Pelham during the 1890s.  Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes the text of one particularly-detailed article and includes some of the images included with the article at the time of its publication in 1898.  The article appears below, followed by a citation to its source.

"Part of Westchester County, Showing Best Wheeling Route."

Source:  ALONG GOOD ROADS TO PORTCHESTER -- Cycling

on the Upper Shore of the Sound -- CHARMS OF GREATER

CITY -- Ideal Route to City Island, Travers Island, Larchmont,

and Other Popular Points, The New York Press, Jul. 31, 1898,

p. 18, cols. 3-7.  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

"ALONG GOOD ROADS TO PORTCHESTER
-----
Cycling on the Upper Shore of the Sound.
-----
CHARMS OF GREATER CITY
-----
Ideal Route to City Island, Travers Island, Larchmont, and Other Popular Points.
-----

Travers Island, which is the summer home of the New York Athletic Club, the Larchmont Club; the Larchmont Country Club, are frequent objective points for the Round Table Cyclists.  Most of them know all of the several routes to these attractive places by heart and could find their way blindfolded.  As the course leads through one of the best sections of Westchester County and leads to other places of interest to the average rider, this article is designed to describe the favorite route of the Round Table Cyclists, who have gained an enviable reputation as finders of good wheeling roads with attractive surroundings.

All local wheelmen know of the beauties of the region in question.  Those who have not gained that knowledge by actual experience are missing great things by postponing their visit.  The most famous riding regions in the Kentish and other garden sections of England do not excel the ride from New York to Portchester in point of picturesqueness and variety of scene.  

The route about to be described is not necessarily the shortest that can be taken between the two points mentioned.  In fact four miles may be saved by making several short cuts.  But the short cuts add nothing to the pleasure of the ride.  The straightest course from Macomb's Dam, or Central Bridge to Fordham, for instance, is through Jerome avenue.  We prefer to take Sedgewick avenue for two good reasons.  In the first place it runs along the Harlem River, affording a delightful panorama, and furthermore, Jerome avenue, while having excellent pavement, is handicapped by the existence there of a trolley line.

"ALBERT MOTT, Chairman National Racing Board, L. A. W."

Source:  ALONG GOOD ROADS TO PORTCHESTER -- Cycling

on the Upper Shore of the Sound -- CHARMS OF GREATER

CITY -- Ideal Route to City Island, Travers Island, Larchmont,

and Other Popular Points, The New York Press, Jul. 31, 1898,

p. 18, cols. 3-7.  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

THE PREFERRED ROUTE.

As stated above there are many different ways of riding to the points mentioned, but we, after trying them all, give the preference to this one without reservation.  The total distance from the Grand Circle at the southwest corner of Central Park to Portchester is 31 miles.  The subjoined table gives the intermediate distances, going in either direction.  The table:

Dis. Going.  Total Dis.                                 Dis. Ret'ng.    Total Dis.
0.0                0.0.........GRAND CIRCLE......5.6                  31.0
5.6                5.6............Viaduct.................3.9                  25.4
3.9                9.5.........Jerome Avenue.........1.0                  21.5
1.0                10.5.......Fordham Station.......1.0                  20.5
1.0                11.5..........Bronx Park.............1.0                  19.5
1.0                12.5..........Morris Park.............0.7                  18.5
0.7                13.2........Woodmansten..........4.0                  17.8
4.0                17.2.......City Island Road........1.8                  13.8
1.8                19.0.......Travers Island............2.0                  12.0
2.0                21.0........New Rochelle............2.4                  10.0
2.4                23.1........Larchmont.................1.8                  7.6
1.8                25.2........Mamaroneck.............5.8                  5.8
5.8                31.0......PORT CHESTER.........0.0                  0.0

It will be noted that a straightaway course is followed.  Side runs to City Island and Larchmont are easy enough to find.  Both places offer attractive inducements for cyclists in various ways and are naturally popular with them.

