USA > New York > Westchester County > History of Westchester County, New York, from its earliest settlement to the year 1900 > Part 65
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The local water supply systems of the cities and principal villages of Westchester County are entirely independent of the New York City system. To Yonkers belongs the credit of having been the first community to erect waterworks of any dignified character. The Yonkers water board was organized in 1873, the year after the in- corporation of the city, and in 1874 steps were taken which resulted in damming the Sprain and Grassy Sprain Brooks, the building of an extremely creditable system of works, and the distribution of a plentiful supply. Equally commendable enterprise in this particular has been displayed by the other leading communities of the county.
The selection of Peekskill as the locality for the New York State Military Camp was determined on by a military commission, acting in behalf of the State government, in the spring of 1882. The need
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617
FROM 1842 To 1900
of establishing an annual encampment for the national guard had been impressed upon the attention of the authorities for several years, but no definite action had been taken. In March, 1882, Governor Cornell appointed a commission with instructions to make a thorough investigation. Mr. James T. Sutton, a public-spirited citizen of Peek- skill, at once entered into communication with this body, and also procured from the owners of the land on which the State Camp now stands an option of purchase for three years. When the commis- sioners visited Peekskill they at once recognized the unequaled ad- vantages of the site suggested by Mr. Sutton, and on the 30th of May they leased the ground for three years with the privilege of purchase. The place was immediately prepared for occupation, and on the 1st of July the 23d Regiment arrived and inaugurated the camp. In April, 1885, the legislature appropriated $30,000 for the purchase and improvement of the site, and shortly afterward the purchase of the land, consisting of abont a hundred acres, was con- summated. The camp is situated on a plain one hundred feet above the river, amid scenery of great beauty. The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad has a station at Roa Hlook, and during the camping season brings thousands of visitors to the spot.
An interesting event of the year 1882 was the Manor Hall celebra- tion in the City of Yonkers. We have already noticed the purchase of the Philipse Manor House by the municipal authorities in 1868, and its use as the seat of the local government. In 1877, during the mayoralty of the Hon. William A. Gibson, resolutions (offered by Frederic Shonnard) were adopted by the board of aldermen pro- viding for the appointment of a permanent " committee on history and historical relies," among whose members were to be four promi- nent private citizens, and giving to this committee certain respon- sibilities in connection with matters relating to the Manor Hall build- ing and its grounds. This action was instrumental in stimulating interest in the early history of Yonkers, and it was decided to hold a grand celebration of the bicentennial of the founding of the Manor House. The 18th of October, 1882, was selected as the date for the important event. The resulting demonstration was the greatest in the history of Yonkers. The oration was delivered by the Rev. Dr. David Cole.1
In 1883 proceedings were begun on behalf of the City of New York for the acquisition of land for new public parks in the " annexed district," and also in territory at that time still belonging to West- chester County, Up to that year the city had been very deficient in park area, not fewer than five cities in the United States exceeding
1 The Soldiers' Monument In front of Manor Hall was dedicated September 17. 1801.
THE STATE CAMP NEAR PEEKSKILL-PARADE GROUND.
--
619
FROM 18442 TO 1900
her in that respect, and many other small cities almost equaling her. The movement for locating new parks on the north side of the Harlem was started by some public spirited citizens of that see- tion, and on the 19th of April, 1883, the legislature passed an act authorizing the appointment of commissioners to select park lands. The commissioners appointed were Luther R. Marsh, Louis Fitz- gerald, Waldo Hutchins, C. L. Tiffany. George W. MeLean, Thomas J. Crombie, and William W. Niles. As the outcome of their labors, three great and three small parks were laid out, as follows: Pelham Bay Park, 1,756 acres; Van Cortlandt Park, 1,131.35 acres; Bronx Park, 661.60 acres; Crotona Park, 141.65 acres; Claremont Park, 38.05 acres; Saint Mary's Park, 28.70 acres-total, 3,757.35 acres. Van Cortlandt Park was constructed mainly ont of the ancient Van Cort- landt estate of the Lower Yonkers. The city's purchase included the historie mansion terected by Frederick Van Cortlandt in 1748), which was placed in the custody of the Colonial Dames of the State of New York, and by them converted into a historical museum. Van Cortlandt Park is now utilized for military reviews. Bronx Park and Pelham Bay Park are noted for their diversified natural scenery, and whatever improvements may be made in their grounds in the course of time. they will doubtless always retain this distinctive characteristic. Crotona Park, at the intersection of Third and Tre- mont Avenues, is the seat of the fine unmicipal building of the Borough of the Bronx.
No new village was incorporated in Westchester County between 1880 and 1890. The population of the county in 1890 was 146,772, distributed as follows:
TOWNS
POPULATION
Bedford
Part of Katonah Village
378
Mount Kiseo "
632
Cortlandt
15,13!
