Historic Pelham

Presenting the rich history of Pelham, NY in Westchester County: current historical research, descriptions of how to research Pelham history online and genealogy discussions of Pelham families.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Early History of Pelham Heights: "Then Was Formed The Idea That Gave Pelham Heights Its Birth"


Occasionally I have written of the lovely area of Pelham known as The Heights (Pelham Heights) and its residents.  For a few examples involving Congressman Benjamin L. Fairchild, considered a principal founder of Pelham Heights, see:  


Friday, April 22, 2005:  Benjamin L. Fairchild of Pelham Heights -- A Notable Pelham Personage


Tuesday, August 15, 2006:  Another Biography of Benjamin L. Fairchild of Pelham Heights 


Friday, December 7, 2007:  Another Biography of Congressman Benjamin Fairchild of Pelham, a Founder of Pelham Heights


The Heights at one point was incorporated as the Village of Pelham (one of the three villages that made up "The Pelhams" -- i.e., the Village of Pelham Manor, the Village of Pelham, and the Village of North Pelham).  


In 1909, the New York Herald published a short history of Pelham Heights.  Below is a transcription of the article.


"Interesting History of Pelham Heights, the Smallest Incorporated Village in the State

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Highly Restricted Residential Community Escaped Local Annexation Through the Passage of a Special Amendment to the General Village Law and is Prosperous and Exclusive.
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Pelham, with its rocks, its hills, its trees and handsome, picturesque residences, is beautiful.  In its location, history, development and comparative freedom from municipal indebtedness it is unique.  

Since Lord Pell received a crown patent to the Manor of Pelham, there has been carved out the area conveyed to the Huguenots, the present city of New Rochelle, and New York city has since acquired the more than seventeen hundred acres comprising Pelham Bay Park.  


Bordering upon New York city, contiguous to the northerly side of Pelham Bay Park, is the present town of Pelham, with its three separate villages.  In that portion of the town traversed by the main line of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company, and immediately adjoining the Pelham station on the south, is located the village of Pelham, known as Pelham Heights.  


The city of Mount Vernon on the west, the first station from the Grand Central Station, and the city of New Rochelle, on the east, the third station, had grown to a population of some fifteen thousand or more, before even the first home was built in Pelham Heights.  Notwithstanding its location at the second station from the Grand Central terminal, Pelham had remained a village site without a village, while on both sides villages were developing into cities.  


The reason for this otherwise anomalous situation may be easily guessed -- acres of land held by an estate.  But estates cannot forever retard progress.  Something is sure to occur sooner or later.  And something did occur, and just at a time to make Pelham Heights what it is to-day.  The entire village is now a restricted residential park. Nowhere else in the vicinity of New York city can one find an entire incorporated village restricted.  Nowhere else can one find a restricted residential section located immediately at a station. 


FOLLOWED ADVICE OF HIS SCHOOLMASTER.


Once upon a time there was a superintendent of public schools who was both efficient and popular.  His visits were always a delightful intermission in the tedium of study without interrupting the opportunity for acquiring knowledge.  On one of these occasions he said, 'Boys, one way to make money is to buy land by the acre and sell by the foot.'


There was one of those boys, at least, who never forgot that saying.  Years after he came to New York.  In the practice of law the time arrived when the income from his practice exceeded living expenses.  The surplus was invested in real estate.  A portion of what is now the city of Mount Vernon was developed through his activities, and from these Mount Vernon Investments he came to know of Pelham.  


One of these Mount Vernon properties was at the easterly boundary adjoining Pelham.  One day he and his real estate manager were inspecting a new street recently completed to the Pelham line, where a high, precipitous, rocky bluff prevented it from crossing into Pelham.  'If we could but continue this street into Pelham,' said the manager, 'this property would be much nearer to the Pelham station than it is to Mount Vernon.'  'But how about the train service at Pelham?' inquired the owner.  'Same as Mount Vernon, was the reply.  Then why is there not a village over there where only hills and trees can be seen?  He found there is a village without a village, and he also found that to the south of that village site the highly restricted village of Pelham Manor.  Then was formed the idea that gave Pelham Heights its birth.


There were three tracts necessary to be acquired.  It did not require much time to secure the two larger tracts.  But a smaller one, the tract that had, in fact, retarded development, before a title could be given. When the representatives of the estate were finally in a position to sell another man stepped in ahead and made the purchase.  This purchaser, Mr. Benjamin F. Corlies, was a resident of Pelham Manor, and although he retained separate title to his purchase, the two united in one plan of improvements and restrictions.  It was Congressman Fairchild who made Pelham Heights possible. 


Pelham Heights grew, not with a boom, but with the right kind of houses and residents.  Before a plot was offered for sale, a complete sewerage system was constructed, with trunk line sewer to tide water.  A separate drainage system was also provided.  Streets and avenues were macadamized.  Gas, water and electric light were introduced.  


The unprecedented situation thus created, a village with every improvement, but free from debt, soon attracted the attention of adjoining localities.  In the Mount Vernon papers editorials appeared advocating annexation, and the Mayor of the city recommended annexation in official communications to the Board of Aldermen.  Pelham Manor sought also to include Pelham Heights within the boundaries.  


