After a Rash of Burglaries, a New Safe Baffled Burglars at the Pelham Manor Train Station in 1894

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."

It was a magnificent safe.  In fact, it was one of the finest its size that money could buy in 1894.  It was a Mosler -- virtually burglar proof!  

It had to be burglar proof.  It stood in the post office in the Pelham Manor Train Station.  The little post office, managed by Joseph English who also ran a local coal-selling business, had recently been burglarized not once; not twice; but SEVEN times.  Moreover, post offices at City Island and Bartow, also in the Town of Pelham, recently had been burglarized.  

During the most recent burglary at the Pelham Manor Train Station in the wee morning hours of September 25, 1894, burglars dynamited the previous safe, blowing apart not only the safe but also much of the train station.  Those burglars got away with about $950 in postage stamps (worth about $32,215 in 2016 dollars).  See Fri., May 20, 2016:  Burglars Shook Pelham Manor Awake Using Dynamite to Blow a Safe in 1894.

On the evening of November 9, 1894, Joseph English secured his postage stamps and cash in the new Mosler safe, locked the station and departed for home.  One can only guess what happened next.  

In 1894, the new Village of Pelham Manor had a tiny police force.  City Island still was part of the town, but the two Villages of North Pelham and Pelham (Pelham Heights) had not yet been incorporated and, thus, had no police.  The Town maintained a tiny contingent of Constables to provide police protection but, frankly, the handful of Village Policemen and Town Constables at the time had their work cut out for them in providing police protection for Pelham Manor and Town residents, respectively.

Burglaries were a constant problem in Pelham at the time.  Indeed, burglaries and so-called vagrants prompted the settlement of Pelham Manor to create the "Pelham Manor Protective Club" in 1881 -- the predecessor to village government created in Pelham Manor in 1891.

I have written about Pelham burglaries in those years on many occasions.  See, e.g.:

Fri., May 20, 2016:  Burglars Shook Pelham Manor Awake Using Dynamite to Blow a Safe in 1894.

Wed., Feb. 10, 2010:  Train Station Safe at Pelham Manor Was Blown Open with Dynamite Yet Again on April 24, 1902. 

Tue., Nov. 17, 2009:  1883 Advertisement by Pelham Manor Protective Club Offering Reward for Information About Pelham Manor Depot Burglary. 

Fri., Mar. 6, 2009:  Burglars Blow the Safe at the Pelham Manor Post Office in 1894. 

Fri., Feb. 22, 2008:  Burglary Spree in Pelham Manor in 1880.

Mon., Jan. 28, 2008:  1884 Burglary and Gunfight at the Pelham Manor Depot. 

Mon., Sep. 15, 2014:  1884 Gunfight in Pelham Manor Pits Local Residents Against Pelham Manor Depot Burglars.

Thu., Apr. 27, 2017 1884:  Gun Battle With Burglars Ransacking the Pelham Manor Depot.

That evening, November 9, 1894, after Joseph English left the station, burglars crept into the depot for the eighth time in recent months.  The new safe, however, proved formidable.

The burglars, however, came prepared.  They placed explosives strategically on the new Mosler safe and ignited them.  The top of the new safe was blasted away.  The combination works were shattered.  Yet, the strong box held out against their assaults.

The new safe was, according to one news account, "a mass of twisted iron" after the explosion.  Although a second explosive charge likely would have breached the safe, the burglars apparently feared that the first explosion would bring police, constables, and neighbors.  They fled into the night empty-handed -- one of the few times burglars left the Pelham Manor Train Station empty-handed.

Detail from 1881 Map Showing Pelham Manor Depot and Surrounding

Area Not Long Before the January, 1884 Burglary. Source: "Town of

Pelham. (With) Pelham-Manor. (From Actual Surveys and Official

Records by G. W. Bromley & Co., Civil Engineers" in Bromley, George

W., Atlas of Westchester County, New York from Actual Surveys and Official

Records by G. W. Bromley & Co., Civil Engineers, pp. 56-57 (Washington, D.C.,

G. W. Bromley & Co., 1881).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

"EXTRA
-----
CRACKSMEN AT PELHAM MANOR POST OFFICE.
-----
BAFFLED THIS TIME BY A NEW SAFE.
-----
Their Fourth Visit of the Year.
-----

In the phraseology of the street, the burglar fraternity appears to think it has a 'Sinch' on the cash-box of 'Uncle Sam' in the Town of Pelham.  During the past year the post-offices at Bartow, City Island and Pelham Manor have been visited and successfully plundered.

Indeed, the one at Pelham Manor -- Joseph English, postmaster, has been 'held up' four times [sic].  The last demand made upon its exchequer was Friday evening, November 9th.

