Prank Pulled on Editor of Pelham Newspaper by Pelham Manor Prankster in 1897

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It was an early instance of unintended Fake News!  In 1897, Pelham had -- for the first time in its history -- competing weekly newspapers.  J. Gardiner Minard of the Village of North Pelham was founder, editor, and sole beat reporter of the Pelham Press.  In 1897 Alfred E. Stevens of Mt. Vernon noted the success of the Pelham Press and decided to start a rival newspaper:  the Pelham Record.  

Many Pelhamites resented what they deemed to be the "intrusion" of a rival newspaper based outside of their community in Mount Vernon.  That summer, one Pelham resident decided to do something about it.  He pulled a prank on the Mount Vernon-based editor of the new newspaper.  

I have written repeatedly about the history of newspapers in the Town of Pelham.  For a few examples of many more such articles, see:

Fri., Feb. 22, 2019:  More About The Pelham Manor Tribune (1893 - 1896), One of the Earliest Newspapers Published in Pelham.

Mon., Aug. 04, 2014:  A History of Newspapers Published in Pelham.

Thu., Jun. 26, 2014:  A History of the Early Years of The Pelham Sun, A Pelham Newspaper Institution. 

Mon., Sep. 05, 2005:  The Pelham Republican: Official Newspaper of The Villages of Pelham and North Pelham in 1902. 

Mon., May 23, 2005:  Thomas M. Kennett, Long Time Editor of The Pelham Sun. 

Fri., Apr. 01, 2005: The Earliest Newspaper in Pelham?

Jim Beecroft of the Village of Pelham Manor was the consummate prankster.  Indeed, he was so good at his craft that he could execute entertaining pranks at a moment's notice as he did one summer afternoon in 1897 when he happened to see the Mount Vernon editor of the new Pelham newspaper, Alfred E. Stevens, on the streets of Pelham.

That afternoon Beecroft was standing outside the local pharmacy at One Fifth Avenue speaking with J. Gardiner Minard, editor of the Pelham Press.  The pair observed Alfred E. Stevens, editor of the new rival newspaper, walking along Fifth Avenue toward them.  Beecroft whispered to Minard not to "give me away" and slipped into the pharmacy as Stevens approached.

Stevens arrived, greeted Minard, and the two men began speaking.  Soon, Beecroft emerged from the pharmacy with an arm bandaged and resting in a sling.  As Minard looked on, Stevens asked Beecroft how he had been injured.

Beecroft spun a fantastic yarn -- a tale of epic seamanship that led to injury.  Though he was an experienced sailor himself, Beecroft intentionally misstated details of the ship on which he supposedly was injured -- details experienced mariners would recognize as false but an uninitiated land lubber would certainly not.  Beecroft reportedly told Stevens:

"I was one of 18 guests aboard Commodore Gerry's private catboat 'Sea Nymph,' on a cruise up the Sound yesterday, when off Execution light a sudden squall came up and the crew were sent aloft to take in the topsails.  I saw they were in trouble and being something of a sailor myself through experience on my own cruising yacht, I went up to give them a hand.  I was standing on the yard at the mizzen holding the reef when a sudden blow yanked the sail from my hands and I lost my footing and fell to the forecastle deck and broke my arm.  Fortunately Commodore Gerry's physician was aboard and set it.  He says it will be alright in a couple of weeks."

J. Gardiner Minard played along with the prank.  He listened to the wild account told by his friend and nodded with appropriate concern and empathy.  

Little did land lubber Stevens know that a "catboat" such as that on which Beecroft claimed to be injured was barely bigger than a rowboat.  It was not, as seamen of the day would say, a "full rigger" with topsails, a yard, and mizzen sail.  It could not possibly carry a crew, an owner, eighteen guests, and a physician.  Nor would such a tiny boat have topsails.  Yet, the editor of the new rival newspaper fell for the story "hook, line and sinker."  He returned to his newspaper offices and wrote an entire article that recounted Beecroft's terrible injury when wind yanked the reef from his hands and toppled him to the forecastle deck, breaking his arm.  The article appeared on the front page of the newspaper in its next issue.

The Cat Boat by Edward Hopper (1922), Etching on Paper.

Smithsonian American Art Museum.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Jim Beecroft was not yet done with his prank, however.  Once the newspaper hit local newsstands, Beecroft bought many extra copies and mailed them to local seamen including a number on City Island.  

Among those to whom he mailed the newspaper was Captain Jake Smith, retired seaman and owner of the Macedonia Hotel on City Island.  Captain Jake, as he was called, received the newspaper and gathered local seamen in his bar at the hotel where he read the article.  All had a grand laugh at the expense of poor Alfred E. Stevens and the Pelham Record.  Then that group of seafaring men hatched their own plan to enjoy even more laughter at the expense of Editor Stevens.

