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.

Monday, September 30, 2019

When Were the First Municipal Street Lights Installed in North Pelham?


In early 1896, the citizens of the area we know today as Pelham Heights stole a march on the rest of Pelhamville and were able to have their neighborhood incorporated as the first village in the section known as Pelhamville.  Worse yet, to the consternation of the vast majority of Pelhamville residents, Pelham Heights incorporated using the name "Village of Pelham."  See Mon., Mar. 28, 2016:  Pelham Heights Really Pulled a Fast One on Pelhamville in 1896 -- Again! 

The remainder of Pelhamville kicked into high gear and promptly arranged a vote to incorporate as the "Village of North Pelham."  That vote, as well as an election to designate the first village officials, was held on August 25, 1896.  See Mon., Oct. 27, 2014:  Pelhamville Votes to Incorporate as the Village of North Pelham in 1896.

The proposal to incorporate passed by the slimmest of margins.  It passed by only two votes out of the 132 votes cast.  In addition, Pelhamville voters elected local grocer Jacob Heisser as the first President of the Village (the position now known as Mayor of the Village).

One of the very first official acts -- if not the first official act -- of the new Heisser administration in the new Village of North Pelham was to install municipal street lamps along village roads that were not yet even paved.  

The settlements of Pelham Manor and Pelhamville, before the incorporation of any villages, had improvement associations funded by local private dues.  Both improvement associations hung kerosene lanterns in strategic locations in the settlements during the 1880s.  Pelham Manor residents hired a lamp lighter who wandered about and lit the lamps at dusk, then extinguished them late in the evening.  Pelhamville, however, handled the matter differently.  It placed lanterns in places where at least two families resided nearby and agreed to fill, light, and maintain the lanterns.  In both settlements the lanterns, however, were few and far between and did little to light the way of Pelham travelers.

On August 27, 1896, only two days after the vote to incorporate and the associated election, the new Village of North Pelham began the installation of new open-flame municipal street lamps.  The village installed 71 so-called "naphtha flare" street lamps.

During the 1890s, Naphtha lamps were becoming popular and were being installed as street lamps across the region.  Communities such as Jamaica, Queens were installing the lamps a hundred or so at a time.  The new Village of North Pelham adopted the trend.

Naphtha is a colorless petroleum distillate that, typically, is an intermediate product between gasoline and benzine.  It is highly volatile and can be used as a solvent, a fuel, and the like.  Although research, so far, has revealed no record of the source of the naphtha used by North Pelham in its street lights, one source was its creation as a by-product when gas is produced from coal.  Gas was produced near Pelham and used in the new Village of North Pelham at the time.

There were a host of different types of naphtha flare lamps.  The precise model installed on the streets of the new Village of North Pelham on August 27, 1896 is, at least for now, lost to history.  There are common characteristics of such lamps, however, that provide a sense of what the first street lights in North Pelham were like.

Typically, naphtha flare lamps were gravity fed and had no wicks.  The liquid fuel fed from a small tank through a tube with a tap to a preheated burner.  When the tap was opened, the liquid fed to the burner where it evaporated.  The evaporating gas would light and burn as an open flame.  

Preheating the burner of the lamp so that the liquid fuel would begin to evaporate for ignition typically was a difficult task.  Depending on the model of the lamp, there could be a small metallic cup beneath the burner to hold a small fuel that could be ignited and burner beneath the burner for a time to preheat it until it grew hot enough to evaporate the liquid naphtha allowed to drip to the burner.

Naphtha flare lamps were notoriously hazardous.  There are many news accounts during the 1890s describing explosions of such lamps when the fuel tanks became overheated or were ignited in some fashion.  Additionally, if the flame of such a lamp was blown out by the wind, for example, the liquid would continue to drip from the tank and collect as a puddle below before evaporating.  That puddle, of course, could ignite as well.  

The lamps came with varying-sized fuel tanks.  Of course, larger tanks when full, would light longer than those with smaller tanks.  Some of the more common models could burn for as long as seven hours.  

Nevertheless, the need for street lights in the growing Village of North Pelham was undeniable in the latter half of 1896.  Despite the risk, the new village purchased and installed 71 of the lamps.  Progress continued its inevitable march through Pelham.



1905 Newspaper Advertisement for One Type of Naphtha Flare Lamp,
a Wells Lamp Known, Colloquially, as the Hydra Head.  NOTE:
Click on Image to Enlarge.


Example of a Wells No. 14 Naphtha Flare Lamp Lit.
NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Below is the text of a newspaper article on which today's Historic Pelham article is based.  The text is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"THE OLD DAYS

Back In 1896

Ran across a small bundle of the Pelham Press for the last six months of 1896.  In opening one a circular advertising a New York City evening paper fell out.  Before a law was passed making it a misdemeanor to insert circulars in newspapers without authority, it was the custom of chiseling merchants to have cheap circulars printed advertising their wares and for a nominal sum the newsdealer would insert one in Each paper sold or delivered.  Some big New York merchants had whole sections resembling a newspaper printed and many readers thought it was actually a section of the paper they bought.  Rival newspapers would print a circular criticising their opponent and have the newsdealer insert one in every one of the rival's papers.

