Stowell's Pharmacy in Pelham Manor and its Stunning Early Real Photo Postcards

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Opening of Stowell's Pharmacy in 1907

One of the earliest pharmacies to open in the tiny Village of Pelham Manor was "Stowell's Pharmacy" operated by J. S. Stowell.  It was not Pelham's first pharmacy.  That distinction belongs to a tiny pharmacy opened by a member of the Roosevelt family in the 1890s.  That pharmacy quickly failed.  Its fixtures were sold to Seth T. Lyman of the Village of North Pelham who opened his pharmacy at Fifth Avenue and First Street with those fixtures.

Before opening his Pelham Manor pharmacy, J. S. Stowell was with the Chambers Pharmacy operated by James Chambers in Bronxville.  In 1907 Stowell decided to strike out on his own and open a pharmacy in the region.  He settled on the Village of Pelham Manor which had about 450 residents but no pharmacy.  

First Stowell had to locate the building to house his new business.  He was in luck.  A building at a prime location had just become available -- the old Pelham Manor Post Office.

The story of that old Pelham Manor Post Office building is interesting in and of itself.  In 1897, the Village Clerk of the Village of Pelham Manor, Gervas H. Kerr, became Pelham Manor postmaster.  He oversaw the post office in the Pelham Manor Depot until 1904, when it was moved out of the Depot to a nearby residence on Terrace avenue, a roadway that no longer exists due to the construction of Interstate 95 during the 1950s.  The post office remained in that residence (a home later owned by F.C. Allen, Jr. of Pelham Manor) for only three years.  In 1907, Postmaster Kerr oversaw construction of a new post-office building nearby, near the front entrance to the nearly-new Pelham Manor Train Station built of stone, designed by noted architect Cass Gilbert and opened in about 1907.  Stowell seized on the opportunity and took over the vacant Terrace Avenue residence formerly used as the Post Office.   

Detail from 1908 Map Showing Likely Location of the

Old Post Office Building That Became Stowell's Pharmacy

in Lower Right Corner on Property Owned by Mrs. Emma

J. Roosevelt.  Source:  Fairchild, John F., Atlas of the City

of Mount Vernon and the Town of Pelham Compiled from

Official Records, Personal Surveys, and Other Private Plans

and Surveys, Plate 35 (Mount Vernon, NY:  John F. Fairchild,

1908).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Stowell successfully opened his new business.  A brief newspaper reference published before he opened Stowell's Pharmacy indicated plans for a "first class" and "attractive pharmacy" with an "up to date prescription department" as well as a classic soda fountain.  According to the same reference, the soda fountain would serve not only "ice cream sodas and sundaes," but also "a long list of popular drinks such as egg phosphate, malted milk and egg, vishy and milk, lemonade to order, etc."

It is not known with certainty how long Stowell's Pharmacy operated in Pelham Manor.  It certainly operated for at least three years.  References to the pharmacy in 1910 can be found in a variety of sources.  In the short time that the pharmacy existed, it seems, it left one fascinating, historic, and beautiful legacy.

The Stowell's Pharmacy Real Photo Postcards

At about the time J. S. Stowell was opening his pharmacy, the golden age of American Postcards was underway.  More significantly, a recent development in the creation of such postcards was generating excitement throughout the country.  Stowell's Pharmacy, it seems, took advantage of this excitement.  

In 1903, Kodak introduced a camera (the 3A Folding Pocket Kodak Camera) designed to use film that produced postcard-size images to allow consumers to take photographs and have them printed on postcard paper with postcard backs.  The camera was such a success that Kodak introduced a new service in 1907 that it named "Real Photo Postcards."  The service enabled customers to make postcards from any photograph they took regardless of the camera used.  

At about the same time, Federal law changed to permit -- for the first time -- the inclusion of a message on a portion of the back of a postcard.  Until that change in the law, only the address was allowed on the back of a postcard.  Any message had to be included on the front of the postcard where, typically, an image of some sort appeared.  

These two developments combined to create a boon in the creation and use of Real Photo Postcards (often known to collectors as RPPs or RPPCs).  According to one source:  "No other single format has provided such a massive photo history of America, particularly of small-town and rural America where photography was often a luxury."  "Real Photo Postcard" in Wikipedia -- The Free Encyclopedia (visited Dec. 3, 2016).  

A fascinating series of Real Photo Postcards created in about 1909 seems to be connected to Stowell's Pharmacy.  Although only one in the series uncovered so far has a Stowell's Pharmacy designation on it, the images are remarkably similar and contain handwritten titles that appear to be in the same handwriting in each instance -- handwriting that matches that on the only example in the series uncovered so far that includes a Stowell's Pharmacy reference.  

