Real Estate Boom Began the Roaring Twenties in the Town of Pelham

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As early as mid-April, 1920, the "Roaring Twenties" were well underway in the growing Town of Pelham.  Indeed, the local economy was humming.  Real estate was hot.  Local builders and real estate speculators already were buying up land and building new homes on spec.  The bulls and their run up to Black Friday and the Great Stock Market Crash of 1929, followed by the Great Depression, already were stampeding.  

A nearly full-page real estate "puff piece" on "The Pelhams" appeared in the New-York Tribune published in New York City on April 18, 1920.  The breathless article highlighted the incredible history of the little town, like nearly all such articles.  (And, like nearly all such articles, much of the local history it recounted was incorrect.)  

Significantly, the article noted that four hundred new homes were planned for construction in The Pelhams that year with 325 of them already sold.  There were, of course, 75 homes remaining to be sold; hence, the purpose of the article that provides a wonderful glimpse of the little Town of Pelham at a time when its number of homes and its population were exploding.

The cost of the homes ranged from $7,500 to $47,500 (about $94,000 to about $600,000 in today's dollars).  The article featured homes (and their photographs) on Storer Avenue in Pelhamwood, Wolfs Lane, Roosevelt Heights, Highland Avenue, and Highbrook Avenue.  Many of the homes were built by some of Pelham's most storied builders of the Roaring Twenties including John T. Brook, Harry S. Houpt, and the Van Ness Brothers.

The photographs that appeared with the article are included below, followed by the text of the article as well as a citation and link to its source.  The article provides an enjoyable snapshot of the Town of Pelham at a seminal moment in its history at the outset of the Roaring Twenties.

"HOUSE on STORER AVENUE, PELHAMWOOD THAT YOU MAY BUY"

Source:  The Pelhams Will Solve Home Problems For 400 Families --

Seventy-five New Houses Awaiting Folks Who Cannot Find Places in

the Crowded City; Cost From $7,500 to $47,500 -- Historic Westchester

Community Has Many Charming Sections Where Builders Plan Big

Season to Meet Demand, New-York Tribune, Apr. 18, 1920, Part II, p. 12,

cols. 1-8 (Subscription Required0.  (NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.)

"SPLENDID DWELLING ON WOLFE'S [SIC] LANE"

Source:  The Pelhams Will Solve Home Problems For 400 Families --

Seventy-five New Houses Awaiting Folks Who Cannot Find Places in

the Crowded City; Cost From $7,500 to $47,500 -- Historic Westchester

Community Has Many Charming Sections Where Builders Plan Big

Season to Meet Demand, New-York Tribune, Apr. 18, 1920, Part II, p. 12,

cols. 1-8 (Subscription Required0.  (NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.)

"ATTRACTIVE HOME ON WOLFE'S [SIC] LANE"

Source:  The Pelhams Will Solve Home Problems For 400 Families --

Seventy-five New Houses Awaiting Folks Who Cannot Find Places in

the Crowded City; Cost From $7,500 to $47,500 -- Historic Westchester

Community Has Many Charming Sections Where Builders Plan Big

Season to Meet Demand, New-York Tribune, Apr. 18, 1920, Part II, p. 12,

cols. 1-8 (Subscription Required0.  (NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.)

"ONE OF THE MANY DWELLINGS UNDERWAY ON ROOSEVELT HEIGHTS"

Source:  The Pelhams Will Solve Home Problems For 400 Families --

Seventy-five New Houses Awaiting Folks Who Cannot Find Places in

the Crowded City; Cost From $7,500 to $47,500 -- Historic Westchester

Community Has Many Charming Sections Where Builders Plan Big

Season to Meet Demand, New-York Tribune, Apr. 18, 1920, Part II, p. 12,

cols. 1-8 (Subscription Required0.  (NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.)

"HOMES OF THIS TYPE ARE GOING UP

ON HIGHLAND AVE. A FEW ARE STILL FOR SALE"

Source:  The Pelhams Will Solve Home Problems For 400 Families --

Seventy-five New Houses Awaiting Folks Who Cannot Find Places in

the Crowded City; Cost From $7,500 to $47,500 -- Historic Westchester

Community Has Many Charming Sections Where Builders Plan Big

Season to Meet Demand, New-York Tribune, Apr. 18, 1920, Part II, p. 12,

cols. 1-8 (Subscription Required0.  (NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.)

