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

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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.

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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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Tiny Pelhamwood Threatened to Secede from the Village of North Pelham in 1920

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"We are willing to pay taxes for benefits received, but believe it

unfair to be taxed for upkeep of streets in other parts of the village

to the exclusion of our own.  What is the remedy?  The formation

of the village of Pelhamwood."

Resolution Adopted by the Pelhamwood Association at its

Annual Meeting Held in May, 1920.

Ten years!  Nothing had been done to repair the dirt roads that wound through the tiny little neighborhood of Pelhamwood for an entire decade after the roads were first graded as the neighborhood was developed in 1910.  Pelhamwood residents and members of the Pelhamwood Association were furious.  Yet, it was not the fault of the Village of North Pelham within which the neighborhood existed.  Nor was it the fault of the Town of Pelham.  How could that be?

The roads of Pelhamwood were privately owned by the development company that developed the residential area.  The roadways were deemed private "Parkways" -- much like certain roadways in Pelham Heights (including the Boulevard) when that region was developed during the late 1880s and early 1890s.  But, with development of that portion of "Pelhamwood" located within Pelham nearing completion (and the development of that part that stood within New Rochelle not fully begun), the development company made virtually no effort to maintain the dirt roads.

Postcard View of "THE CLOCK TOWER.  'PELHAMWOOD'" Showing

A Dirt Roadway Entrance to Pelhamwood in About 1910.  NOTE:

Click on Image to Enlarge.

Pelhamwood residents were angry because they paid the same property taxes as other residents of the Village of North Pelham, but their tax dollars were used to maintain and improve only those roadways outside the neighborhood of Pelhamwood.  Thus, the Pelhamwood Association was reduced to trying to maintain the roads on its own -- including the application of expensive oil to keep the dust down.  

By 1918, the situation had gotten so bad that the Pelhamwood Association, using dues paid by its members, hired Louis Civitello -- who eventually became a beloved local figure known as "Pelhamwood's Louie" -- to perform general handyman work and street repairs.  The organization issued Pelhamwood Louie a bright blue uniform with "dazzling brass buttons" and even used him as a "traffic officer" at the intersection of Highbrook and Washington Avenues.  Even the energetic Pelhamwood Louie, however, couldn't keep up with necessary road repairs in Pelhamwood.

By 1920, Pelhamwood residents were clamoring for the Village of North Pelham to take ownership of the local streets, retain them as "Parkways" (while banning truck traffic on them), oil and maintain them and, eventually, macadamize them.  Pelhamwood residents seethed because, despite their years of effort to achieve that objective, they believed the Village of North Pelham had done little to make it happen.  

At the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of North Pelham on April 6, 1920, a large delegation of Pelhamwood residents attended.  Led by William M. Uhler, President of the Pelhamwood Association, the group formally requested the Village to take over Pelhamwood streets.  According to Uhler, the principal thing Pelhamwood wanted was to have the Village undertake the upkeep of the roads and continue to maintain them as Parkways while banning truck traffic.

The President of the Village of Pelham, Jim Reilly, pointed out that there were a number of difficult issues to be addressed.  First, a number of the streets that were part of the larger "Pelhamwood" development were within New Rochelle.  Moreover, the sewer lines beneath those streets flowed into a trunk sewer beneath Highbrook Avenue.  Thus, new connections to the sewer system along the comparatively undeveloped "Pelhamwood" streets in New Rochelle might lead to issues beneath the Pelhamwood streets in the Village of North Pelham, costing time, effort, and money to address.  Additionally, President Reilly cautioned that only $9,000 was appropriated for the entire year to maintain all the roadways in the Village of North Pelham.  It would cost $3,500 just to apply oil all the streets of Pelhamwood, leaving only $5,500 for the rest of the village streets.

Nevertheless, the Village Board that night instructed its Village counsel to "devise ways and means to 'take over the streets from the Pelhamwood company, the streets to remain parkways and the police to prevent heavy trucking.'"  When it came to any promise to macadamize the streets, however, the Board seemed to favor putting "the proposition up to the taxpayers and let them decide if they want all the streets paved or merely patched up."

During the ensuing weeks, the matter seemed to drag -- at least in the eyes of the residents of Pelhamwood.  Indeed, the residents became so frustrated that by mid-May, they were in open revolt threatening to secede from the Village of North Pelham by forming their own tiny village of 500 residents.  Thus, the Pelhamwood Association held a raucous annual meeting in Town Hall the week of May 10, 1920.  Following debate, the members of the Association passed the following resolution, quoted in full:

"The time for positive action on our part has arrived.  If the village of North Pelham does not wish to father us, let them so declare themselves and give us a chance to go it alone.  I am sure we are fully competent to do so.  It is true that in return for taxes we are given police service, garbage removal and street lighting.  We fully appreciate the fact that the abnormally high cost of labor at present precludes any great improvement in the condition of our streets.  But the control of the streets by the village will assure the enforcement of village regulations relative to the restoration of the streets after excavation for sewer, water and gas connections as well as the help of legal machinery to prohibit heavy trucking over our streets.  We are willing to pay taxes for benefits received, but believe it unfair to be taxed for upkeep of streets in other parts of the village to the exclusion of our own.  'What is the remedy?  The formation of the village of Pelhamwood.  We believe this can be accomplished by an act of the legislature.  The state of New York will certainly not permit any group of its citizens to pay taxes without any return.  One more village added to the present cluster should make no difference.  Perhaps the efforts of the Men's club committee on Greater Pelham may result in the amalgamation of all villages under one government, in which even we might be recognized in the general shake-up.  The unscrambling of this Pelham-omelet, however, may be long deferred and we suggest that a committee he appointed to consult a lawyer in reference to forming a village and that a proper amount of money be placed at the disposal of the committee to cover the expense of securing this advice.'"

