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.

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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."

The Old Stone House Has At Least One More Ghost -- The Ghost of Mrs. Parrish is Not Alone

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."

There is, as noted yesterday, a handsome ancient stone house located at 463 First Avenue in today's Village of Pelham.  The home was one of the earliest constructed in the hamlet then known as Pelhamville (later known as North Pelham) in the early 1850s.  Today we know the legend of the famous "Old Stone House" and the ghost known as the "Elegant Lady of the Old Stone House" as a tale of romance, robbery, riches, and specters.  It is the most widely-recounted ghost stories of Pelham.  It turns out, however, that the "Elegant Lady of the Old Stone House" is not alone.  There is at least one additional specter that wanders the home, if not two more!

Introduction

A man named Alexander Diack built the Old Stone House in the early 1850s. On October 15, 1855, a man named James Parrish purchased the beautiful home. 

As the legend 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.  But, James Parrish died.  His wife supposedly received dividend payments thereafter from the business, paid in gold. 

Masked men who seemed to know that the dividends were paid in gold soon robbed Mrs. Parrish. Many news reports of the day confirm that Mrs. Parrish was, indeed, robbed in a brutal version of what is referenced these days as a "home invasion."  According to the legend, Mrs. Parrish began to hide the gold she received as dividends from Adams Express somewhere on the property of the Old Stone House. 

The Ghost of the Elegant Lady of the Old Stone House

According to Lockwood Barr’s popular history of Pelham published in 1946: 

"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." 

Many now say that the ghost of Mrs. Parrish may be seen about the house, even in daylight, dressed in elegant clothes of her period, searching for her misplaced gold. There also is a story recounted by Lockwood Barr that a well-known actor who supposedly was a descendant of Mrs. Parrish, Edward Everett Horton, once visited the Old Stone House, heard the ghost stories and said that the descriptions of the apparition resembled a daguerreotype he had seen of one of his great grandmothers.  

I and others have written about the paripatetic ghost of Mrs. Parrish.  Today's article, however, may or may not be about her famous ghost.  It tells an intriguing story that makes clear -- for the first time ever -- that North Pelham's "Old Stone House" certainly has more than one ghost.  The Ghost of the Elegant Lady of the Old Stone House is not alone in the Old Stone House.  

There Are More Ghosts in the Old Stone House

Dorothea Jewell Snyder and Frank Miles Snyder owned the Old Stone House at 463 First Avenue in the Village of North Pelham during the 1920s and 1930s.  For many years, Dorothea told a strange story about her house.

According to her story, one morning shortly after she and her husband first moved into the Old Stone House, she was scurrying busily about the upstairs during the broad daylight of an early morning.  She looked up and was "surprised to see a lovely lady" in a doorway of the the hallway ahead of her.  According to a newspaper account, the lovely lady was "dressed in richly brocaded velvet, with poke bonnet, and pantallettes."  

For those Pelhamites well versed in the ghost stories of Pelham, neither we nor Mrs. Snyder should have been surprised.  The Old Stone House long has been associated with the ghost of an elegantly-dressed woman believed to be the spirit of Mrs. Parrish.  Surely, Mrs. Snyder's sighting of the lovely lady "dressed in richly brocaded velvet" in the hallway ahead of her was merely another sighting of the elegant ghost who longed to find the gold she once hid in her beloved home.

Things, however, were different this time.  First, the elegantly-dressed apparition "carried a huge sheaf of golden chrysanthemums."  Second, the elegant apparition was accompanied by another specter -- that of a young girl.  That young specter was "dressed in the same quaint manner" as the elegantly-dressed apparition.  Perhaps most significantly, the elegant young spectral girl bore "a marked resemblance to the older woman."  

As one might expect, things did not quite register immediately in the mind of Dorothea Jewell Snyder.  She wondered, at first, that it might be a joke played by her new neighbors.  She stepped forward, moving toward the woman and the child she saw in the doorway.  Both were smiling.  Both began to bow graciously.