*     *     *     *

It Was Pelhamville Then

The edition of Wednesday, August 25 says 'Next Saturday is election and every respecting resident of Pelhamville should vote for the incorporation of the place as a village to be known as North Pelham.  It will bring modern improvements.'

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No Free Rides

Also in the same edition:  'Constable Paul Sparks was arrested in Mount Vernon last week for riding on a car without paying his fare.  He thought his badge was a pass but the conductor thought different.  The case came up before Judge William H. Bard who discharged him.

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Interesting Note

In the same issue we are told 'Today is the 84th birthday anniversary of Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher.  She was for many years famous chiefly as the wife of America's great orator-clergyman.  Of late years, however, she has won for herself a modicum of literary reputation as a writer on household articles.'

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Railroad Burglars in 1896

From the Sept. 1st:  'Div. Sup. Shepard of the New Haven road telegraphed Saturday night that a gang of burglars were coming down the tracks.  Constables E. L. Lyon, Bruce T. Dick and R. H. Marks stayed in the station all night but the burglars did not show up.  They did try to break into the Rye station but were fired on by the constables there.'

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Garden Work Fatal

From the same copy:  'George J. Pearson, aged 76, one of the oldest residents of Pelham, was stricken with paralysis while working in his garden last Wednesday and died Sunday.  The funeral was held yesterday.

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Who Remembers the Postmistress

Also:  'Miss Madge Collins, sister of Mrs. Katherine I. Merritt the local postmistress, and George Edward Meyers of Mount Vernon, were married last Thursday in Newark, N. J.  They came immediately to North Pelham to the home of the bride's sister, Mrs. A. B. Beckwith of Third avenue where a reception was held.'

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And Then Came The Light

'Incorporation' won and Jacob Heisser, the grocer, was elected first village president.  It will be a short term as all regular village elections will take place in March.  Two days after the election seventy-one street lamps were installed.  Each had a naphtha tank on top holding sufficient fuel to keep the light going all night.

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The Voice in the Presses

The August 26th copy has a two column illustrated article on the last page telling of the new 'Marvel of the Age,' 'The Linotype eclipses all modern inventions' and tells of the revolution in the art of type setting."

Source:  THE OLD DAYS, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 26, 1942, Vol. 32, No. 12, p. 8, cols. 4-6.  


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Monday, October 27, 2014

Pelhamville Votes to Incorporate as the Village of North Pelham in 1896


Today we take the incorporation of our modern villages situated within the Town of Pelham for granted.  On Saturday, August 29, 1896, however, incorporation of the tiny settlement of Pelhamville as the new Village of North Pelham was not "taken for granted."  Indeed, a very hotly-contested referendum to decide the matter was underway that day.  Incorporation was not assured although those who favored incorporation believed they held the majority on the eve of the election.  

Residents of the settlement of Pelhamville were pitted against one another in an emotional debate over what would be best for the locals.  Most residents of Pelham at the time believed that it would simply be a matter of time before the adjacent behemoth of New York City would annex the area and swallow up all of Pelham, Mount Vernon, and surrounding areas.  Proponents of incorporation argued that incurring a bonded indebtedness of $50,000 would require very little taxation of local residents to service the debt and New York City would be obligated by law to take over the bonded indebtedness when annexation finally came.  They argued that with $50,000 from the issuance of bonds, the new Village of North Pelham could fund massive infrastructure improvements while raising little in the way of new taxes.

Those against incorporation argued that the area had been improved successfully over the previous four decades without incorporation and without the need for raising large sums in the form of increased taxes.  They cautioned against incurring debt and reminded that there was no assurance Pelham would ever be annexed by New York City.  They raised questions over the calculations used to suggest that tax increases would be de minimus and suggested that the cost of conducting a Village Government would be much higher than proponents of incorporation suggested.  

Those who believed the majority of voters supported incorporation turned out to be correct -- by the exceptionally-slim margin of two votes out of the total of 132 ballots cast.  The voters of the little settlement of Pelhamville elected to incorporate by a vote of 67 to 65. 

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes the text of two articles that appeared in a local newspaper.  The first appeared the day before the ballot.  The second appeared the following week. after the election, and announced the results.  These two brief articles shed interesting light on a seminal moment in the history of today's Village of Pelham.



Map of Pelhamville Published in 1868.
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. 36
(NY, NY: Beers, Ellis & Soule, 1868) (Detail from Page
36 Map Entitled "Town of New Rochelle, Westchester
Co., N.Y. (With) Pelhamville).

"Pelham.
-----
To-Morrow's Incorporation Election.

To-morrow, Saturday, the much talked of matter of incorporating that part of the Town of Pelham formerly known as Pelhamville, into the Village of North Pelham, will be decided by the property owners and residents of the place.  The election will be held at the Town Hall, the polls being open from 10 A. M. to 3 P. M.  While these hours are inconvenient to many, it is probable that there will be a large vote cast.