The resolution seemed to have its intended effect.  At a Village Board meeting held on June 7, 1920, the Village Counsel announced that the officers of the development company that owned the private roadways in Pelhamwood had executed and delivered a form of dedication surrendering the easement to the streets of Pelhamwood in favor of the Village of North Pelham.  The dedication was read into the record and a motion to receive the streets as set forth in the dedication passed unanimously.  According to the local newspaper "Then occurred something which has seldom, if ever taken place at a village board meeting; the people present broke into hearty applause."

The union of Pelhamwood and the Village of North Pelham was saved.  There would be no secession.

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Below is the text of several newspaper articles that form the basis of today's Historic Pelham Blog article.  Each item is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"BUSY SESSION HELD BY THE PELHAM BOARD
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North Pelham, April 7. -- The full board was present including 'Our Mary' Dickenson, the new village treasurer, when President Reilly called it to order at 8:10 last night.  So great was the number of interested spectators that the village room was not big enough, so the meeting was held in the court room.  Clerk R. C. Smith read the minutes of the organization meeting and also a special meeting held March 31st, which were approved as read.  The latter meeting was for the purpose of meeting emergencies such as the payment of interest on bonds, paying the police and reappointing Lester Champion patrolman for another month pending the report from the civil service commissioner on his examination for that position.  A communication was received from John Matthew Tierney, stating that as he understood a vacancy existed in the North Pelham police department, he applied for the job.  He claimed nine months' experience.  He was placed on one month's probation beginning April 15th.  Communication was received from Fred L. Merritt of the county board of supervisors, asking for the names and addresses of the village board of assessors.  The clerk was directed to send the names and addresses of the president and trustees.  George B. Gibbons and J. B. Thill sent letters asking that they be notified at any time a bond issue was contemplated.  

A large delegation from Pelhamwood was present and asked that the streets of that section be taken over by the village.  President Reilly asked the committee just what it expected the board to do.  Mr. Uhler stated that the principal thing was the upkeep of the roads and maintaining them as parkways.  Mr. Reilly asked if the committee had taken into consideration that some of these streets are in New Rochelle and the sewer in those streets flowed into the trunk sewer, in Highbrook avenue.  The committee admitted this and stated that plans had been made to limit the number of new connections with this sewer.  Mr. Reilly replied:  'You see there is only $9,000 appropriated in this year's budget for a street fund which is insufficient.  It will cost $3,500 for oil alone and that will leave only $5,500 for all the rest of the village streets.'  Mr. Voight then stated that the old board had promised to spend $2,000 on the Pelhamwood streets this year.  It was finally agreed to turn the matter over to the village counsel with a request that he devise ways and means to 'take over the streets from the Pelhawood company, the streets to remain parkways and the police to prevent heavy trucking.  Alderman Connacher stated that the village engineer in 1913 prepared an estimate of the amount [required] to macadamize all the streets in the village including curbing and the amount did not exceed $71,838.  He stated that during the last 10 or 12 years between $90,000 and $100,000 had been spent on the streets and 'we still have mostly dirt roads.'  He said he preferred to put the proposition up to the taxpayers and let them decide if they want all the streets paved or merely patched up.

Mrs. Kingsland, who owns the old Costello property, appeared before the board to find out the true dimensions of her property which is situated on the west side of Fifth avenue between Fourth and Sixth streets.  The deed calls for 107 feet while the mortgage claims 114 feet.  It appears the two surveyors employed had made surveys from their private starting points which were at opposite ends of the village.  This matter was laid over.

Mr. Kendall, representing the New Rochelle water company, appeared to request permission to lay a 16-inch water main from Mayflower avenue along the west side of Fifth avenue, under the sidewalk, to Sixth street.  This would give the village greater water pressure.  The request was granted on condition that a contract be drawn up by village counsel guaranteeing that the work be completed in three weeks, the village to be relieved of all responsibilities from accidents and other causes relating thereto, and that the street and sidewalks be left in as good condition as found.  The proposed main is about 1200 feet long.

Nick De Feo appeared praying for relief from the present flooded condition of Eighth avenue and Sixth street.  The question was discussed at length and finally referred to counsel to determine if the village can legally acquire property for the purpose of opening a road.  It seems a colored woman, Nellie Russel, owns a piece of property which blocks the north end of Eighth avenue and prevents a curb and gutter being laid.  She wants $2,000 for it and the board believes the price rather high.

