Announcement of Planned Extension of the Hutchinson River Parkway in 1940

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "The Haunted History of Pelham, New York"
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

By 1940, there no longer was any pretense that the roadway was a lovely "parkway."  No, by 1940, the Hutchinson River Parkway was considered a potential "super-highway" that needed a major extension to permit New Yorkers to avoid congested streets and boulevards for outings in Westchester County, Connecticut, and Southern New England.  In barely a decade, the nature of the roadway was transformed from its original conception as a lovely "parkway" for Sunday afternoon jaunts into a major automobile artery connecting New York City with southern New England.  Thank you, Robert Moses.  Pelham, of course, was in the cross-hairs.

The history of the Hutchinson River Parkway, of course, is integrally intertwined with the history of the Town of Pelham during the 20th and 21st centuries.  Consequently, I have wriitten about the Hutchinson River Parkway on numerous occasions.  See, e.g.:

Wed., Mar. 07, 2018:  Pelhamites Learned of a Planned "Hutchinson River Improvement" in 1922.

Fri., Nov. 24, 2017:  Hutchinson River Parkway Detritus Was Used to Fill Much of the Pelham Reservoir in 1925.

Mon., May 08, 2017:  Pelham's Historic East Third Street Bridge Over the Hutchinson River Parkway.

Wed., Feb. 01, 2017:  Pelham Historic Marker Placed on Hutchinson River Parkway in 1927.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016:  A History of Tolls on the Hutchinson River Parkway and Their Impact on Pelham.

Tue., Aug. 26, 2014:  Westchester County Board of Supervisors Decided To Extend the Hutchinson River Parkway Through Pelham in 1923.

In 1940, newspapers in the region were filled with news accounts of plans to extend the "parkway" from the Eastern Boulevard, south of Pelham, to the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge using a six-lane extension with no roads crossing the new super-highway.  The plans, of course, had been years in the making.

Only two years before, another extension of the Hutchinson River Parkway had been completed that extended the roadway from Boston Post Road in Pelham to the Eastern Boulevard (once known as the old Shore Road and the Pelham Bridge Road).  Additionally, in 1938 and 1939, New York authorities acquired the right-of-way required to extend the roadway all the way to the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge.

During that two-year period at the end of the 1930s, buildings along the newly-acquired sections of right-of-way were demolished, test borings were made, and bridge designs were drawn so that work on the planned extension could begin as soon as financing was in place.

The planned extension to the bridge was planned to cost about $8,000,000 to construct.  The money was raised through a "refinancing in which the New York City Parkway Authority was merged with the Triborough Bridge Authority, retaining the name of the latter.  Commissioner of Parks Robert Moses headed the parkway authority and he and Commissioners George V. McLaughlin and Roderick Stephens head the Triborough Bridge Authority."

In mid-May, 1940 the Triborough Bridge Authority announced that "contracts had been let for the substructure and superstructure of the Eastchester Creek bridge, for the Givans Creek bridge . . . and for considerable grading."  It further announced that "Bids on other contracts will be taken in the next few months."

Work began soon thereafter.  Pelham, it seemed, would never be the same.

"This map shows the Hutchinson River Parkway Extension in the Bronx.

The numbers at different points are explained in the caption below the

adjoining pictures, which show sections of the same district."  Source:

 Another Parkway for the City -- Boon in Store for Motorists in the Extension

of Hutchinson River Road, N.Y. Sun, May 18, 1940, p. 5, cols. 2-4.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

"The Hutchinson River Parkway Extension (indicated by heavy white lines

in the above pictures) will relieve traffic congestion on Eastern Boulevard

(5), the Bronx, which at present is a link for motor vehicles moving between

Long Island and New England points, via the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge and

the Hutchinson River Parkway, Westchester county, and the Merritt Parkway,

Connecticut.  The picture at the bottom (looking north) shows the location (1),

of intersection and grade separations on the parkway extension at East

177th street at Eastern Boulevard.  In the picture at the top (looking north) is

another section of the parkway extension.  The Pelham Bay Parkway (2),

Gun Hill Road and Baychester avenue bridges and grade separations (3)

and the Eastchester Creek Bridge (4) are indicated as well as Eastern

Boulevard (5)."  Source:  Another Parkway for the City -- Boon in Store

for Motorists in the Extension of Hutchinson River Road, N.Y. Sun, May 18,

1940, p. 5, cols. 2-4.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

"Another Parkway for the City
-----
Boon in Store for Motorists in the Extension of Hutchinson River Road.
-----

Contractors' steam shovels and graders soon will be making the dirt fly along Eastchester Creek in the Bronx, building an important new link in the ever-growing chain of parkways in the metropolitan area, as modern as the 1940 automobile and as safe from the hazards and delays of big-city traffic as engineering can make it.