"HOUSE GOING UP ON HIGHBROOK AVENUE"

Source:  The Pelhams Will Solve Home Problems For 400 Families --

Seventy-five New Houses Awaiting Folks Who Cannot Find Places in

the Crowded City; Cost From $7,500 to $47,500 -- Historic Westchester

Community Has Many Charming Sections Where Builders Plan Big

Season to Meet Demand, New-York Tribune, Apr. 18, 1920, Part II, p. 12,

cols. 1-8 (Subscription Required0.  (NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.)

*          *          *          *          *

"The Pelhams Will Solve Home Problems For 400 Families
-----
Seventy-five New Houses Awaiting Folks Who Cannot Find Places in the Crowded City; Cost From $7,500 to $47,500
-----
Historic Westchester Community Has Many Charming Sections Where Builders Plan Big Season to Meet Demand
------

The Pelhams are practically the same as to physical formation and natural beauty as when Thomas Pell gave some rum, trinkets and other things, then of small value, to the Indians previous to 1666 for this land and extensive lands to the east along Long Island Sound.  The oaks under which the crafty Englishman, refugee from Kent in England because of his unqualified support of Oliver Cromwell, meet the original owners are still there.  The highway up from Pell's Point now is the same followed by the 4,000 British and German soldiers under General Howe who came there in 200 boats from Throg's Neck at 1 o'clock in the morning of October 18, 1776, in a campaign against White Plains.  The same boulders and hillocks and some of the stone walls behind which the 600 hardy Marblehead fisherman-soldiers waited for the advancing foreigners are still there.

Built His Home in Land of Beauty

Thomas Pell lived in Fairfax [sic] County, Conn., when he acquired the land now known as the Pelhams and New Rochelle.  So fascinating was the beauty of the country that he decided to establish his home there.  He called it Pelham, which is a coinage of the first three letters of the family name and 'ham,' which means residence.  He was a loyal Britisher, and, what is more, a good business man.  Pell thought that it would not be amiss to have his ownership confirmed by the Crown, so he petitioned Governor General Dongan, his majesty's representative in New York.  By promising sovereignty to the Crown and that he would defend the faith of the King, in addition to paying over a lamb every May 1 to the Governor General in New York, his deal with the Indians was given royal sanction.

First Lord of the Manor

John Pell, gentleman by profession, son of Dr. Pell, Cromwell's ambassador to the Swiss Canton and nephew of Thomas Pell, got the Pelham hills and dales, craigs and swamps, islands and water front on his uncle's death in 1680 [sic].  His inherited estate included also the land now the township of New Rochelle.  That the Pelhams have not lost their natural beauty in these many years may be credited to the care and the measures of protection taken by this young man.  Coming from Kent said to be the prettiest countryside in all England, nature's handiwork in the Pelhams impressed him so much that he decided to hedge it with restrictions that would retain for all time that which his eyes beheld.  The great area had been made a township by agreement with Governor Dongan, but that was not absolute enough.  Having a desire, perhaps, to be officially one of the great gentry on this side of the ocean, he petitioned Governor Nicolls to make him Lord of Pelham Manor which would give him feudal rights [sic] -- make him ruler, magistrate and owner of the entire country.  On the vow of allegiance and on the payment of 20 shillings at New York once a year he was clothed with these great powers which he used wisely so far as the preservation of the country was concerned.

New Rochelle at $1 an Acre

He gave the Huguenots from La Rochelle 200-odd acres near the shore to settle and later sold the remainder of the 6,000 acres in the township of New Rochelle at $1 an acre to his French neighbors.  After the Revolutionary War 300 acres along the Sound front were sold for $5.20 an acre by the government to a man named Bailey.

This was the start of the partition and upbuilding of the Pelhams.  Albert [sic] Roosevelt bought 250 of the confiscated acres in 1800 at $25 an acre.  In 1850 acres there brought as high as $300.  To-day these acres are not to be had for love nor money.

Homes of Just a Few

The Pelhams, as we know them, the living place of prosperous professional and business men, date back not more than a quarter of a century.  R. C. Black, of the firm of Black, Starr & Frost, former Congressman B. L. Fairchild and B. F. Corlies and their families owned practically all of this land.  It had been their summer places.  They decided to surrender part of these great estates to folks who would appreciate the park-like country.  Since the newcomers were to be their neighbors, they saw to it that there would be no reason for regretting inviting folks to Pelham to live.  Restrictive covenants were placed on the land, which will continue forever.  No crowding has been permitted and the social life is the best.