To begin at the beginning, the start is made from the Columbus Statue in the Grand Circle, leading up the Boulevard to 110th street, to Seventh avenue to 116th street crossing, where St. Nicholas avenue branches off.  We follow St. Nicholas avenue to 149th street and there turn into St. Nicholas place.  St. Nicholas avenue, by the way, is of peculiar interest to old-time New Yorkers.  Up to a score of years ago it was practically the only good means of communication between the aristrocratic settlement at Fort Washington and Washington Heights and the city, which was a long way off in those days.  The high cliffs, relics of which still remain in the neighborhood of 155th street, were then open country, with the swell estates of wealthy merchants and bankers over to the westward.

KEEP OFF THE SPEEDWAY.

St. Nicholas place ends at 155th street, at the point where the new Speedway begins, running north, and the big viaduct starts its drop toward the Central Bridge.  A fountain for man and beast stands in the square and makes a good landmark, if any were needed.  A policeman stands guard at the entrance to the Speedway.  He politely informs all cyclists who may turn into that driving road that they are not permitted to ride there.  Once in a while a stubborn man makes a kick, but as a rule most wheelmen take the hint kindly and spin away in other directions.  

The view from that point is particularly pleasing.  Its great height giving the eye command of a wide range.  Not the least pleasing feature is the little old white cottage standing out prominently on a projecting point of rock, which served as one of General Washington's headquarters during the American Revolution.  There are almost as many headquarters of Washington in this State as there are birthplaces of Columbus in Italy; but this one is the real thing, and is vouched for by the Art Critic of the club, who has studied history.  He had an uncle living up that way once, too.

Over the viaduct and bridge we go and turn left from the viaduct on the other side into Sedgwick avenue.  The road is not very wide, but the pavement is usually good and the hills encountered are not worth discussing.  The road runs along the high bank of the Harlem River above the tracks of the New York Central.  Continuous glimpses of the river and the steep, rocky bank on its west side, dotted with handsome buildings and vandalized by vulgar advertising signs in some places, keep the riders busy taking in the treat.  The road runs under High Bridge, the tall, spindle-like structure which conducts the old aqueduct across the Harlem, and a little further on passes under the gigantic land arch of Washington Bridge over which the new aqueduct carries its millions of gallons of relief for thirsty and dirty New Yorkers.

THROUGH OLD FORDHAM.

At Fordham Heights we turn right into the old Fordham Landing road at the corner where Webb's shipbuilding Academy and the old Sailors' Home stand.  The Fordham Landing road runs into the Kingsbridge road at the Jerome avenue crossing, and though the old signboards are still standing, many people call the entire thoroughfare from the Harlem River eastward the Kingsbridge road.  But that makes little difference.  'What's in a name?'

The north end of Berkeley Oval touches that road and many handsome residences face it further on.  The region fairly teems with historical mementos and legends, and were I writing a guide book a la Baedecker I could find material enough right there to fill a volume.  Our course takes us across Jerome avenue and through Kingsbridge road to and beyond the Fordham station of the Harlem Railroad.  Crossing the bridge over the tracks we are at the beginning of Pelham avenue, which some day will be put in good condition.  At this season of the year it is by no means bad for wheelmen, but in wet weather and in the winter it is advisable to avoid it.

In the village at Fordham we make a slight detour to get a glimpse and an occasional photograph of the wee cottage that sheltered Edgar Allen Poe half a century age.  The building is in a state of excellent preservation and is tenanted.  The adjoining modern dwellings are called the Poe Cottages and the natives call their residents poets.  A tin sign on the side of the old Poe house states that the weird author lived there from 1844 to 1849, and that now a dentist rules the roost.  All that, however, is a digression.

PELHAM PARKWAY.

From the Fordham station to Bronxdale bridge we find a serviceable path rolled by cyclists on the loose dirt surface of Pelham avenue.  A short distance beyond the bridge we strike the Pelham parkway, which is destined to become one of the finest roads in this or any other country.  Its new macadamized pavement is completed except for a stretch of about a quarter of a mile.  That will be finished within the month.  It leads almost in a straight line to Pelham Bay and is a broad, smooth highway.  We pass Bronx Park on the way, and sometimes ride through the lower part of it.  It's well worth while to do so, as Bronx Park is singularly beautiful.  