Called the Hutchinson River Parkway Extension, the new super-highway will be a boon to motorists who, groaning at the perils and tribulations of the road, have spent many of their summer Sunday hours crawling along congested streets and boulevards for a short outing in upper Westchester county, Connecticut or southern New England.

The extension will strike south across Eastchester Creek from a point in the present Hutchinson River Parkway in Pelham Bay Park to the present approach to the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge.  No other roads will cross its six lanes of traffic, three northbound and three southbound and no red lights will bring automobiles screeching to a stop anywhere along its three and three-quarters miles of roadway.  Landscaped areas on either side and a mall between the north and south-bound lanes will make it a true parkway, as pleasing to the eye as it will be easy to the wheel.

Fast Route to Connecticut.

Long Island motorists, traveling along the existing parkways in Brooklyn and Queens and along the soon-to-be-completed Belt Parkway to the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, will have a fast, direct route into Connecticut by way of the Merritt Parkway or into the north and south-bound Westchester county parkways by way of the Cross County Parkway or the Mosholu and Bronx Pelham parkways.

To be constructed on a right-of-way obtained in 1938 and 1939, the extension will be built by the Triborough Bridge Authority at a cost of around $8,000,000 and probably will be completed in eighteen months or so.  The new construction was made possible through the recent refinancing in which the New York City Parkway Authority was merged with the Triborough Bridge Authority, retaining the name of the latter.  Commissioner of Parks Robert Moses headed the parkway authority and he and Commissioners George V. McLaughlin and Roderick Stephens head the Triborough Bridge Authority.

The new extension will branch off from the two-year-old section of the Hutchinson River Parkway running south from the Boston Post Road to Eastern Boulevard, which also is known as the old Shore Road and the Pelham Bridge Road.  The branch will be roughly a mile south of the Hutchinson River Parkway-Boston Post Road crossing and about 2,300 feet west of the intersection of the parkway and Eastern Boulevard.  An elaborate cloverleaf at the branch will enable motorists using the new extension to swing eastward to Orchard Beach and City Island, thus diverting some of the heavy summer traffic to those three resorts from the Eastern Boulevard, now badly congested.

A Bottle-neck to Go.

A new bridge with a bascule type opening for boats will carry the extension southward across Eastchester Creek several thousand feet to the west of the present Eastern Boulevard bridge, which constitutes a bad bottle-neck for motorists.  Another bridge will arch over Givans Creek and grade crossing separations will eliminate hazards at Baychester avenue, Gun Hill Road, the Bronx Pelham Parkway, Westchester avenue, Tremont avenue, Grass avenue and Eastern Boulevard at the beginning of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge approach.  In addition there will be a grade crossing elimination where the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad swings across the extension right-of-way between the Pelham Parkway and Gun Hill Road.

Buildings along the right-of-way have been demolished, test borings made and bridge designs drawn, so the actual work is expected to get under way rapidly.  The Triborough Bridge Authority announced last week end that contracts had been let for the substructure and superstructure of the Eastchester Creek bridge, for the Givans Creek bridge . . . and for considerable grading.  Bids on other contracts will be taken in the next few months."

Source:  Another Parkway for the City -- Boon in Store for Motorists in the Extension of Hutchinson River Road, N.Y. Sun, May 18, 1940, p. 5, cols. 2-4.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "The Haunted History of Pelham, New York"
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

Pelhamites Learned of a Planned "Hutchinson River Improvement" in 1922

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

As early as 1906, efforts to create the Bronx River Parkway as part of a river conservation effort began.  Although efforts to complete the parkway ebbed until the end of World War I, an initiative to complete the 15.5 mile parkway between Bronx Park and the Kensico Dam in Valhalla, New York picked up steam after the war and led to completion of the parkway in 1925.

As efforts to complete the Bronx River Parkway picked up steam after World War I, many in the region began advocating for the creation of a similar parkway in the Hutchinson River Valley as a means of protecting the river and its valley against over-development and pollution.  These were the earliest seeds of what we know today as the Hutchinson River Parkway.

I have written before about various aspects of the history of the Hutchinson River Parkway.  For examples, see:

Fri., Nov. 24, 2017:  Hutchinson River Parkway Detritus Was Used to Fill Much of the Pelham Reservoir in 1925.

Mon., May 08, 2017:  Pelham's Historic East Third Street Bridge Over the Hutchinson River Parkway

Wed., Feb. 01, 2017:  Pelham Historic Marker Placed on Hutchinson River Parkway in 1927.

Tue., May 10, 2016:  A History of Tolls on the Hutchinson River Parkway and Their Impact on Pelham.

Tue., Aug. 26, 2014:  Westchester County Board of Supervisors Decided To Extend the Hutchinson River Parkway Through Pelham in 1923.