Dorothea Snyder was not frightened.  She strode forward, but the apparitional pair backed away from her toward a stairway behind them.  They backed "down the stairway, around a corner and into nothingness."  

It seems that Dorothea Jewell Snyder had, for a moment in time, happened upon something in the Old Stone House other than the ghost of Mrs. Parrish.  It seems that she came upon another ghost, this one with a huge sheaf of golden chrysanthemums, who had a youngster who looked like her, both elegantly dressed.  Who might this spectral pair be?  

Only time will tell. . . . . . 

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

"Legend Gathers About Old Stone House Landmark For 85 Years In No. Pelham
-----
Georgian House, Occupied by Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Snyder, Unique in Village, Attracts Many Visitors.
-----

One of North Pelham's most interesting landmarks is the 'Old Stone House,' located on the corner of First avenue and Sixth street, as the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Miles Snyder, is usually called.  For many years the handsome old house which stands in marked and pleasant contrast to its neighbors of wood and stucco, of a much more prosaic vintage, has attracted visitors and passers-by.  Already legend gathers around it.

Eighty-five years may be a mere drop in the bucket as far as real antiquity goes, but the old Georgian house, built of undressed Tuckahoe marble with its cut-out large board, reminiscent of the Elizabethan period, its solid four-square look and pleasant gardens, belongs to another era of living more gracious, more leisured and somehow permanent.

The Old Stone House still testifies to the homesickness of the Scotchman named Diack who built it, modeled on his old home in Dundee, Scotland.  It has some 13 rooms, walls of an astounding thickness, built to last, boasts a charming entrance with gracious 18th century air, a secret staircase, discovered during interior alterations, its secret never revealed, 8 fireplaces and a plot of ground 100x100 feet square.  Originally the tract of land extended from the Hutchinson river to Fifth avenue.  

Members of the Diack family, descendants of the builder of the house, make their hoe now in Pelham Manor.  Among the many visitors who have seen the house has been Edward Everett Horton, actor, a relative of the family.  

Mrs. Snyder who seems to fit in remarkably well with the old-world air of the house, was born in the northern part of Ireland and with her blue eyes, white hair and fresh color makes a charming mistress for the house.  Long a collector of antique silver, glass, china, etc., the house is filled with these beautiful objects, at home in an appropriate setting.  

Mrs. Snyder tells a strange story about the house.  One morning soon after she moved into the place, she was surprised to see a lovely lady, dressed in richly brocaded velvet, with poke bonnet, and pantallettes, standing in the doorway, smiling and bowing.  The visitor carried a huge sheaf of golden chrysanthemumsm and was accompanied by a young girl, dressed in the same quaint manner and bearing a marked resemblance to the older woman.  As Mrs. Snyder realized this was not a joke on the part of her neighbors, she moved toward the two visitors who merely continued to smile and bow graciously.  They backed away from her, eventually down the stairway, around a corner and into nothingness.  They have never been seen or heard from since.

'Just welcoming you, perhaps,' the reporter suggested tentatively.  And it was all on a bright Summer's morning!

Rich in memories of this kind the old house also boasts legends of hidden treasure.  During the residence of a family named Parish [sic], a burglar scare is said to have occurred and as a result Mrs. Parrish was reported to have hidden money and other valuables in various parts of the house and grounds.  The legend of the hidden wealth still lingers and coins have been discovered under a hearthstone, while Mrs. Snyder found a silver comb and a gold ring (later lost) while digging in the garden.  The old well still on the grounds is considered a likely place for possible hidden treasure.  

Mr. Snyder who is an architect by profession, designed the Parish House of the Church of the Redeemer on Fifth avenue, one of the handsomest of buidlings in the community."

Source:  Legend Gathers About Old Stone House Landmark For 85 Years In No. Pelham -- Georgian House, Occupied by Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Snyder, Unique in Village, Attracts Many Visitors, The Pelham Sun, Aug. 23, 1935, p. 3, cols. 1-2.  

