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, September 18, 2018

Real Estate Boom Began the Roaring Twenties in the Town of Pelham


As early as mid-April, 1920, the "Roaring Twenties" were well underway in the growing Town of Pelham.  Indeed, the local economy was humming.  Real estate was hot.  Local builders and real estate speculators already were buying up land and building new homes on spec.  The bulls and their run up to Black Friday and the Great Stock Market Crash of 1929, followed by the Great Depression, already were stampeding.  

 A nearly full-page real estate "puff piece" on "The Pelhams" appeared in the New-York Tribune published in New York City on April 18, 1920.  The breathless article highlighted the incredible history of the little town, like nearly all such articles.  (And, like nearly all such articles, much of the local history it recounted was incorrect.)  

Significantly, the article noted that four hundred new homes were planned for construction in The Pelhams that year with 325 of them already sold.  There were, of course, 75 homes remaining to be sold; hence, the purpose of the article that provides a wonderful glimpse of the little Town of Pelham at a time when its number of homes and its population were exploding.

 The cost of the homes ranged from $7,500 to $47,500 (about $94,000 to about $600,000 in today's dollars).  The article featured homes (and their photographs) on Storer Avenue in Pelhamwood, Wolfs Lane, Roosevelt Heights, Highland Avenue, and Highbrook Avenue.  Many of the homes were built by some of Pelham's most storied builders of the Roaring Twenties including John T. Brook, Harry S. Houpt, and the Van Ness Brothers.

The photographs that appeared with the article are included below, followed by the text of the article as well as a citation and link to its source.  The article provides an enjoyable snapshot of the Town of Pelham at a seminal moment in its history at the outset of the Roaring Twenties.


"HOUSE on STORER AVENUE, PELHAMWOOD THAT YOU MAY BUY"
Season to Meet Demand, New-York Tribune, Apr. 18, 1920, Part II, p. 12,
cols. 1-8 (Subscription Required0.  (NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.)




"SPLENDID DWELLING ON WOLFE'S [SIC] LANE"
Season to Meet Demand, New-York Tribune, Apr. 18, 1920, Part II, p. 12,
cols. 1-8 (Subscription Required0.  (NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.)




"ATTRACTIVE HOME ON WOLFE'S [SIC] LANE"
Season to Meet Demand, New-York Tribune, Apr. 18, 1920, Part II, p. 12,
cols. 1-8 (Subscription Required0.  (NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.)




"ONE OF THE MANY DWELLINGS UNDERWAY ON ROOSEVELT HEIGHTS"
Season to Meet Demand, New-York Tribune, Apr. 18, 1920, Part II, p. 12,
cols. 1-8 (Subscription Required0.  (NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.)


"HOMES OF THIS TYPE ARE GOING UP
ON HIGHLAND AVE. A FEW ARE STILL FOR SALE"
Season to Meet Demand, New-York Tribune, Apr. 18, 1920, Part II, p. 12,
cols. 1-8 (Subscription Required0.  (NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.)


"HOUSE GOING UP ON HIGHBROOK AVENUE"
Season to Meet Demand, New-York Tribune, Apr. 18, 1920, Part II, p. 12,
cols. 1-8 (Subscription Required0.  (NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.)

*          *          *          *          *

"The Pelhams Will Solve Home Problems For 400 Families
-----
Seventy-five New Houses Awaiting Folks Who Cannot Find Places in the Crowded City; Cost From $7,500 to $47,500
-----
Historic Westchester Community Has Many Charming Sections Where Builders Plan Big Season to Meet Demand
------

 The Pelhams are practically the same as to physical formation and natural beauty as when Thomas Pell gave some rum, trinkets and other things, then of small value, to the Indians previous to 1666 for this land and extensive lands to the east along Long Island Sound.  The oaks under which the crafty Englishman, refugee from Kent in England because of his unqualified support of Oliver Cromwell, meet the original owners are still there.  The highway up from Pell's Point now is the same followed by the 4,000 British and German soldiers under General Howe who came there in 200 boats from Throg's Neck at 1 o'clock in the morning of October 18, 1776, in a campaign against White Plains.  The same boulders and hillocks and some of the stone walls behind which the 600 hardy Marblehead fisherman-soldiers waited for the advancing foreigners are still there.