In 1922, efforts to create the Hutchinson River Parkway gained steam.  First, the State of New York enacted legislation to authorize Westchester County to acquire properties for the creation and improvement of parks, parkways, and boulevards within the County.  Attention quickly turned to the Hutchinson River Valley and the Saw Mill River Valley as prime candidates for the creation of parkways as conservation measures to preserve those valleys and mitigate further pollution of those two rivers.  

On November 17, 1922, Pelhamites awoke to read their weekly issue of The Pelham Sun.  In it was a lengthy article written by the President of the Westchester County Parkway Commission, W. Delevan Baldwin, urging the creation of a parkway in the Hutchinson River Valley.

Baldwin noted the massive increase in population and suburban development in the region and further argued that if the County were to wait much longer, the valley would be further developed and, thus, would require a much greater expense to acquire the lands necessary to create the parkway he envisioned.  He wrote:  "For its greater part, Westchester County consists of suburban areas and open spaces, but the reason for starting a park system now, lies in the fact that unless it is started while there are plenty of open spaces, its cost may become prohibitive when the county becomes more closely populated and built up."

Baldwin argued that there was a "moral obligation" to preserve such lands and provide such a park for future generations.  He noted that because the then-present generation would benefit from such a park it would only be fair for a portion of the expense to be born by that generation as well as future generations.  Thus, he urged the issuance of long-term bonds to fund acquisition of the lands to permit development of the parkway.  

Baldwin pointed to the Bronx River Parkway, then nearing completion, as a model for the development of a new Hutchinson River Parkway.  He noted:  "The present need is for the promptest possible action to secure the necessary lands.  Construction and development programs can be deferred until the needs for such improvements are felt and their cost not burdensome.  It should be kept in mind that in acquiring such lands for parkways the county will also be acquiring rights of way for motor driveways, trunk sewers, water, and possibly light and power lines or other public utilities."

Planned development of the Hutchinson River Parkway, it seems, was well on its way . . . . 

Recent View, Looking from North to South, of the East Street Bridge

on the Hutchinson River Parkway. Source: LoRusso, Mark S., An

Historic American Engineering Record Level II Documentation of the

East Third Street Bridge Spanning Hutchinson River Parkway and

Hutchinson River NYSDOT PIN 8BOW.01.101 City of Mount Vernon and

Village of Pelham Westchester County New York, p. 70 (2017: Sponsored

by The Federal Highway Administration and the New York State

Department of Transportation, Part of the New York State Museum

Cultural Resource Survey Program). NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

"Hutchinson River Improvement Advocated By Park Commission
-----
W. Delevan Baldwin, President of the Westchester County Parkway Commission Urges That Land For This and Other Improvements Be Purchased Now While It Is Possible to Acquire It At Reasonable Cost.
-----

Under a legislative enactment included in the Laws of 1922, Westchester County received authorization for the location, creation, acquisition and improvement of parks, parkways and boulevards.

The State of New York under a separate act conveyed to the County for $1 the 1,100 acre reservation surrounding Mohansic Lake, in the Town of Yorktown.  This Park has been open and of great public benefit during the summer of 1922.

The County Park Commission is composed of W. Delevan Baldwin, John G. Agar, Felix M. Warburg, Arthur W. Lawrence, Mrs. W. A. Read, Cornelius A. Pugsley, William J. Wallin, Mrs. Roberts Walker and Charles M. Miller.

The following authoritative article by President Baldwin, shows the necessity for planning now, a county park system adequate for future needs.
-----

In any discussion of a park system for Westchester County, the question will arise as to why the County needs a park system.

For its greater part, Westchester County consists of suburban areas and open spaces, but the reason for starting a park system now, lies in the fact that unless it is started while there are plenty of open spaces, its cost may become prohibitive when the county becomes more closely populated and built up.

The growth and development of New York City intimately affects Westchester and incidents in the history of the City's expansion serve as admonitions of the necessity for anticipating future needs in the county.

Consider for example, the report of the commission which laid out the present street plan of New York City in 1811 (population then 90,000) and containing this statement:  'It may be a subject of merriment that the commissioners have provided space for a greater population than is collected at any spot this side of China.  It is improbable that (for centuries to come) the grounds north of Haerlam flat will be covered with houses.

The commissioners thought they were going to the ultimate limit of foresightedness, even to the point of risking ridicule. 

But how quaint their statement sounds to us with the knowledge of developments that have come in a little over one century.  Coming to the more recent past, Jones' Woods and other picnic grounds in Manhattan along the East River are easily within the memories of living men, and the areas now composing the Bronx Zoological Park and Botanical Gardens were somewhat of a wilderness less than 30 years ago.

These items in the history of New York City's development are rather trite and familiar, but the point I am making is that the increase of movement of population from the earliest beginnings at Bowling Green, has progressed steadily northward, is now upon us in Westchester County.  While it is true that Westchester spreads out far beyond the confines of Manhattan Island and the Bronx, the advantage is offset by the fact that the population movement is now unprecedented, is, in fact, a surge actuated by pressure of the millions confined within the city limits.  People are coming to Westchester just as fast as the builders can provide homes for them.