"THE DIACK -- PARRISH HOUSE The Old Stone

House -- Circa 1852 By John M. Shinn"

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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I have collected ghost stories and legends relating to the Town of Pelham for more than fifteen years.  To read more examples that now total in the several dozens, see: 

Bell, Blake A., Pelham's Ghosts, Goblins and Legends, The Pelham Weekly, Oct. 25, 2002, p. 1, col. 1. 

Bell, Blake A., More Ghosts, Goblins of Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 43, Oct. 29, 2004, p. 12, col. 1. 

Bell, Blake A., Archive of HistoricPelham.com Web Site:  Pelham's Ghosts, Goblins and Legends (Oct. 2002). 

Bell, Blake A., Bibliography of Pelham's Ghost Stories and Legends (Oct. 2002).

Fri., Oct. 28, 2016:  The Old Stone House Has At Least One More Ghost -- The Ghost of Mrs. Parrish is Not Alone.

Thu., Oct. 27, 2016:  Did Google Maps Camera Capture the Ghost of the Elegant Lady of the Old Stone House at 463 First Avenue?

Wed., Oct. 26, 2016:  The Ghost of the Murdered Traveler Who Wanders the Bartow-Pell Grounds.

Tue., Oct. 25, 2016:  The Suicidal Specter of Manger Circle.

Mon., Oct. 24, 2016:  The Fiery-Eyed Phantom of Pelham Heights.

Mon., Sep. 19, 2016:  The Dark Spirit of the Devil and His Stepping Stones: A Pelham Legend.

Fri., Oct. 30, 2015:  The Shrieking Ghosts of Execution Rocks: Yet Another Pelham Ghost Story.

Thu., Oct. 29, 2015:  The Apparition of Wolfs Lane:  Another Pelham Ghost Story.

Wed., Oct. 28, 2015:  The Shadowy Specter of James Street:  A Pelham Manor Ghost Story.

Tue., Oct. 27, 2015:  The Ghostly Gardener of Bolton Priory:  A Pelham Apparition.

Mon., Oct. 26, 2015:  The Ghostly Matron of the Manor Club:  Even a Ghost Whisperer's Nightmare!

Fri., Oct. 31, 2014:  Ghosts in Pelham! Yet Another of Many Accounts of the Haunted Cedar Knoll.

Mon., Sep. 08, 2014:  In 1888, The "Ghost of City Island" Upset the Town of Pelham.

Fri., Jan. 17, 2014: The Phantom Bell Ringer of Christ Church in Pelham Manor.

Fri., Jan. 30, 2009:  Article Published in 1901 Detailed Ghost Stories and Legends of Pelham.

Mon., Feb. 19, 2007:  Another Manor of Pelham Ghost Story: The Whispering Bell.

Fri., Aug. 18, 2006:  The Ghost Gunship of Pelham: A Revolutionary War Ghost Story.

Wed., May 03, 2006:  Another Pelham, New York Ghost Story.

Thu., Oct. 13, 2005:  Two More Pelham Ghost Stories.  

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

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."

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.

Judge for Yourself Whether the Google Maps Camera Car

Captured an Image of the Ghost of Mrs. Parrish Peering from

the Upper Window of the Home in this Image of the Side

of the Old Stone House at 463 First Avenue Taken in

August of 2012.  NOTE:  Click Image To Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

I have collected ghost stories and legends relating to the Town of Pelham for more than fifteen years.  To read more examples that now total in the several dozens, see: 

Bell, Blake A., Pelham's Ghosts, Goblins and Legends, The Pelham Weekly, Oct. 25, 2002, p. 1, col. 1. 

Bell, Blake A., More Ghosts, Goblins of Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 43, Oct. 29, 2004, p. 12, col. 1. 

Bell, Blake A., Archive of HistoricPelham.com Web Site:  Pelham's Ghosts, Goblins and Legends (Oct. 2002). 

Bell, Blake A., Bibliography of Pelham's Ghost Stories and Legends (Oct. 2002).