From present indications it looks as if the question would be decided in the affirmative by a good majority.  The greater number of the citizens concede that incorporation is the only step that can be taken in order to obtain any local improvements, and that action should be taken at once.

Of course, there are some who claim that what was good enough for their fathers and grandfathers before them, is good enough for them, etc., and who fear that they will be unable to meet the increase in their taxes.  It has been clearly demonstrated, however, that there will be only a slight if any increase.  If $50,000 worth of bonds are issued at say 4 per cent, the yearly interest will be $2,000.  The cost of maintaining the government would be but $450; $300 being the clerk's salary, and the treasurer's remuneration, $150.  This would make a total of only $2,450 to be raised each year, and it has been shown that $50,000 will pay for a vast amount of improvements.

If Pelham is annexed to New York city as it probably eventually will be, the place will have all its improvements and the metropolis will have to assume its bonded indebtedness.  If it remains in its present state, and is taken into New York, it will instantly have to bear the increase in taxes, and then wait for years for local improvements, as Woodlawn and the 23rd and 24th Wards have had to do.

------

Editor of Chronicle:

Some of the non-taxpaying officials among those opposed to incorporation are trying to dissuade non-taxpaying voters from voting on this question on the ground that they are no taxpayers, and therefore not interested in the matter.  But mark the inconsistency.  These same non-taxpaying officials have never hesitated for a moment to accept office at the hands of the taxpayers, although they have never contributed one cent of tax to the community to which they owe their very existence.

SUBURBAN.

------

Editor 'Chronicle.'

Dear Sir. -- Before going to the polls to-morrow, we would ask through The Chronicle, why, in these days of progress, when everybody wants improvements, are our non-taxpaying officials so bitterly opposed to incorporation?  We have asked some of our saloon-keepers for information.  They said they did not know.  Do you?  You know, we are so green.

TAXPAYERS."

Source:  Pelham -- To-morrow's Incorporation Election, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Aug. 28, 1896, p. 3, col. 3. 

"Pelham.
-----
INCORPORATION VICTORIOUS.
-----
It Was a Close Vote, But It Means That North Pelham Will Soon be a Village.
-----

It is now North Pelham.  Saturday [August 29, 1896] the question of local incorporation was decided in the affirmative by the small majority of two votes.  132 ballots were cast, 67 being for and 65 against.  The election was conducted by Supervisor Shinn and Town Clerk Caffrey, the polls being open from ten in the morning until three in the afternoon.

During that time both the incorporators and the anti-incorporators worked hard in bringing out the voters.  Many business men staid [sic] home all day in order to vote and help their side to win.  In the afternoon the contest became exceedingly interesting and the outcome was awaited with eagerness and ill forbodings [sic].  When the votes were counted however there was a loud hurrah by the victors.  

Mr. Otto E. Stroetzel, President of the Citizen's League, who instituted the movement, and the committee in charge, deserve special praise for their untiring and successful efforts.  

The election of officers will be held sometime before the 18th inst.  The complement of officers consists of a president, three trustees, a treasurer and a clerk, the last of which is appointed.  For the office of president, the names of Mr. O. E. Stroetzel and Dr. Charles A. Barker have been mentioned, but no candidates have been held yet to nominate tickets of which there will be at least two."

Source:  Pelham -- INCORPORATION VICTORIOUS,  The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Sep. 4, 1896, p. 3, col. 3.  


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Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Brief Description of Pelham's Clay Avenue and Washington Avenue Area in 1913


HTML clipboardIn 1913, The Pelham Sun published a brief description of the then-unincorporated section of the Town of Pelham in the area of Clay Avenue.  The area was not yet part of the Village of Pelham Manor.  Although part of the Town of Pelham, it was not part of any of the incorporated villages.

The item describes the area at a time of major change -- just as it was evolving from rural pastureland to suburbia.  The item is transcribed below.

"Town's Unincorporated Part
-----

The unincorporated part of the Town of Pelham (that part being within the town limits, but not in the incorporated village of Pelham Manor, has progressed considerably during the past few years.  Not so long ago Clay avenue was only to be found on the map.  Washington avenue was only a name, while blackberry bushes abounded especially in a part of what is now Pelham Bay Park.  'My cow,' said Mr. A. L. Hammett, an old resident, 'used to pasture on Clay avenue and the property of the Windsor Heights Company was a mass of woods.'

That company has been very progressive.  It has laid out fine roads, water mains, sewer pipes, installed electric lights, etc.

Mr. Crane's fine stucco house with its beautiful grounds has redeemed a large part of this property and money invested in this part of the town will be a good investment.

With a prospect of a sewer system in the near future, the unincorporated part of the Town of Pelham will be in a position to hold its own as a desirable residential section."

Source:  Town's Unincorporated Part, The Pelham Sun, Vol. 4, No. 41, Dec. 20, 1913, p. 12, col. 5 (newspaper page in the collections of the Office of The Historian of The Town of Pelham, NY; digital copy in author's files).

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