The necessity for setting aside park and recreation areas now for the requirements of the future, is well understood by many of our business and political leaders.  It must be appreciated and understood, however, by the general public in order that these leaders may have the support necessary to bring about action.

Why Provide Parks?

The taxpayer may very properly raise a question as to why we should make provisions for future generations.  Why not let them take care of their own problems?

The answer as I conceive it is this:  if, with experience gained in the past we clearly see the need of establishing a park system adequate for future needs, we should assume the need as a moral obligation.  As a matter of course there would be an underlying distribution of expense.  Long term bonds issued by the county would ease the burden along from our generation to the next without burden to either.

[Illegible] necessity for a country park system and ability of the county to undertake its development.

Progress has been made by an enactment under the laws of 1922 providing for the creation of a county park system, including the location, creation, acquisition and improvement of parks, parkways and boulevards.  Under another chapter of the laws of 1922 the State conveyed the splendid 1,100 acre reservation at Mohansic Lake to Westchester County for $1.00.

The County Park Commission immediately opened Mohansic Park to public use.  During the summer of 1922 hundreds of tent campers were accommodated for week-ends and longer vacation periods.  On Saturdays and Sundays a great many automobile parties picnicked along the attractive lake shores.  Next year, when this park becomes better known, and its various parts become more accessible through the improvement of roads, it will be used a great deal more.

In discussing extensions of the county park system, account should be taken of the superb natural advantages of Westchester and the really wonderful opportunities afforded for park development.  We have shore lines on the Sound, an expanse of many miles along the Hudson, with a beautifully varied lake and hill country intervening.  In the southern part of the county there are the three valleys of the Hutchinson, Bronx and Saw Mill or Nepperham Rivers with their separating north and south ridges.

One Transformation

In looking over park resources there at once comes to mind the Bronx River Parkway now nearing completion and the remarkable transformation that has taken place in the Bronx River Valley.  

Competent authorities decided that the establishment of a parkway was the only practicable solution for reclaiming the Bronx River Valley, the project being a joint undertaking between New York City and Westchester County.

The Saw Mill River valley is rapidly developing a similar problem that must be handled by Westchester as the river lies wholly within the county.  Gradually this valley is becoming built up with garages, small factories and the class of developments that usually contributes the pollution and refuse that makes a river a more aggravated nuisance as time goes on.

Similar conditions will develop along the Hutchinson River Valley and progressive residents in the vicinity have advocated for several years past, the establishment of a parkway.

The three Westchester County river valleys parallel to its north and south axis and the direction of greatest traffic, are natural parkways.  The Bronx River valley has been taken care of and the lands necessary to establish control over the Saw Mill and Hutchinson Rivers, can be acquired now at much lower cost than at some late date, when additional buildings will have to be paid for.

The present need is for the promptest possible action to secure the necessary lands.  Construction and development programs can be deferred until the needs for such improvements are felt and their cost not burdensome.  It should be kept in mind that in acquiring such lands for parkways the county will also be acquiring rights of way for motor driveways, trunk sewers, water, and possibly light and power lines or other public utilities.

The proposal that the county park system should include beaches or parks along the Sound and Hudson River also has many supporters.  Such advocates doubtless have in mind the contrast between resorts operated solely for maximum possible profits and resorts such as Bear Mountain, or the beaches controlled by the Metropolitan District Commission of Boston.

The Westchester County Park Commission feels that the county will not lag behind other municipalities and that a full measure of public support will be forthcoming when the people understand the wisdom and necessity for action.

W. DELEVAN DAWSON."

Source:  Hutchinson River Improvement Advocated By Park Commission -- W. Delevan Baldwin, President of the Westchester County Parkway Commission Urges That Land For This and Other Improvements Be Purchased Now While It Is Possible to Acquire It At Reasonable Cost, The Pelham Sun, Nov. 17, 1922, p. 8., cols. 1-4.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak." 

The Sad Tragedies that Marked the Opening and First Week of Willson's Woods Swimming Pool in 1928

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

"The Pelham youngsters are assured of a clean

and safe place to bathe at Willson's Woods."

-- The Pelham Sun, July 6, 1928.

After numerous drownings in Pelham Reservoir during the first two decades of the 20th century, Westchester County decided in the 1920s to develop "Willson's Woods Park" at Pelham Reservoir and to construct an amazing "one-million-gallon" swimming pool and recreational facility with the most modern safety features and recreational amenities.  With construction of the Hutchinson River Parkway at about the same time, Westchester hoped to turn the region into a recreational mecca to supplement the beautiful parkway intended, initially, for world-class recreational automobiling.  

Westchester County acquired Willson's Woods in 1924.  The area was named after a former owner, Charles Hill Willson, who became wealthy after founding the Willson & Adams Lumber Company.  The twenty-three acre park is one of the oldest in the Westchester County Park system.  