The Stowell Pharmacy postcards represent an important and fascinating group of RPP images taken at about the same time.  The images reveal, if nothing else, long-gone views of Pelham that were deemed significant enough to capture as part of an entrepreneurial scheme to profit from those views through postcard sales.  It now seems certain that among the many things one could purchase in Stowell's Pharmacy were these lovely postcards to collect or to mail to family and friends.

Below are the Real Photo Postcard images I have been able to identify so far that likely are part of the Stowell's Pharmacy series of such cards.  Since not all are labeled as "Stowell's Pharmacy" cards, there is no definitive way to determine if they all are part of the same series.  However, you may judge for yourself based on the "look" of each postcard and the handwritten titles in identical handwriting whether they seem to be part of a series of cards prepared by (or for sale at) the pharmacy.  Most importantly, since some of the cards have legible postmarks that seem to compare favorably with the time we know Stowell's Pharmacy existed, it is now even easier to assign a narrow date range for all the images including those without postmarks (or without legible postmarks).

This undated postcard shows the "RES. [i.e., Residence of] MUNROE CRANE PELHAM MANOR, N.Y. 5981."  The note on the left contains the following reference important for present purposes "FROM STOWELL'S PHARMACY."  Pay close attention to the handwritten titles as you will see similar handwriting on each of the following postcards as well.  (Click on image to enlarge.)

This undated postcard shows the "R.R. STATION.  PELHAM MANOR, N.Y."  This is the Pelham Manor Depot designed by famed architect Cass Gilbert that opened in about 1907 when Stowell opened his new pharmacy only a few steps away from where this photographer stood.  The postmark is somewhat illegible, but the card clearly was postmarked in 1910 when Stowell's Pharmacy was known to be operating.  This photograph was taken from one of the station platforms opposite the station.  The Pelham Depot Plaza is on the other side of the station.  The station obscures the view of the new Pelham Manor Post Office and Grocery that is entirely "behind" and, thus, blocked by the station in this photograph.  Stowell's Pharmacy would have been located to the right in this image, somewhat behind the photographer.  Note that the handwriting used for the title as well as the "look and feel" of the image is the same as before.  (Click on image to enlarge.)

This undated postcard shows the "POST OFFICE PELHAM MANOR, N.Y."  This is the Post Office building built by postmaster Gervas H. Kerr in 1907 almost directly adjacent to the Pelham Manor Depot.  The shadow of the roof and lightning rod of the Pelham Manor Depot can be seen in the foreground of the photograph.  This photograph was taken with the Pelham Manor Depot behind and to the left of the photographer.  The photographer would have had to walk through the underground tunnel that connected the station area to the platform from which the photograph immediately above was taken.  Stowell's Pharmacy would have been almost directly behind the photographer, a few dozen feet away.  Note that the handwriting used for the titles as well as the "look and feel" of the image is the same as before.  (Click on image to enlarge.)

This postcard view of the "Little Red Church" (the original Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church) located at Four Corners (the intersection of Boston Post Road and Pelhamdale Avenue) is titled "5819 PRESBT. CHURCH.  PELHAM MANOR, N.Y."  The postcard is postmarked November 3, 1911.  Stowell's Pharmacy is known to have been operating in 1910 and may have been operating in 1911 as well.  This image was taken from Boston Post Road facing the church which stands essentially where the sanctuary of today's Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church is located.  Note the same handwriting for the title and the same "look and feel" of the image.  (Click on image to enlarge.)  Note that there is a handwritten four digit number "5819" on the postcard very similar to the four digit number in the same handwriting (5981) on the Munro Crane postcard.  The purpose of the number is not known.

This is a postcard view of "ESPLANADE PELHAM MANOR, N.Y." postmarked November 2, 1909 during the time Stowell's Pharmacy was operating.  This image, taken on the Esplanade (with the dividing median between the Esplanade lanes on the left), shows the rear of the horse watering fountain at the intersection of Esplanade and Boston Post Road.  Note the same handwriting for the titles and the same "look and feel" of the image.  This image was taken just off of Boston Post Road a few hundred feet west from where the photographer took the image of the Little Red Church included above.  On the extreme right, the buildings of Mrs. Hazen's School for Girls may be seen.  (Click on image to enlarge.)