9,676
Verplanek
1,515
Eastehester
15.442
Mount Vernon Village
10,830
Greenburgh
11,613
Dobbs Ferry Village
2,083
llastings
1,466
Irvington
2,299
Tarrytown
3,562
Part of
White Plains
223
Harrison .
1,185
Lewishoro.
1,117
Part of Katonah Village
146
Mamaroneck
2,385
3,291
Peekskill Village
620
HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY
TOWNS
POPULATION
Mount Pleasant
5,847
North Tarrytown Village
3,179
New Castle
2,110
Chappaqua Village
733
Part of
Mount Kisco "
463
New Rochelle
9,057
New Rochelle Village
8,217
North Castle
1,475
North Salem
1,730
Ossining
10,058
Sing Sing Village
9,352
l'elham .
3,941
City Island
1,206
Poundridge
830
Rye
9,477
Port Chester Village
5,274
Scarsdale
633
Somers
1,897
Westchester.
10,029
Williams's Bridge Village
1,685
White Plains.
4,508
Part of White Plains Village
3,819
Yonkers City.
32,033
Yorktown.
2,378
Total
146,772
The old Westchester County Towns of Morrisania, West Farms, and Kingsbridge, annexed to New York City in 1874, had a population in 1890 of 74,085 according to the federal census, and of 81,255 ae- cording to the police enumeration.
In 1892 a State census was taken, which gave Westchester County a total of 147,830, and the three annexed towns a total of 86,757. Local enumerations in the cities and villages of the county were made in 1898, whose results will be included at the end of this chapter.
The incorporation of the City of Mount Vernon was effected by a legislative act passed March 12. 1892. At the first city election, held in the succeeding May, Dr. Edward F. Brush was chosen mayor.1 By the organization of the city the old Town of Eastchester was dis- membered-in fact, divided into two remotely separated parts, with Mount Vernon lying betwixt them. The lower part of Eastchester Town has since been annexed to New York City. The development of Mount Vernon in all municipal regards has been extremely rapid and most creditable during the eight years of its existence as a city. There is no doubt that its population has more than doubled since its incor- poration.
1 Mayor Brush served for one term. ITe was succeeded by Edson Lewis, who served from 1894 to 1896. The present mayor (August, 1900)
is Edwin W. Fiske, who was first elected in 1896, and re-elected in 1898 and 1900.
621
FROM 1842 TO 1900
In 1892 the City of Yonkers still retained the primitive system of milldams which in early times had been constructed to furnish water-power to the local industries. These dams, forming stagnant ponds in the Nepperhan River, which in the summer season were quite pestilential, had come to be regarded by the general public as a nuisance; yet the city officials had been loath to assume the respon- sibility of summarily removing them. To the administration of Mayor James H. Weller (1892-94) belongs the honor of instituting the necessary proceedings and accomplishing the wholesome work. Mayor Weller, finding it impossible to deal otherwise with the prob- Jem than summarily, and believing the dams to be a publie nuisance which should be abated by arbitrary methods in the absence of other remedy, caused them to be torn down. It was a courageons act, similar to the one of the citizens of Westchester in forcing open Macomb's Dam in 1838. In the legal processes that resulted the mayor and city goveru- ment were fully sustained by the courts.
In 1895 (June 1) the ser- ond and (up to the present time) last annexation of Westchester County terri- tory to New York City was made. This important an- nexation was accomplished mainly at the instance of citizens of the Town of Westchester, who felt that the time had arrived when their section ought to be CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW. brought within the city limits and enjoy a measure of attention corresponding to that given to the districts west of the Bronx River. In addition to the whole of Westchester Town, parts of Eastchester and Pelham (in- cluding City Island) wore embraced in the annexation art of 1895- " all that territory to quote the words of the act) comprised within the limits of the Towns of Westchester, Eastchester, and Pelham which has not been annexed to the City and County of New York at the time of the passage of this act, which les southerly of a
622
HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY
straight line drawn from the point where the northerly line of the City of New York meets the center line of the Bronx River, to the middle of the channel between Hunter's and Glen Islands, in Long Island Sound, and all that territory lying within the incorporated limits of the Village of Wakefield, which lies northerly of said line, with the inhabitants and estates therein."
The additional territory thus severed from the County of West- chester and given to the City of New York comprehended about 14,500 acres, in which were some forty-five villages, islands, and other defi- nitely named localities. The annexation included the sites of four of the most ancient settlements of our county-Pelham Neck, West- chester, Cornell's Neck (Clason's Point), and Eastchester.
The annexation of June 1, 1895, was really incidental to the "Greater New York " project, which, although not yet brought to its fruition, had passed the stage of agitation and seemed reasonably certain to be soon carried to a successful issue. The popular refer- endum on the Greater New York proposition occurred November 6, 1894, the annexation question being submitted not only to the peo- ple of Westchester, Eastchester, and Pelham Village, but also to those of the City of Mount Vernon. In these several localities the vote on the question of consolidation with New York City stood: Mount Vernon, 873 for and 1,603 against; Eastchester, 374 for and 260 against; Westchester, 620 for and 621 against; Pelham Village, 251 for and 153 against. The large adverse majority in Mount Vernon caused the advocates of the Greater New York programme to omit that city from their calculations; but notwithstanding a majority of one against consolidation in Westchester Town, there was no hesi- tation in preparing to annex the other three localities interested. The present City of New York, with its five Boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, Richmond, Brooklyn, and Queens, came into official ex- istence on the 1st of January, 1898.