Thu., Oct. 27, 2016:  Did Google Maps Camera Capture the Ghost of the Elegant Lady of the Old Stone House at 463 First Avenue?

Wed., Oct. 26, 2016:  The Ghost of the Murdered Traveler Who Wanders the Bartow-Pell Grounds.

Tue., Oct. 25, 2016:  The Suicidal Specter of Manger Circle.

Mon., Oct. 24, 2016:  The Fiery-Eyed Phantom of Pelham Heights.

Mon., Sep. 19, 2016:  The Dark Spirit of the Devil and His Stepping Stones: A Pelham Legend.

Fri., Oct. 30, 2015:  The Shrieking Ghosts of Execution Rocks: Yet Another Pelham Ghost Story.

Thu., Oct. 29, 2015:  The Apparition of Wolfs Lane:  Another Pelham Ghost Story.

Wed., Oct. 28, 2015:  The Shadowy Specter of James Street:  A Pelham Manor Ghost Story.

Tue., Oct. 27, 2015:  The Ghostly Gardener of Bolton Priory:  A Pelham Apparition.

Mon., Oct. 26, 2015:  The Ghostly Matron of the Manor Club:  Even a Ghost Whisperer's Nightmare!

Fri., Oct. 31, 2014:  Ghosts in Pelham! Yet Another of Many Accounts of the Haunted Cedar Knoll.

Mon., Sep. 08, 2014:  In 1888, The "Ghost of City Island" Upset the Town of Pelham.

Fri., Jan. 17, 2014: The Phantom Bell Ringer of Christ Church in Pelham Manor.

Fri., Jan. 30, 2009:  Article Published in 1901 Detailed Ghost Stories and Legends of Pelham.

Mon., Feb. 19, 2007:  Another Manor of Pelham Ghost Story: The Whispering Bell.

Fri., Aug. 18, 2006:  The Ghost Gunship of Pelham: A Revolutionary War Ghost Story.

Wed., May 03, 2006:  Another Pelham, New York Ghost Story.

Thu., Oct. 13, 2005:  Two More Pelham Ghost Stories.  

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

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

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

The Old Stone House That Stood on Hunter's Island Near John Hunter's Mansioin

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

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

The history of Hunter's Island, once part of the Town of Pelham, is overshadowed by the towering figure of John Hunter and the mansion he built on the island beginning in about 1812.  Most writings about Hunter's Island focus on John Hunter and his mansion.  For many examples, see the list of my previous postings at the end of this article.

Far less attention is given to the Old Stone House that once stood on Hunter's Island near Hunter's Mansion.  A portion of the Old Stone House is believed to have been buit long before the construction of Hunter's Mansion and is said to have stood on the island as early as the seventeenth century.  

In the hopes of prompting my treasured brethren from the East Bronx History Forum to consider and debate some of the traditions that have arisen regarding the old stone house on Hunter's Island (and, hopefully, to add to the knowledge base regarding the Old Stone House), I have included below an undated photograph of the Old Stone House.  The photograph is maintained in the collections of The Office of The Historian of the Town of Pelham.

Undated Photograph of the Old Stone House on Hunter's Island.

Photograph Courtesy of The Office of The Historian

of the Town of Pelham.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

A notation on the back of the photographic print depicted in the image above indicates that it shows what is "probably" the oldest structure still standing in what once was the Manor of Pelham.  

According to local tradition, a portion of the Old Stone House may have been built as early as the seventeenth century.  Also according to tradition, the Old Stone House (or at least a portion of it) served as the residence of successive owners of the island including John Pugsley, Alexander Henderson, William Henderson and even John Hunter who reportedly lived in it while his famous mansion was being built only steps away in the early nineteenth century.

It appears that the Old Stone House stood near the site where John Hunter built his mansion.  Hunter's Mansion stood at the very top of the knoll near the center of the island.  The Old Stone House seems to have stood near, but not on, the top of the same knoll.  The map detail below, from a topographical map prepared in about 1905, appears to show the Old Stone House near Hunter's Mansion.

Detail from 1905 Map of Pelham Bay Park.