The burglars on three previous occasions were successful, but this time their scientific skill was tested to the full.  The top of the new Mosler was blown off and the combination shattered, but the strong box held out against their assaults.  No money was obtained but the safe is a sorry sight -- a mass of twisted iron.  It is believed that the burglars were frightened before they had completed their work as another blast would in all probability have proved successful.  No clue."

Source:  EXTRA -- CRACKSMEN AT PELHAM MANOR POST OFFICE -- BAFFLED THIS TIME BY A NEW SAFE -- Their Fourth Visit of the Year, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Nov. 12, 1894, Vol. 3, No. 798, p. 1, col. 6.

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."

1884 Gun Battle With Burglars Ransacking the Pelham Manor Depot

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."

At 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 9, 1884, a massive snowstorm was bearing down on the New York region.  The storm eventually dumped up to three feet of snow on Pelham and the surrounding region.  The night was not fit for men but, apparently, it was fit for beasts.  

With the storm raging, a pair of burglars had been working the New Rochelle and Pelham Manor region.  At about 2:30 a.m. the pair forced their way though a small window into the ticket office of the Pelham Manor Depot.  

The burglars, described only as a "tall man" and a "short man," did not realize that the local "Vigilance Committee" known as the "Pelham Manor Protective Club" was on the case.  There previously had been so many burglaries, safe-crackings, and break-ins at the Pelham Manor Depot that the Executive Committee of the Pelham Manor Protective Club had authorized installation of an electric burglar alarm with a "wire" running from the Depot to the nearby home of the Station Manager, Joseph English.

At 2:30 a.m., a "gong" in the home of Station Manager Joseph English rang, alerting him that the station had been entered.  Though the storm raged outside, English ran to two nearby homes for help, including the home of Thomas D. De Witt, a member of the Executive Committee of the Pelham Manor Protective Club.  De Witt grabbed his loaded five-shot revolver and he, English, and another unidentified Pelhamite ran to the Depot, ready for a gunfight, if necessary, and to arrest the burglars.

I have written before about the burglary that night.  For examples, see:

Mon., Jan. 28, 2008:  1884 Burglary and Gunfight at the Pelham Manor Depot.

Mon., Sep. 15, 2014:  1884 Gunfight in Pelham Manor Pits Local Residents Against Pelham Manor Depot Burglars. 

Detail from 1881 Map Showing Pelham Manor Depot and Surrounding

Area Not Long Before the January, 1884 Burglary.  Source:  "Town of

Pelham. (With) Pelham-Manor. (From Actual Surveys and Official

Records by G. W. Bromley & Co., Civil Engineers" in Bromley, George

W., Atlas of Westchester County, New York from Actual Surveys and Official

Records by G. W. Bromley & Co., Civil Engineers, pp. 56-57 (Washington, D.C.,

G. W. Bromley & Co., 1881).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

When De Witt arrived at the Pelham Manor Depot, he saw two burglars:  one tall, one short.  Disappointingly, the burglars saw him and ran from the Depot across vacant lots.  As they ran into the stormy darkness, De Witt shouted for them to stop, then leveled his revolver and began firing in their direction.  As he emptied his five-shot revolver, the burglars returned fire, all to no effect.

The three Pelham Manor men searched the Depot and discovered that only a "few cents" was missing from the ticket office.  Though the thieves had escaped, they left behind a hat, a key, and a blanket.  It turned out that the blanket had been stolen earlier that night from Mrs. Condon of New Rochelle.  The blanket was returned to Mrs. Condon.

The burglars, it turned out, were busy that night.  They had tried to burglarize Jacob Holweg's store in New Rochelle by cutting a panel out of a shutter and breaking a pane of glass.  They failed, however, to gain entry to the Holweg store.  They then broke into the Wars & Sheffield store in New Rochelle where they stole "some jewelry."  Finally, they burglarized Trinity Episcopal Church where they stole all the carpets, some valuable vases, "and other articles."

With the gunfight, burglars, thieves, and vagabonds, it seems, were beginning to learn that the Vigilance Committee known as the Pelham Manor Protective Club was making it much harder to prey on Pelhamites and the little Pelham Manor Depot. . . .

*          *          *          *          *

Below is the text of the report of the Pelham Manor Protective Club on the January 9, 1884 burglary as well as a number of news stories about the burglary.  Each is followed by a citation to its source and, where available, a link to its source.

"A meeting of the Executive Committee of the Pelham Manor Protective Club was held at the residence of Mr. W. E. Barnett, on February 2nd 1884.

Present Mess. Reynolds, Black, Barnett, De Witt and Johnson.

The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved.

On motion the letter of Dr. Buck was referred to the committee on pamphlet of instructions.

D. M. Johnson reported that he had audited the accounts of the late Treasurer, Mr. De Witt, and found them to be correct.  Balance transferred to the new Treasurer, $151.62, uncollected dues $7.00.