This is a postcard view of "MRS. HAZEN'S SCHOOL PELHAM MANOR, N.Y." with an illegible postmark.  All three "houses" of Mrs. Hazen's School for Girls that stood on the Esplanade at Boston Post Road are depicted in the photograph which was taken from across the Esplanade (both lanes visible in the foreground).  Chester House is on the left.  Edgewood House is in the center, slightly in the rear (it was named after the street it was closest to).  Marbury House, named after Anne Marbury Hutchinson, is on the right.  This image was taken just off of Boston Post Road on the opposite side of the horse drinking fountain, once again only a few hundred feet away from where the photographer took the image of the Esplanade showing the rear of the horse drinking fountain included above.  (Click on image to enlarge.)

This is a postcard view of "BOSTON POST ROAD PELHAM PELHAM MANOR, N.Y." postmarked September 4, 1909 when Stowell's Pharmacy was operating.  This image, taken on Boston Post Road facing its intersection with Esplanade, shows the horse watering fountain in the distance on the left.  Once again the same handwriting is used in the title and the photograph has the same "look and feel" of the other images.  This image was taken from Boston Post Road a few hundred feet west from where the photographer took the images of the rear of the horse watering fountain and the buildings of Mrs. Hazen's School for Girls included above.  (Click on image to enlarge.)

This is a postcard view of "'RES. [i.e., Residence of] MONT D. ROGERS PELHAM MANOR, N.Y." postmarked June 7, 1910 when Stowell's Pharmacy is known to have been operating.  This residence (which no longer exists) was located near the intersection of Wolfs Lane and Secor.  Thus, the photograph was taken only a few hundred feet away from the photograph of Boston Post Road immediately above. The same handwriting is used in the titles and the photograph has the same "look and feel" of the other images.  (Click on image to enlarge.)

This is an undated postcard view of "WOLFS LANE.  PELHAM MANOR, N.Y."  This image was taken on Wolfs Lane (likely somewhat near Boston Post Road but further along Wolfs Lane than Secor).  Admittedly, though, it has not yet been placed geographically with certainty.  It seems likely, however, that it was taken only a few hundred to a few thousand feet away from the photograph of the residence of Mont D. Rogers immediately above.  Note the same handwriting and the same "look and feel" once again.  (Click on image to enlarge.)

This is a postcard view of "'THE RESERVOIR.' NO. PELHAM, N.Y." postmarked January 8, 1911.  Stowell's Pharmacy is known to have been operating in 1910 and may have been operating in 1911 as well.  This image seems to have been taken from the New Haven Line railroad embankment looking down over the reservoir showing the facilities of the New York Inter-Urban Water Company that provided drinking water from the reservoir to Pelham at the time.  Once again the same handwriting is used in the titles and the photograph has the same "look and feel" of the other images.  (Click on image to enlarge.)  For more on the history of the Pelham Reservoir, see:  Wed., Mar. 11, 2015:  Research Regarding the History of the Pelham Reservoir in Today's Willsons Woods Park.

This is an undated postcard view of "R.R. STATION.  PELHAM, N.Y."  This image was taken from near the western end of the Connecticut-bound platform of the New Haven Line Pelham Station.  Note the same handwriting and the same "look and feel" once again.  (Click on image to enlarge.)

This is an undated postcard of "L. EPPLE NORTH PELHAM, N.Y."  It shows the home, florist business, and greenhouses of Louis Charles Epple once located at Seventh Street near Fifth Avenue.  The photographer was standing on 7th Street near its intersection with Sixth Avenue facing toward Fifth Avenue.  As with the earlier postcards in the series, the same handwriting is used in the title and the photograph has the same "look and feel" of the other images.  (Click on image to enlarge.)  To read more about this postcard and Louis Charles Epple, see:  Tue., Sep. 20, 2016:  Louis Charles Epple and His Florist Business in the Village of North Pelham.

This is an undated postcard view of the "CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.  NO. PELHAM, N.Y."  It shows the tiny clapboard chapel of the Church of the Covenant, Congregational that was known as the "Congregational Church" in the Village of North Pelham.  It was located on Second Avenue between Third and Fourth Streets.  The photographer was located on Second Avenue in front of the chapel.  Again, the same handwriting is used in the title and the photograph has the same "look and feel" of the other images.  (Click on image to enlarge.)  To learn more about this postcard and the Congregational Church, see:  Thu., Jul. 23, 2015:  The Home at 45 Maple in Chester Park Built to Serve as a Church.