The 'cold storage' box was then opened and a number of bills taken out.  Thomas Stewart's for $6 automobile hire was laid on the table as it was presented in January and the present board wanted to find out what was wrong with it that the old board had not paid it.  Henry I. Rurert's bill for counsel fees $200 was also laid over for the same reason; Edward F. Campbell's bill as village engineer to the old board, for making report and map on the sewer area on New Rochelle where it affects this village.  It was gently laid on the table; C. Tamke, taxi hire for last October in the Miller case was laid over; Westchester Lighting company, $360.42 was ordered paid as was also the New York Telephone company bills for $3.75 and $3.45.  Two more telephone bills for $4.20 and $.40 were ordered paid although the company will be asked what the forty cent bill is for.  A bill from the Pelham Sun for $60 was laid over for investigation and Mr. Reilly explained he had received another one from the same firm for $124 and some cents but had forgotten to bring it along.  Williamson Law Book Co. $18 ordered paid as were the election officers, Thomas Carson, Grace Amundsen, Ezra Daggett, Daniel J. Kennedy, $8 each; Melville J. Wheeler as inspector, including expenses was $8.32 which was ordered paid.  Albert Laiser who pleaded guilty to making the bluebird emblem for the Citizen's ticket sent in his bill for $5.20 which was ordered paid.  William J. Griffith's bill for bonding the tax collector and treasurer $27, paid; Clerk Smith's bill for books and supplies $34.06 paid; all the bills for the street department help, $75, $22, $33, and $7 were paid.  John Carmarano presented a bill for $220.83 for the ashes and garbage removal contract; it was ordered paid if found correct, the contract to be looked over.  A bill for rent from the Town of Pelham was laid over; Polhemus Printing company printing election cards, $8, paid; the bill of Dr. McGuire for $42 for services as health officer was ordered paid; Westchester Lighting company, $372.50, tabled; ex-Clerk Wheeler, salary and postage, $34.92, paid.

Harry A. Anderson appeared to ask for a compromise on the Marvel property taxes; denied.  John T. Logan was reappointed registrar of vital statistics.  The village clerk was directed to notify Edward F. Campbell, the former village engineer, to turn over to the village all maps, papers, profiles, etc. in his possession belonging to the village.  President Reilly called attention of the board to the condition of the burned flat at Sixty street.  The village counsel directed to see what could be done to abate the nuisance.  The night of the regular meeting conflicting with the board of fire commissioners' meeting and the village counsel being a member of the fire board, the village meeting will be held hereafter the first Wednesday in each month.  The assessors will start work next Thursday and continue until finished.  Mary A. Dickenson, the village treasurer asked for a new treasurer's book and stationery.  Owing to the frail condition of the general fund, $2,000 was ordered transferred from the contingent fund to the general fund.  The meeting then adjourned."

Source:  BUSY SESSION HELD BY THE PELHAM BOARD, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Apr. 7, 1920, No. 9254, p. 12, cols. 3-5.  

"Pelhamwood Talks of Breaking Away From Village of North Pelham
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North Pelham, May 19.  --  The board of trustees of the village of North Pelham will hold a special meeting tonight at which many important matters will be discussed.  The Pelhamwood section has threatened to break away and incorporate as a separate village, unless certain conditions are complied with.  Pelhamwood wants North Pelham to take over the streets of that section but the presence of a swerage [sic] system which includes a part of New Rochelle has held up this action for several years.  The board has spent considerable time trying to devise ways and means to acquire the streets without incurring any liability to the town or other two villages for this outside sewerage which must pass through the pipes of the other two municipalities.  The New Rochelle section of Pelhamwood has not as yet reached the stage of development that the North Pelham part has, and the board fears that when this section is built up and houses connected it may be necessary to lay larger mains to carry off the additional flow.  The disposal plant is now taxed to capacity and increased matter to be treated will require expensive additions to the works.  

There is nothing to stop the section from forming a separate village.  The village of Pelham was incorporated in 1896 with a population of less than one hundred.  Pelhamwood has over 500 population today and is expanding rapidly, but the cutting off of this part of the village with an assessed valuation of almost half the entire village, is viewed with alarm by taxpayers.  Coming at a time when the people are complaining that there are too many officials in the town and that the work is being duplicated as a result, they seem amused at the thought of another board being created.  

Pelhamwood is exclusively residential.  There is another tract almost as large lying north of Fourth street [i.e., today's Lincoln Avenue] belonging to this corporation which is as yet undeveloped and may be included in the new village.  If the cutting up of this starts this year, Pelhamwood will have more than 1,000 people within five years.  The resolution adopted by the Pelhamwood association at its annual meeting  held at the town hall last week is as follows:

'The time for positive action on our part has arrived.  If the village of North Pelham does not wish to father us, let them so declare themselves and give us a chance to go it alone.  I am sure we are fully competent to do so.  It is true that in return for taxes we are given police service, garbage removal and street lighting.  We fully appreciate the fact that the abnormally high cost of labor at present precludes any great improvement in the condition of our streets.  But the control of the streets by the village will assure the enforcement of village regulations relative to the restoration of the streets after excavation for sewer, water and gas connections as well as the help of legal machinery to prohibit heavy trucking over our streets.  We are willing to pay taxes for benefits received, but believe it unfair to be taxed for upkeep of streets in other parts of the village to the exclusion of our own.

'What is the remedy?  The formation of the village of Pelhamwood.  We believe this can be accomplished by an act of the legislature.  The state of New York will certainly not permit any group of its citizens to pay taxes without any return.  One more village added to the present cluster should make no difference.  Perhaps the efforts of the Men's club committee on Greater Pelham may result in the amalgamation of all villages under one government, in which even we might be recognized in the general shake-up.  The unscrambling of this Pelham-omelet, however, may be long deferred and we suggest that a committee he appointed to consult a lawyer in reference to forming a village and that a proper amount of money be placed at the disposal of the committee to cover the expense of securing this advice.'"

Source:  Pelhamwood Talks of Breaking Away From Village of North Pelham, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], No. 9290, May 19, 1920, p. 10, col. 4.  