For years thereafter, whenever any new sailor appeared in the bar of the Macedonia Hotel, Captain Jake would tell the story of Jim Beecroft and his fall from the yard at the mizzen sail to the forecastle of a catboat where he broke his arm.  Each time each skeptical sailor would dispute the account and question the sanity of Captain Jake.  Captain Jake then would bet a round of drinks for everyone in the bar if he could "prove" his account.  Once the bet was made, Captain Jake would whip out the newspaper article and claim that it "proved" the account.  Typically, though not always, the new sailor would acknowledge that he had been had and, with great laughter, would buy a round of drinks for all in the bar.  According to one account:  "The game was worked day after day until the clipping became so frayed that it was hardly legible.  Every sailor caught wanted to pass the buck to some shipmate and Jake did a land office business."

"THE OLD HISTORIC MACEDONIA HOTEL, CITY ISLAND, N. Y."

An Undated Postcard Image of the Macedonia Hotel.  NOTE:

Click on Image to Enlarge.

Captain Jake made a small fortune from the many rounds of drinks that newcomers were forced to buy over the years in the bar of the Macedonia Hotel.  Consequently, after Captain Jake learned how the news story had originated from a prank played by Jim Beecroft with the participation of Captain Jake's close friend, J. Gardiner Minard (editor of the rival Pelham Press of Pelham), Captain Jake never allowed Minard to pay for a meal or drink in when he partook in the Macedonia Hotel.  

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Below is an account of the prank pulled by Jim Beecroft and J. Gardiner Minard in 1897.  The text is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"PELHAM 30 YEARS AGO
(Pelham Press, June 18, 1897)

(Continued from Last Week)

The Pelham Press had now been running 15 months and was firmly established in the hearts of the residents of the town so that when the new paper, Pelham Record, put in its appearance, the people resented the intrusion.  No matter how editor Stephens worded his news items, the one concerned was angry, but he was a glutton for punishment and always came back for more.  It remained for 'Jim' Beecroft of Pelham Manor to spill the beans for him.  Jim had a fertile brain for mischief and on a fine June morning in 1897 he was in conversation with the editor of the Press on the corner of Fifth avenue and First street when the latter remarked that the editor of the new paper was approaching from near Second street, 'is that the new editor?  Hold him until I come out and don't give me away,' replied Jim as he disappeared into Lyman's drug store on the corner, without further explanation.

The two editors were in conversation when Jim emerged with his left arm bandaged and in a sling.  Stephens gazed at the arm and asked what was the matter, and this is the story Jim told:  'I was one of 18 guests aboard Commodore Gerry's private catboat 'Sea Nymph,' on a cruise up the Sound yesterday, when off Execution light a sudden squall came up and the crew were sent aloft to take in the topsails.  I saw they were in trouble and being something of a sailor myself through experience on my own cruising yacht, I went up to give them a hand.  I was standing on the yard at the mizzen holding the reef when a sudden blow yanked the sail from my hands and I lost my footing and fell to the forecastle deck and broke my arm.  Fortunately Commodore Gerry's physician was aboard and set it.  He says it will be alright in a couple of weeks.'

Stephen swallowed the whole story, hook, line and sinker, and it appeared on the first page properly displayed.  Jim bought several copies and mailed marked copies to several friends.  Among these was Jake Smith, a retired sea captain who owned the Macedonia Hotel at City Island.  Smith's place was situated near the shipyards, sail lofts and dock and was the first place sailors stopped when vessels put in to be refitted or overhauled.

There was always a number of seafaring men in the small barroom and Captain Jake was popular.  

The Record arrived and Jake took off the wrapper, adjusted his spectacles and read the story with astonishment.  Then he rapped on the bar for attention, glared under his bushy iron red eyebrows to see that his order was obeyed and began to read the story.  Hardly had he read two lines before the men began arising from tables and chairs and approached the bar with open mouths and staring eyes.  He silenced all talk and laughter until he had finished and asked all hands to have a drink while he told his plans.  The men agreed to co-operate with him and he cut the article out and placed it in a drawer behind the bar.  The men returned to their places and appeared in ordinary conversation when a newly arrived captain strolled in, and walked to the bar.  Jake feigned great annoyance and the captain remarked that Jake looked worried about something.  Jake replied that he was worried; a great friend of his had met with a bad accident.  He then began relating the story and the visitor who had raised a glass to his lips, stopped suddenly, stared at Jake, replaced his full glass slowly on the bar and exploded, 'Jake, what are you talking about?  Topsails on a catboat, carrying a crew, besides 18 guests, owner, physician and possibly a number of stowaways.  Why, a catboat isn't any bigger than a rowboat.'