Conclusion

These thirteen postcards seem to be part of a series of related postcards with a possible connection to Stowell's Pharmacy in Pelham Manor.  It seems almost positive that there are other examples out there of similar postcards in the same series that have the same handwriting and the same "look and feel" as these thirteen examples.  Although it is impossible to know with certainty, it seems most likely that the photographs used in these postcards were taken in 1909 given the historical context of all these images and given that the earliest postmark on any of them (at least as known for now) is September 4, 1909.

Most likely the photographs were taken on different dates.  However, the shadows and greenery suggest that the images were taken on a spring day (or on spring days) with the sun nearly directly overhead in most images.  

It is easy to imagine, at times, how the photographer may have walked along a particular route to snap some of the photographs.  For example, it may have been the case that on one occasion the photographer took a photograph of the Pelham Manor Depot, then wandered in the tunnel beneath the tracks and emerged to photograph the Pelham Manor Post Office adjacent to the Depot.  The photographer, we imagine, then walked a few thousand feet up Pelhamdale Avenue to Four Corners.  

At Four Corners, the photographer took a photograph of the Little Red Church and turned west on Boston Post Road, stepping briefly onto the Esplanade to take a picture of that roadway (showing the rear of the horse watering fountain).  Next the photographer remained on the Esplanade, but crossed Boston Post Road to photograph Mrs. Hazen's School for Girls on Boston Post Road at the Esplanade on the side of Boston Post Road opposite the horse drinking fountain.  

The photographer next took the few steps back onto Boston Post Road and walked a few hundred feet west.  Standing in the middle of Boston Post Road, the photographer turned around toward the Esplanade and took a photograph of Boston Post Road (with a dog seated in the roadway and the horse watering trough in the distance).  The photographer next turned onto Wolfs Lane and walked a few hundred feet to the intersection of Wolfs Lane and Secor and photographed the monumental mansion of Mont D. Rogers (one of a number of nearby monumental mansions).  

Next, the photographer walked a few hundred to a few thousand feet further on Wolfs Lane and took a picture showing a few homes on Wolfs Lane.  Then the photographer continued on Wolfs Lane to the Pelham Station on the New Haven Line and took a picture there.  Thereafter the photographer would have taken a brief detour along the railroad right-of-way to take a photograph of the nearby Pelham Reservoir.  (And so on, and so on.)

These photographs are rare images of a Pelham that no longer exists:  Pelham in 1909.  They are beautiful.  There are so many clues in each that have yet to be explored.

*          *          *          *          *

Below is the text of a number of items that shed some light on Stowell's Pharmacy.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"-- J. S. Stowell, recently of the Chambers Pharmacy, is going into business for himself in Pelham Manor.  That happens to be the one prosperous village in the heart of things that has no drug store.  It likewise has a new post office building which leaves the old one vacant.  Mr. Stowell has taken this building and will put it in first class shape for an attractive pharmacy, with an up to date prescription department and a soda fountain where a long list of popular drinks such as egg phosphate, malted milk and egg, vishy and milk, lemonade to order, etc. will be on tap for the automobilist in addition to the ice cream sodas and sundaes for home consumption.  E. S. Sawyer of New York has taken Mr. Stowell's place at Chambers'."

Source:  [Untitled], The Bronxville Review, Aug. 15, 1907, Vol. VI, No. 33, p. 5, col. 2.  

"PELHAM MANOR, Westchester Co. . . . . [Population 638] Stowell's Pharmacy"

Source:  The ERA Druggists Directory of America - 14th Edition - 1910, p. 134 (NY, NY:  D.O. Haynes & Co., Publishers, 1910).  

Fascinating Advertisement that Included Local Businesses

Including Stowell's Pharmacy in Pelham Manor that Sold

"ELECTRIC DEATH," A "1000 Volts Strong" Way to Destroy

Cockroaches, Bedbugs, Waterbugs, Ants and Fleas.  And, it was

"Warranted to do the Work."  Source:  ELECTRIC DEATH

[Advertisement], The Daily Argus, Mar. 23, 1910, p. 2, cols.

3-4.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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1904 Newspaper Photograph of Pelham Manor Horse Fountain on Boston Post Road

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For far longer than automobiles have ruled the roads of Pelham, horses once did.  More than one hundred and seventeen years ago, a notable member of the local community took pity on the poor beasts of burden that carried travelers and pulled horse-drawn vehicles up and down Boston Post Road.  She decided to help. She certainly could help. She was Hope Iselin, the wife of Charles Oliver Iselin. 