Source: Office of the President of the Borough of the Bronx

Topographical Bureau, Topographical Survey Sheets of

the Borough of the Bronx Easterly of the Bronx River,

Sheet 29 "Map of OPelham Bay Park City of New York

Forming Sheet 29 of the Topographcial Atlas of the Territory

East of the Bronx River" (1905) (Lionel Pincus and

Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library).

NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.

A different map published in 1868 also seems to show the Old Stone House.  It is difficult to decipher the reference on the map which may be a reference to "Farm H." (perhaps Farm House?) or Farm II (as in Roman Numeral "II"?).  In any event, the map detail below seems clearly to show the structure not far from John Hunter's Mansion.

Detail of 1868 Map of Pelham Showing Hunter's Island.

Source:  Beers, F.W., Atlas of New York and Vicinity

from Actual Surveys By and Under the Direction of

F.W. Beers, Assisted By A.B. Prindle & Others,

pg. 35 (NY, NY: Beers, Ellis & Soule, 1868) (Detail from

Page 35 Map Entitled "Town of Pelham, Westchester Co., N.Y.

(With) City Island"). NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.  

Reliable references to the Old Stone House seem to be few and far between.  Indeed, references to any sort of outbuildings on Hunter's Island are rare.  This author would welcome any information about such outbuildings, particularly references to anything believed to be the Old Stone House.  Undocumented (and likely unverifiable) references to the structure indicate that it was built by an unidentified "Huguenot" prior to 1700 and was later occupied by members of the Pell family, the Pugsley family, the Henderson family, and John Hunter and his family.  The structure later was used as a barn and was portrayed in the 1920s by William R. Montgomery, Historian of the Town of Pelham, as the oldest stone house standing in what once was Westchester County.  A fire eventually destroyed the interior and roof of the building.  The remnants of the building were razed in the 1930s, likely at the same time that Hunter's Mansion was razed.

The photograph of the Old Stone House that appears above was published in the October 15, 1926 issue of The Pelham Sun with the following caption:  "OLDEST HOUSE IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY Now standing on Hunter Island.  At one time the residence of the Pells."  (See below.)  The article published with the photograph stated, in part:

"Mr. Montgomery's collection of photographs of both the modern Pelham and the Pelham of years past is remarkable.  Several of the pictures are here reproduced.  One of them shows the Old Huguenot Homestead on Hunter's Island.  It was probably built by a Huguenot prior to 1700 and was later occupied by the Pells, the Pugsleyes and the Hunters.  This house was later used as a barn and is the oldest stone house standing in Westchester County.  The interior and roof were destroyed many years ago by fire.  The building now belongs to New York City. . . ."

Source:  Pictures of Past Give Heritage Of Pride To Pelham -- W. R. Montgomery's Rare Historical Collection of Deeds, Maps and Indian Relics Makes Old Pelham Live, The Pelham Sun, Oct. 15, 1926, p. 18, cols. 1-7.

Source:  Pictures of Past Give Heritage Of Pride To Pelham --

W. R. Montgomery's Rare Historical Collection of Deeds,

Maps and Indian Relics Makes Old Pelham Live,

The Pelham Sun, Oct. 15, 1926, p. 18, cols. 1-2.  NOTE:

Click Image To Enlarge.

Another interesting reference appeared in the November 1, 1933 issue of The Daily News published in Tarrytown, New York.  The reference makes clear that a painting of the Old Stone House on Hunter's Island once existed and was displayed during an exhibition at the County Center in White Plains on November 1, 1933.  Although the reference does not indicate the artist who created the painting, this author is virtually certain that the painting was created by John M. Shinn of Pelham who created a large number of oil paintings of significant historic sites in Pelham and the surrounding region during the late 1920s and the early 1930s, many of which are displayed on the walls of the Town Board room in Pelham's 
Town Hall and some of which are referenced as on display during the same exhibition in 1933.  The reference states that the exhibition at the County Center included "dozens of oil paintings of such historic sites as Split Rock Road, where the thickest fighting too place at the Battle of Pell's Point, in October, 1776, of the stone building on Hunter's Island reputed, at one time, to be the oldest house in Westchester County, of the Bolton Priory soon after its erection, of 'Sunnyside,' where Washington Irving lived."