In 1927, Westchester County began construction of a major swimming and recreational facility in the new park.  It was a one-million-gallon swimming pool with a two-story Tudor Revival style bathhouse and dance hall.  The facility reportedly cost about $500,000 (about $7,000,000 in today's dollars) to construct in 1927 and 1928, shortly before the stock market crash in 1929 and the onset of the Great Depression.

It is only possible to understand the importance of the two projects to establish Willson's Woods Park and to build Willson's Wood's Bathing Pavilion and Swimming Pool if one also understands the intent behind the construction of the adjacent Hutchinson River Parkway at about the same time.  The Parkway was not intended, at the time, to serve as the broken and overburdened major transportation artery that it is today.  Rather, the "park" was intended to be an automobile "parkway" -- something all of Pelham and the surrounding region expected to be an impressive recreational centerpiece of the region.  The entire region expected that the Parkway and its associated local parks, paths, and recreational facilities would become the envy of the nation and a centerpiece of the affluent suburban life of leisure in the New York metropolitan region.  Obviously, "we wuz snookered."  

Yet,looking back lovingly at our history without hindsight, Willson's Woods Swimming Pool was built in 1927 and 1928.  It was scheduled to open on June 29, 1928.  Heavy rains in the last weeks of June that year, however, delayed some of the final work required to complete the facility and a roadway leading to it.  Thus, the opening and dedication ceremonies were rescheduled for Wednesday, July 4, 1928:  Independence Day.  

On the appointed day, many Pelham public officials attended the opening ceremonies.  The Mayor of the City of Mount Vernon, Hon. James F. Bert, delivered the keynote address.  Additionally, officials of the Westchester County Park Commission participated in the program.  At the conclusion of the remarks, a large crowd of bathers crowded into the massive pool.  According to The Pelham Sun, the "majority" of swimmers that day (and, it turned out, for a long time to come) were Pelhamites.  

At the time of opening of the wonderful facility, the Pool Director who supervised it was Lyman Jordan of Chester Park in the Village of North Pelham.  He managed a large crew of lifeguards who were led, in turn, by Albert Abkarian from the Village of North Pelham.  He was a Cornell University student who served as Captain of the lifeguards.  Three lifeguards were on duty at all times Monday through Friday.  An additional two lifeguards were added on Saturdays and Sundays.  

Though the pool was open from 10:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. daily, no additional swimmers were admitted to the facility after 8:00 p.m. each evening.  A particularly notable feature of the new facility was that it was lit with electric lights for "night bathing."

The admission price to Willson's Woods Swimming Pool on weekdays was 35 cents for adults and 15 cents for children.  On Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, the admission price climbed to 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children.  To encourage youngsters to use the facility, there was no charge for children under twelve on Tuesday and Friday mornings.

At its opening, the pool had the most modern safety features then available.  According to The Pelham Sun:  

"The most modern safety devices have been installed in the pool.  Where the depth changes from four to ten feet a line of red lights will gleam from the bottom of the pool.  A guard rope will also float across surface of the water at this point.  For night swimming powerful electric lights have been installed along the base of the diving pool.  In the bathhouses a fully equipped First Aid station has been installed.  Compete life guards will be on duty at all hours when bathing is permitted."

The facility also was an impressive marvel of architecture and functionality.  There was an immense, "splendidly designed entrance through which one gets the first glimpse of the shimmering water in the immense pool beyond."  The main bathhouse had two wings, with dressing rooms that opened off the main entrance in both wings.  The second story of the bathhouse included a tea room and a dance floor.  Upon opening of the facility, weekly dances in the second floor ballroom became a feature of the facility.  The facility was able to accommodate fifteen hundred people at once.  

Huge chlorination tanks provided support for the one million gallons of water, all of which was "frequently filtered and changed to insure perfect sanitation."  At the time of opening, a major playground adjacent to the pool was still under construction, although it was finished the first season.  Smith Brothers Contracting Company of the Village of North Pelham was heavily involved in grading for the project and in completing the roadway to the pool "in record time."  

The natural wooded setting of the new pool in the midst of what then remained of "Willson's Woods" made the facility "one of the most attractive places in this section of the country" according to one news report.  The pool itself was massive.  It was 235 feet long and 135 feet in width.  Its depth ranged from one foot to ten feet.  For two hundred feet, its depth was only four feet, allowing hundreds of young people and even non-swimmers to frolic in the water on hot days "in perfect safety."  At one end of the pool, there was a ten-foot deep area marked for swimmers and swimming competitions that ran the width of the pool (135 feet) and was thirty-five feet wide.

At the time of its opening, the facility became a major recreational destination for Pelham.  Since then, generations of Pelham youngsters and their families have enjoyed a respite from summer heat in the Willson's Woods Swimming Pool just as many Pelhamites did when the pool first opened on July 4, 1928.