"Pelhamwood Streets Are Taken Over By the Village

North Pelham, June 8.  --  The board of trustees met at the board rooms in the town hall last night to act on the dedication of the streets of Pelhamwood.  Every member was present when President Reilly called the meeting to order at 8:35.  A large delegation from Pelhamwood, many of them women, were present and Mr. Reilly officially welcomed them.  Counsel Lambert read the form of dedication which surrendered the easement to the streets to the village and informed the board that it had been signed by the officers of the Pelhamwood company.  Mr. Reilly asked that the agreement be read; this was done by the counsel.  The chair then asked if there was any discussion on the agreement either among the board or among the Pelhamwood delegation present.  There being no objection, Trustee Connacher moved that the streets be received as set forth in the dedication agreement, Trustee Krueger seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously.  Then occurred something which has seldom, if ever taken place at a village board meeting; the people present broke into hearty applause.  Mr. Reilly then assured them that their wants would be taken care of, at which there was more applause.  President Uhler of the Pelhamwood association brought the old army cry of 'when do we eat?,' to mind when he said 'Now that you have the streets, what are you going to do to them?,' to which Mr. Reilly replied that they would be taken care of and the street commissioner who was present was instructed to go over them and see just what was needed.

Addressing the Pelhamwood association, Mr. Reilly said 'At present we must wait for crushed stone, as it would be useless to oil the streets now and then put stone on afterward.  The oil would only be wasted and oil for the streets now costs 10 cents a gallon.  We have only $9,000 in the budget for streets and this is intended to fix every street in the village.  Pelhamwood pays about 37 per cent of the taxes of the village and for the last ten years you had nothing done to your streets.  You are entitled to something and we believe you are going to get it.'  The question of preventing trucking on the parkways of the section brought the response that the village would draw up an ordinance prohibiting trucking on the parkways of the village and the police would be instructed to enforce it.  Village counsel was instructed to draw up an ordinance to that effect, and the village will erect signs at each entrance.  

Street Commissioner Smith was asked if it was possible to fix the street approaching the Pelhamwood station, which is now a 'rocky road to Dublin.'  Smith replied that the street in question was in the city of New Rochelle.  It then was explained that New Rochelle is about to take over the streets of Pelhamwood within the city limits and has already placed monuments there.  Another unusual scene was enacted when Mr. Uhler asked the village board to declare a recess for a few moments so the Pelhamwood association could hold a meeting.  This was granted and Mr. Uhler called the meeting to order and asked that a resolution of thanks be extended to President Reilly and the board of trustees of the village of North Pelham.  This was carried midst much applause.

President Reilly in the name of the board officially thanked them and again assured them that they would get all that is coming to them.  The Pelhamwood people then left and the board proceeded to business.  The next business was the proposed police booths.  President Reilly stated that he had received a bid, or rather an estimate from E. L. Lyon, he did not open it and asked the board whether they wished to award the bid at the meeting or ask for bids.  If the latter course was proposed, he would return the estimate to Mr. Lyon unopened; if, on the other hand, the board wished to erect the booths immediately, Mr. Lyon's estimate was there.  Trustee Harris stated that in his opinion the booths would cost close to $200 each, in which case it would be proper to award the contract by competition.  It was decided by the board to look at the estimate and the sealed envelope was handed to the clerk.  There was a series of long drawn breaths when the amounts were read.  For a booth 6 feet five inches by 6 feet six inches, 8 feet high, double floor, clapboard outside and ceiled inside, $296 each.  For booths same size, single floor, unceiled inside, $248 each.  The matter was laid over.  In the meantime the clerk was instructed to write to the Cheeseborough and Whitman for any catalogue they may have of police booths, etc.

Harry A. Anderson appeared before the board to defend his bill which had been laid over at last week's meeting.  It resulted in Mr. Reilly telling Mr. Anderson that he considered it an insult to himself and the board for Mr. Anderson to continue collecting taxes when he knew the administration which had appointed him, had gone out of business.  Mr. Anderson said he had never been notified to stop collecting, although he admitted that it might have been better had he consulted the board.  He disclaimed any intention at discourtesy toward the board.  The matter will come up at the next meeting.

Health Officer McGuire had not been notified to be present at this meeting so no action can be taken regarding the burned Sixth street flats.  A special meeting has been called for next Monday night at which this and other matters will be attended to.  The meeting then adjourned."

Source:  Pelhamwood Streets Are Taken Over By the Village, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], No. 9306, Jun. 8, 1920, p. 8, col. 5.  

"Pelhamwood's 'Louie' Completes 18th Year In Employ of Community Group
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Louis Civitello, 'Pelhamwood's Louis,' to young and old alike in North Pelham, observed an 'anniversary' on Wednesday.  As the street department of Pelhamwood, 'Louie' was just 18 years old, to use his own words.  It was on April 15, 1918, that William M. Uhler, then president of the Pelhamwood Association, hired 'Louie' as general man-of-all-work for the residential section covered by the association.  Since that time 'Louie' has become as indispensable to Pelhamwood as the 'Toonerville Trolley' is to Pelham Manor.

Ask the property owner who wants to dispose of some leaves.  Ask the mother sending her children off to school.  Ask the kids themselves among whose best friends the genial street man is numbered.  Ask the commuter who dashed out of the house in a rush for his train, forgetting to tell the lady of his household that the water was still running in the bathtub.  Ask the delivery boys who have packages to leave when no one's home.  Ask the officers of the Pelhamwood Association when they have notices to be distributed to every house in Pelhamwood.  Ask Santa Claus when his pack is too heavy on Christmas Eve.  Just ask them all, whom they can rely on and they'll all chorus, 'Louie.'

'Louie' was originally employed by the association, but for the last ten years the Village of North Pelham has paid one-half of his compensation.

His duties are principally street work, but at hours when children are going to and from school 'Louie' garbed in his coveted light blue uniform with the dazzling brass buttons acts as traffic officer at the intersection of Highbrook and Washington avenues.