Can Accommodate Another Seventy-Five

There is room now for about seventy-five new families in the Pelhams, due to the activities of builders and the various developers.  These houses will be found in Pelham Heights, Pelhamwood, Pelham Manor and Pelham Knolls.  The man who can afford to pay $130 a month or more toward the ownership of a home can very likely be accommodated in Pelham.  The lowest-priced house is $7,500.  Prices range up from that figure to $47,500, which is asked by Harry S. Houpt, automobile dealer, who is erecting twelve houses on Pelham Heights, the cheapest of which is $35,000.

Real estate men estimate that the building program in the Pelhams has added, or will add, close to 400 homes to the town before the close of the year.  All but seventy-five have been sold.

Because of the constant pressure for homes in this ideal section it would be well for those who have the home idea in mind to lose no time in looking over the dwellings at Pelham.  You will find the real estate dealers courteous.  They know the country and much about construction details.

Many Pelhams in Pelham Township

There are three Pelhams in the town of Pelham -- namely, Pelham Manor, Pelham and North Pelham.  Pelham Manor is the section nearest to the Sound.  It extends from the water north to Colonial Avenue and is the oldest settlement, it being in that section that Thomas Pell built Pelham Manor.

Then comes Pelham, which extends north to the main line of the New Haven road.  North Pelham, of course, is beyond Pelham.  These sections are localized -- that is, they are sub-divided into small local communities.  For instance, in the Manor are Manor Heights, Pelham Manor Park, Roosevelt Heights, Chestnut Grove, Pelham Knolls, Glen Mitchell and others.

Pelham has no subdivisions.  It is said to be the smallest village in the state, yet one of the most attractive.  It is estimated that there are not more than a few hundred acres in Pelham village, which flanks the Pelham station to the south.  On the north side of the station is Pelhamwood, which is a subdivision of North Pelham.  Every locality and every section is protected and safe from nuisances and obnoxious looking homes.

In Pelham Knolls there are twenty-five houses under construction and twenty additional homes are planned.  Those under way are in varied stages of completion.  The builders have placed prices on them ranging from $18,500 to $28,000.  The latter riced homes are of eight and nine rooms with baths, and the lower priced dwellings contain seven rooms.  They are buildings of attractive design and well planned.  They are of stucco and known locally as the Herkimer houses.

At Least 50 Homes in Pelham Manor

In the community known as Pelham Manor, which is the oldest of the Pelham settlements, there are now available about fifty dwellings.  They are for the most part, still under construction.  Those which have been completed have largely been taken out of the market by folks from the city.  It is estimated that the building program for Pelham Manor launched last spring will add about two hundred homes to this comfortable home section.

The lowest priced homes that can be had in the Manor will cost you about $15,000.  It will have six or seven rooms with baths.  Most of the homes are held at $20,000 to $23,000, these being the popular prices.

Of course there are homes of greater cost, being larger and in locations which represent high land cost.  On Highland Avenue there are five houses completed of a row of nine which the John T. Brooks Company is building there.  They are for sale at $22,000 to $33,000.  Of stucco construction in very taking designs, adaptations of Colonial and old-time architecture, they make a very attractive home group.  Some of them have eight rooms, others nine rooms and some more have ten rooms.  The builders are preparing to erect sixteen additional dwellings on Wolfe's [sic] Lane.  They will likely sell at prices being asked for the Highland Avenue dwellings.

On Roosevelt Heights, which also is in Pelham Manor and up over the hill from the entrance to the New York Athletic Club's grounds, thirty [dwellings with] every known feature installed.  There are perhaps twelve other homes at Pelham Heights which may be purchased at about $22,000.

What These Homes Contain

Hardwood floors are in all these [dwell]ings are [sic] being erected by Van Ness Bros.  Twenty thousand dollars is the lowest price that will take any of these homes.  The highest price is $30,000.  They range in size from seven to nine rooms.

Harry Houpt has several dwellings on Pelham Heights.  You must be prepared to pay at least $35,000 for these homes.  One of the Houpt houses is held at $47,500.  It is a stucco building of ten rooms and baths and with houses; some of oak, some of maple and others of fine comb yellow pine; open fireplaces; electric fixtures for extensive use in household work as well as for lighting purposes; closets for the storage of clothing and other things; sun parlors; breakfast porch or alcove, with permanent table, benches and scores of other things which will appeal strongly to the womenfolks.

The conditions on which these homes may be purchased vary.  Some builders are asking 50 per cent in cash, while others will take less.  Talks with real estate folks there leave the impression that there is no need trying to do better than 30 per cent cash and that it is doubtful if there are very many houses which can be had on these terms.