That hot, sunny Independence Day, bathers crowded into the pool immediately after the last remarks during the opening ceremony.  A major swimming competition was scheduled in the pool later that day.  

One certainly can imagine the peals of laughter, the squeals of joy, the splashing, and the chatter of the crowd.  The pool was filled with Pelhamites, as well as citizens of Mount Vernon and the surrounding region enjoying the sparkling new facility.    

The lifeguards, of course, were vigilant.  The crowd was massive, however.  It seems that even with the "most modern safety features then available" as well as a team of well-trained lifeguards considered to be among the elite of "college athletes" from Cornell, Notre Dame, and Colgate, things could still go awry.

Only hours after the bathing pavilion and pool first opened, tragedy unfolded and "clouded the opening" of the new facility.  In the midst of all the joyous confusion, the body of nineteen-year-old Wilbert Hogan of 647 South Sixth Avenue in Mount Vernon was found at the bottom of a shallow portion of the pool.  The new lifeguard crew of college athletes, led by Pelhamite Albert Abkarian, recovered Hogan's body.  Medical examination failed to reveal whether the poor young man suffered heart failure "or died through some injury received in diving."  

A most joyous occasion was marred by a terrible tragedy and became part of the history of Willson's Wood Swimming Pool, summer home of generations of Pelham youngsters.  Yet, tragedy was not yet over, it seems.

On Thursday, July 9, 1928 -- only five days after the initial pool opening -- tragedy struck again.  A little before 7:00 p.m. that evening, 58-year-old Olive N. Vander Roest of 214 Second Avenue in the Village of North Pelham was bobbing, swimming, and enjoying the fresh, cool waters of the pool.  She hopped out of the water, likely dabbing herself with a towel and heading toward the dressing rooms.  

Mrs. Vander Roest felt ill and entered the bathing pavilion bathhouse.  She suffered a hemorrhage and died "a few minutes later."

News reports immediately announced that, wiithin five days, there alreaady had been two deaths at the new "Willson's Woods Swimming Pool."  Thankfully, such reports had little impact.  As the ocean waves of life washed over Pelham and Mount Vernon in the decades since, all in Pelham and the surrounding region have looked to Willson's Woods Park as a place of respite.

Today's DeMatteo Pavilion at Willson's Woods Swimming Pool.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Pool Area of Willson's Woods Swimming Pool.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

March 4, 1926 Architectural Rendering of Willson's Woods "Bath House."

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Early Construction of Willson's Woods Swimming Pool

on November 7, 1927.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

"It Will Be A Glorious Fourth Of July At Opening of Willson's Woods Swimming Pool On Parkway
-----
Pelham Will Share Benefits Of Half Million Dollar Bathing Pool, Which Will Be Opened To Public Wednesday.  Many Protective Devices Will Assure Safety Of Swimmers.  Westchester County Park Commission Sponsors New Recreation Facilities
-----

It will be a real Fourth of July Declaration of Independence from the discomforts of summer heat that will be issued Wednesday morning when the Westchester County Park Commission opens the new Willson's Woods Swimming Pool, just across the Hutchinson River Parkway from Pelham.  Brief and informal ceremonies of dedication have been planned.  The Hon. James Berg, Mayor of the City of Mount Vernon, will make the dedicatory address.

Although the new swimming pool is situated entirely within the City of Mt. Vernon, its close proximity to the Pelhams will make it a local institution, and the youngsters as well as the grown ups of Pelham who enjoy aquatic sports will find much to their liking there.

Finishing touches are being put on the half million dollar bathhouse and swimming pool.  It was anticipated that the place would be ready today but the heavy rains delayed completion of concrete paving and other parts of the work.  Smith Bros. Contracting Co. of North Pelham, are constructing the roadway from East Lincoln avenue to the bathhouses.

The natural wooded setting of the new swimming pool makes it one of the most attractive places in this section of the country.  The pool itself is of the most modern type, measuring 235 feet in length by 135 feet in width.  Its depth ranges from one foot to ten feet.  For two hundred feet of its length the depth is no greater than four feet making it possible that many hundred youngsters and non-swimmers can frolic in the water in perfect safety, while for swimmers there is a thirty five foot wide by 135 foot long pool which is ten feet deep, that will provide ample room for enjoyment of the more strenuous aquatic sports.

(Continued on page 3)

Willson's Woods Pool Will Open Wednesday
-----
(Continued from page 1)

The most modern safety devices have been installed in the pool.  Where the depth changes from four to ten feet a line of red lights will gleam from the bottom of the pool.  A guard rope will also float across surface of the water at this point.  For night swimming powerful electric lights have been installed along the base of the diving pool.  In the bathhouses a fully equipped First Aid station has been installed.  Compete life guards will be on duty at all hours when bathing is permitted.