'Louie' is a Pelhamwood feature, and has been for 18 years."

Source:  Pelhamwood's "Louie" Completes 18th Year In Employ of Community Group, The Pelham Sun, Vol. 27, No. 9, Apr. 17, 1936, p. 5, cols. 3-4.  

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Fascinating Real Estate Puff Piece on Pelham with Interesting Historical Facts Published in 1906

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Today's Historic Pelham article transcribes a fascinating real estate "puff piece" published in 1906 touting the Town of Pelham.  The article is significant because it purports to tell a number of stories about the earliest days of the Pelhamville settlement in the early 1850s that do not seem to be available elsewhere and, in fact, are new to this author.

For example, the most fascinating assertion contained in the article is one this author has never seen before.  According to the article, about three years after the New York and New Haven Railroad line began running through Pelham in 1848 -- and likely about the time the settlement of Pelhamville was first being laid out in 1851 -- "a substantial two-story building was erected" on the lot known today as One Wolfs Lane where the Pelham National Bank Building stands.  According to the account, that two-story building was "presented to the railroad company on condition that they stop their trains there, which they did."

This brief assertion seems to be one of the few references indicating roughly when the first Pelham Train Station was built.  It is not known with certainty whether the image below depicts that first station or some subsequent replacement, but the image -- which is known to depict the Pelham Train Station that stood on the same spot in late 1885 -- may be considered a two-story structure and likely is, in fact, the original station that was replaced after a fire in the mid-1890s with today's Pelham Train Station.

Image From the January 16, 1886 Issue of Scientific American that

Featured a Cover Story About the Pelhamville Train Wreck

Entitled "A Remarkable Railroad Accident."  This is One of the

Only Known Images of What May Be the Original Pelhamville Train

Station Built in About 1851.  NOTE: Click on Images to Enlarge.

Another brief story told about the early days of Pelhamville that is new to this author includes an assertion that the entire settlement was a haven for moonshiners -- long before the area became a thorn in the side of Prohibition enforcement agents during the 1920s and early 1930s.  According to the article:

"It is said that at one time in the early history of Pelhamville nearly every house in the old village sold rum privately.  This will probably be denied by the descendants of those who lived here at that time, but the information came from a pretty good source.  There were two or three 'moonshiners,' so called, in the village, and a brewery which was operated by a good old Dutchman by the name of Bigerchinsky, or something like that.  This brewery was located in the basement of a barn which was situated near where the pumping station at the reservoir is now located.  The old house in which the Dutchman lived is now standing, but the barn is extinct.  Ale was manufactured there.

There are interesting stories told concerning the old 'moonshine' establishments of the early fifties. . . . There was one in the northeast part of the village, somewhere in the vicinity of what is now Ninth avenue, and another in a house not far from where the North Pelham postoffice now stands.  It is said that the proprietors of this place had a very narrow escape from arrest one night.  The detectives were on their way to execute the law upon the heads of the owners when the latter got wind of what was going to happen and made good their escape.  When the detectives arrived, 'it was all over but the shouting,' and that was done by some of the villagers and not the detectives.  No one, of course, knew anything about the establishment and the detectives went away without their offenders."

The article includes a surprising number of rare and unusual photographs of Pelhamites and Pelham locations, though the quality of the images is not the best.  Those are reproduced below.

"RESIDENCE OF GEO. B. BRIDGMAN, NORTH PELHAM."

"R. H. MARKS,

Chief of Police."

"JACOB HEISSER,

Village President, North Pelham, 1896."

"ST. CATHERINE'S CHURCH, NORTH PELHAM."

"UNION FREE SCHOOL OF DISTRICT NO. 1, TOWN OF PELHAM."

This is a Predecessor of Today's Hutchinson Elementary School.  It

Was the Third School on the Site and Stood from 1900 Until 1910.

"RESIDENCE OF JOHN H. YOUNG, NORTH PELHAM."

"JOHN CASE, Oldest Resident Member of Original

Association, Established Pelhamville."

"THE OLD WOLF HOMESTEAD, NORTH PELHAM."

"CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER, (Episcopal,) NORTH PELHAM."

"A VIEW IN PELHAM HEIGHTS."

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"TOWN OF PELHAM INTERESTING, IMPORTANT, VALUABLE AND UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ABOUT THE VILLAGES OF PELHAM, NORTH PELHAM, PELHAM HEIGHTS AND PELHAM MANOR

Lying snugly between the flourishing cities of New Rochelle and Mount Vernon, on the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad, and covering an area of 2 1/2 square miles, is situated the hustling little town of Pelham divided into the villages of Pelham Manor, Pelham Heights [sic], Pelham and North Pelham.  Pelham Manor is strictly a residential village; Pelham Heights, which is a part of the village of Pelham, is also made up of residences; the original village of Pelham has within its midst a few stores, while the village of North Pelham has has a good business section.

The settlement of the town of Pelham, so history says, dates back to the times when the Huguenots were having their troubles in France and leaving that country in large numbers.  It is recorded that a number of these Huguenots came to that part of this country known now as New Rochelle and Pelham and settled here.

The town of Pelham was named after Lord Pell [sic], who was one of the earliest settlers in Westchester county [sic].  However, he was not the earliest by any means.  The following interesting facts are gleaned from 'The Drake Family Pedigree,' so called, by Jacob Bonnet, of New Rochelle, concerning the early settlers of Pelham.  The writer says:  'The settlement of New Rochelle dates back to 1689, when some 6,000 acres, previously included in the Manor of Pelham were made over to Jacob Leisler, of New York, in trust for the Huguenots, who then were arriving in large numbers from England.  These refugees were a portion of the 50,000 who left France for England in 1687.  Four years before the revocation traditions, unsupported, however, by evidencing, tell us that one of King Charles' ships brought out the founders of the town of New Rochelle.  And we find that during the year 1690 Leisler was parcelling out the Pelham purchase among the French families who preferred to sustain a new settlement which might possess all possible characteristics of their native land.