 Built His Home in Land of Beauty

 Thomas Pell lived in Fairfax [sic] County, Conn., when he acquired the land now known as the Pelhams and New Rochelle.  So fascinating was the beauty of the country that he decided to establish his home there.  He called it Pelham, which is a coinage of the first three letters of the family name and 'ham,' which means residence.  He was a loyal Britisher, and, what is more, a good business man.  Pell thought that it would not be amiss to have his ownership confirmed by the Crown, so he petitioned Governor General Dongan, his majesty's representative in New York.  By promising sovereignty to the Crown and that he would defend the faith of the King, in addition to paying over a lamb every May 1 to the Governor General in New York, his deal with the Indians was given royal sanction.

 First Lord of the Manor

 John Pell, gentleman by profession, son of Dr. Pell, Cromwell's ambassador to the Swiss Canton and nephew of Thomas Pell, got the Pelham hills and dales, craigs and swamps, islands and water front on his uncle's death in 1680 [sic].  His inherited estate included also the land now the township of New Rochelle.  That the Pelhams have not lost their natural beauty in these many years may be credited to the care and the measures of protection taken by this young man.  Coming from Kent said to be the prettiest countryside in all England, nature's handiwork in the Pelhams impressed him so much that he decided to hedge it with restrictions that would retain for all time that which his eyes beheld.  The great area had been made a township by agreement with Governor Dongan, but that was not absolute enough.  Having a desire, perhaps, to be officially one of the great gentry on this side of the ocean, he petitioned Governor Nicolls to make him Lord of Pelham Manor which would give him feudal rights [sic] -- make him ruler, magistrate and owner of the entire country.  On the vow of allegiance and on the payment of 20 shillings at New York once a year he was clothed with these great powers which he used wisely so far as the preservation of the country was concerned.

 New Rochelle at $1 an Acre

 He gave the Huguenots from La Rochelle 200-odd acres near the shore to settle and later sold the remainder of the 6,000 acres in the township of New Rochelle at $1 an acre to his French neighbors.  After the Revolutionary War 300 acres along the Sound front were sold for $5.20 an acre by the government to a man named Bailey.

 This was the start of the partition and upbuilding of the Pelhams.  Albert [sic] Roosevelt bought 250 of the confiscated acres in 1800 at $25 an acre.  In 1850 acres there brought as high as $300.  To-day these acres are not to be had for love nor money.

 Homes of Just a Few

 The Pelhams, as we know them, the living place of prosperous professional and business men, date back not more than a quarter of a century.  R. C. Black, of the firm of Black, Starr & Frost, former Congressman B. L. Fairchild and B. F. Corlies and their families owned practically all of this land.  It had been their summer places.  They decided to surrender part of these great estates to folks who would appreciate the park-like country.  Since the newcomers were to be their neighbors, they saw to it that there would be no reason for regretting inviting folks to Pelham to live.  Restrictive covenants were placed on the land, which will continue forever.  No crowding has been permitted and the social life is the best.

 Can Accommodate Another Seventy-Five

 There is room now for about seventy-five new families in the Pelhams, due to the activities of builders and the various developers.  These houses will be found in Pelham Heights, Pelhamwood, Pelham Manor and Pelham Knolls.  The man who can afford to pay $130 a month or more toward the ownership of a home can very likely be accommodated in Pelham.  The lowest-priced house is $7,500.  Prices range up from that figure to $47,500, which is asked by Harry S. Houpt, automobile dealer, who is erecting twelve houses on Pelham Heights, the cheapest of which is $35,000.

 Real estate men estimate that the building program in the Pelhams has added, or will add, close to 400 homes to the town before the close of the year.  All but seventy-five have been sold.

 Because of the constant pressure for homes in this ideal section it would be well for those who have the home idea in mind to lose no time in looking over the dwellings at Pelham.  You will find the real estate dealers courteous.  They know the country and much about construction details.

