Historic Pelham

Monday, February 20, 2017

Brief Account of Damage in Pelham During the Earthquake of August 10, 1884

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Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
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Few may realize it, but only 13 miles from Pelham -- far beneath 125th Street in Manhattan -- lies the so-called "125th Street Fault Line." While it is nothing like major fault lines such as the "San Andreas Fault" on the west coast of the United States, the 125th Street Fault Line is still a concern to experts who recognize that population growth (as well as urban and suburban development) in the region since the late 19th century have increased the risks of substantial damage from major earthquakes.

Pelham has experienced many earthquakes in historic times, a few of which have been large. In fact, Pelham has experienced 35 earthquakes just since 1931, the majority of which have been so small that while they registered on seismographs, they were not even felt. On August 10, 1884, however, everyone in Pelham and the surrounding region felt the large earthquake that rolled beneath the area.

I have written about that earthquake in Pelham (and others). See, e.g.:

Mon., Aug. 25, 2014: Earthquake! Is Pelham on Shaky Ground?

Tue., Sep. 15, 2009: An Earthquake in Pelham and Surrounding Areas on Sunday, August 10, 1884.

Mon., Aug. 08, 2005: The Day the Earth Shook in Pelham: July 11, 1872.

Today's posting to the historic Pelham Blog provides an additional brief newspaper description of the 1884 earthquake and its damage in Pelham.

On that lazy August afternoon, the ground began to roll and a thunderous sound could be heard. One report said the noise sounded like a rumble and roar like an army of heavy wagons rumbling over a paved street. Crockery and glassware rattled in Pelham homes. The vibrations grew to become so great that it seemed in local drugstores as though the bottles would tumble from the shelves.

In some places, mothers ran into the open roads bearing their infants in their arms for protection. Part of a chimney collapsed at a home on Fifth Avenue. The chimney on the home of Mrs. James Parrish of Pelhamville, the home that still stands at 463 First Avenue known as the "Old Stone House," toppled over and damaged the roof of the home.

The following day, Monday, August 11, 1884, the region experienced a small aftershock. That quake, thankfully, was not nearly as severe as the one the day before.

Oddly, there was a place in the region that reportedly did not feel the shock of the main quake that Sunday. The residents of Pelham's High Island off the northeastern tip of City Island reportedly felt nothing. As the report quoted in full below noted, "The only place hereabouts that the shock was not felt was at High Island, where, it is said, the inhabitants are so secluded from the outside world, that they did not notice it; in fact knew absolutely nothing of it, until they read about it in Monday's papers."

Painting of the Old Stone House Owned by the Parrish Family

Located at 463 First Avenue That Was Damaged During the

Earthquake on August 10, 1884. NOTE: Click on Image to

Enlarge.

* * * * *

Below is the text of the brief article that forms the basis of today's posting. It is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"LOCAL NEWS. . . .

The shock from the earthquake, last Sunday afternoon, was very severe in this village. The swaying of houses and rattle of crockery and glassware startled the people from their houses in utter consternation. In the various village drugstores, the vibrations were especially noticeable, and it seemed as though the bottles would tumble from the shelves. In some streets, mothers ran out of doors bearing their infants in their arms. Part of a chimney on one of Mr. Hillemeier's houses, Fifth avenue, was knocked down. At Pelhamville, the chimney of Mrs. Parish's house, toppled over, and caused some damage to the roof. The only place hereabouts that the shock was not felt was at High Island, where, it is said, the inhabitants are so secluded from the outside world, that they did not notice it; in fact knew absolutely nothing of it, until they read about it in Monday's papers. . . ."

Source: LOCAL NEWS, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Aug. 15, 1884, Vol. XV, No. 778, p. 3, cols. 1-2.

Learn More About Earthquakes in Pelham and Future Risks

Below are a number of links that will allow readers to learn more about earthquakes in Pelham and future risks.

Mon., Aug. 25, 2014: Earthquake! Is Pelham on Shaky Ground?

Tue., Sep. 15, 2009:  An Earthquake in Pelham and Surrounding Areas on Sunday, August 10, 1884.

Mon., Aug. 08, 2005:  The Day the Earth Shook in Pelham: July 11, 1872.

Recent Earthquakes Near Pelham, New York (visited Jan. 29, 2017).

Tantala, Michael, et al., Earthquake Risks and Mitigation in the New York / New Jersey / Connecticut Region (The New York City Area Consortium for Earthquake Loss Mitigation: 2003) (visited Jan. 29, 2017).