Mr. De Witt reported that the Depot at Pelham Manor was broken into at about 2.30 A.M. January 9th, that he and others were aroused, went to the Station and endeavored to arrest the burglars, but they were well armed and escaped by jumping through a window, after exchanging several shots with Mr. De Witt.  One of them was a tall man and the other a short man.  They left behind, a Hat, a Key and a Blanket.  The blanket was returned to Mrs. Condon of New Rochelle, from whom it was stolen that same night.  No clue could be found by which the burglars could be traced or identified.

On motion the Town election matters were referred to Messrs. Reynolds and Black as a committee -- Adjourned -- 

D. M. Johnson
Clerk"

Source:  RECORDS -- PELHAM MANOR PROTECTIVE CLUB [1881-1892], pp. 68-69 (original leather-bound journal in the collections of the Westchester County Historical Society).  

"SOME VERY PERSISTENT THIEVES.

Burglars forced an entrance into the railroad station at Pelham Manor, on the New-York and New-Haven Railroad, at an early hour yesterday morning.  R. C. De Witt, the agent, was warned of it by a burglar alarm, and he got up, taking his revolver with him.  He found two men in the ticket office, but at his approach they made off.  He fired several shots at them and they returned the fire.  They escaped, but they had succeeded in securing only a small amount of money.  At a later hour an effort was made by the thieves to get into Jacob Holweg's store, at New-Rochelle, by cutting a panel out of a shutter and breaking a pane of glass.  They were not able to make their way into the store however and they went to Trinity Episcopal Church, in the same place where they stole all the carpets, some vases, and other articles."

Source:  SOME VERY PERSISTENT THIEVES, N.Y. Times, Jan. 10, 1884, p. 3, col. 3 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).

"Burglars at Work.

NEW ROCHELLE, Jan. 9.  --  Burglars attempted to rob the railroad depot at Pelham Manor yesterday morning but were driven off by Mr. Dewitt.  An hour after an unsuccessful attempt was made on the residence of Mr. Holloways here and then the robbers went to the Episcopal church, which they entered, stripping the edifice of all carpets which they carried off together with some vases of value."

Source:  Burglars at Work, Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY], Jan. 10, 1884, Vol. 52, No. 10, p. 1, col. 5 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"WESTCHESTER COUNTY. . . .

PELHAM MANOR.  --  About one a.m. yesterday Mr. R. C. DeWitt, of Pelham Manor, was aroused by the ringing of his burglar alarm, which indicated that the depot of the New-York, New-Haven and Hartford Railroad Company on the Harlem River Branch had been entered by burglars.  Mr. De Witt went to the station, armed with his revolver.  Then he discovered that a couple of burglars had forced their way though a small window into the ticket office.  He fired at them five times, and the robbers in return fired shot for shot, without effect.  They made their escape from the building, followed by Mr. De Witt and some of his neighbors; but owing to the storm and darkness of the night all trace of them was soon lost.  They obtained only a small amount of money."

Source:  WESTCHESTER COUNTY. . . . PELHAM MANOR, New-York Tribune, Jan. 10, 1884, p. 8 col. 4.

"ELECTRIC SPARKS. . . .

NEW ROCHELLE, Jan. 9.  --  Burglars attempted to rob the depot at Pelham Manor yesterday morning, but were driven off by Mr. Dewitt.  An hour after an unsuccessful attempt was made on the residence of Mr. Holloway here, and then the robbers went to the Episcopal church, which they entered, stripping the edifice of all the carpets, which they carried off, together with some vases of value."

Source:  ELECTRIC SPARKS. . . NEW ROCHELLE, The Buffalo Daily Courier [Buffalo, NY], Jan. 10, 1884, Vol. XLIX, No. 10, p. 1, col. 8.  

"PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND. . . .

On Tuesday night last, the station at Pelham Manor was broken into by thieves, entrance being gained by breaking out a window on the side facing the railroad track.  The depot is supplied with a burglar alarm, the wire of which runs to the residence of the station agent, Mr. Joseph English.  When he was aroused by the ringing, he notified Mr. Thomas D. DeWitt and another gentleman, and the three went to the depot.  On their approach, the burglars, of whom there were two, ran out and across the lots.  Mr. Dewitt called to them to stop, and fired several shots from a revolver, but the burglars returned the fire with compound interest, and made good their escape.  They only succeeded in getting a few cents from the depot.  On the same night, Hollweg's store, at New Rochelle. was broken open but nothing was stolen, and the night before, Ware & Sheffield's store and the Presbyterian Church were robbed."

Source:  PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jan. 11, 1884, Vol. XV, No. 747, p. 3, cols. 3-4.  

"WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

NEW-ROCHELLE.  --  The Episcopal Church was entered yesterday morning by burglars and stripped of all the carpet.  Some vases of value were also taken.