Pelham Parkway passes the upper end of the Morris Park race track, which is quiet enough these days.  A few weeks ago some of our soldiers were encamped for a time on the meadows across the road from Morris Park, before moving to the front.  The road that crosses Pelham Parkway at the end of the Morris Park property is Williamsbridge road, and we turn right into that.  A half mile spin lands us at Woodmansten, where we stop to rest and lubricate.  Woodmansten was formerly the residence of Denton A. Pearsall, president of the Butchers and Drovers' Bank.

The coach 'Good Times,' which runs a daily trip from the Waldord-Astoria, except during the extreme hot weather, makes Woodmansten its terminus and adds a new color to the locality.  From there the Williamsbridge road continues on to Westchester, where we cross the creek and, taking the first road to the left, turn into Eastern Boulevard.  That takes us across the long iron bridge at East Chester Bay and leads into what is sometimes called the Pelham Bridge road.  That is the newly macadamized highway which follows the shore line as far as New Rochelle.

A SMILE ON TRAVERS ISLAND.

At Bartow the City Island road turns off to the right, crossing Rodman's Neck and the wood floored bridge to City Island.  We keep right on, passing Hunter's Island, and pause momentarily at Travers Island to drink the health of the Mercury Foot boys.  Two miles further on is New Rochelle, with its cable ferry to Glen Island, where the ancient windmill which was towed up from Orient, L. I., this spring flaps its spooky arms disdainfully at the battlements of Klein Deutschland.  That's just beyond the corporate limits of Greater New York, the line cutting through between Hunter's and Travers islands.

"View of the Sound from Travers Island, Summer Home

of the New York Athletic Club."

Source:  ALONG GOOD ROADS TO PORTCHESTER -- Cycling

on the Upper Shore of the Sound -- CHARMS OF GREATER

CITY -- Ideal Route to City Island, Travers Island, Larchmont,

and Other Popular Points, The New York Press, Jul. 31, 1898,

p. 18, cols. 3-7.  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

To get to New Rochelle we turn left at the fountain in the road, and riding through Neptune Park turn right into the road that brings us into the Boston Post road.  From there on the Boston Post road, which is macadamized, takes us over the remainder of our journey to Portchester.  At Larchmont a turn to the right leads to the bay, on which the Larchmont Yacht Club's house stands, opposite to where the Hoboken Turtle Club held forth in its palmy days.  Those turtle breakfasts and turtle dinners were worth riding twice the distance for, and it was with high wheels over rough roads in those days, at that.

Mamaroneck, with its charming harbor, comes next, then Rye and finally Portchester.  The nature of the scenery along the route beggars description.  Wealthy land owners have added their strokes to the work of nature everywhere, making the country along the Sound beautiful.  There are a few hills to negotiate, none of which is irksome except on a particularly hot day.  In fair weather the ride is a round of joy from one end to the other.

W. O. E."

Source:  ALONG GOOD ROADS TO PORTCHESTER -- Cycling on the Upper Shore of the Sound -- CHARMS OF GREATER CITY -- Ideal Route to City Island, Travers Island, Larchmont, and Other Popular Points, The New York Press, Jul. 31, 1898, p. 18, cols. 3-7.

1898 Advertisement from Harper's Weekly

for 1899 Model of Keating Wheel Co. Bicycle

Popular at the Time. 

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1897 Photograph of Visitors Streaming to Athletic Outing on Travers Island in Pelham Manor

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Below is an interesting photograph that shows visitors streaming across the causeway to Travers Island in Pelham Manor in 1897 to attend athletic games on the Island at the summer clubhouse of the New York Athletic Club. The photograph shows the old clubhouse on the Island before it was destroyed by fire on January 5, 1901. Interestingly, the causeway no longer exists because the small bay has since been filled and a parking area stands on and near the area.

The photograph appeared in the November, 1897 issue of "Outing" magazine as part of an article about the first of a series of athletics matches between the Chicago Athletic Association and the New York Athletic Club held on October 2, 1897.

Source: Athletics: The East Against the West in Outing, Vol. XXX, No. 2, p. 203 (Nov. 1897).

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