 Many Pelhams in Pelham Township

 There are three Pelhams in the town of Pelham -- namely, Pelham Manor, Pelham and North Pelham.  Pelham Manor is the section nearest to the Sound.  It extends from the water north to Colonial Avenue and is the oldest settlement, it being in that section that Thomas Pell built Pelham Manor.

 Then comes Pelham, which extends north to the main line of the New Haven road.  North Pelham, of course, is beyond Pelham.  These sections are localized -- that is, they are sub-divided into small local communities.  For instance, in the Manor are Manor Heights, Pelham Manor Park, Roosevelt Heights, Chestnut Grove, Pelham Knolls, Glen Mitchell and others.

 Pelham has no subdivisions.  It is said to be the smallest village in the state, yet one of the most attractive.  It is estimated that there are not more than a few hundred acres in Pelham village, which flanks the Pelham station to the south.  On the north side of the station is Pelhamwood, which is a subdivision of North Pelham.  Every locality and every section is protected and safe from nuisances and obnoxious looking homes.

 In Pelham Knolls there are twenty-five houses under construction and twenty additional homes are planned.  Those under way are in varied stages of completion.  The builders have placed prices on them ranging from $18,500 to $28,000.  The latter riced homes are of eight and nine rooms with baths, and the lower priced dwellings contain seven rooms.  They are buildings of attractive design and well planned.  They are of stucco and known locally as the Herkimer houses.

 At Least 50 Homes in Pelham Manor

 In the community known as Pelham Manor, which is the oldest of the Pelham settlements, there are now available about fifty dwellings.  They are for the most part, still under construction.  Those which have been completed have largely been taken out of the market by folks from the city.  It is estimated that the building program for Pelham Manor launched last spring will add about two hundred homes to this comfortable home section.

 The lowest priced homes that can be had in the Manor will cost you about $15,000.  It will have six or seven rooms with baths.  Most of the homes are held at $20,000 to $23,000, these being the popular prices.

 Of course there are homes of greater cost, being larger and in locations which represent high land cost.  On Highland Avenue there are five houses completed of a row of nine which the John T. Brooks Company is building there.  They are for sale at $22,000 to $33,000.  Of stucco construction in very taking designs, adaptations of Colonial and old-time architecture, they make a very attractive home group.  Some of them have eight rooms, others nine rooms and some more have ten rooms.  The builders are preparing to erect sixteen additional dwellings on Wolfe's [sic] Lane.  They will likely sell at prices being asked for the Highland Avenue dwellings.

 On Roosevelt Heights, which also is in Pelham Manor and up over the hill from the entrance to the New York Athletic Club's grounds, thirty [dwellings with] every known feature installed.  There are perhaps twelve other homes at Pelham Heights which may be purchased at about $22,000.

 What These Homes Contain

 Hardwood floors are in all these [dwell]ings are [sic] being erected by Van Ness Bros.  Twenty thousand dollars is the lowest price that will take any of these homes.  The highest price is $30,000.  They range in size from seven to nine rooms.

 Harry Houpt has several dwellings on Pelham Heights.  You must be prepared to pay at least $35,000 for these homes.  One of the Houpt houses is held at $47,500.  It is a stucco building of ten rooms and baths and with houses; some of oak, some of maple and others of fine comb yellow pine; open fireplaces; electric fixtures for extensive use in household work as well as for lighting purposes; closets for the storage of clothing and other things; sun parlors; breakfast porch or alcove, with permanent table, benches and scores of other things which will appeal strongly to the womenfolks.

 The conditions on which these homes may be purchased vary.  Some builders are asking 50 per cent in cash, while others will take less.  Talks with real estate folks there leave the impression that there is no need trying to do better than 30 per cent cash and that it is doubtful if there are very many houses which can be had on these terms.

 Land of Sport and Sociability

 There are ample facilities in the section for engaging in every kind of sport.  The Sound is not more than a few miles from any section which may be reached by machine or trolley car.  There folks may swim, row and motor boat to their hearts' content.  There are a number of boat clubs in the section.  The country club in Pelham indeed is a fine institution.  A new golf links has been added to the club, and there are several other golf links in the immediate vicinity, among them being Wykagyl, Gedney Farms, and the public links at Pelham Bay Park just to the west of the Pelhams.  It costs about eleven cents a trip on monthly commutation to get to or come from this attractive gathering of homes."