Land of Sport and Sociability

There are ample facilities in the section for engaging in every kind of sport.  The Sound is not more than a few miles from any section which may be reached by machine or trolley car.  There folks may swim, row and motor boat to their hearts' content.  There are a number of boat clubs in the section.  The country club in Pelham indeed is a fine institution.  A new golf links has been added to the club, and there are several other golf links in the immediate vicinity, among them being Wykagyl, Gedney Farms, and the public links at Pelham Bay Park just to the west of the Pelhams.  It costs about eleven cents a trip on monthly commutation to get to or come from this attractive gathering of homes."

Source:  The Pelhams Will Solve Home Problems For 400 Families -- Seventy-five New Houses Awaiting Folks Who Cannot Find Places in the Crowded City; Cost From $7,500 to $47,500 -- Historic Westchester Community Has Many Charming Sections Where Builders Plan Big Season to Meet Demand, New-York Tribune, Apr. 18, 1920, Part II, p. 12, cols. 1-8.

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Sale of the Last Open Lots in the Pelham Section of Pelhamwood

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During the spring of 1909, a newly-created company known as Clifford B. Harmon & Co., Inc. began grading and developing the neighborhood we know today as Pelhamwood.  While the company was new, its namesake had been involved for more than two decades in the creation of suburban developments throughout the northeast and along the Atlantic coast. 

The company built steps up the hill across from the station plaza on the north side of the New Haven Line tracks leading up to a sales office. It built a "tea house" used to host visitors and prospective buyers of lots and homes in the new development.  It built the Pelhamwood clock tower as well as covered "gates" leading in and out of the development, all intended to add to the rustic charm of the idyllic setting. 

Within months of beginning such development work, Clifford B. Harmon & Co. began flooding the New York City region with countless real estate advertisements for the new development.  In only a few short years, much of Pelhamwood was dotted with beautiful homes.

Nevertheless, it took more than thirteen years for Pelhamwood to be fully developed.  It was not until 1922 that the last open lots within that portion of Pelhamwood located within Pelham (rather than New Rochelle) were sold for development.

In early April, 1922, the last 28 open lots were owned by Joseph Lambden & Son of New Rochelle.  The firm sold 22 of the lots to a Pelhamwood resident, N. F. Vought of Benedict Place for $20,000.  Vought announced that he would build seven brick residences on the lots which fronted on Highbrook Avenue.  A "Mr. Hessian" of New York City bought the remaining six lots which fronted the tracks of the New York, Westchester & Boston Railway for $6,000.  He announced that he would build three "frame buildings" on the lots.  

Within a short time, Pelhamwood was fully developed. . . .

Page 2 of 1909 Pelhamwood Advertising Pamphlet.

Source: Clifford B. Harmon & Co., Inc., PELHAMWOOD,

p. 2 (NY: Clifford B. Harmon & Co., Inc., 1909).

NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

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"Last Of Pelham Section Of Pelhamwood Is Sold
-----
Purchasers of Twenty-Eight Lots Intend to Erect Dwelling Houses on Sites, In Near Future
-----

The last lots of the section of Pelhamwood that is within the limits of the Village of North Pelham were sold this week by Joseph Lambden & Son of New Rochelle.  The only part of Pelhamwood left unsold it over the New Rochelle city line.

Twenty-two of the lots were purchased by N. F. Vought, of Benedict Place, Pelhamwood.  Mr. Vought plans to erect seven brick dwelling houses on the lots, which front on Highbrook Avenue.  It is stated that the sale was accomplished at a figure of $20,000.  A Mr. Hessian of New York was the purchaser of the remaining six lots in the tract.  These lots [adjoin] the New York and Westchester Railrod, and were held for $6,000.  Mr. Hessian intends to erect three frame buildings on the property."

Source:  Last Of Pelham Section Of Pelhamwood Is Sold -- Purchasers of Twenty-Eight Lots Intend to Erect Dwelling Houses on Sites, In Near Future, The Pelham Sun, Apr. 14, 1922, Vol. 13, No. 7, p. 7, col. 1.

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Periodically I have written about Pelhamwood and Clifford B. Harmon, a principal developer of Pelhamwood.  For those interested in a comprehensive history of the early development of Pelhamwood, see Bell, Blake A., The Early Development of Pelhamwood, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 37, Sept. 17, 2004, p. 12, col. 2.  For earlier postings about Pelhamwood and Clifford B. Harmon, see:

Wed., Nov. 23, 2016:  1910 Railroad Announcement that the "Finest and Most Artistic Bridge" Would Be Built Over Highbrook Avenue.