Smith feigned irritation at this and offered to bet drinks for the house he was right and could prove it.  The visitor swore that Jake was crazy and would stake his life and all he owned including his ship that Jake was referring to a full rigger and not a catboat.  The other men arose and backed Jake and the visitor swore some more and accepted Jake's offer of drinks for the house and defied him to prove his claim.  Jake first put out the drinks and then solemnly took the clipping from the drawer and handed it gravely to the skipper.  The latter started reading and punctuated every line with an oath.  He roared, argued and  swore but finally paid for the drinks.  With the money in his hand, Jake smiled, which was a signal for all hands to break into a hearty laugh except the stranger.  Then Jake asked all to drink up and have a drink on the house.  Everything was explained to the skipper and he joined in the laughter and said, 'wait here and I will bring the mate and we will put it over on him.'

The game was worked day after day until the clipping became so frayed that it was hardly legible.  Every sailor caught wanted to pass the buck to some shipmate and Jake did a land office business.  The editor of the Pelham Press and Jake were old friends and when Jake was informed how the story originated, the editor never could pay for anything he ordered at the Macedonia Hotel."

Source:  PELHAM 30 YEARS AGO (Pelham Press, June 18, 1897), The Pelham Sun, Jul. 1, 1927, p. 12, cols. 1-5.  

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"Fifty Years Behind the Times" - City Island After its Annexation by New York City

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In the mid-1890s, New York City annexed a large part of the Town of Pelham including City Island.  At the time, the City Island oyster industry was waning.  The remainder of the maritime traditions of City Island were holding on, barely.  The tourism industry, however, still looked like a growing market.

At the time, City Island remained a quaint New England-style fishing village.  New Yorkers and those who visited New York traveled to City Island via ferry and the Branch Line for fishing, boating, and to enjoy the quaint village.  Articles were beginning to appear in newspapers and publications throughout the United States portraying City Island as a quaint backwater fishing village that time had forgotten.

One such article appeared in The St. Louis Republic.  It described City Island as the place "where New York City is fifty years behind the times."  The article described City Island as it existed for much of the latter half of the 19th century with its horse railroad, its clam diggers, its "Pelham Cemetery," its old hotels, and its yacht-building tradition.  The article further included a couple of engravings of the City Island horse railroad and the tiny City Island fire house which still had a "hand fire engine."  The article includes a brief history of the island and provides a fascinating glimpse of its past at about the time the island left the possession of the Town of Pelham to join the behemoth Gotham nearby.

"WHERE NEW YORK CITY IS FIFTY YEARS BEHIND THE TIMES.
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Citizens Use a Hand Fire Engine, Ride on Horse Cars and Dig Clams for a Living at City Island, the Historic Shellfishing District of Manhattan.
-----

"Antiquated Railroad Car, Connecting City Island City With the Outside World"

Source:  WHERE NEW YORK CITY IS FIFTY YEARS BEHIND THE TIMES,

The St. Louis Republic (St. Louis, MO), Mar. 30, 1902, Part II, p. 12, cols. 3-4.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.  

Antiquated Railroad Car, Connecting City Island City With the Outside World.

The Republic Bureau.
146 Times Building.

New York, March 29. -- New York city's absorption of its suburbs has been fatal to the race of hardshell, brine-incrusted clam diggers that has for three hundred years or more peopled the little dot of sand in Long Island Sound known as City Island, which has recently been swallowed up by the great metropolis.  One by one the hunters for the bivalve are being laid away in the little cemetery overlooking the quiet waters of the Sound.  Those who have not yet succumbed to the hand of time are gradually drifting away, seeking other field, or are accepting the gold of associated capitalists who have within a month past seleccted the island as a fruitful field for speculation, or see in it golden returns for investment.

These 'clammers' have been really a race in themselves.  For more than a century the intrusion of the urban resident of the man of commerce was resented.  The native City Islander was content with his little world, measuring a half mile in width by a mile in length, and he hoped, as his ancestors had hoped before him, that the invasion, now at flood tide, would never come.  Within sight, and almost within sound of the nightly glare and daily tumult of a great city, the 'clammer' had lived from generation to generation, happy and undisturbed.

Market for His Wares.

His only use for the city was the fact that it was a market for his wares and a supply depot for his rum and his apparel.  He lived in dories or smacks most of the time, and his family dwelt in the little cottage in the queer, solemn streets of the island.  Until New York moved up beyond the Harlem River he believed that there would be eternal solitude in the little village where his forbears had settled and where he hoped to die.

The history of City Island has been the history of the shellfishing district of the East.  It has been as interesting as it has been lacking in excitement.  When New York was still little more than a village, City Island was settled by a coterie of hardy followers of the sea who bestowed upon it the name of Great Minnefords, the name by which the tribes which had peopled the place before the advent of the white race had been known, and the official records of the State of New York and of Westchester County contain many references to transactions at Minneford, or 'Minnifer,' a corruption of the Indian title.