 Source:  The Pelhams Will Solve Home Problems For 400 Families -- Seventy-five New Houses Awaiting Folks Who Cannot Find Places in the Crowded City; Cost From $7,500 to $47,500 -- Historic Westchester Community Has Many Charming Sections Where Builders Plan Big Season to Meet Demand, New-York Tribune, Apr. 18, 1920, Part II, p. 12, cols. 1-8.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "The Haunted History of Pelham, New York"
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

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posted by Blake A. Bell @ 5:03 AM 0 comments

Thursday, March 22, 2018

The Pelham Post Office Had To Move in 1922


The history of a community's postal facilities typically sheds interesting light on the community's overall history.  The little Town of Pelham is no exception.  Indeed, Historic Pelham has documented a great deal about the establishment and evolution of local postal facilities in the Pelhams.  See, e.g.:

 Fri., Sep. 15, 2017:  Pelhamites Wanted Free Home Mail Delivery in 1909.

 Fri., Dec. 02, 2016:  More on Famed Pelhamville Druggist and Postmaster Seth T. Lyman and the Building he Built.

 Mon., May 16, 2016:  Fatal Fire in 1902 at One Fifth Avenue Burned Down the Post Office and Pharmacy. 

 Thu., Nov. 19, 2015:  Scandal Enveloped Pelham in 1898 as the Postmistress Was Arrested for Embezzlement.

 Wed., Dec. 03, 2014:  Pelham Proposed To Build A Town Hall and Post Office in 1857.  

 Tue., Jul. 8, 2014:  Account of Devastating Fire at One Fifth Avenue in 1902. 

 Wed., Feb. 19, 2014:  Dedication of the Post Office in the Pelham National Bank Building and More About Old Post Offices.

 Tue., Feb. 04, 2014:  Lyman's Pharmacy and Post Office Was Located in the Building That Still Stands at One Fifth Avenue in Pelham. 

 Tue., Jan. 28, 2014:  The Pelham Manor Post Office.

 Tue., Jul. 4, 2006:  Seth T. Lyman, Pelham's Own Medicine Man of the Late 19th Century. 

 Bell, Blake, A., The Lyman Pharmacy Building At One Fifth Avenue in Downtown Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 19, May 7, 2004, p. 12, col. 1.

 From the earliest years of the 20th century until 1922, the Pelham Post Office that served the Village of North Pelham and the Village of Pelham (Pelham Heights) was located in the Lyman Pharmacy Building at One Fifth Avenue, a structure that still stands.  That building was sold in 1922.  Thus, the post office was moved to a building that was constructed by Pelham real estate specialist and builder John T. Brook.  The building no longer stands, but once was located about where today's building at 87 Wolfs Lane stands.

Pelham Post Office in the Lyman Pharmacy Building at One
Fifth Avenue in About 1910.  The Entrance to the Post Office
is the Door on the Far Right of the Building.  NOTE:  Click
on Image to Enlarge.

 In 1922, Seth T. Lyman was still the postmaster of the Pelham Post office located in the Lyman Pharmacy Building at 1 Fifth Avenue.  With the pending sale of that building, plans to move the post office to a new structure nearby -- essentially just across the New Haven Main Line railroad tracks from the Lyman Pharmacy Building -- were put into place.  The only problem was that the new structure was under construction with the possibility that it would not be finished by the November 1, 1922 deadline to leave the old premises.

 Only two months before the November 1 deadline for the move, there was nothing but a vacant lot where the new post office building was planned.  Contractor John T. Brook kicked into overdrive to construct a two-story brick building 25 feet wide by 90 feet long.  By Friday, October 27, 1922, the building consisted only of bare brick walls and "unfloored beams."  

 John T. Brook offered his construction gang "healthy" bonuses to complete the work in time to move the post office into the building the following week.  The construction crew obliged, working virtually around the clock to finish walls and ceilings, plaster everything, and lay tile floors.  By Tuesday, October 31, all the electrical work including electric lights had been installed, plumbing fixtures had been put in place, and partitions had been erected.  The building was completed and ready for occupancy that day.  