Mon., Nov. 21, 2016:  Pelhamwood Benefited from the "Growing Rush to the Country" in 1909.

Tue., Nov. 15, 2016:  Railroad Deeded the Land to Create Pelhamwood Avenue in 1927.

Mon., Sep. 26, 2016:  Battles over Razing the Fifth Avenue Station, the Highbrook Avenue Bridge, and Embankments After Failure of New York, Westchester & Boston Railway.

Thu., Sep. 22, 2016:  Pelham's Highbrook Avenue Bridge Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Thu., Sep. 01, 2016:  Excavation Contractors Smith Brothers and the Beginnings of Pelhamwood in the Early Spring of 1909.

Tue., Mar. 01, 2016:  Unusual 1909 Advertising Pamphlet for Pelhamwood.

Tue., Feb. 02, 2016:  Early Pelhamwood Advertisements with Important Sketches of the New Development.

Tue., Nov. 10, 2015:  The New Development of Pelhamwood as it Was in 1913.

Wed., May 20, 2015:  Early History of the Pelhamwood Clock.

Mon., Mar. 16, 2015:   Newspaper References and Advertisements Regarding Development of Pelhamwood.

Mon., Mar. 16, 2015:  Newspaper References and Advertisements Regarding Development of Pelhamwood.

Fri., Sep. 26, 2014:  1909 Advertisements Show How the New Development of Pelhamwood Was Marketed to New Yorkers.

Sat., Jan. 25, 2014:  Putting the Finishing Touches on the Lovely New Church in Pelhamwood in 1923.  

Fri., Feb. 19, 2010:  1909 Newspaper Advertisement for the New Development of Pelhamwood.

Mon., Feb. 1, 2010:  Obituary of Richard B. Ferris of Pelhamwood. 

Thu., Oct. 11, 2007:  Biographical Data and Photographs of Clifford B. Harmon Who Developed Pelhamwood. 

Tue., Jul. 10, 2007:  An Early Event in the History of Pelhamwood. 

Thu., Jun. 21, 2007:  Information About "Aeronautic" Exploits of Clifford B. Harmon Who Developed Pelhamwood in Pelham. 

Thu. Aug. 10, 2006:  The New Development of Pelhamwood Gets Approval for its Proposed Sewage System in 1912. 

Tue., Nov. 15, 2005:  Plaque Dedicated at the Historic Pelhamwood Clock Tower. 

Mon., Sep. 12, 2005: Pelhamwood Association Celebrated its 30th Anniversary in 1942. 

Thu., May 12, 2005: Clifford B. Harmon, Developer of Pelhamwood.

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An Escaped German Prisoner of War Was Captured by North Pelham Police in 1945

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It was 5:45 p.m. in the late afternoon of Saturday, October 20, 1945.  North Pelham Police Patrolman Charles Keller was patrolling in a prowl car on Washington Avenue in Pelhamwood.  Something did not look quite right to Patrolman Keller.  He noticed a stranger loitering suspiciously on Clifford Avenue near its intersection with Washington Avenue.

Officer Keller watched the man as he walked toward, and turned onto, Highbrook Avenue.  At the same time, Officer Keller noticed a friend of his walking Highbrook.  His friend was off-duty Patrolman James Cappalino of the New Rochelle Police Department.  Officer Keller called out to his friend who climbed into the patrol car.  

Officers Keller and Cappalino rolled up to the stranger and hopped out of the car.  Officer Keller asked the man what he was doing in the neighborhood.  The man replied in fluent English -- with a heavy German accent.  He claimed he was trying to find a girl from Pelham whom he had met in New York City a few days before.  He couldn't, however, remember her name. . . . . 

Officers Keller and Cappalino searched the man for weapons and found in one of his pockets fifty two U.S. War Bonds each in $25 denominations.  The War Bonds were made out to Guy F. Lewis, of 72 Church Street, Highland Falls, N. Y.  The stranger could not explain why he had so many War Bonds in his pocket.  The two officers arrested him for vagrancy and took him to the lock up in Town Hall.

Patrolman Keller of the North Pelham Police Department had good reason to be suspicious of any stranger.  His Chief had instructed members of the department to pay special attention to strangers and to question them closely because the FBI, the United States Provost Marshal, New York State Troopers, and the Police Departments of several New York communities were searching for an escaped German Prisoner of War who had fled from a work gang detailed from a German prisoner of war camp near West Point, New York known as Camp Popolopen (misspelled in news articles quoted below as "Oppalapp").  The prisoner of war was named Martin Jacobi.  Officers Keller and Cappalino had captured Martin Jacobi without a fight.