In 1866 [sic, 1666], Thomas Pell, it is recorded, 'applied for letters patent from the Crown creating the Manor of Pelham, embracing all that territory between the Bronx and the Connecticut River, and the islands lying upon the tract before the mainland.'

City Island's Genesis.

That marked the beginning of City Island, and it remained very much the same as it was from the beginning of the Eighteenth Century till a very short time ago.  The master of Pelham, to be sure, sold it for 'five shillings and one pepper corn, if the same shall be lawfully demanded.'  Whether the payment was made has not been recorded.  Official statistics show that Samuel Rodman, early in the Eighteenth Century, paid £2,300 for the island.

Half a dozen changes in ownership were made within the next three or four generations, until one Benjamin Palmer, in May 1763, as then proprietor, divided the little sandheap in the Sound into thirty equal parts, twenty-six of which he sold to a stock company, reserving for himself the other four.  Four thousand five hundred building lots were laid out, and the new owners announced their intention of creating a great trading center, to be equal to New York, and to be known as City Island.

City Island the name has since remained, but the city has never had any existence.  The squatters who had made a living in fishing, seining and raking for oysters and clams acquired title to such 'city' lots as they desired at £10 each, and they and their successors have since remained in possession.  The dream of creating a new metropolis died away, more than a century ago, with those who had been responsible for it, and the colony lapsed into the staid old fishing village that it remained until the beginning of the present year.

British Ruled During Daytime.

No more patriotic Americans swore allegiance to the flag of freedom than the fishermen of City Island, and it is tradition there to-day that while the British held the island by daylight, the Yankees were in possession by night.  Raids were frequently made by the fishermen to all the adjoining points where the soldiers of the King were in possession.  In one of these John Dibble, one of the stoutest of the City Islanders, with a party of neighbors swooped down upon the British warship Schuldan, then anchored in Long Island Sound, and made her a captive, as well as six supply vessels containing stores and ammunition intended for the forces of the King.

With the Revolutionary War fought and won, City Islanders returned to their nets, their trawlers and their clams.  The same families who figured in its history then are in possession to-day, or, at least, were in possession until the tales of syndicates and fortunes in real estate resulted in a great boom which dazzled most of the natives and sent those who were not dazzled to other districts in quest of new clam beds and more solitude.

Practically all of the southerly end of the island at that time was owned by George W. Horton.  Much of it is still in possession of his descendants, Stephen Decatur Horton and George Washington Horton and their heirs, though within the memory of many at present living in the southerly end, jutting out toward the Stepping Stone Lighthouse, and Forts Schuyler and Willets Point, that guard the New York harbor entrance, was sold to a New York banker and came to be known as Belden point.  The Horton property was officially described in a contemporary record as 'overlooking Hutchinson's Bay, Throgmorton's Neck, the Stepping Stones Lighthouse and the Great Necks upon Long Island.'  This meant the jutland know [sic] to-day as Throg's Neck and Great and Little Neck.

Old Tavern Still Thrives.

The clam digger of City Island still remains, the old volunteer fireman's hook and ladder company in the main street of the quaint old village is still there, the old village tavern continues to thrive, albeit usurped by Tammany, and the Macedonian Hotel, built from the timbers of the British [sic] frigate and prison ship Macedonia, captured in the War of 1812, still stands, despite the ravages of storm and wind on the lonely shore of 'Dead Quiet,' in close proximity to the graveyard in which repose the bodies of the City Islanders who have passed away during many decades.

Every morning as soon as the tide begins to fall the clam digger goes to the sandy beach on the shore of the island, and with his clam hook scratches away the sand and exposes and captures the elusive bivalve which forms the nucleus of many a good dinner, both on the island and in New York.

The clam diggers are a peaceful race.  No one encroaches upon the territory claimed by another.  The first comer has the selection of the ground upon which he will work, and the second does not presume to interfere with him or to step upon the section over which he is fishing for the clam.

Groups of these clam diggers can be seen at all times when the tide is out, bent almost double on the sand and digging with their hooks or shovels, stopping every now and then to lift the clams from their resting place and put them in the basket which they set upon the ground just beside them.  Many of those who visit the island during the summer -- and there are many, for City Island is a favorite haunt of the angler as well as a resort for those who enjoy a truly rural place for passing a day of quiet enjoyment -- walk to the sandy shore and watch the clam digger at his work.

"Fire Headquarters Building, Ten Feet Wide."

Source:  WHERE NEW YORK CITY IS FIFTY YEARS BEHIND THE TIMES,

The St. Louis Republic (St. Louis, MO), Mar. 30, 1902, Part II, p. 12, col. 4.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Many Old-Time Hotels.

Then they visit one of the oldtime hotels and partake of a clambake or shore dinner, with the clams just fresh from their sandy bed and cooked as only the native City Islander can cook them.  