 All night overnight the evening of Tuesday, October 31 and into the wee morning hours of Wednesday, November 1, Postmaster Seth T. Lyman supervised the transfer of the "fixtures, etc." from the old building.  Pelhamites never dreamed the work would be completed by November 1, but it was.  Indeed, Pelhamites were surprised on Wednesday morning to see "Business as Usual" in the new Post Office building.  Indeed, the local newspaper reported that:

 "Wednesday morning there were a number of letters mailed in the drop box of the old building, many people being unable to believe that the transfer to the new location had been made so quickly."

 The villages of Pelham and North Pelham had a new post office.  Postal services were conducted out of that building until they moved into the Pelham National Bank building on November 1, 1936.

 *          *          *          *          *

 "Pelham Post Office Moves In On Time
-----
John T. Brook Sets Record In Building New Post Office Building
-----
Rapid Growth of Town Has Increased Postal Business Fifty Percent In the Last Year
-----

 Pelham Post office is now housed in its new building on Fifth avenue and the pessimists who two months ago saw the vacant lot on which the building now stands and shook their heads when it was stated that the new post office had to be completed by November 1st, are silent in astonishment.  John T. Brook, the builder, is smiling, and the construction crew is happy in possession of healthy bonuses which 'John T.' hung up as an incentive to put the building 'across' on time.  And to them all is due credit, for the building on the fifty-foot lot, comprises two stories and fourteen apartments.

 Never was such activity seen before in building circles in the Pelhams.  On Friday the bare brick walls of the interior matched the unfloored beams -- and then the 'gang' went to work.  The store 25 x 90 had to be floored, the front of the store built and glass front put in, the walls and ceilings plastered and finished tiled floor laid, electric lights installed, plumbing fixtures put in place, partitions erected and the place ready by Tuesday.  The old post office had been sold, and the new one had to be ready for occupancy in three days.  Tuesday night, the store was complete.  Postmaster Seth Lyman stayed up all night supervising the transfer of the fixtures, etc., from the old building and Pelhamites were surprised on Wednesday morning to see 'Business as Usual' in the new building with Postmaster Lyman and John T. Brook receiving a host of congratulations for the smart piece of work.  

 Thje post office is now housed in a handsome tapestry brick building of Old English style.  There is a main entrance and a side entrance for postal employees and mail delivery.  In the reaar of the office is a rest room and sanitary accommodations.  The new office is well lighted and aired and is a decided improvement on the old building.  

 The rapid growth of North Pelham and Pelham Heights which are both served from the Fifth avenue post office is shown by the present volume of business which is fifty per cent ahead of the corresponding period of last year.  The staff of the Pelham station, which is a sub-station of the New York post office consists of Superintendent Lyman, two clerks, five carriers and a special delivery boy.  There are five delivery routes, one being added last year.

 Wednesday morning there were a number of letters mailed in the drop box of the old building, many people being unable to believe that the transfer to the new location had been made so quickly.

 The new office is designed according to Governmental standards, and considerable surprise was evinced when John T. Brook announced to postal authorities in New York that the building was ready for occupancy and Superintendent Lyman would conduct the post office business in the new location November 1st.

 'It had to be done,' was Brook's only comment."

 Source:  Pelham Post Office Moves In On Time -- John T. Brook Sets Record In Building New Post Office Building -- Rapid Growth of Town Has Increased Postal Business Fifty Percent In the Last Year, The Pelham Sun, Nov. 3, 1922, Vol. 13, No. 36, p. 1, col. 4.

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posted by Blake A. Bell @ 4:35 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

More on the Early History of the Wolfs Lane Railroad Bridge on the New Haven Line in Pelham


Recently I wrote about the fascinating history of the Wolfs Lane Railroad Overpass long known as the "Fifth Avenue Bridge" that carries the New Haven Main Line tracks over Wolfs Lane adjacent to the Pelham National Bank Building at One Wolfs Lane.  See Friday, October 06, 2017 Early History of the Wolfs Lane Railroad Bridge on the New Haven Line in Pelham.  Additional research now has revealed even more about the earliest efforts to have such a railroad overpass built at that location.  It now seems clear that efforts began in 1882 and ripened into a petition reportedly prepared for submission to the railroad in 1884.  Today's Historic Pelham article will detail the new research.