The desire was to tax Pelham Heights upon the very values created by its municipal improvements to help pay for similar improvements in adjoining localities.  The requirements of the village law as to minimum population to each square mile of territory saved Pelham Heights from the Pelham Manor incorporation.


Pelham Heights was not at this time of sufficient population to be incorporated as a village.  It contained not more than a half dozen houses and not more than thirty in population, and the village law of the State required a population of three hundred to the square mile for incorporation.  The law also prohibited the incorporation of any territory containing less than a square mile, and Pelham Heights contained only about a half square mile.


LEGISLATURE GRANTS PRIVILEGE TO INCORPORATE.


At this juncture an appeal was made to the Legislature.  The State constitution prohibited a special act incorporating a village, thererfore an amendment to the general village law was necessary.  A bill was drafted which passed the Legislature without much opposition, but when it reached Governor Morton he refused to sign it, upon the advice of his legal adviser, Mr. Lincoln, who wished no such legislation as was proposed engrafted upon a law that his Statutory Revision Commission had just revised.  But when he came to understand the situation at Pelham he withdrew his objections and the Governor signed the bill.


SMALLEST VILLAGE IN THE STATE.


For a number of years since Pelham Heights has been known as 'the smallest village in the State.'  The new village became famous also for its low taxes.  For two years in succession no taxes at all were levied.  There were two old public roads in the town macadamized, and more recently, since the place has grown to some size, the taxpayers have indulged in new cement sidewalks.  But even with these added improvements the bonded indebtedness of the village of Pelham is now only about four percent of the assessed valutation [sic].  


Pelham Heights has now a population of some five hundred or more.  Restrictions apply not only to the building lots but also to the streets and avenues.  Under a law known as the Parkway law, drafted by Mr. Fairchild, and now incorporated in the consolidated laws, all of the streets and avenues in Pelham constructed by Mr. Fairchild's company, the Pelham Heights Company, have been dedicated to the village as parkways, with restrictions forbidding nuisances.  These restrictions are perpetual, and the right to enforce them belongs to every abutting property owner."


Photographs included with the New York Herald story appear below with transcriptions of their captions to facilitate searching on this Historic Pelham Blog, followed by a citation to the source of the article and the photographs.




"HOUSE FROM NORTH WEST."


"HOUSE AND GARDEN FROM EAST
PHOTOS BY BRADLEY"
"RESIDENCE OF MR. CHARLES A. WINCH AT PELHAM HEIGHTS WHICH, WITH
ITS LAWNS AND GARDENS OCCUPIES AN ENTIRE BLOCK INCLUDING
TWO PROMINENT CORNERS."
"HOUSE FROM SOUTH EAST."

Source:  Interesting History of Pelham Heights, New York, the Smallest Incorporated Village in the State, N.Y. Herald, Nov. 21, 1909, Fourth Section, Pg. 3, col. 3.



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Friday, February 05, 2010

Information About the Pelham Manor Water Works Published in 1892


Immediately upon incorporation of the Village of Pelham Manor in 1891, efforts were undertaken to secure a more reliable water system for the growing population of the area.  A brief report contained in the 1892 edition of "The Manual of American Water-Works" sheds light on the efforts to secure such a water source.  The entry is quoted in full below, followed by a citation to its source.

"140.  PELHAM MANOR, Westchester Co. (Pop. of town in '80, 2540.)  History.--Construction begun Mar. 1, '91, by Pelham Heights Co., in connection with sewers and street improvements; to be completed by Nov. 1, '92.  Engrs., J.F. Fairchild and G.H. Eldridge.  Contrs., Fogg & Scribner, Mt. Vernon.  Supply.--New Rochelle Water Co.'s works.  Distribution--Mains.  8 to 4-in. c. f., about 6 miles; from R. D. Wood & Co., Philadelphia.  Hydrants, 35.  Financial.--Corp. stock:  authorized, $350,000.  Management.--Prest., Benj. Fairchild, Pelhamville.  Secy. and Treas., Paul Gorham, 155 Broadway.   Report by C. E. Fogg, July 31, '91."

Source:  Baker, M.N., ed., The Manual of American Water-Works Compiled from Special Returns Containing the History, Distribution, Consumption, Revenue and Expenses, Cost, Debt and Sinking Fund, etc. etc., of the Water-Works of the United States and Canada with Summaries for Each Statet and Group of States, and Classification by Size of Towns Having Works - 1891, Vol. 3, p. 86 (NY, NY:  Engineering News Publishing Co. 1892).

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Thursday, December 06, 2007

Biography of John F. Fairchild, Engineer of the Pelham Heights Company During the 1890s


John Fletcher Fairchild lived in Pelham in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a civil engineer with offices in Mount Vernon. He servied as engineer of the Pelham Heights Company and was principally responsible for the layout and civil engineering aspects of that lovely neighborhood. He also published two editions of a superb Atlas that contained maps of Pelham in the first decade of the 20th century. Below is a biography of Fairchild that appeared in a book published in 1900, followed by a citation to its source.