Only a few steps from the sandy shore where the clam digger pursues his vocation, and in the loneliest part of the island, stands the Macedonian Hotel.  When the wreck of the famous British frigate [sic] and prison ship Macedonia was bleaching her hulk on the shores of Hart's Island, directly across the water from City Island, a native conceived the idea of putting the solid and age-protected timbers to good use.  With boats and assistants he made many trips to the old hulk, gathering the timbers and towing them to the beach in front of a piece of property which he owned close beside the shore.

From the wreckage he erected what has ever since been known as the Macedonian Hotel, and on its side are inscribed these words, which tell of the history of the famous old house:

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This House is the remains of the English frigate Macedonian, captured on Sunday, October 5, 1812, by the United States frigate United States, commanded by Captain Stephen Decatur, U. S. N.

This action was fought in latitude 24 deg. north, longitude 29 det. 30 min. west.  That is about 600 miles northwest of the Cape de Verde Islands, off the west coast of Africa, and towed to Cow Bay in 1874.
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Used as a Bar.

The main room used as a bar, on the first floor, is framed of the heaviest timbers from the old ship.  To many of them are still fastened the old hooks to which the sailors of the British fighting ship hung their hammocks.  An old cupboard from the galley of the ship serves as a bar, and the cabin used by the petty officers is used as the place wherein mine host of the Macedonian keeps his stock of ripe old liquor for dispensation among his customers and the clam diggers who work along the beach in his neighborhood.

On the second floor is the 'music room' that is none other than the main cabin of the Macedonian.  In removing the lumber from the ship those who did the work took pains to preserve each piece and place it in its proper place in the Macedonian Hotel.  The old 18 and 24 inch iron barred windows on the man-of-war were carefully preserved, and these now let in the light to the music room in this unique hotel.  

Timbers of Britain's vanquished war ship also form part of the northerly fence line of the quaint village burying ground.  This resting place for the dead is small, but interesting in its solitude.  Its eastern limit is the beach on which fretful Long Island Sound beats incessantly, claiming more and more of the bluff in which generations of the natives are buried.

Waves Have Washed Away Land.

The dashing of the waves has already eaten away much of the headland, and the old picket fence has partly disappeared, carried off on the bosom of the tide.  No pretentious monuments have been erected there.  Most of the graves are marked only by little mounds or slabs of marble, many of which have crumbled and are held in place only by iron clamps placed in position by the descendants of those who sleep beneath.  A wooden segment over the little picket swinging gate bears the legend: -- 

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PELHAM CEMETERY.
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Lanes, avenues or walks there are none.  This hamlet of the dead, though in the City of New York, seems like a bit of quaintest Europe transplanted.  The plots, nevertheless, are not neglected, for here and there are flower beds or artificial funeral offerings, while newly-made graves, alas, are plentiful.  It is still the burial place of the native, who gives never a thought of the grand cemeteries of the metropolis, with their mausoleums, monuments and vaults.

Graveyard of Famous Racers.

Just beyond and in plain sight of this last resting place for this fraction of the human race is the graveyard of the proudest craft that ever floated.  Famous yachts, winners of great contests, defenders of the America's Cup and playthings of the wealthiest men in the mightiest of nations have ended their careers there.  To-day the famous sloop yacht Columbia is hauled out upon the shore, shedded, wind swept, weather beaten and lonely, on the very spot where but a few years ago her predecessor in the affections of the American yachting world, the game old Defender, last rested her bones and was torn into junk after as a great a struggle for the blue ribbon of the sea as had ever been fought.

Whether the Columbia is to end her days as have those that preceded her in the marine graveyard is still a moot question.  At any rate, there she is to-day, upon the very beach that saw the last of earlier champions of the sea.  Keeping her company at present, is Mr. August Belmont's famous 70-footer Mineola.  Captain 'Charlie' Barr, skipper of the Columbia, lives in a cottage within a stone's throw of the shipyard, and frequently strolls down to the beach to admire the lines of the fleet racer that twice carried the hopes of the American people and vanquished the most formidable craft that ever crossed the seas to test the supremacy of American yachts and yachtsmen.

As if mindful of the supremacy in the yachting world and still aware of the last resting palce of native pleasure craft, Thomas Ratsey, Britain's foremost designer of racing sails, is erecting an establishment that is to equal any in Europe or America."

Source:  WHERE NEW YORK CITY IS FIFTY YEARS BEHIND THE TIMES, The St. Louis Republic (St. Louis, MO), Mar. 30, 1902, Part II, p. 12, cols. 3-4.

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I have written about various aspects of the history of City Island, once part of the Town of Pelham.  For merely a few such examples, see:

Fri., Jan. 23, 2009:  Biography of Jacob Smith of City Island, Proprietor of the Macedonia Hotel.  

Mon., Dec. 15, 2014:  Brief History of City Island Including the Legend of the Macedonia Hotel with Photographs Published in 1906.