According to one source, during World War II, the United States Army purchased land where a summer camp once stood near Lake Popolopen and adapted the remnants of the summer retreat "as Camp Popolopen, a POW camp for German prisoners.  After the war, the name was changed to Camp Buckner."  See Popolopen, Wikipedia -- The Free Encyclopedia (visited Aug. 19, 2017).  

On Tuesday, October 16, Martin Jacobi was toiling among the members of a work gang near Camp Popolopen when he escaped from guards.  He fled into nearby Highland Falls where he entered the home of Guy F. Lewis.  There he raided the refrigerator, ransacked the home, and stole the 52 War Bonds found in his pocket when he was captured.  He discarded his prisoner of war uniform and stole a suit from the home.

From there, Jacobi hitchhiked into New York City where he sold one of the stolen $25 War Bonds for three dollars.  He slept in the subway and hopped subway cars and elevated trains to make his way around the City.  While on an elevated train in the Bronx, he saw a passenger reading a newspaper with an alert and his photograph in it, so he hopped off the train in the Bronx and walked to Bronxville.  There he slept in a field and burglarized another residence where he exchanged the stolen suit he was wearing for a "better one."  Once again he raided the refrigerator in the Bronxville home.

He returned to New York City in his new suit and, early in the day on Saturday, October 20, he rode the subway to 242nd Street, hopped off, and walked to Pelham.  There he burglarized the residence of Edwin H. Muir of 4 Benedict Place in Pelhamwood and, once again, raided the refrigerator.  After burglarizing the Muir residence, he was wandering the area when Officer Charles Keller noticed him and, with Officer Cappalino of New Rochelle, captured him.

The two officers received wide acclaim for their meticulous attention to their duties and for the capture of an escaped German prisoner of war.  Jacobi was returned to the prison camp near West Point.

"PATROLMAN CHAS. KELLER" The North Pelham Police

Officer Who Captured the Escaped German Prisoner of War.

Escaped German Prisoner Of War Captured After Robbing

Pelhamwood Home -- Patrolman Keller In Prowl Car With

New Rochelle Policeman Off Duty, Arrested Martin Jacobi,

26, Saturday Night.  Prisoner Had $1,200 in Stolen War

Bonds in Pocket.  Had Recently Finished One Year Military

Sentence for Larceny, The Pelham Sun, Oct. 25, 1945, Vol.

36, No. 28, p. 1, col. 4. NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge. 

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"Escaped German Prisoner Of War Captured After Robbing Pelhamwood Home
-----
Patrolman Keller In Prowl Car With New Rochelle Policeman Off Duty, Arrested Martin Jacobi, 26, Saturday Night.  Prisoner Had $1,200 in Stolen War Bonds in Pocket.  Had Recently Finished One Year Military Sentence for Larceny.
-----

While the F.B.I., the West Point military authorities and police departments of the country over were seeking Martin Jacobi, 26, an escaped German war prisoner, who disappeared from the Oppalapp camp, near West Point on Tuesday, Oct. 16th, an alert North Pelham policeman, Charles Keller, picked him up on Highbrook avenue on Saturday evening and had him safely locked up in Town Hall jail a few minutes afterward.  Keller was assisted by Patrolman Cappalino, a New Rochelle policeman, who was off duty and walking along Highbrook avenue at the time.  Jacobi is wanted by Highland Falls and Bronxville police, the U.S. Provost Marshal and State troopers from New City, N.Y.

Keller was in the prowl car, alone, when he saw Jacobi, and determined to question him.  He called to Cappalino who got into the car and the pair caught up with the escaped prisoner near Washington avenue.  This was about 5:45 p.m.

Jacobi claimed he was trying to find the home of a girl whom he had met in New York a few nights before but could not remember her name.  Keller frisked the man for weapons and in a hip pocket found Jacobi had a large number of war bonds, 29, which he could not explain.

At police headquarters he was first held on a vagrancy charge.  Police found his description tallied with the escaped prisoner who was wanted at West Point.  To Patrolman DeFillipo, Jacobi admitted he was the man.