'Among the names of those to whom Leisler released portions of the Pelham tract are John Neuville, 200 acres; Alexander Allair, 100 acres; Louis Guion, 136 acres; and John Butiller.'

It will thus be seen that Pelham was settled by Huguenot refugees [sic].  As the years rolled by the settlement gradually grew until there were quite a number of people living here by the time the nineteenth century arrived.

In the section of Westchester county known as Pelham Manor the Huguenots settled.  To their memory there now stands the beautiful Presbyterian Church, at the corner of Pelhamdale avenue and the Boston Post road.  Pelham Manor boasts of a great many magnificent residences, which are inhabited by wealthy New Yorkers.  The streets are broad and lined by stately trees which in the summer are covered with beautiful foliage.  There are no public buildings in Pelham Manor [sic].  Everything there reminds one of home.  Outside of the residences there are also the fine Manor club house and the elegant school, with dormitories, of Mrs. John Cunningham Hazen, which is one of the most select private schools in the United States.

Pelham Manor was the first of the three villages to be incorporated, the incorporation taking place in the early nineties.  The present population in 679, according to the census just taken.  The village itself has for the most part grown up during the past twenty years and is now passing through stages of marked development.  The past year has seen the erection of several new residences and others are now in the course of construction.  The Witherbee Real Estate Improvement Company is building a house which is to be rented by Mr. Holland, of Highbrook avenue.  It will be completed in the spring.  John Farrington is building a house on Esplanade avenue, between Boston Road and Wolf's Lane.  Witherbee Black is completing a house on Esplanade avenue, near Pelham Manor station.  

The hilly and swampy land on the corner of Pelhamdale avenue and the Boston Road, opposite the Presbyterian Church is now being graded, and the probability is that it will not be many years before there will be located there handsome residences as well as on the two open places across the street.

Pelham was the second village to be incorporated.  At the time of its incorporation, Pelham Heights was a rocky woodland, one section of which every summer was used by the negroes as their camping ground.  However, no many years ago its value as a residential section began to be recognized with the result that many beautiful residences now stand where less than ten years ago, nothing but woodland could be seen.  Pelham Heights, to use the expression, seems to have 'sprung up in a night.'  Not only has its growth been rapid, but the future bids fair to exceed the past.  The past year has witnessed the erection of a number of elegant residences and others are now being constructed.

Mrs. E. E. Sinclair is building two houses on Corlies avenue, between First and Second street; Mr. Wormrath is finishing a house on Corlies avenue, between Second street and the Boulevard; Mr. Nesbitt is finishing a new house on the corner of Corlies avenue and Second street, and is about to move into it himself; Mr. White, of Brooklyn, is completing a house on Monterey avenue; Mr. Sneider, of Seigel, Cooper & Co., is erecting a new house on the corner of Second street and Monterey avenue; W. G. Fay, the optician, of New York, is building a house on Monterey avenue, between First and Second streets; William Dette has plans out for the erection of a handsome new house on Witherbee avenue, between Highbrook avenue and Monterey avenue.  Mr. Dette is with Crocker Brothers.

Mr. Murphy, the real estate dealer, stated not long ago to an Argus representative that there have been quite a number of purchasers looking around for houses and lots to buy in Pelham Heights and Pelham Manor.  That people are anxious to move into these two villages is attested by the fact that Mr. Murphy already has a list of twenty-five applicants for houses to rent.  The spring market looks very promising and healthy, and there will probably be considerable building going on before long.

The village of Pelham has one grocery store, which is owned by John Smith; a meat market, of which E. Paustian is the proprietor; a boarding and livery stable, of which R. L. Vaughan is the proprietor, all of which are located side by side on Fifth avenue, south of the railroad bridge.  In the same locality is situated Lyon hall, which is the rendezvouse for the people at social gatherings of any performance.

North Pelham was the last village in the town to be incorporated, the incorporation taking place in September, 1896.  North Pelham, previous to 1851, wsa made up of a farm, the northern half of which ws owned by John [sic] Wolfe, and the southern half by a Mr. Weeden.  Mr. Wolfe's old farmhouse is the building now occupied by H. H. Straehle and used as a barroom and a hotel.  Previous to the year 1851, an association was formed in New York city for the purpose of establishing homes for the members, of which there were quite a number.  The only living member of that association now living in North Pelham is John Case, the collector of taxes.  Mr. Case's father, Frederick Case, and his brother, John Case, were both members, but they are now dead.

The farm land was surveyed by William Bryson, of New Rochelle, and laid out into 406 lots, most of which were designated by number and some by letter.  The lots were laid out beginning at the north at Morgan's farm, where Chester Park is now locted, and extending down on the south as far as the railroad bank, there being only one track at that time, and the bank not being so high as it is now.  From east to west the boundary extended from Lather's hill on the east to the center of the channel of the Hutchinson river on the west.  As a rule, the lots were one hundred feet square.  Lot No. 1 was the most southern lot of them all and was located at the corner of Fifth avenue and First street, where Lyman's drug store now stands.  The map of the survey was filed in the register's office in White Plains, August 4, 1851.  Opposiite lot No. 1 was a vacant lot on what is now the corner of Fifth avenue and First street.  On this lot a substantial two-story building was erected and presented to the railroad company on condition that they stop their trains there, which they did.