"FAIRCHILD, JOHN FLETCHER, civil engineer, of Mount Vernon, a son of Benjamin and Calista (Scheaffer) Fairchild, was born in the City of Washington, December 22, 1867. He received his literary education in the public and high schools of the national capital. At the age of seventeen he entered the office of Henry H. Law, a Washington architect, and for [Page 146 / Page 147] the next five years he diligently pursued architectural and engineering studies. He remained with Mr. Law for two and one-half years, becoming a skillful draughtsman, and then began seriously to prepare himself for the profession of civil engineering. To that end he obtained employment with Herman K. Vielé, C.E., of Washington, and later (1889-90) took the second year's course in the Engineering Department of the Columbian University. While at the university he attended evening lectures only, meantime continuing his regular duties as an office assistant.

In March, 1890, Mr. Fairchild became engineer to the Pelham Heights Company, and took charge of the work of laying out and improving the property of that corporation, comprising 177 acres at Pelham Station, this county. The work included the subdividing of the property, the designing and construction of sewerage, drainage, gas, and water systems, and the making of macadamized roads. In 1891 he opened an office in Mount Vernon, and from that time to the present he has been actively and prominently identified with public and private improvements in Westchester County, besides pursuing a general private practice as civil engineer, in which he has enjoyed marked success and gained a high reputation.

He served as engineer to the commission appointed by the Westchester County courts for draining the marsh lands near Elmsford, on both sides of the Sawmill River. This work involved the draining of a tract about five miles in length. It was successfully finished in 1897. In the same year he completed a similar drainage undertaking near Tuckahoe, also carried on under the auspices of the county courts.

Upon the appointment by the governor of the important commission authorized by the laws of 1895 'to inquire into the expediency of constructing a sewer along the valley and on the edge of the Bronx River, through Westchester and New York Counties,' Mr. Fairchild was selected as engineer to the commission. This body was composed of the mayors of New York, Mount Vernon, and Yonkers, the commissioner of street improvements of the 23d and 24th wards, the chairman of the board of supervisors of Westchester County, and several other members. The object of the proposed improvement was to provide a continuous sewer from Kensico, above White Plains, to the water in Long Island Sound, and thus put a stop to the contamination of the waters of the Bronx. Mr. Fairchild, in conjunction with J. J. R. Croes, the consulting engineer, made a careful study of the conditions, submitting his report to the commission in January 1896. In consequence of various complications - chiefly political - nothing further has been accomplished. According to Mr. Fairchild's estimates, the cost of this public work would be in the neighborhood of $3,600,000. [Page 147 / Page 148]

He has also held the position of engineer to the Mount Vernon Water Commission, and is at present engineer for the Westchester County extension of the Union Railroad Company. In addition, he continues as engineer to the Pelham Heights Company and other landed enterprises.

Since 1892 he has been connected with the teaching staff of the University of the City of New York, as lecturer on Architecture and Landscape Gardening to the senior class, and on Sewerage to the post-graduate class.

He is one of the leading members of the Board of Trade of Mount Vernon, and has for some time served as its treasurer. He is a director of the Mount Vernon Young Men's Christian Association, and is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Mount Vernon. Since 1892 he has resided at Pelham, where also he is active and prominent, being a member of the Pelham Hook and Ladder Company and the Pelham Country Club. He is an associate member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and a member of the sons of Veterans.

Mr. Fairchild was married, July 19, 1892, to Mamie E. Welch, of Washington, D.C."

Source: Spooner, Walter Whipple, ed., Fairchild, John Fletcher in Westchester County New York Biographical, pp. 146-48 (NY, NY: The New York History Company, 1900).

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Wednesday, April 18, 2007

The Beginnings of the Water Supply System in the Village of Pelham Manor


A brief report that appeared in The Manual of American Water-Works published in 1892 sheds some light on the origins of the municipal water delivery system in the Village of Pelham Manor. The Village of Pelham Manor was incorporated in 1891. On March 1, 1891, construction began on a municipal water system in conjunction with a "sewers and street improvements" project. The brief report describing these developments, followed by a citation to its source, appears immediately below.

"140. PELHAM MANOR, Westchester Co. (Pop. of town in '80, 2,540.) History. - Construction begun Mar. 1, '91, by Pelham Heights Co., in connection with sewers and street improvements; to be completed by Nov. 1, '92. Engrs., J. F. Fairchild and G. H. Eldridge. Contrs., Fogg & Scribner, Mt. Vernon. Supply. - New Rochelle Water Co.'s works. Distribution. - Mains, 8 to 4-in. c. i., about 6 miles; from R. D. Wood & Co., Philadelphia. Hydrants, 35 Financial. - Cap. stock: authorized, $350,000. Management. - Prest., Benj. Fairchild, Pelhamville. Secy. and Treas., Paul Gorham, 155 Broadway. Report by C. E. Fogg. July 31, '91."

Source: Baker, M. N., ed., Third Annual Issue. - The Manual of American Water-Works Compiled From Special Returns 1891, p. 86 (NY, NY: Engineering News Publishing Co. 1892).

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