Charles Oliver Iselin was a wealthy American banker and one of the greatest American yachtsmen of his time.  He participated in and won six consecutive America’s Cup races: 1887, 1893, 1895, 1899, 1901 and 1903. He maintained a massive, lovely waterfront estate in New Rochelle where he docked such famous yachts as ‘’Defender,’’ ‘’Reliance,’’ and ‘’Columbia.’’ 

Hope Iselin donated a lovely horse drinking fountain to quench equine thirsts.  Constructed of stone, it stood for many years on Boston Post Road at the intersection with Esplanade. 

In its early years, the fountain had running water and was lighted with a lovely electric lamp.  It was a popular rest stop for horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles whose beasts of burden needed some refreshment.

I have written before about the Pelham Manor horse fountain located at the Esplanade.  See:  

Fri., Aug. 15, 2014:  The Old Horse Fountain on Boston Post Road at the Esplanade. 

Thu., Nov. 05, 2015:  The Earliest Days of the Automobile in Pelham.

Tue., Dec. 30, 2014:  Article from April 23, 1910 Issue of The Pellham Sun.

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog publishes a 1904 newspaper photograph of the Pelham Manor Horse Fountain.  For comparison, I have included a number of other such photographs previously published here, as well as additional ones.  These photographs show the Manor at a transitional time when residents wanted to encourage the older days of horse transportation while recognizing that the modern era of automobiles was at its threshold.  

The photograph of the Pelham Manor horse fountain immediately below was published in the September 4, 1904 issue of the New York Tribune.  The photograph is interesting because it is a rather "wide angle" view of the area that shows not only the fountain that once stood where today's Boston Post Road 17-Mile Marker Memorial now stands, but also the columns that framed the Esplanade there at the time.  

"HEAD OF ESPLANADE-AVE.

Pelham Manor, a part of Westchester that will profit greatly by

the $8,000,000 improvements of the New-York, New-Haven

and Hartford Railroad."  Source:  Pelham Manor [Photograph], 

N.Y. Tribune, Sep. 4, 1904, p. 12, cols. 2-4 (NOTE:  Paid subscription

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

The undated post card image of the Pelham Manor horse fountain immediately below is thought to date to about 1920.  It shows the same view, skewed slightly toward the right so that the lovely horse fountain is on the left side of the image and one of the matching stone columns that framed the Esplanade is visible on the right.  

"THE ESPLANADE FROM BOSTON POST ROAD.  Pelham Manor, N. Y."

Undated Post Card View of the Pelham Manor Horse Fountain, Ca. 1920.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

There also is a later photograph of the Pelham Manor horse fountain that is quite fascinating and that I have published before.  It shows the horse fountain in its later years after many efforts to protect it, resurrect it, preserve it, and document it.  

Pelham Manor Horse Fountain at Boston Post Road and Esplanade

in an Undated Photograph.  Source: Courtesy of The Office of The

Historian of The Town of Pelham.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Though efforts were made in 1922 to preserve the lovely Pelham Manor horse fountain, those efforts failed.  Pelham is left today with nothing but a few images of the famed horse fountain.  It was important then.  It is even important today as part of Pelham's fascinating history.

"Fountain and Esplanade.  Pelham Manor, N. Y."

Undated Postcard View of the Horse Fountain at

Esplanade and Boston Post Road, Circa 1910.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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The Earliest Days of the Automobile in Pelham

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Henry Ford did not perfect the assembly line production of his Model T automobile until about 1913.  Only then did the new-fangled gasoline-powered automobile start to become affordable for average Americans.  

In the earliest years of the twentieth century, however, Pelham residents were not "average Americans" for the most part.  They were, to put it bluntly, comparatively affluent.  Thus, Pelham residents were caught up in the national car craze years before other areas of the country.  A number of Pelham residents owned automobiles in the earliest years of the twentieth century.  Additionally, Pelham Manor -- particularly the brief stretch of today's Shore Road that passes through Pelham Manor leading from Pelham Bay Park past the New York Athletic Club facility on Travers Island -- was one of the most popular routes for recreational bicyclists and, later, early automobile enthusiasts touring the countryside from New York City.  Thus, as early as the turn of the twentieth century, Pelhamites already were somewhat jaded by the new horseless carriage -- more than a decade before Model T Fords began rolling off Henry Ford's assembly line.  

At the turn of the twentieth century, many of the roads in Pelham were unpaved.  Some, like Pelhamdale Avenue, were simple country lanes that passed beneath archways of towering trees.  The horse and carriage still ruled as the principal means of transportation throughout the Town.  In these early years, there was still a sense of wonder and excitement when a horseless carriage passed.  Even more exciting was the purchase of a horseless carriage by any Pelhamite.