At the time the lots were staked out the present streets of the village were marked out though not worked.  The street which is known now as Fifth avenue and is at present the principal street of the village, was at the time the land was bought from Messrs. Wolfe and Weeden the northern continuation of Wolfe's Lane, which led from the railroad across the fields to or near his farm house, the residence now of the Straehles.  This lane was worked up some.  There was no other public entrance to the village.  Fourth street, however, was usurped, though it was not worked as a public thoroughfare.

It is said that the first house to be built here was that of Michael O'Malley on Second avenue, which is now standing, and is occupied by F. L. Buckhaber.  If this is so, as it probably is, for the information came from a very reliable source, this is the oldest house in the village outside of the old farmhouse.  The second house was that of William Darby, a butcher, which stands on the corner of Second street and Second avenue, and is occupied now by Douglas Sprague.  Another old house, now standing, built in the early fifties, is that of a Mr. Barker, on Seventh avenue, where Mr. Church now lives.  Frederick Case, John Case's father, was one of the first to be located in the old village of Pelhamville, and build a house on the site of the present house owned by Mrs. Knox on Fifth avenue, between Second and Third streets.  Another old house stood on the southwest corner of Third street and Fourth avenue, where the house in which Mr. Stead lives is now located.

John Case, the present town tax collector, was the first one to occupy the old Wolf farmhouse after Mr. Wolfe moved out, when his property had been acquired by this association above mentioned.  

It is said that at one time in the early history of Pelhamville nearly every house in the old village sold rum privately.  This will probably be denied by the descendants of those who lived here at that time, but the information came from a pretty good source.  There were two or three 'moonshiners,' so called, in the village, and a brewery which was operated by a good old Dutchman by the name of Bigerchinsky, or something like that.  This brewery was located in the basement of a barn which was situated near where the pumping station at the reservoir is now located.  The old house in which the Dutchman lived is now standing, but the barn is extinct.  Ale was manufactured there.

There are interesting stories told concerning the old 'moonshine' establishments of the early fifties. . . . There was one in the northeast part of the village, somewhere in the vicinity of what is now Ninth avenue, and another in a house not far from where the North Pelham postoffice now stands.  It is said that the proprietors of this place had a very narrow escape from arrest one night.  The detectives were on their way to execute the law upon the heads of the owners when the latter got wind of what was going to happen and made good their escape.  When the detectives arrived, 'it was all over but the shouting,' and that was done by some of the villagers and not the detectives.  No one, of course, knew anything about the establishment and the detectives went away without their offenders.

North Pelham has developed more during the last twenty years than ever before.  Previous to 1886 there were not a great many houses in North Pelham, or what was known as Pelhamville.  Since that time the population has more than doubled.  In fact it has doubled since 1896.

It was in that year, in the month of September, that the village of North Pelham was incorporated with Jacob Heisser as the first village president.  The trustees were George A. McGalliard, L. C. Young, and Samuel E. Lyon.  B. S. Crewell was treasurer and John Case clerk.

The village of North Pelham is now in the midst of its prosperity.  Today there is a population of 872 persons.  Four years ago the population was given as 627, showing a gain of 245 in four years.  With new industries coming into the village, the village should make rapid strides in growth and the real estate business should boom there.

During the past year six houses have been erected in North Pelham and two more are in the course of erection.  Those built were by Mr. Murphy, on the corner of First avenue and Second street; Mrs. Pickhardt, on Second avenue; Mr. Ham on Eighth avenue; Mr. Brooks on Sixth avenue; Mr. Coe on Eighth avenue, and Mr. Miller on Seventh avenue.  The two houses being erected are those of Philip Godfrey, on Fourth avenue, and David Lyon, Second avenue.  Just as soon as the weather opens, Mr. Fritz of Third avenue, will build a house in back of the schoolhouse.

However, the most important building to be erected this coming spring and one which is looked forward to with a great deal of interest by the people is the handsome six thousand dollar convent, on which work will be commenced in the early spring.  As previously stated in these columns, this convent will be occupied by the Sisters from the Order of St. Francis.  The Sisters will have whole charge of the school, which is to be opened in the Lyceum building next fall.  They will also do much needed charitable work among the poor, irrespective of creed.  The convent wil face on First avenue, and will be located directly in back of the church.  A.G.C. Fletcher is the architect.

The most important buildings in North Pelham are the court house on Fifth avenue, the fire house on the same street, in which are housed the two fire companies of the village, the postoffice and the fine school building, located on an eminence on Fourth street.  This schoolhouse is known as the Union Free School of District No. 1 of the town of Pelham, and was erected in 1888.  It is without any exceptions the finest edifice in North Pelham.  When the school was erected, William Allen Smith was president of the board, and the trustees were E. H. Gurney, Frank Beattie, Robert C. Clark, William Barry, H. N. Babcock.  F. C. Merry was the architect, John New & Son the masons, and James Thompson had charge of the carpentering.  I. C. Hill is the popular principal of the school.  In fact, he is the only man to boast of being at the head of this institution.,

There are three churches in North Pelham, all of which are located on the same street -- Second avenue.  In view of this fact, the religious influence on the neighboring ressidents should be quite marked.  They are the Congregational church, the Church of the Redeemer, which is Episcopal, and St. Catherine's, which is Catholic.  The pastor of the Congregational church is the Rev. Wayland Spaulding.  Rev. Cornelius W. Bolton is the rector of the Episcopal church and the assistant rector is the Rev. E. B. Rice.  Dr. Rice officiates now, as the rector is very ill and unable to attend to the duties of the parish.  The parishioners worship in a magnficent little edifice, a picture of which is seen elsewhere in this paper.  The corner stone was laid in 1892.  The church is built of native stone and will seat about three hundred.