Nordenson, Guy, et al., Earthquake Loss Estimation for The New York City Area (The New York City Area Consortium for Earthquake Loss Mitigation: May 1, 1999) (visited Jan. 29, 2017).

NYCEM:  The New York City Area Consortium for Earthquake Loss Mitigation (Apr. 30, 2013) (visited Jan. 29, 2017).

THE SUBURBS IN A FLURRY. HOUSES EMPTIED, DINNERS ABANDONED AND THE SUPERSTITIOUS FRIGHTENED, N.Y. Herald, Aug. 11, 1884, p. 3, col. 3.

United States Geologic Survey: New York Earthquake History (Apr. 30, 2013).

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."

Labels: 1884, 463 First Avenue, Earthquake, Mary Parrish, Mrs. James Parrish, Old Stone House, Pelhamville

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Did Google Maps Camera Capture the Ghost of the Elegant Lady of the Old Stone House at 463 First Avenue?

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."

Halloween is nearly here. Today continues with another ghost story based on a legend that has been told by Pelham residents for more than one hundred years. Today's posting has a modern technological twist. It asks the question: "Did the Google Maps Camera Truck recently capture an image of the ghost known as the Elegant Lady of the Old Stone House?"

Legend has it that the beautiful home known today as the "Old Stone House" located at 463 First Avenue is haunted by the spirit of an elegant lady dressed in an old-fashioned gown. I have written about this legend of the "Elegant Lady of the Old Stone House" on a number of occasions. For examples, see:

Bell, Blake A., Pelham's Ghosts, Goblins and Legends (Oct. 2002) (see section entitled "THE ELEGANT LADY OF THE OLD STONE HOUSE").

Wed., Oct. 14, 2009: 1879 News Account Provides Additional Basis for Some Facts Underlying Ghost Story of Old Stone House in Pelhamville.

Mon., Jan. 25, 2010: Another Account of the 1879 Home Invasion Robbery of the Old Stone House in Pelhamville.

Fri., Mar. 17, 2006 1854: Advertisement for the Sale of the Old Stone House at 463 First Avenue in Pelham.

As I have written before, the legend of the lovely Old Stone House is a tale of romance, robbery and riches. A man named Alexander Diack built the home in the early 1850s. On October 15, 1855, a man named James Parrish purchased the home. As the story goes, James Parrish had a business in which he employed a truckman named Adams. Parrish and Adams supposedly began an express business “as a sideline”. The business did well. When James Parrish died, his wife supposedly received dividend payments from the business paid in gold.

"THE DIACK -- PARRISH HOUSE The Old Stone House --

Circa 1852 By John M. Shinn." Oil on Canvas Painting

Hanging in the Town Council Room of Town Hall.

NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

Masked men reportedly robbed Mrs. Parrish. Indeed, contemporary news accounts confirm that Mrs. Parrish was the target of a harrowing home invasion during which she was bound to her bed and robbed in the middle of the night. She reportedly began to hide the gold she received as dividends somewhere on the property.

According to Lockwood Barr’s popular history of Pelham:

"it is said that a million dollars in gold is hidden in the house, or buried in the gardens. Search has been made of the house, and grounds excavated, but without result. However, underneath a hearthstone in the basement kitchen, a hundred small coins of early date were found by one of the owners – but no pot of gold."

Some say the ghost of Mrs. Parrish can be seen about the house, even in daylight, dressed in elegant clothes of the period, searching for misplaced gold. There is also a story that a well-known actor who was a descendant of Mrs. Parrish, Edward Everett Horton, once visited the home, heard the ghost stories and said that the descriptions of the apparition resembled a daguerreotype he had seen of one of his great grandmothers.

Fast forward to modern times. In August, 2012, the Google Maps Camera Car made its rounds through parts of the Village of Pelham, snapping thousands and thousands of photographs for the online database known as Google Maps accessible via browser. As the Camera Car passed one side of the Old Stone House along Sixth Street, it snapped a photograph in which those who study paranormal activity might be interested. The image seems to show in an upper window of the home an elegantly-dressed figure wearing what appears to be a long-sleeved and long-skirted white gown peering from the window beneath the eaves of the home.

The legend specifically claims that the "the ghost of Mrs. Parrish can be seen about the house, even in daylight, dressed in elegant clothes of the period, searching for misplaced gold." Could it really be that the Google Maps Camera Car captured the precise moment the ghost of Mrs. Parrish peered from the upper window in broad daylight in the midst of her never-ending search for the hidden gold?

You will have to judge for yourself. The undoctored image appears below, with a portion magnified for ease of reference.