Thu., Dec. 04, 2014:  Park Department Commissioners Condemned -- But Didn't Close -- the "Dilapidated" City Island Bridge in 1894.

Tue., Oct. 07, 2014:  Legislative History of the 1775 Statute Authorizing Construction of City Island Bridge.

Tue., Jul. 22, 2014:  Stories of City Island Bridge Published in 1892.

Wed., May 28, 2014:  Description of City Island in the Town of Pelham Published in 1868.

Wed., Mar. 10, 2010:  1899 Article About City Island's New Bridge Describes History of Area and Includes Wonderful Images.

Wed., Dec. 05, 2007:  Photograph of the Old Wooden City Island Bridge.

Tue., Dec. 26, 2006:  1775 Statute Authorizing Samuel Rodman and Benjamin Palmer to Build City Island Drawbridge.  

Tue., Nov. 07, 2006:  Tour of City Island and Portions of Pelham Published in 1909.

Wed., Jul. 12, 2006:  A Brief History of City Island Published in a Book by Stephen Jenkins in 1912.

Tue., May 02, 2006:  Benjamin Palmer's Advertisement in 1756 To Raise Subscriptions To Fund a Free Bridge From Manhattan.

Wed., May 17, 2006:  More About Benjamin Palmer's Involvement With Raising Funds for a Free Bridge from Manhattan. 

Fri., May 05, 2006:  1763 Announcement That City Island in the Manor of Pelham Has Been Laid Out in Lots for Sale.

Mon., May 15, 2006:  Resales of Lots in the 1760s on the Island Known Today as City Island.

Thu., Apr. 19, 2007:  An Account of How Soldiers Were "Recruited" in Pelham in 1758 for the French and Indian War.  

Mon., Jan. 29, 2007:  Palmer Family Offers One Thirtieth of City Island for Sale in 1785.

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Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

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Brief History of City Island Including the Legend of the Macedonia Hotel with Photographs Published in 1906

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Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes a lovely, brief history of City Island published as a chapter in a book released in 1906.  The fascinating history conveys, among other things, the legend of the Macedonia Hotel and demonstrates the perils of oral traditions and local history.  

City Island legend once claimed that parts of the Macedonia Hotel that stood at the east end of Ditmars Street was constructed from part of the famed English frigate Macedonian.  United States Commodore Stephen Decatur (at the time, a Captain) captured that frigate during the War of 1812 to wide acclaim.  

A 19th century City Island boatyard owner named Charles McClennan salvaged old timbers and the captain's cabin from a decommissioned frigate named the U.S.S. Macedonian at Cow Bay across Long Island Sound from City Island.  City Islander Jacob Smith bought the timbers and cabin and used them to build a small hotel on City Island.  Smith told all who would listen that the hotel was built from the remains of the famous English Frigate captured by Stephen Decatur during the War of 1812.  

This legend attracted curious visitors from far and near to the little hotel on City Island. However, the information turned out to be entirely wrong. It turns out that the structure included material that is not from the original remains of the Macedonian captured during the War of 1812.  It was constructed in part from the remains of a second ship (a United States frigate) also named "Macedonian" that launched at Gosport, Virginia, in 1836, was rebuilt in Brooklyn in 1852 and was broken up in 1874 at Cow Bay, Long Island.

By 1922, the Macedonia Hotel had been re-purposed as the City Island Casino.  It was destroyed in a fire that year.  

The article below includes a number of wonderful photographs of City Island including a lovely photograph of the Macedonia Hotel before the legend painted on its side was over-painted in the early 20th century.  

"CITY ISLAND
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Ancient Horse Cars - Marshall Mansion - City Island Bridge - General History of the Island - Macedonia Hotel
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'A gem of the Ocean.'  Thus is City Island described by the same person who goes on to state his experiences on a trip to the island from Bartow Station.  

'All aboard!'  The cry struck my car, and looking at what there was to board, I spied what I took to be a pet plaything left by Noah on Mt. Ararat after the Flood -- sort of box on wheels with tin geegees to pull it.  This then was the car, and I swung aboard.  We made magnificent progress, at the rate of at least sixteen miles in seventeen hours.  About half way to the bridge, I was astonished to see the driver leave his horses to jog along by themselves and walk into the car.  I thought he was sick and needed a rest, but no.  He sang out:  'Fares, please,' and proceeded to collect them.'

If the same man had seen the older cars, with their single horse, that jogged painfully at a snail's pace, he would have been more than ever surprised.  