 The earliest efforts to create a railroad overpass with the roadway running beneath it seem to have begun in about 1882.  A brief report (that will require a little explanation after quoting it) appeared in a local newspaper in 1884 and read as follows:

 "A petition is in circulation, and has already been largely signed, asking that Pelhamdale avenue, where it crosses the New Haven Railroad track at Pelhamville, be cut through under the track at Pelhamville, be cut through under the track.  It is understood that the town of Pelham and the railroad company are to bear an equal share of the expense.  About two years ago, an interview was had with President Watrous, on the subject, and he then promised to use his influence towards accomplishing the object.  The crossing in question is probably one of the most dangerous on the road, as the approach from either side is up a steep grade, and incoming trains cannot be seen until one is upon the track.  This matter of cutting down the hill, so as to run underneath the track, is a subject that should have been considered years ago and it is a marvel that accidents have not been of frequent occurrence."

 Source:  PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 4, 1884, Vol. XV, No. 772, p. 3, col. 5.  

 The above-quoted reference may seem odd to those who read it carefully.  It states that the petition seeks to have PELHAMDALE AVENUE (rather than Wolfs Lane) lowered beneath the New Haven Main Line tracks.  Some may wonder:  is this the Pelhamdale Avenue that we know today -- an avenue that does not cross over or under the tracks but, instead, ends at East 1st Street in Pelham Heights at the railroad tracks adjacent to East 1st Street?

 As noted by Lockwood Barr in his History of Pelham published in 1946, the 1881 Bromley Map of the area seems to provide the answer.  In the early 1880s, Pelhamdale followed a very different path from the path it now follows through Pelham Heights to the railroad tracks.  The neighborhood of Pelham Heights, of course, did not exist in the early 1880s; there were no roadways through the virgin forest in that area including that portion of what we know today as Pelhamdale Avenue that extends across Colonial Avenue and heads straight to the New Haven Main Line tracks.  Instead, in the early 1880s, Pelhamdale Avenue crossed today's Colonial Avenue and immediately made a diagonal turn toward today's Wolfs Lane, cutting across the back section of today's high school property until it reached what we know as Wolfs Lane roughly at Second Street in today's Pelham Heights (near today's Pelham Picture House).  At the time, Pelhamdale Avenue then merged with what we know today as Wolfs Lane.  Thus, the above-quoted reference to the petition in 1882 "asking that Pelhamdale avenue, where it crosses the New Haven Railroad track at Pelhamville, be cut through under the track at Pelhamville" is, indeed, a reference to a cut-through where the roadway was lowered and a railroad overpass actually was built several years later.

 As Lockwood Barr stated:

 "There was no trail or early road across the Town of Pelham, that would correspond to the present Pelhamdale Avenue. When Elbert Roosevelt, in 1800, purchased his tract of 250 acres on the Mainland, opposite Travers Island and Hunter's Island, the northern boundary of his property was evidently an old dirt road--now Pelhamdale Avenue--beginning at the Shore Road, near the present boundary line between New Rochelle and the Village of Pelham Manor, and running north to where is now Hillcrest. When the New Haven Railroad, Harlem Division, opened the Pelham Manor Station in 1873, Pelhamdale was extend.ed from the Shore Road to that Railroad Station, and reached the Boston Post Road soon thereafter, as is shown on maps of The Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association.

 "On the Bromley map of the Town of Pelham, dated 1881, Pelhamdale then crossed Colonial Avenue, diagonally through the back corner of the present High School property, intersecting Wolf Lane near 2nd Street, Village of Pelham, not far from the Pelham Picture House. On this old map that section of the Village of Pelham (now The Heights), between 2nd Street and Colonial, appeared the name "Pelhamdale" while the word "Avenue" was in Pelham Manor. The road was named from the old Philip Pell stone house, called Pelham Dale. When Pelham Heights was developed, after 1890, and the Village of Pelham incorporated in 1896, the diagonal cut was eliminated and Pelhamdale was cut through to the New Haven Main Line Railroad Station."