Source:  Exhibit Opens Tonight At 8 At County Center, The Daily News [Tarrytown, NY], Nov. 1, 1933, p. 16, cols. 6-8.  

In addition, clearly there was a barn on Hunter's Island in the late 19th century.  There is a reference to a fire in that structure that destroyed hay stored within but, apparently, not the entire structure.  The reference is consistent with the statement published in 1926 that "many years" before 1926, the roof and interior of the structure were destroyed by fire.  Below is the published reference to the fire:

"Fire Matters. . . . 

The alarm of fire on Friday night was caused by a conflagration even further off than Prospect Hill, where we had placed it.  The blaze was that of a large barn on Hunter's Island.  It is supposed that it was caused by spontaneous combustion.  A large quantity of hay, stored in the building, is a total loss"

Source:  Fire Matters, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Oct. 14, 1890, Vol. XXII, No. 1341, p. 3, col. 1.  

An advertisement for the sale of Hunter's Island published in 1880 makes reference to a couple of outbuildings on the property.  The advertisement stated:

""Magnificent Suburban Property ON THE SOUND, Never Before Offered.

Hunter's Island and connecting Twin Islands at New Rochelle, fronting on Long Island Sound.  Most beautiful and complete suburban residence in America.  Ancient and lordly mansion of stone, built by Gov. John Hunter, recently repaired at large expense, gas, water, &c.  Located in park of 300 acres of beautifully diversified woodland, meadow and water front.  All laid out and designed with the intention of having a finer country seat in America than in England, as its natural advantages are unsurpassed.  Views from house most varied, both seaward and over surrounding country.  Location most prominent on the sound.  Buildings are very compete and include Lodge, Stables, Green Houses, &c.  Place is connected to mainland by stone causeway, and handsome and imposing entrance.  Two miles from New Rochelle, 8 mies from Harlem Bridge, 40 minutes from Grand Central Depot, very accessible, 16 trains daily by New Haven RR, also branch from Fulton Ferry, 1 mile from depot.

HOMER MORGAN, 2 Pine street.
RICHARD V. HARNETT, 111 Broadway."

Source:  Magnificent Suburban Property on the Sound, Never Before Offered, The Evening Post [NY, NY], Mar. 4, 1880, p. 3, col. 5.  

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I have written about John Hunter, his mansion, and Hunter's Island on many occasions.  Below are a few examples.

Fri., Dec. 2, 2005:  John Hunter of Hunter's Island in Pelham, New York.

Wed., Dec. 14, 2005:  New Information About John Hunter's Acquisition of Hunter's Island in the Manor of Pelham.

Thu., Apr. 27, 2006:  Burial Place of John Hunter (1778 - 1852) of Hunter's Island.

Mon., Aug. 14, 2006:  An Early Account of a Visit to Hunter's Island and John Hunter's Mansion in Pelham.

Mon., Aug. 28, 2006:  John Hunter of Hunter's Island in Pelham Obtained Special Tax Relief in 1826.

Tue., Nov. 21, 2006:  John Hunter Loses a Debate in the State Senate During the Winter of 1841.

Fri., Dec. 15, 2006:  References to John Hunter of Pelham Manor in the Papers of President Martin Van Buren.  

Thu., Jan. 17, 2008:  A Little More Information About John Hunter of Hunter's Island.

Mon., Nov. 10, 2014:  Obituaries And Notice of Art Auction Published Upon the Death of John Hunter of Hunter's Island in 1852.

Wed., Jan. 28, 2015:  Pelham Manor Resident Pushed for Removal of the Causeway from Shore Road to Hunter's Island in 1902.

Friday, April 17, 2015:  Lawsuit Over the Will of John Hunter of Hunter's Island.

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