"Old City Island Bridge"

Source:  "Chapter XX:  City Island" in History of Bronx Borough City Of New York

Compiled for The North Side News By Randall Comfort, p. 59 (NY, NY:  North Side

News Press:  1906).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

But City Island ought indeed to be thankful.  It has now a bridge to connect it with the main land.  In early days there was only a ferry, nay, even so recently as 1868.  Close to the bridge stands the immense 'Colonial Inn,' the fine old Marshall Mansion, surrounded by beautifully graded lawns and shade trees.  The old bridge, which was so narrow that even one of the tiny bob-tailed horsecars could scarcely pass a team, has been removed to make way for the much more roomy structure that now spans the waters.  A lingering remnant of the old creation still remains, as if loath to leave the spot to which it was brought after serving as the original Harlem Bridge.

Go down City Island's 'Main Street,' and you will find yourself transported as if to an isle in the midst of the ocean.  Yachting and fishing are the main, indeed we might say the only, pursuits.  Boats of every kind are drawn up on all sides.  Almost every one you meet wears the same nautical air.  You imagine you are miles away from the great City of New York instead of being practically in its northernmost corner.

It is said that City Island was so named because a colony was settled there intended to rival the present City of New York, then a tiny group of houses.  Now what a wonderful difference there is!

If we try to seek the first inhabitants of this 'Peal of the Sound' we have to turn to the Sewanoe tribe of Indians, who occupied the shore from Hell Gate on the south as far as Norwalk on the north.  They are also quoted as dwelling in the whole country, now the eastern part of old Westchester County, from the source of the Croton down to the Bronx.

Even to-day the seafaring inhabitants support themselves partly on what they find in the countless shells that line the coast.  In the very same manner the Indians of old made their living, thus giving to the spot the name of the 'Islands of Shells.'  Before the name city Island was given to this place, it was styled Minneford's or Minnefor's Island, a title supposed to have been derived from an old Indian Sachem who once held sway there.

When witchcraft was ranked among the list of crimes, two unfortunate persons  had sought City Island's shores as a supposedly safe refuge.  But, as we are told, the wave of fanaticism which had swept through New England, reached this spot and on October 2, 1665, Ralph Hall and Mary, his wife, were arraigned for trial at the Court of Assizes in New York, upon suspicion of witchcraft.'  We learn that they were brought to trial for 'murder by means of witchcraft.'  As a result both pleaded not guilty, but the jury found that there was something 'suspicious by the evidence of what the woman is charged with, but nothing considerable of value to take away her life.  But in reference to the man we find nothing considerable to charge him with.'

For three dreary years the two lived in a little hut on the lonely shores of 'Minneford's Island.'  Then, finally they were acquitted, 'there having been no direct proof of witchcraft.'  According to the records, this was the first case of witchcraft to come before the authorities in the Province of New York.

Then gradually developed the idea of founding a city on these shores to equal the far distant City of New York.  This latter place seemed all very well in its way, but its location was far down on the lower end of Manhattan Island.  Such were the dreams of Philip and Benjamin Palmer, who had spent their life from childhood's days on Throgg's Neck, opposite the island.  Here was a spot that would completely solve the perplexing problem.  No more risks to run in passing through the whirling maelstrom and dangerous rocks of Hell Gate.  There was plenty of safe anchorage and refuge from storms.  Even a plan, or map, was gooten out and an advertisement prepared, showing forth in glowing terms the advantages of the place.  Real estate began to boom.  A broad avenue -- now Main Street -- was laid out and about four thousand lots were planned.  Mr. Palmer himself was offered as high as 300 and even 1,000 pounds for the most desirable portions.

"Macedonian Hotel"

Source:  "Chapter XX:  City Island" in History of Bronx Borough City Of New York

Compiled for The North Side News By Randall Comfort, p. 61 (NY, NY:  North Side

News Press:  1906).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Then the sky darkened.  In 1776 the British fleet had arrived in New York harbor, and the island residents realized their extreme danger, so far away from the rest of the world.  As for Palmer and his wife, they waited there a few days too long, and were all taken prisoners by the enemy, where he was 'badly treated and continually refused permission to leave.'  Finally he obtained this permission, going to New York, where he remained until the close of the war.  

During the Revolution, although the place was closely guarded by British warships, we learn with pride that the American whaleboats did not hesitate for a moment to dart out and attack the enemy, no matter what size their ships were.  

After the war, Palmer's troubles were by no means over.  Because he had obeyed orders from some one in the King's service, he discovered that his land had been seized and his petitions for the return of his possessions proved unsuccessful.  

The money for building a bridge to the mainland could not be raised and at last the project for building a city to rival New York was abandoned.  As for Palmer, his circumstances became so reduced that Aaron Burr started a subscription which resulted in keeping him from abject poverty until his death.

After the completion of the iron Harlem Bridge, the original structure was removed to City Island, about 1873, and the old-fashioned ferry was at last abandoned.

Minneford Avenue is one of the most prominent thoroughfares of this little island kingdom.  On a side street, fronting the waters of the Sound, is a quaint relic of one of the prizes of the gallant Stephen Decatur.  When I visited the spot last, the house had been newly painted, thus obliterating a sign which proclaimed in large letters the unique history of the spot.