In 1938, Mrs. H. G. K. Heath (who had lived on Manor Circle in Pelham Manor since 1890) related in her reminiscences a story about the first automobile she and her husband purchased in the earliest years of the twentieth century.  It was a new "REO" manufactured by the REO Motor Car Company of Lansing, Michigan which began producing automobiles and trucks in 1905.  According to Mrs. Heath:

"The first automobile in the family was another red letter day.  Mrs. Heath recalled her early first fear of the horseless carriages.  Her husband called her outside the house one day to 'see something.'  The something was a new Reo which he had just driven up from New York with the automobile salesman.  That afternoon with no more driving experience, Mr. Heath motored his wife up to Mount Kisco and she 'was not really afraid.'"

Source:  Leary, Margaret, Mrs. Heath Recalls Horses and Cows As Garden Visitors In The Old Manor, The Pelham Sun, Jul. 22, 1938, p. 10, cols. 2-3.

1906 REO Runabout Produced by the Reo Motor Car Company.

Source:  Wikipedia:  The Free Encyclopedia, REO Motor Car

Company (visited Oct. 25, 2015).  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

With automobiles, of course, came automobile accidents.  The earliest automobile accident in Pelham that has yet been documented occurred on the evening of Saturday, April 19, 1902.  The accident occurred on Shore Road near the entrance to the New York Athletic Club's Travers Island facility.  Two men were in a gasoline automobile driving fast on Shore Road with the passenger "down on his knees repairing a part of the mechanism."  The car came upon a horse, frightening it.  The horse began "plunging and side stepping" and to avoid a collision the driver swerved the auto off the roadway.  A report at the time noted:

"It struck a telegraph pole with a crash and a loud explosion followed.  An instant later the machine took fire from the gasolene [sic], and was soon enveloped in flames.  The two men were thrown about twenty feet down the hill, and received many cuts and bruises.  Their clothing was badly torn, and was spattered with the burning gasolene [sic]."

Source:  TWO HURT IN EXPLOSION, New Rochelle Pioneer, Apr. 26, 1902, Vol. 44, No. 6, p. 1, col. 1.  See also AUTOMOBILE EXPLODES, The Yonkers Statesman, Apr. 21, 1902, p. 4, col. 3.  

Luckily for the two men, Jacob Schwind, the proprietor of the nearby Hunter's Island Inn, was driving in the area with a party of guests from New York City.  The group stopped to assist the two men who refused to identify themselves for "fear of publicity."  They took the two men to Hunter's Island Inn where they dressed their wounds and took them to the Bartow Station on the New Haven branch line where the men boarded a train and returned to New York City.  The next day the burnt shell of the automobile was removed.

Such an accident in those early days of the automobile was considered so unusual that it was reported extensively in the New York Daily Tribune the morning after it happened.  See AUTO EXPLODES; TWO HURT -- IN TURNING OUT FOR A HORSE THE DRIVER RUNS INTO A TELEGRAPH POLE, New-York Daily Tribune, Apr. 20, 1902, p. 9, col. 5.  

Given its location adjacent to New York City, Pelham was bound to see increasing automobile traffic even in the earliest years of the twentieth century.  Only four years after the accident described above, the little Town of Pelham had a big city traffic problem caused by New York City automobile owners out for tours in their horseless carriages.  Where some villages and towns in the United States had not even seen an automobile yet, an analysis of traffic in just one four-hour stretch on Shore Road within the Pelham Manor border in 1906 showed 207 cars passing along the half mile stretch between the New York City border and Pelhamdale Avenue and five car accidents in that same four-hour stretch.  See Wed., Jan. 21, 2009:  "Fool Driving" in Pelham in the New-Fangled Automobile in 1906 (citing and quoting "How Fool Driving Affects the Popularity of the Automobile" in The Outing Magazine, Vol. XLVII, No. 5, p. 664 (Feb. 1906).).  

Cover of Music Sheets for the Waltz "In My Merry

Oldsmobile."  The Cover Art Depicts an Oldsmobile

Curved Dash Automobile Like Ones that Likely Traveled

the Roads of Pelham Between About 1901 and 1907

When the Vehicle Was Produced.  The Image Also

Depicts the Sort of Riding Clothes that Automobile

Enthusiasts Wore When Out on Horseless Carriage

Jaunts.  Source:  Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia, 

History of the Automobile (visited Oct. 25, 2015).