 Source:  Barr, Lockwood Anderson, A Brief, But Most Complete & True Account of the Settlement of the Ancient Town of Pelham Westchester County, State of New York Known One Time Well & Favourably as the Lordshipp & Manour of Pelham Also The Story of the Three Modern Villages Called The Pelhams, pp. 118-19 (The Dietz Press, Inc. 1946).

 A look at a detail from the 1881 Bromley map certainly confirms the conclusions of Lockwood Barr.  The detail immediately below has been rotated from the original so that due North is at the top of the image.

Detail of 1881 Map of Pelham Showing "Pelhamdal" [sic],
Immediately East of Esplanade, Following a Course of 
Crossing "Old Post Road" (Today's Colonial Avenue) and
Drifting Northeast Across Grounds That Became Today's
Pelham Memorial High School, Then Joining "FIFTH AVE"
At About Where Today's East Second Street Intersects
Wolfs Lane Near the Modern Picture House.
NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

 Clearly the reference published in 1884 to efforts to create a cut under the New Haven Main Line tracks where "Pelhamdale Avenue" intersected the tracks was a reference to the very spot where a modern railroad overpass stands to this day.

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posted by Blake A. Bell @ 5:06 AM 0 comments

Friday, October 13, 2017

The Original Name of a Famous Pelham Roadway Was "Woolf's Lane"


Wolfs Lane extends from today's Boston Post Road to the New Haven Main Line railroad tracks where it becomes Fifth Avenue, the principal commercial stretch within the Village of Pelham.  Pelhamites have debated for years whether the proper name of the road is Wolfs Lane or Wolf's Lane (i.e., with or without an apostrophe).  There is, however, evidence that the original name of the roadway was "Woolf's Lane."  This, of course, would make sense because the pathway that became the roadway extended from today's Boston Post Road to the homestead of early Pelham settler John Anthony Woolf (known in Pelham as "Anthony Wolf").  Woolf was a shoemaker and early Mormon convert who settled his family during the 1830s in a homestead once located on the north side of Third Street between today's Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue long before the area became known as "Pelhamville."  The roadway, of course, is named after John Anthony Woolf.

 There are a few early records that refer to the roadway as "Woolf's Lane."  None of those early records refers to it as either "Wolf's Lane" or "Wolfs Lane."  

 For example, on Monday, December 23, 1872, the Board of Supervisors of Westchester County met in an adjourned meeting of the Board's Annual Session.  One matter before the Board was the Town of Pelham's application to issue bonds to fund the "building, completing and repairing of a road now being constructed in said town, and known as Woolf's Lane, and for the building, completion and repairing a certain road in said town, running from Woolf's Lane to Hutchinson's River. . ."

 The town officers of Pelham had made application to be permitted to borrow $2,000 to build, complete, and repair "Woolf's Lane."  The matter had been referred to the Judiciary Committee of the Board of Supervisors.  Reporting that day on behalf of the Judiciary Committee, Supervisor Odle Close reported that the committee had considered the matter favorably and proposed the following resolution:

 "Resolved, That the Supervisor of the town of Pelham be, and he hereby is authorized, with the consent of the Justices of the Peace, Town Clerk and Commissioners of Highways of said town, to borrow on the credit of said town the sum of $12,000, for the building and completing a highway in said town, known as Woolf's Lane; and also a highway running from Woolf's Lane to Hutchinson's River; and also a bridge across said Hutchingson's [sic] River; that the bonds or obligations to be issued to secure such loan shall be exercised by the Supervisor of said town, and shall be executed by the Supervisor of said town, and shall be each of the denomination of $500, and bear interest, respectively, at the rate of 7 per cent per annum; that the entire principal sum and interest shall be made payable within eleven years from the date of said bonds or obligations, at the East River Savings Institution, and the consent of the Justices of the Peace, Town Clerk and Commissioners of Highways of said town to the issuing thereof, shall be endorsed on said bonds or obligations, and upon each and every of them."