Had Ransacked Pelham House

At 10:30 that evening, Edwin H. Muir of 4 Benedict Place, notified police that his home had been entered and the place ransacked.  Jewelry and other valuables were untouched.  Clothing had been taken.  Jacobi admitted having entered the Muir home Saturday afternoon, and Mr. Muir identified the shoes and undershirt that Jacobi was wearing as having been taken from his home.  The suit he was wearing was identified by Mrs. Sarah [illegible] State trooper from New CIty, N. Y., examined the prisoner on Sunday morning.  The trooper was accompanied by a woman from New City whose name is withheld.  She identified the prisoner as the man who had called at her home on Wednesday and asked for food.  While she was preparing some sandwiches she claimed he attacked her, but she beat him off.  This incident Jacobi denied being concerned with.

Stole $1,200 in War Bonds

Jacobi claimed that immediately after his escape from Oppalapp Camp from a work gang on Tuesday, he had taken a suit of clothes from the home of Guy F. Lewis, 72 Church street, in Highland Falls, N. Y., and 52 War Bonds of $25.00 each and had thumbed a ride to New York City, where he sold one of the bonds to a soldier for $3.00.  He had slept in the subway, and was on an El train in the Bronx when he saw his picture in a newspaper which a passenger was reading, so he got off at the next station, and walked alongside a little river to Bronxville, where he slept in a field and entered the Rounds residence where he exchanged his suit for a better one.  He returned to New York and on Saturday early rode the subway to 242nd street and walked from there to Pelham.  After entering the Muir residence he was walking along Highbrook avenue when Patrolman Keller and Patrolman Cappalino of New Rochelle, off-duty, arrested him.

Jacobi speaks English fluently, but with a marked German accent.  He was captured three years ago while a sergeant in a tank corps of the German army.  He told North Pelham police that he knew Germany couldn't beat America and advised his comrades to give up and be taken prisoners.

Served Military Sentence for Larceny

Jacobi was recently discharged from the U. S. Disciplinarian Barracks at Green Haven, N. Y., where he served a year for larceny.  

Mayor Dominic Amato complimented Patrolman Kelley on his smart capture and the manner in which the North Pelham police were responding to the orders of Chief Hugh Shannon to be on the alert and question everyone they saw who appeared to be a suspicious person.

North Pelham police took charge of the articles which Jacobi admitted taking from Bronxville and Highland Falls homes.

Jacobi was examined by Judge Lawrence F. Sherman in village court on Monday night.  Being an escaped prisoner of war he was given into custody of Captain William A. Parness of the military police at West Point and was taken by him to the military reservation.

Source:  Escaped German Prisoner Of War Captured After Robbing Pelhamwood Home -- Patrolman Keller In Prowl Car With New Rochelle Policeman Off Duty, Arrested Martin Jacobi, 26, Saturday Night.  Prisoner Had $1,200 in Stolen War Bonds in Pocket.  Had Recently Finished One Year Military Sentence for Larceny, The Pelham Sun, Oct. 25, 1945, Vol. 36, No. 28, p. 1, cols. 4-5.  

"German 'P-W' Seized In Pelham Confesses Three Burglaries

Fugitive From Camp Upstate Arrested With Stolen Bonds, Clothes In His Possession

NORTH PELHAM -- A German prisoner-of-war who escaped Tuesday from a camp near West Point was arrested here by a North Pelham Patrolman Saturday afternoon and admitted committing three burglaries -- one in Pelham on the day of his arrest.

Patrolman Charles Keller, while on Washington Avenue, at 5:45 P. M., observed Martin Jacobi, twenty-six, loitering near Clifford Avenue.  The man's suspicious behavior led Patrolman Keller to confer with Patrolman James Cappellino [sic], of New Rochelle, who was walking his dog in the vicinity while off duty.  When they questioned Jacobi, and his answers were not satisfactory, they picked him up on a charge of vagrancy and took him to headquarters.

Search of his clothes revealed 49 war bonds of $25 denominations made out to Guy F. Lewis, of 72 Church Street, Highland Falls, N. Y.  Jacobi admitted burglarizing the Lewis home last Wednesday, police reported, and said he took a blue serge suit and overcoat in addition to the bonds, discarding his 'PW' uniform for these.

Police said he also admitted burglarizing the home of Harry M. Rounds, Chairman of the Eastchester Republican Town Committee, 20 Crows Nest Road, Bronxville, on Friday.  There he exchanged his stolen clothes for a light-weight suit.  He confessed that he also took a check for $27 issued to Mrs. Rounds, police said.  At each place he entered he 'raided' the ice box and had a hearty meal.