The members originally worshiped in the little building on Fourth avenue, now used as a Sunday school room and a gathering place for the parishioners at various sociables.  The church was organized under the trees in North Pelham, it is understood, and worshiped for the first time in a room upstairs in the present Sunday school building.  This used to be an old carpenter's shop and was later remodeled and renovated for a church edifice.  The future prosperity of the church was assisted materially by Mrs. Seaver, who lived at one time in Mount Vernon.  She gave four lots where the present elegant church now stands.  On her death she willed the church a large sum of money.  Mrs. I. C. Hill raised the first hundred dollars for the new edifice, and Mr. Rapelye, of New Rochelle, was the architect, he donated the plans.  The church was opened for worship February 7, 1893, a little over thirteen years ago.

The corner stone of St. Catharine's church was laid in 1896.  The only pastor the church has ever had is the present incumbent, Rev. Father McNichol.  When Father McNichol arrived in North Pelham, which was eight years ago, he found the condition of things very bad.  There was no rectory and the only land the parish owned was that on which the church stood.  Since then the church has been beautifully furnished and both a rectory and lyceum have been built.  Six pieces of land have been purchased since he has been here, giving the church property a frontage of two avenues.  It is surrounded by an iron fence of handsome pattern which cost, it is said, $1,400.  A fine new convent is to be erected this spring which will cost $6,000.  When this is completed the value of the property will be about $36,000.  The buildings and church property are factors in making that locality of North Pelham the prettiest in the town.

There is no doubt that before long the members of the Congregational church will be putting up a fine new edifice.  As it is they worship in a cosy wooden church, the interior of which is a credit to the members.  This organization is one of the active ones of the village and is a factor for development of the religious tone of the town that cannot be lost sight of.  It is to be regretted that the Argus has not a cut of this church.

Beside the important buildings, North Pelham has three grocery stores, owned, respectively, by Jacob Heisser, R. H. Marks, and A. Smith; one blacksmith shop, operated by Mr. James Riley [sic], the fire commissioner; one barber shop, owned by F. Utano; two notion stores; a sheet iron shop, owned by W. Edinger; a butcher shop, owned by B. W. Imhof; a wheelwright industry, owned by A. G. Harris; S. T. Lyman is postmaster; a pharmacy owned by Mr. Lyman, and several places where some men spend their evenings where various kinds of refreshments are served.  There are one or two minor industries.  The fine railroad station is for the whole town, of course, though in the village of North Pelham.

William Edinger is the president of the village now.  The clerk is James W. Caffrey and the treasurer K. S. Durham.  The other trustees are M. J. Woods and Dave Algie.

The social life of North Pelham is well worth passing notice.  The old 'house sociables,' so called, used to be 'the thing' in North Pelham not so long ago.  Young ladies, who even now are living in the village, can remember how they used to attend them when they were young girls.  These house sociables used to be held every month, and what rousing times the people of the village used to have.  Jack Horny, with his fiddle, used to constitute a complete orchestra for the various dances held at these gatherings. . . . There is a very interesting story told about a dance which ws indulged in by a thin young man and a very stout woman.

This particular dance occurred in a house on Prospect street.  On this particular night, when old Jack Horney started up a jig, this fat woman was urged by the people there to dance a jig for them.  She consented
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TOWN OF PELHAM
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and had as her partner the aforesaid mentioned young man.  The two kept it up for so long that as a result the woman was confined to her bed for three days.  In fact, she had to be taken home in a hack.  This woman now lives in North Pelham and the man is a resident of Mount Vernon.  

Today the people of North Pelham are very sociable and many are the good times they have among themselves.  The various affairs held by the three churches are the principal attractions, not to mention the dances held in Lyon hall and the various home gatherings and dinners.  Lucky is he who owns a home in North Pelham.

North Pelham has not been visited by a great many fires in her history; however, there were several worthy of notice during the last fifteen years.  The large old residence of Frederick Case, one of the earliest settlers here, was burned to the ground, and made a spectacular fire.  It was known as the Case homestead and was located on Fifth avenue.  Another big fire was that which destroyed the Delcambre house, which was situated on Fourth avenue, opposite the Sunday school building of the Church of the Redeemer.  This was a very large building, and also made a spectacular fire.

Probably the worst fire in the history of the village was that which destroyed the Pelham building, where the postoffice is now located.  One life was lost in this fire.  Fire also destroyed Penfield's store on Fourth street and Fourth avenue, J. Heisser's store on Fifth avenue, and Fourth street, a house belonging to George Bowden on Ninth avenue, and a house on the corner of Third avenue and Third street, where the McDonald house is now standing.  These latter fires did not occur at the same time, but at various times.  One of the latest fires was that in the house of Mr. Bovie last Monday noon, which caused little damage.

The officers of the town of Pelham are:  Louis C. Young, supervisor; Harry A. Anderson, town clerk; justice of the peace, Durham, Karbach, Hill, Beecroft; and collector of taxes, John Case.  The chief of police is R. H. Marks."

Source:  TOWN OF PELHAM INTERESTING, IMPORTANT, VALUABLE AND UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ABOUT THE VILLAGES OF PELHAM, NORTH PELHAM, PELHAM HEIGHTS AND PELHAM MANOR, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Feb. 17, 1906, p. 12, cols. 1-7 & p. 14, cols. 3-4.

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