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

By 1908, speeding on the streets of Pelham by automobiles, trucks, and sightseeing buses visiting the area had become such a problem that Village of Pelham Manor police had to resort to speed traps.  In those days, the village police hauled drivers directly to the police station where the lawbreaker had to sit and wait for the local judge to appear and impose a fine.  One such instance in 1908 made national headlines when a sightseeing "automobile" with thirty tourists from Manhattan was pulled over for speeding when it encountered "the drag net of the Pelham police."  When the police hauled the driver off to the police station, the sightseers were left in the open air sight-seeing vehicle.  During the hour or two it took for the driver to face the local judge and pay his $25 fine, an "army" of mosquitoes "flocked down" on the tourists "and gave them little peace."  

For a while, horse transportation jockeyed with horseless carriage transportation to rule the roads in Pelham.  The rise of the Model T Ford and its assembly-line competitors, however, was simply too much.  Automobiles began to take over the roads of Pelham.  

One long-time Pelham Manor resident, Evelyn Randall, recalled in reminiscences published in 1938 a little about the early years of the twentieth century when horse-drawn transportation shared the roads of Pelham with horseless carriages.  Writing almost contemptuously of her affluent neighbors who owned automobiles, she said:

"Early Automobiling

About 1910, when a few automobiles began to be owned in Pelham Manor, we still clung to our horses.  

At that time people used to put up their cars in Winter, featuring to have them freeze or get blocked in a snow drift.

It used to give us considerable inward glee on cold, Winter mornings to see these rich and bloated owners of cars standing shivering on street corners waiting trustfully for the 'Toonerville Trolley' to take them to their train while we drove gaily by, nestling in fur robes, our sleigh bells jingling and red tassels waving.  If there happened to be room we would invite one or two to ride."

Source:  Randall, Evelyn, EARLY DAYS IN PELHAM MANOR By EVELYN RANDALL (Mrs. Wm. B. Randall), The Pelham Sun, Aug. 6, 1938, p. 6, cols. 7-8.

Slowly, however, the horse disappeared from Pelham.  Perhaps nothing exemplified the passage of the age of horse-drawn transportation in Pelham more than the decision in 1922 to remove the horse drinking fountain that had stood on Boston Post Road since the early days of the twentieth century because it was little used and posed a threat to the growing automobile and truck traffic on Boston Post Road.  The horseless carriage, it seems, had won.

Post Card View of the Horse Drinking Fountain at

Boston Post Road and Esplanade, Circa 1910.  To

Read More About the Fountain and its Removal, See

Fri., Aug. 15, 2014:  The Old Horse Fountain on Boston

Post Road at the Esplanade.  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

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Below is the text of a couple of newspaper stories referenced in today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"AUTO EXPLODES; TWO HURT.
-----
IN TURNING OUT FOR A HORSE THE DRIVER RUNS INTO A TELEGRAPH POLE.

An automobile which bore the initials J. A. R. and is said to belong to Mr. Roach, of this city, exploded last evening on the Shore Road, near the New-York Athletic Club's country hoe, in Pelham Manor.  Two men who were in the vehicle were severely injured.  The machine, which was operated by gasolene, took fire after the explosion and was almost burned up.  The prompt arrival of a water cart from Pelham Bay Park saved it from complete destruction.  

The machine was being driven at a rapid speed down Roosevelt's Hill, between Pelham Bay Park and the New-York Athletic Club country place, and one of the men in it, it is said, was down on his knees repairing a part of the mechanism, when his companion saw that the machine was frightening a horse.  The horse was plunging and side stepping, and, in order to give the man who was driving him more room, the automobile was turned out of the roadway.  

It struck a telegraph pole with a crash, and a loud explosion followed.  An instant later the machine took fire from the gasolene, and was soon enveloped in flames.  The two men were thrown about twenty feet down the hill, and received many cuts and bruises.  Their clothing was badly torn, and was spattered with the burning gasolene.

Jacob Schwind, proprietor of the Hunters Island Inn, was driving toward the Pelham golf links with a party of New-York people.  He and his guests hurried to the assistance of the injured men, and sent a hurry call to the Park Department for a sprinkling cart to put out the fire.  After the fire had been put out the men and their machine were taken to the Hunters Island Inn.  Mr. Schwind and the people at the inn wanted to send for a doctor, but the men begged them not to, saying that they were not badly hurt, and would try to fix themselves up, as they did not want any publicity.  Mr. Schwind declined to-night to give their names.