The bathhouse and power station group is constructed of tile and stucco.  Entrance is through a splendidly designed entrance through which one gets the first glimpse of the shimmering water in the immense pool beyond.  The dressing rooms open off the main entrance in both wings of the building.  Accommodations have been provided for fifteen hundred persons.

On the upper floor of the bathhouse a tea room and dance floor has been installed.  Weekly dances will be the feature of this part of the park.  

At the easterly side of the pool the [illegible] has been installed.  Huge chlorination tanks will accommodate one million gallons of water which is required to fill the pool.  Water will be frequently filtered and changed to insure perfect sanitation.

There also will be an immense playground arranged in the park adjacent to the swimming pool.  Work of grading this playground has already been started.

A small admission price will be charged at the swimming pool."

Source:  It Will Be A Glorious Fourth Of July At Opening of Willson's Woods Swimming Pool On Parkway -- Pelham Will Share Benefits Of Half Million Dollar Bathing Pool, Which Will Be Opened To Public Wednesday.  Many Protective Devices Will Assure Safety Of Swimmers.  Westchester County Park Commission Sponsors New Recreation Facilities, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 29, 1928, Vol. 19, No. 18, p. 1, cols. 2-3 & p. 3, cols. 4-7.  

"Youth Dies In Swimming Pool In Opening Day At Willson's Woods
-----
Body Of Mt. Vernon Youth Found At Bottom Of Pool.  Cause Of Death Not Determined.  Many Bathers Take Advantage Of New Facilities Offered By Westchester County Park Commission
-----

The unfortunate death of one bather clouded the opening of Willson's Woods Swimming pool Wednesday.  The body of Wilbert Hogan, 19, of No. 647 South Sixth avenue, Mt. Vernon, was found at the bottom of the pool a few hours after the bathing pavilion was opened to the public.  Medical examination has not revealed whether the youth was a victim of heart failure, or died through some injury received in diving.  The body was recovered by life guards.

Many Pelham public officials attended the opening ceremonies Wednesday morning.  The Hon. James F. Bert, mayor of the City of Mt. Vernon and officials of the Westchester County Park Commission participated in the program.  At the close of the ceremonies bathers were admitted to the pool for the first time.  During the week there have been several hundred bathers at the pool daily.  According to reports the majority are Pelhamites.

The pool is under the supervision of Lyman Jordan, of Chester Park.  He is assisted by an efficient life guard crew, composed of college athletes.  Albert Abkarian, of North Pelham, a student of Cornell University, is captain of the life guards.  Other members of the staff are Charles Johnson, of Colgate and Otto Streve, of Notre Dame.  Two additional life guards will be on duty on Saturdays and Sundays.  

The pool will open daily from 10 a.m.  None will be admitted after 8 p.m.  Bathers, however, will be allowed to remain in the pool until 10 p.m.  A battery of electric lights have been installed for night bathing.

Special provision has been made for the accommodation of youngsters, and there will be no charge for children under 12 years of age on Tuesday and Friday mornings.

During the week an admission price of thirty-five cents is charged for adults and fifteen cents for children.  On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays the admission price will be fifty and twenty-five cents.

The bath houses will accommodate fifteen hundred bathers.  Many bathers living in the neighborhood of the pool wear their bathing suits to the pool.  Bathers who wear their suits to the pool [must] also wear suitable outer clothing in crossing the parkway property.

Smith Bros. Contracting Co. have completed the roadway to the pool in record time.  Inclement weather had delayed work somewhat and the contractor was forced to crowd a large gang of workmen on the job in order to complete it within the specified time.

The Pelham youngsters are assured of a clean and safe place to bathe at Willson's Woods."

Source:  Youth Dies In Swimming Pool In Opening Day At Willson's Woods -- Body Of Mt. Vernon Youth Found At Bottom Of Pool.  Cause Of Death Not Determined.  Many Bathers Take Advantage Of New Facilities Offered By Westchester County Park Commission, The Pelham Sun, Jul. 6, 1928, Vol. 19, No. 19, p. 1, cols. 1-2.

"Youth Dies In Swimming Pool In Opening Day At Willson's Woods
-----
Body Of Mt. Vernon Youth Found At Bottom Of Pool.  Cause Of Death Not Determined.  Many Bathers Take Advantage Of New Facilities Offered By Westchester County Park Commission
-----

The unfortunate death of one bather clouded the opening of Willson's Woods Swimming pool Wednesday.  The body of Wilbert Hogan, 19, of No. 647 South Sixth avenue, Mt. Vernon, was found at the bottom of the pool a few hours after the bathing pavilion was opened to the public.  Medical examination has not revealed whether the youth was a victim of heart failure, or died through some injury received in diving.  The body was recovered by life guards.

Many Pelham public officials attended the opening ceremonies Wednesday morning.  The Hon. James F. Berg, mayor of the City of Mt. Vernon and officials of the Westchester County Park Commission participated in the program.  At the close of the ceremonies bathers were admitted to the pool for the first time.  During the week there have been several hundred bathers at the pool daily.  According to reports the majority are Pelhamites.