PELHAM MANOR.  --  About one a.m. yesterday Mr. R. C. DeWitt, of Pelham Manor, was aroused by the ringing of his burglar alarm, which indicated that the depot of the New-York New-Haven and Hartford Railroad Company on the Harlem River Branch had been entered by burglars.  Mr. De Witt went to the station, armed with his revolver.  Then he discovered that a couple of burglars had forced their way through a small window into the ticket office.  He fired at them five times, and the robbers in returned fired shot for shot, without effect.  They made their escape from the building, followed by Mr. De Witt and some of his neighbors; but owing to the storm and darkness of the night all trace of them was soon lost.  They obtained only a small amount of money."

Source:  WESTCHESTER COUNTY, New-York Tribune, Jan. 10, 1884, Vol. XLIII, No. 13,570, p. 8, col. 4.  

"SERIES OF BURGLARIES. -- R. C. DeWitt, the station agent at the Pelham Manor station, on the Harlem River branch of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, was awakened from his sleep at about 1:30 o'clock Wednesday morning, by hearing his burglar alarm go off.  He ascertained at once that some one had entered the ticket office of the station.  Seizing his revolver, he went there and found two men in the ticket office.  When they saw him they ran.  He fired several shots after them, and with some neighbors, gave chase.  They returned shot for shot, and, aided by the darkness, succeeded in getting away.  About an hour later, burglars, probably the same fellows, tried to force an entrance into Jacob Holway's store, at New Rochelle, by cutting out a panel in a shutter and breaking a pane of glass, but had to desist.  They then broke into Wars & Sheffield's store, and stole some jewelry.  They next attacked Trinity Episcopal Church, stripped it of its carpets, and also carried away two valuable vases.  The people of New Rochelle are very much alarmed at these repeated burglaries."

Source:  SERIES OF BURGLARIES, The Yonkers Statesman [Yonkers, NY], Jan. 10, 1884, Vol. I, No. 50, p. 1, col. 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."

1884 Gunfight in Pelham Manor Pits Local Residents Against Pelham Manor Depot Burglars

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."

During the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the Pelham Manor Depot stood at the end of the Esplanade where I-95 now passes. The Depot served passengers on the Branch Line, most of whom commuted to work in New York City. Inside the Depot was the Village Post Office.

The area was sparsely populated.  Consequently, so-called "tramps" roamed the area, hopping on and off the branch line trains.  Increasingly, crime was a problem in the area.  Indeed, crime was so bad that in 1881, local residents established the "Pelham Manor Protective Club" as a "Vigilance Committee" to oversee the health and welfare of Pelham Manor residents a decade before the incorporation of the Village of Pelham Manor.

The Pelham Manor Depot was a particular target of the many burglars who roamed the sparsely-populated area.  Indeed, the depot was burglarized so many times, that the Pelham Manor Protective Club funded the installation of an electric burglar alarm that ran from the Pelham Manor Depot to the nearby residence of the Depot station master, Joseph English.  

On Tuesday, January 8, 1884, the Pelham Manor Depot was burglarized yet again.  The burglar alarm, however, was tripped and alerted the station master who awoke a member of the Pelham Manor Protective Club, Thomas D. De Witt.  The pair grabbed their revolvers and raced to the depot where they confronted the robbers and a gunfight erupted.

I have written about this event before.  See Mon., Jan. 28, 2008:  1884 Burglary and Gun Fight at the Pelham Manor Depot.  Various accounts of the burglary and gunfight differ slightly, but the general story is quite clear.

The night was cold, but peaceful.  Joseph English was asleep when the newly-installed burglar alarm woke him rudely.  He awoke his neighbor, Thomas DeWitt, and another unidentified neighbor.  The three grabbed their revolvers and took off for the Depot.  

When they arrived, a window on the side of the depot away from the residences and facing the railroad tracks had been broken to gain entry.  As the men approached, two burglars burst out of the depot and began to scramble across nearby lots in a bid to escape.

Thomas DeWitt, a member of the Pelham Manor Protective Club, raised his revolver and shouted for the pair to stop.  When they failed to stop he fired several shots.  In return, the armed burglars released a fusillade of shots, discouraging pursuit.  They escaped.

Reports stated, with glee, that the burglars "only succeeded in getting a few cents" in the burglary.  

Detail from 1881 Map Showing Pelham Manor Depot

and Surrounding Area Not Long Before the January, 1882 Burglary.

Source:  "Town of Pelham.  (With)  Pelham-Manor.  (From Actual

Surveys and Official Records by G. W. Bromley & Co., Civil

Engineers" in Bromley, George W., Atlas of Westchester County,

New York from Actual Surveys and Official Records by G. W.

Bromley & Co., Civil Engineers, Pp. 56-57 (Washington,

D.C., G. W. Bromley & Co., 1881).