After their wounds had been dressed, Mr. Schwind took the men to the Bartow station of the New-Haven road, where they took a train for this city.  They were so much afraid that their names ight get into print that they declined to allow any one to accompany them, although they were still very weak when they got on the train.  The wrecked machine was left at the inn.  The men said that they would send for it to-day."

Source:  AUTO EXPLODES; TWO HURT -- IN TURNING OUT FOR A HORSE THE DRIVER RUNS INTO A TELEGRAPH POLE, New-York Daily Tribune, Apr. 20, 1902, p. 9, col. 5.  

"SIGHTSEERS IN A PLIGHT.
-----
Mosquitoes Attack Them While Chauffer Pays Fine in Pelham.
[SPECIAL DESPATCH TO THE HERALD.]

PELHAM, N. Y.,  Wednesday. -- A big sightseeing automobile containing thirty sightseers from Manhattan fell into the drag net of the Pelham police yesterday for exceeding the speed limit.  The chauffeur was Frederick Snell, of No. 1,773 Webster avenue, the Bronx.

It is charged that he was going at thirty miles an hour when overtaken.  He was taken to the police station, a mile away, and the passengers were obliged to wait an hour or two for the local judge.  They were very indignant at the delay.  

Woods in Pelham are are alive with mmosquitoes and the whole army flocked down on them and gave them little peace.  The chauffeur was fined $25.  He paid imediately and shouting 'All aboard,' got his machine and passengers out of town."

Source:  SIGHTSEERS IN A PLIGHT -- Mosquitoes Attack Them While Chauffer Pays Fine in Pelham, N.Y. Herald, Aug. 13, 1908, p. 5, col. 3.  

"EARLY DAYS IN PELHAM MANOR
By EVELYN RANDALL (Mrs. Wm. B. Randall)
-----

This is the second and last article written by Mrs. Randall long a resident of Pelham Manor , in which she has presented a vivid and intimate picture of life in the village of days gone by.

Early Automobiling

About 1910, when a few automobiles began to be owned in Pelham Manor, we still clung to our horses.  

At that time people used to put up their cars in Winter, featuring to have them freeze or get blocked in a snow drift.

It used to give us considerable inward glee on cold, Winter mornings to see these rich and bloated owners of cars standing shivering on street corners waiting trustfully for the 'Toonerville Trolley' to take them to their train while we drove gaily by, nestling in fur robes, our sleigh bells jingling and red tassels waving.  If there happened to be room we would invite one or two to ride.

The Pelham Country Club

It may surprise you to learn that the original Pelham Country Club rented some farm land on the easterly side of Fowler avenue for a nine hole golf course in the early years of golf.  

After a time the land was sold and the club was forced to remove.  The old Disbrow farm on North avenue ,New Rochelle was rented and finally purchased and an eighteen hole course was built.  

The leading spirits were the men from Pelham Manor, though new members soon increased the membership.  The first three presidents were from Pelham Manor, Martin J. Condon, Paul Heubner and William B. Randall who also became life members.

The name Wykagyl was substituted by William K. Gillett who discovered a native Indian tribe associated with that neighborhood.  

About that time there was a tennis club in Pelham Manor which had its home at the Iden Mansion on Wolf's Lane, where they had six tennis courts.  

In 1908 this cljub decided to expand and they chose the present site of the Pelham Country Club.  

The property was the much despised Spreen Swamp which Mr. George Lahey described as 'a repository for discarded iron beds, boilers and tin cans and debris of every description.'  Drainage from half of Pelham Manor flowed into it; it contained a peat bed, quick sands and a swamp where frogs, snakes and mosquitoes flourished.  

With infinite courage and tenacity and at great expense, this unlovely spot 'has been transformed into a lovely park with fine trees, shrubs and running brooks, where formerly there was only rough terrain and stagnant water.'  A full length golf course was finally completed within the village.

This great undertaking was accomplished under the leadership of Mont D. Rogers, Edmjund E. Sinclair and William B. Randall, faithfully supported by the Board of Governors and the entire membership.

I quote again:  'After the construction of the golf course, Pelham Manor property in the vicinity that had been offered at $4,000 per acre, eventually sold as high as $40,000 per acre greatly increasing the wealth of the owners.'

The Pelham Country Club has been a boon to its members giving them health and pleasure."

Source:  Randall, Evelyn, EARLY DAYS IN PELHAM MANOR By EVELYN RANDALL (Mrs. Wm. B. Randall), The Pelham Sun, Aug. 6, 1938, p. 6, cols. 7-8.

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