The pool is under the supervision of Lyman Jordan, of Chester Park.  He is assisted by an efficient life guard crew, composed of college athletes.  Albert Abkarian, of North Pelham, a student of Cornell University, is captain of the life guards.  Other members of the staff are Charles Johnson, of Colgate, and Otto Streve, of Notre Dame.  Two additional life guards will be on duty on Saturdays and Sundays.

The pool will open daily from 10 a.m.  None will be admitted after 8 p.m.  Bathers, however, will be allowed to remain in the pool until 10 p.m.  A battery of electric lights have been installed for night bathing.  

Special provision has been made for the accommodation of youngsters, and there will be no charge for children under 12 years of age on Tuesday and Friday mornings.

During the week an admission price of thirty-five cents is charged for adults and fifteen cents for children.  On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays the admission price will be fifty and twenty-five cents.

The bath houses will accommodate fifteen hundred bathers.  Many bathers living in the neighborhood of the pool wear their bathing suits to the pool.  Bathers who wear their suits to the pool much [sic; should be "must"] also wear suitable outer clothing in crossing the parkway property.

Smith Bros. Contracting Co. have completed the roadway to the pool in record time.  Inclement weather had delayed work somewhat and the contractor was forced to crowd a large gang of workmen on the job in order to complete it within the specified time.  

The Pelham youngsters are assured of a clean and safe place to bathe at Willson's Woods."

Source:  Youth Dies In Swimming Pool In Opening Day At Willson's Woods -- Body Of Mt. Vernon Youth Found At Bottom Of Pool.  Cause Of Death Not Determined.  Many Bathers Take Advantage Of New Facilities Offered By Westchester County Park Commission, The Pelham Sun, Jul. 6 1928, p. 1, cols. 1-2.  

"PELHAM WOMAN DIES SUDDENLY AT LOCAL POOL
-----
Mrs. Olive Vander Roest, Widely Known In Pelham, Victim of Heart Attach and Hemorrhage
-----
HAD BEEN IN BATHING
-----
Collapses After Coming from Pool and Dies In Short Time
-----
IN POOL SOMETIME
-----
LIved In Pelham Many Years -- Daughter of Late John T. Logan
-----

Seized with a hemorrhage while bathing last evening in the new Wilson [sic] Woods swimming pool, Mrs. Olive N. Vander Roest, 58, of 214 Second avenue, North Pelham, died a few minutes after she had left the pool.  Death was due to the hemorrhage and heart trouble according to Medical Examiner Squire who viewed the remains.

The death of Mrs. Vander Roest is the second death to occur at the new pool within five days, as Wilbert Hogan, 19, of this city, was drowned July 4 a few hours after the pool had opened.

According to a report made to the Mount Vernon police Mrs. Vander Roest was . . . bathing in the pool shortly before  7 o'clock.  She had been in the pool for some time.  She became ill and went to the pavilion at the bath house and died a few minutes later of a hemorrhage.

Gives Treatment

Dr. M. J. Mayer of Beekman avenue, who was at the pool at the time treated the woman.  The Mount Vernon hospital ws notified after the woman had become ill and Dr. Belsky responded with the ambulance.  

The Mount Vernon police were informed of the case shortly after 7 o'clock and Motorcycle Officer McDonald responded at the same time that the ambulance was called.  He reported that the woman had been seized with a hemorrhage in the mouth and died shortly after on the pavilion of the bath house.

The case was investigated by members of the Parkway police who where assigned to duty at the pool.
-----
Lived In Pelham

North Pelham, June [sic] 10. -- Mrs. Olive Vander Roest, 214 Second avenue, who died last night at Willson's Woods, the new Mount [sic] swimming pool, from a hemorrhage of the throat, was well known here.  

Mrs. Vander Roest, who had been born in New York city, had lived in North Pelham most of her life and was well-known in the village.  She was a daughter of John T. Logan, Civil War veteran, and was a widow.  

Mr. Vander Roest is survived by two sons.  Policeman George Vander Roest, of North Pelham and Edward Vander Roest, of Long Island City, and by one brother, Bert Logan, of North Pelham.

The funeral services will be held from the Church of the Redeemer and Rev. Brown will conduct the services.  The time and the interment will be announced later."

Source:  PELHAM WOMAN DIES SUDDENLY AT LOCAL POOL -- Mrs. Olive Vander Roest, Widely Known In Pelham, Victim of Heart Attach and Hemorrhage -- HAD BEEN IN BATHING -- Collapses After Coming from Pool and Dies In Short Time -- IN POOL SOMETIME -- LIved In Pelham Many Years -- Daughter of Late John T. Logan, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 10, 1928., Whole No. 11,778, p. 1, col. 1.  

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."