*          *          *          *          *

Below is the text of an excerpt of one article describing the gunfight at the Pelham Manor Depot in January, 1884.  It is followed by a citation to its source.  

"PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND. . . . 

On Tuesday night last, the station at Pelham Manor was broken into by thieves, entrance being gained by breaking out a window on the side facing the railroad track.  The depot is supplied with a burglar alarm, the wire of which runs to the residence of the station agent, Mr. Joseph English.  When he was aroused by the ringing, he notified Thomas D. DeWitt and another gentleman, and the three went to the depot.  On their approach, the burglars, of whom there were two, ran out and across the lots.  Mr. DeWitt called to them to stop, and fired several shots from a revolver, but the burglars returned the fire with compound interest, and made good their escape.  They only succeeded in getting a few cents from the depot.  On the same night, Hollweg's store, at New Rochelle, was broken open, but nothing was stolen, and the night before, Ware & Sheffield's store and the Presbyterian Church were robbed."  

Source:  PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND, The Chronicle [Mt. Vernon, NY], Jan. 11, 1884, Vol. XV, No. 747, cols. 3-4.  

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."

Freight Train Wreck at Pelham Manor Station in 1896

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

There once stood on the New Haven Branch Line a lovely train station known as "Pelham Manor Depot".  The station stood at the end of today's Esplanade beyond Grant Avenue on the current Amtrak / Freight Line tracks near Manor Circle.  The station was razed in the 1950s in connection with the construction of I-95.

In 1896, a massive freight train wreck at the station smashed eighteen freight cars "into kindling wood".  The article below describes the wreck and is followed by a citation to its source.

"EIGHT CARS IN A WRECK.
-----
Eighteen of Them on the New Haven Road Smashed Into Kindling Wood.
-----
TRAFFIC DELAYED SEVERAL HOURS BY THE ACCIDENT.
-----
Train Hands Were More or Less Bruised, but No One Was Seriously Hurt.
-----

In a freight wreck at Pelham Manor this morning eighteen cars were reduced to kindling wood and traffic was delayed for several hours.  Fortunately no one was seriously hurt.

A bad freight wreck occurred early this morning at Pelham Manor, on the Harlem branch of the New Haven Railroad.

An extra freight train, known as No. 8 in charge of Conductor William Flannagan, was on its way from New Haven to New York, and while passing the Pelham Manor station at about 12:27 A.M. a king pin in one of the cars became loosened and threw the forward cars off the track.

Eighteen freight cars were smashed into kindling wood, and the freight and wreckage were strewn along the track for many yards.  A portion of the platform in front of the Pelham Manor station was torn away.  Several coal cars on a side track, consigned to Joseph English, were thrown over and partly wrecked. 

The train hands received a lively shaking up, and some of them were more or less bruised, but no one was seriously hurt. 

The Washington express train used the Harlem branch to reach 129th street, where the trains are transferred on Pennsylvania floats to Jersey City.  The Washington express came along at about one A.M., and could not get past Pelham Manor on account of the wreck.  The train had to back up to New Rochelle, where it remained on a side track until eight o'clock this morning, when the track was cleared.  The passengers on the Washington express were in their berths and got up to investigate the cause of the delay.  Many of them walked down to Pelham Manor to view the wreck.

The Washington express from Washington, after leaving the float at 129th street, also had to come to a stop on reaching Pelham Manor and wait until the track was cleared.

The accident caused a serious delay on all the trains running on the local tracks of the New Haven road.  The express trains had to use the local track and this stalled the local trains.  The damage caused by the accident will amount to several thousand dollars."

Source:  Freight Cars in a Wreck, The Evening Telegram - New York, May 7, 1896, p. 3, col. 3.

Scene of the Pelhamville Train Wreck that Occurred on the New Haven

Main Line About a Decade Earlier than the 1896 Freight Train Wreck 

Near the Pelham Manor Depot.  

Source: A Remarkable Railroad Accident, Scientific American, 

Jan. 16, 1886, Vol. LIV, No. 3, cover and pp. 31-32.

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

The Pelham Manor Post Office

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."

Few in Pelham realize that there once was a Pelham Manor Post Office that served the neighborhood that became today's Village of Pelham Manor.  It was the center of business activity in the area.  This is a brief history of that tiny post office.  

By the early 1870s, the Branch Line began offering regular railroad commutation services to allow travel (using various supplemental means) between Grand Central Depot and Pelham Manor Depot.  The Pelham Manor Depot was a tiny wooden structure located near the southern end of today's Esplanade along the railroad tracks.  Mail was delivered via the railroad to the Depot.