In the first place are the large characters 'MACEDONIA HOTEL.'  On the north side is, or perhaps we had better say, was, this inscription:

'This house is the remains of the English Frigate Macedonia, captured on Sunday, October 25, by the United States Frigate United States Commanded by Cap't Stephen Decatur, U.S.N.  The action was fought in Lat. 24' N., Long. 29' 30" W.  That is About 600 Miles N. W. of the Cape de Verde Islands, Off the West Coast of Africa, and Towed to Cow Bay in 1874.'

Thus we have a striking example of a ship on dry land.  Nay, it is not only a ship, but half ship and half house.  Ninety odd years ago, when the old 'Macedonia' was in the full glory of its youth as a frigate-of-war in the English Navy, sailing near the Canary Islands, it became a prize of war of the daring and intrepid Decatur.  In this way one of the finest warships of the British Navy became the property of the United States, in more senses than one.

Without even a change of name, this almost new frigate began a most remarkable career under the stars and stripes.  She did splendid work in battling with the Algerian pirates in the far distant Mediterranean.  In the Mexican War she helped capture the stronghold of Vera Cruz, and in 1847 she aided to carry a most welcome cargo of food to the starving people of Ireland.  When the Civil War broke out, the Macedonia performed noble service as a transport of troops.  

Finally in 1874 she was condemned by the government and towed to Cow Bay, Long Island, where an enterprising City Islander bought her, took her across the Sound on her last cruise, and erected the best part of her where she now stands.  The inscription on her sides is said to have been obtained from the War Department, so it may be taken as authentic.

A visit to the old ship is full of interest.  On all sides can be seen the immense stanchions, bristling with the massive iron rings to which the ancient cannon were once fastened.  The roof, being the old cabin, is curved, and opening from the sides, like tiny cubby-holes, are the officers' staterooms.  These are neatly furnished with beds, giving the place a most homelike and occupied air.  The hooks from which the British tars and their American successors hung their hammocks are plainly in evidence, while in the roof can be seen the great round opening through which the giant mast once passed.

Around the corner from the 'Macdeonia Hotel' is City Island's burying ground.  This is said to have given the hotel the name of the 'Dead Quiet.'"

"City Island Car"

Source:  "Chapter XX:  City Island" in History of Bronx Borough City Of New York

Compiled for The North Side News By Randall Comfort, p. 62 (NY, NY:  North Side

News Press:  1906).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Source:  "Chapter XX:  City Island" in History of Bronx Borough City of New York Compiled for The North Side News by Randall Comfort, pp. 59-62 (NY, NY:  North Side News Press:  1906).  

*          *          *          *          *

I have written about various aspects of the history of City Island, once part of the Town of Pelham.  For merely a few such examples, see:

Fri., Jan. 23, 2009:  Biography of Jacob Smith of City Island, Proprietor of the Macedonia Hotel.  

Thu., Dec. 04, 2014:  Park Department Commissioners Condemned -- But Didn't Close -- the "Dilapidated" City Island Bridge in 1894.

Tue., Oct. 07, 2014:  Legislative History of the 1775 Statute Authorizing Construction of City Island Bridge.

Tue., Jul. 22, 2014:  Stories of City Island Bridge Published in 1892.

Wed., May 28, 2014:  Description of City Island in the Town of Pelham Published in 1868.

Wed., Mar. 10, 2010:  1899 Article About City Island's New Bridge Describes History of Area and Includes Wonderful Images.

Wed., Dec. 05, 2007:  Photograph of the Old Wooden City Island Bridge.

Tue., Dec. 26, 2006:  1775 Statute Authorizing Samuel Rodman and Benjamin Palmer to Build City Island Drawbridge.  

Tue., Nov. 07, 2006:  Tour of City Island and Portions of Pelham Published in 1909.

Wed., Jul. 12, 2006:  A Brief History of City Island Published in a Book by Stephen Jenkins in 1912.

Tue., May 02, 2006:  Benjamin Palmer's Advertisement in 1756 To Raise Subscriptions To Fund a Free Bridge From Manhattan.

Wed., May 17, 2006:  More About Benjamin Palmer's Involvement With Raising Funds for a Free Bridge from Manhattan. 

Fri., May 05, 2006:  1763 Announcement That City Island in the Manor of Pelham Has Been Laid Out in Lots for Sale.

Mon., May 15, 2006:  Resales of Lots in the 1760s on the Island Known Today as City Island.

Thu., Apr. 19, 2007:  An Account of How Soldiers Were "Recruited" in Pelham in 1758 for the French and Indian War.  

Mon., Jan. 29, 2007:  Palmer Family Offers One Thirtieth of City Island for Sale in 1785.

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