 As the authorized work later was being performed, public records continued to reference the roadway as "Woolf's Lane."  For example, an abstract of the town accounts of various Westchester towns published on the front page of the February 23, 1877 Eastern State Journal of White Plains.  The abstract of accounts audited by the Board of Town Auditors of the Town of Pelham indicated that during 1876, the Town of Pelham appropriated $300 "To build retaining walls on road from Woolf's lane to Hutchinson river."  See Fri., Oct. 23, 2015:  Abstract of the Town Accounts of the Town of Pelham in 1876.

John Anthony Woolf in An Undated Photograph. Caption:
"Born July 31, 1805. Came to Utah Oct. 6, 1847, Edward Hunter
Company. Pres. of Seventies. Bishop's Counselor, Farmer and
Stockraiser." Source: Esshom, Frank, PIONEERS AND PROMINENT
BIOGRAPHIES, p. 96 (Salt Lake City, UT: Utah Pioneers Book Publishing
Co., 1913).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

 I have written about members of the Woolf family and the Woolf Homestead (often referenced in an anglicized fashion in local records as the "Wolf Homestead) on numerous occasions.  See, e.g.:

 Tue., May 09, 2017:  Absolom Woolf, Famed Original Mormon Convert, Born in Pelham in 1832.

 Thu., Aug. 27, 2015:  More About Anthony Wolf of Wolfs Lane Fame Who Built the Wolf Homestead that Once Stood in Pelhamville.

 Wed., Aug. 26, 2015:  Stories About The Old Wolf Homestead in Pelhamville, Told by J. Gardiner Minard.

The Anthony Woolf Homestead that Once Stood in Pelhamville in an
Undated Photograph Courtesy of The Office of The Historian of the 
Town of Pelham.  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

 No one knows how the name of the roadway came to be anglicized to "Wolf's Lane."  Nor is there any indication as to why the roadway since has been referenced in official and unofficial records as "Wolfs Lane" without any apostrophe.  It certainly seems, however, that in its earliest days, when the roadway was still under construction, it was named "Woolf's Lane."

 *          *          *          *          *

 "MONDAY, December 23, 1872.

 Board met pursuant to adjournment. . . . 

 MR. CLOSE, from Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred the application to borrow money upon the credit of the town of Pelham, presented the following report thereon; said report was considered and adopted, two-thirds of all the members of the Board, including the Supervisor of the town of Pelham voting in favor thereof.

 To the Board of Supervisors:

 The Judiciary Committee, to whom was referred the application of the town officers of the town of Pelham, for authority to the Supervisor of said town to borrow the sum of $2,000 for, and upon the credit of said town, for the purpose of building, completing and repairing a road now being constructed in said town, and known as Woolf's Lane, and for the building, completion and repairing a certain road in said town, running from Woolf's Lane to Hutchinson's River, and also for building and completing a bridge across said Hutchinson's River, pursuant to chapter 855 of the Laws of 1869, respectfully report that your committee have had the matter under consideration, and submit for adoption the following resolution:

 Resolved, That the Supervisor of the town of Pelham be, and he hereby is authorized, with the consent of the Justices of the Peace, Town Clerk and Commissioners of Highways of said town, to borrow on the credit of said town the sum of $12,000, for the building and completing a highway in said town, known as Woolf's Lane; and also a highway running from Woolf's Lane to Hutchinson's River; and also a bridge across said Hutchingson's [sic] River; that the bonds or obligations to be issued to secure such loan shall be exercised by the Supervisor of said town, and shall be executed by the Supervisor of said town, and shall be each of the denomination of $500, and bear interest, respectively, at the rate of 7 per cent per annum; that the entire principal sum and interest shall be made payable within eleven years from the date of said bonds or obligations, at the East River Savings Institution, and the consent of the Justices of the Peace, Town Clerk and Commissioners of Highways of said town to the issuing thereof, shall be endorsed on said bonds or obligations, and upon each and every of them.

 All of which is respectfully submitted.

 ODLE CLOSE,                 )
AMHERST WIGHT, Jr.     }     Judiciary
DANIEL HUNT,                }      Committee.
E.G. SUTHERLAND,       ) "

 Source:  ANNUAL SESSION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF WESTCHESTER CO., pp. 363 & 366-67 (Westchester County:  1873).  

 Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

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posted by Blake A. Bell @ 4:53 AM 0 comments