By 1882, as the real estate development created by the Pelham Manor and Huguenot Heights Association began to grow, a local resident named Joseph English was appointed station agent and also served as the Pelham Manor postmaster.  He distributed mail from his office at the Pelham Manor Depot.  That same year, two local residents ("Messrs. Cochran & Mulvey") who operated a telegraph office in the Depot, also opened a grocery in the building.  An article in a Mt. Vernon newspaper at the time said "The young men have put in a nice stock of selected groceries, and are deserving of liberal patronage."  Source:  Pelham Manor / City Island, The Chronicle, Jul. 14, 1882, p. ?, col. 4 (no page number is printed on the newspaper page).

The tiny little Depot was in a rather secluded area with few homes nearby.  It seems that it was constantly the target of burglars.  By the mid-1880s, a local vigilance club known as the Pelham Manor Protective Club worked with the railroad to install a burglar alarm that would alert residents in a local dwelling if the Depot were broken into.  

One evening, for example, that burglar alarm awoke R. C. DeWitt who raced to the Depot with his pistol and soon found himself in a gun battle with the burglars. An Account of the incident appeared in the January 10, 1884 issue of the New-York Tribune.  For a full account of the burglary and the gun battle, see Mon., January 28, 2008:  1884 Burglary and Gun Fight at the Pelham Manor Depot.  On another occasion, burglars blew open the station safe and stole $1,000 worth of stamps and other valuables from it.  A published account of the incident notes that this was the seventh time the post office at the station had been robbed.  See Fri., March 06, 2009:  Burglars Blow the Safe at the Pelham Manor Post Office in 1894.  

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.  Postmaster Kerr built 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 1908.  

Immediately below is a 1910 post card image of the Pelham Post Office as well as an image reflecting details from a local map of the area also published in 1910.  (I have marked those map details to provide identifying information and source details.)

Not long after the construction of the new post office building, a local resident named Fred Bergman was hired as a post office clerk (in about 1911).  A year later, he was named Superintendent of the Pelham Manor Post Office.  

When Mr. Bergman became Superintendent of the Post Office, there were two carriers on staff.  According to one account, there were only 196 residences in the Village of Pelham Manor at the time.  The post office did an average business of $6.00 per day.  That quickly changed.  According to the same account, by 1923, there were 700 residences in the village requiring five mail carriers.  The post office did an average business of $20.00 per day.  Bergman lamented, however, that "the figure could be doubled if the residents of the Manor would patronize the local office. . . . a large number of Manor residents are not aware of the fact that there is a post office station in the village.  'Every day we receive a sack of mail from the Pelham office containing letters consigned to Pelham Manor, but which have been addressed to Pelham. . . . This means delay in the delivery of mail.'"  Source:  Progressive Pelham, The Pelham Sun, Jan. 5, 1923, pg. 8, col. 1.  

In 1910, the Pelham Manor and Pelham post offices were designated as branches of the New York City post office.  Superintendent Kerr was to have become superintendent of the Pelham Manor branch post office, but as a consequence of the change, he resigned.

Over the years, a small grocery known, unsurprisingly, as Pelham Manor Grocery opened in the building and shared space with the post office.  For a short while, the little post office and the beautiful stone Pelham Manor Depot designed by Cass Gilbert were the central hub of the Village of Pelham Manor.  The death knell of the post office, however, was sounded when the Branch Line ended commuter service to Pelham Manor in the 1930s.  One account states:

"The Pelham Manor post office continued as a regular branch of the New York Post office with full carrier service until about four years ago [i.e., in 1932], and then the carriers were transferred to the Pelham branch.  Gradually business fell off until the receipts became so small this year that there was little reason for continuing the station.  The lease on the quarters expires on Thursday [i.e., December 31, 1936] and there has not been a renewal."

Source:  Pelham Manor Loses Its Post Office; Once Center Of Business In Village, The Pelham Sun, Dec. 29, 1936, pg. 1, col. 7.  

Below are transcriptions of the entirety of the two news articles referenced above.

"Pelham Manor Loses Its Post Office; Once Center Of Business In Village
-----

The old Pelham Manor post-office station will pass with 1936.  Postmaster Albert Goldman of the New York City post-office has informed The Pelham Sun that business in the sub-station situated at the southern end of the Esplanade, just across the street from the abandoned Pelham Manor railroad station, has proven to be insufficient to warrant keeping the office open.  Time was when the Pelham Manor post office was the center of business activity in the village, but there has been a definite trend against business in the residential village, so in recent years there has been little need for the office.

The Pelham Sun sought information relative to the Pelham Manor post-office from one of the older citizens.  Alfred L. Hammett recalls that when he came to Pelham Manor in 1882 Joseph English, the station agent, was postmaster, and he distributed mail from his office in the station.  

Gervas H. Kerr, now village clerk of Pelham Manor, became postmaster in 1897, and he continued the post-office in the station until 1904, when it was moved to a residence on Terrace avenue, which is now the home of F.C. Allen, Jr.