While he was being questioned, a report was made to police of the burglarizing Saturday of the home of Kenneth Muir, Benedict Place, where an undershirt was taken and the ice-box 'raided.'  Mr. Muir, who discovered the robbery at 10:30 P. M., identified the shirt worn by Jacob i as that stolen from his house, according to police, and Jacobi admitted the burglary.

He was arraigned Saturday night before Judge Lawrence Shermon in Special Sessions on a charge of vagrancy, and will be arraigned today at 8:30 P. M. before Judge Sherman on a charge of burglary."

Source:  German 'P-W' Seized In Pelham Confesses Three Burglaries -- Fugitive From Camp Upstate Arrested With Stolen Bonds, Clothes In His Possession, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Oct. 22, 1945, p. 1, cols. 1-2.

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The Closing of the Old Colonial Elementary School in 1926 to Make Way for Today's School Building

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The original Colonial School once stood on the site of today's Colonial Elementary School in Pelham Heights. The first Colonial School was built in 1900.  The poorly-designed structure was a two-story brick building with four classrooms and a wooden staircase so noisy that multiple accounts indicate that teachers had to stop lessons when students or visitors moved up or down the staircase.  An image of the original Colonial School appears immediately below.

First Colonial School that Stood on the Site of Today's Colonial

Elementary School in an Undated Photograph, Circa 1905.  Source:

Pelham Union Free School District No. 1, [Untitled History of District

Schools], p. 4 [Unnumbered Pages], Visited May 10, 2015.

NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

During the first quarter of the 20th century, the Town of Pelham experienced two significant bursts of growth in its population that virtually overwhelmed the schools of the Town.  To make matters worse, older structures such as the first Colonial School were poorly designed to handle an expanded student population and quickly became outmoded for modern education.  Indeed, prior to 1921, the State Board of Education condemned the first Colonial School for use as an "educational institution."  

With enrollment still on the rise, the School Board had little alternative but to continue using the school building.  As it searched for a replacement site that would accommodate a much larger building with adequate recreational space, it received stiff opposition from residents of Pelham Heights who did not want a new, large school building near their properties.  Finally giving up, the School Board decided to build a replacement structure on the site of the first Colonial School and an adjacent property that the School Board was able to acquire.

On Friday, June 11, 1926, the original Colonial School closed its doors for the year, thus ending its twenty-six year history as the principal elementary school for Pelham Heights schoolchildren.  The following month, the empty school building was razed to make way for its replacement.  

The cornerstone ceremony for the new building took place on November 21, 1926.  The new school building, today's Colonial Elementary School, was completed in 1927, dedicated to "the truth and virtue in the interest of the children who will begin their education there."

To learn more about the history of Colonial Elementary School, see, e.g.:

Fri., Sep. 18, 2015:  Early History of Colonial Elementary School: The Battle in 1925 Regarding How to Deal with Colonial School and Other Pelham Schools - Part I. 

Mon., Sep. 21, 2015:  Early History of Colonial Elementary School: The Battle in 1925 Regarding How to Deal with Colonial School and Other Pelham Schools - Part II.

Thu., May 14, 2015:  When School Board Balked, Pelham Heights Resident Donated a School, Furnishings and Paid Teachers With His Own Money.

*          *          *          *          *

Below is the text of a news article noting the closing of the first Colonial School building in 1926.  It is followed by a citation and link to its source. 

"Colonial School Closes Doors in March of Progress
-----
School Building Marked the Beginning of Education of Many Pelhamites
-----

After more than twenty years service to the Pelhams as an educational institution, the Colonial School on Highbrook avenue closed its doors Friday, to be torn down to make way for a more modern structure.  The classes, which have studied there were removed to the Memorial High School, there to pursue their studies until the new building is constructed.

Erected during the last few years of the nineteenth century, the Colonial School was at one time the last word in school buildings.  Its four rooms were ample to accommodate the students of Pelham Heights and a portion of Pelham Manor.  With the construction of the Siwanoy School the Colonial school shared the educational work, and as the school children grew more numerous, the building was relegated to the teaching of the lower grade children.

A few years ago the State department of Education condemned the building as an educational institution and the Board of Education sought to replace it with another school nearer the Pelhamwood section.  The taxpayers however rejected this.  At a recent special election the taxpayers voted to construct a new two-story, twelve-room school building on the site of the Colonial school and adjoining property owned by the school district.

The work of razing the school building will start early in July."

Source:  Colonial School Closes Doors in March of Progress -- School Building Marked the Beginning of Education of Many Pelhamites, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 11, 1926, p. 11, cols. 3-4.  

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