In 1907 Mr. Kerr built the present post-office building, and for years that was the only business block in the village.  The branch line of the New Have railroad was operating on 30-minute service to Harlem river, and there was much activity in the vicinity of the Pelham Manor post office.

In 1910 when the Pelham and Pelham Manor post offices were taken over by the New York City post office, in order that the Pelhams might have carrier service, Mr. Kerr was to have become superintendent of the office, but with the change, he resigned.

The Pelham Manor post office continued as a regular branch of the New York Post office with full carrier service until about four years ago, and then the carriers were transferred to the Pelham branch.  Gradually business fell off until the receipts became so small this year that there was little reason for continuing the station.

The lease on the quarters expires on Thursday and there has not been a renewal."

Source:  Pelham Manor Loses Its Post Office; Once Center Of Business In Village, The Pelham Sun, Dec. 29, 1936, pg. 1, col. 7. 

"PROGRESSIVE PELHAM
-----

'What?  In Pelham Manor a string of chicken farms?' a Sun reporter asked in astonishment.  'Yes, sir.  Why, twelve years ago there was only one house on Highbrook Avenue from Monterey to Colonial Avenues, four houses on Pelhamdale from the Boston Road to Colonial Avenue, a scattered few houses on Manor Lane, and around Wolf's Lane there were the Iden Estate and some chicken farms,' said Superintendent Fred Bergman.

Bergman has been superintendent of the Pelham Manor post office for eleven years.  He came to the office as a clerk twelve years ago, and from the records on the books of the office he can show how Pelham Manor built up.  When he became superintendent there were two carriers on the staff.  The total number of houses then were 196.  Now five carriers have more than 700 to take care of.

The post office at that time did an average of $6 per day.  Now the Manor office averages $20 per day and Bergman claims that the figure could be doubled if the residents of the Manor would patronize the local office.  The superintendent stated that a large number of Manor residents are not awarre of the fact that there is a post office station in the village.  

'Every day we receive a sack of mail from the Pelham office containing letters consigned to Pelham Manor, but which have been addressed to Pelham,' said the superintendent.  'This means delay in the delivery of mail,' he finished."

Source:  Pelham Manor Loses Its Post Office; Once Center Of Business In Village, The Pelham Sun, Dec. 29, 1936, pg. 1, col. 7. 

For additional information about the early days of the Pelham Manor Depot and the Pelham Manor Post Office, see, e.g.:  

Wed., Feb. 10, 2010:  Train Station Safe at Pelham Manor Was Blown Open with Dynamite Yet Again on April 24, 1902.  

Tue., Nov. 17, 2009:  1883 Advertisement by Pelham Manor Protective Club Offering Reward for Information About Pelham Manor Depot Burglary.  

Tue., Aug. 11, 2009:  News of Pelham Manor and City Island Published on July 14, 1882.

Fri., Mar. 6, 2009:  Burglars Blow the Safe at the Pelham Manor Post Office in 1894.  

Mon., Jan. 28,, 2008:  1884 Burglary and Gun Fight at the Pelham Manor Depot.  

Fri., Jan. 18, 2008:  Studies Created by Noted Architect Cass Gilbert for the Pelham Manor Station.  

Tue., May 22,, 2007:  Photograph of Pelham Manor Station on the Branch Line Published in 1908.  

Tue., Mar. 29, 2005:  The Earliest Telephone in Pelham Manor?  

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." 

Pelham News on May 30, 1884 Including Allegations of Oyster Larceny and Meeting of the Pelhamville Improvement Association

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

The Chronicle, published each Friday in Mount Vernon during the 1880s, typically included a section reporting news in Pelham and City Island.  The May 30, 1884 issue contained an interesting report that detailed allegations of oyster theft against Captain Joshua Leviness of City Island.  The same report described a meeting of the "Pelhamville Improvement Association".  I previously have noted the existence of this organization and transcribed a brief news reference to it.  See:  Thursday, September 24, 2009:  Brief Newspaper Account of the January 1, 1883 Annual Meeting of the Pelham Manor Protective Club.   

The complete May 30, 1884 report appears below.

"PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND

Mr. Floyd Leviness and Miss Rose McMahon are to be married on Sunday next.

A strawberry and ice cream festival is to be held in the M.E. Church, on Thursday evening next.

Last evening, the Merry Ten, an old organization of City Island, gave a complimentary ball, at Von Liehn's Hotel.

Mr. Joseph English, of Pelham Manor, has sold a plot of ground on Prospect Hill, 1 1/2 acres, to Mr. Edward Bertine.

Invitations are out for the marriage of Mr. Rich, of Stamford, to Miss Susie, oldest daughter of Mr. David Carll, on June 15th. 

The semi-monthly meeting of the Ladies' Social Aid Society of the M. E. Church, was held at the residence of Mr. A. Stearns, last Tuesday night. 

At Carll's ship yard, the Schooner yacht, Resolute, also a small sloop yacht, are out for overhauling.  The barge just completed for Ferris of Portchester, will be launched on Saturday. 

On Tuesday evening last, a special election for member of the Democratic County Committee for the town of Pelham was held.  Forty-four votes were polled.  Mr. George W. Sembler being the unanimous choice. 

The first evening hop and camp fire of the H. B. Hidden Post No. 320 G. A. R., of City Island, was held at Secord's Pavillion, Bartow, last Wednesday evening.  Representatives from other posts were present, and a very enjoyable time was had.

A regular meeting of the Pelhamville Improvement Association was held on Monday evening, May 26th, at the residence of Mr. C. H. Meritt.  After the transaction of some routine business and the adoption of a constitution and by-laws, the following officers were unanimously elected for the ensuing year.  Messrs E. H. Gurney, Pres; John Bos, Vice-pres.; C. H. Meritt, Treas., Lieut. Delcombie, Sec.  All further elections and appointments were left over till next meeting.  The next regular meeting of the association will be held on the last Wednesday of June.

About the first of November, 1883, City Island was, one morning, thrown into a flutter of excitement, by the announcement that during the night previous, Capt. Joshua Leviness had been caught taking up oysters from grounds beloning to the Billar estate.  He was confronted by the executors of the estate and flatly denied the ownership.  The executors thereupon threatened legal proceedings, when Leviness made overtures and in order to save litigation and expense it was mutually agreed to have the matter settled before a referee.  Justice Thomas Martin was chosen as the referee and after a full an impartial hearing of both sides decided against Leviness.  Accordingly, a warrant was issued for larceny, he was arrested and an examination was held on the 27th of November when the justice decided to hold him in the sum of $1,000 to await the action of the grand jury.  That body, at the December term, found an indictment for larceny in the second degree against Leviness, and his trial took place on Wednesday of last week, when he was acquitted, the Jury finding him not guilty.

-----

Nora Walsh, 13 years old, the daughter of Patrick Walsh, of Pelham Manor, was brutally assaulted while on her way to school in New Rochelle on Friday morning last.  As she did not return home in the evening a search was made for her continuing through the night and until the following morning.  She was found in an insensible condition in the edge of woods, about a mile south of New Rochelle, near the Boston turnpike.  Her hands were tied behind her, and a gag made of leaves was in her mouth.  Two young tramps were committed to jail, in White Plains, on suspicion of being the perpetrators of the outrage.  They have been fully identified, and the case will be presented to the Grand Jury."

Source:  Pelham And City Island, Chronicle [Mount Vernon], May 30, 1884, p. unknown, col. 4 (the page number was not printed at the top of the page at the time).

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

Burglars Blow the Safe at the Pelham Manor Post Office in 1894

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

During the late 19th century, the Pelham Manor Depot stood at the end of the Esplanade where I-95 now passes. The Depot served passengers on the Branch Line, most of whom commuted to work in New York City. Inside the Depot was the Village Post Office.

On September 25, 1894, the residents of the sleepy little Village were shaken from their beds by a loud explosion at 2:00 a.m. Burglars had entered the railroad station and used explosives to blow the safe. The article below describes what transpired.

"THE SAFE BLOWN OPEN.

-----

BURGLARS ENTER THE POSTOFFICE AT PELHAM MANOR-PART OF THE BUILDINGS WRECKED.

The residents in the neighborhood of Pelham Manor were awakened by a loud explosion about 2 o'clock yesterday morning which shook the surrounding houses. Investigation showed that burglars had broken into the postoffice and blown open the safe. Pelham Manor is about three miles from New-Rochelle, on the Harlem River branch of the New-Haven and Hartford Railroad. The postoffice was situated in the railroad station. Joseph English is the postmaster. Two night watchmen were patroling the village about half a mile from the station when they heard the explosion. One of them hurried to the house of the baggagemaster, Skinner, and the latter, in company with the watchman, went to the house of Postmaster English and aroused him. The three men then went down to the railroad station and found the postoffic a complete wreck. The heavy iron safe, in which there were stamps worth $950, was wrecked. The door of the ticket office of the station was torn from its hinges and the walls were shattered by the force of the explosion. It seemed that the combination of the safe had first been drilled and then a fuse inserted.

The burglars had fled, after securing nearly $1,000, before the postmaster and the baggagemaster arrived. The railroad station is a frame structure, and it is thought strange that the whole building was not wrecked. Postmaster English uses one part of the building as a coal and wood office, and N. J. Donion another part as a real-estate office. The other rooms of the building are used for the post-office and for railroad purposes. This is the seventh time the postoffice has been robbed. The burglars are supposed to have escaped to New-York on the early morning train."

Source: The Safe Blown Open, New-York Tribune, Sep. 26, 1894, p. 1, col. 3.

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.