In noticing the changed conditions which were brought to pass in the former Towns of Morrisania, West Farms, and Kingsbridge after their annexation to the city in 1874. it has been observed that for many years their progress was not what had been hoped for by the more sanguine promoters of the change. This comparatively un- satisfactory state of things was felt to be largely due to neglect of their local interests by the general city authorities. It finally be- came the firm conviction of the public spirited citizens of the " North Side " that the special concerns of their section ought to be under the care of a separate department of the city government organized and administered with exclusive reference to North Side circum- stances and needs. In 1887 a movement. was begun by property-
623
FROM 1842 To 1900
owners' associations in behalf of such a reform, and in 1889 a bill was submitted to the legislature which provided for the creation of " a department of street improvements of the 23d and 24th wards of the City of New York." This measure did not pass, but the State senate appointed a committee to make an investigation and report as to the necessity of the proposed department. The reasons in favor of the plan were ascertained to be so strong that in 1890 a law was enacted creating the new department, which was to be under the direction of a commissioner elected by the people of the two wards. The art took effect on the 1st of January, 1891, the first incum- bent of the position being Louis J. Heintz. He died in 1893, and
THE POE COTTAGE, FORDHAM.
was succeeded by Louis F. Haffen. With the inauguration of the department of public improvements a new order of things obtained in the North Side, and it presently began to be realized that the so- styled " annexed district " was something more than an outlying locality, and was in process of rapid transformation into an integral part of the metropolis. When it is considered that the portion of the present Borough of the Bronx west of the Bronx River nearly equals Manhattan Island in arra, while the portion cast of that stream exceeds it, the difficulty of the problems to be dealt with in building up the city on the North Side will be readily appreciated. With regard to the district annexed in 1876, these problems have
624
HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY
already been largely solved, and the outcome arrived at, viewed in its grand proportions, is not merely impressive from the circum- stance of the material results accomplished, but is peculiarly satis- fying in its esthetic aspects. New York City above the Harlem has been laid out with pre-eminent good taste, and the greater public works in that quarter have been characterized by breadth and gen- erosity of conception and alacrity and thoroughness of execution. One of the most valuable improvements of the last ten years, ap- parent to anybody who makes a trip out of the city over the Harlem road, is the depression of the tracks of that railway, so that from the Harlem River to above Bedford Park it nowhere crosses a public thoroughfare at grade. Magnificent avenues and parkways have been opened, and there is now in process of coustruction a grand con- course and boulevard which, when completed, will be the finest drive- way in the world.
The most conspicuous public improvement connected with the his- tory of the North Side is the Harlem Ship Canal, opened to commerce on the 17th of June, 1895. After the tearing down of Macomb's Dam by Lewis G. Morris and his companions in 1838, there was no renewed attempt by private persons to obstruct the navigation of the Harlem River. Attention was given at various times to the question of dredging a navigable waterway through to the Hudson River, sur- vers were made, and two Harlem Ship Canal companies, organized by private capitalists, were incorporated. It was finally deemed ex- pedient to undertake the work as a public enterprise, and the matter was brought to the attention of congress, which in 1874 ordered a government survey and in 1875 made the first appropriation. The work was planned by General John Newton, best remembered for his connection with the clearing of the Hellgate channel. It was carried to completion under the direction of Lieutenant-Colonel George L. Gillespie, of the United States army. At the time of the opening of the canal, in 1895, 550,000 tons of rock had been removed, 162,000 cubic yards of earth excavated, 1,000,000 cubic yards of earth and mud dredged, 5,000 cubic yards of retaining walls built, and 2,000,000 tons of dynamite exploded. The canal follows the course of the Harlem River to near Kingsbridge, where it leaves the natural waterway and passes through an open out in the " Dyckman Meadows" to its junction with Spuyten Duyvil Creek. Additional improvements have been prosecuted since 1895.
Much of the credit for the great progress made during the last decade in the portion of New York City annexed from Westchester County is due to the North Side Board of Trade, an organization in- corporated in 1894 for the purposes of " diffusing information as to
625
FROM 1812 TO 1900
the many advantages of the section as a business and commercial center, as well as a district of homes; of attracting capital, manu- facturing interests, and desirable residents; of promoting the devel- opment and patronage of local business enterprise; of advancing public improvements; and of encouraging public spirit and a local community feeling."
At the first election under the Greater New York charter, hell in 1897. Mr. Louis F. Haffen, the former efficient commissioner of the department of street improvements, was chosen president of the Borough of the Bronx. The following striking facts of progress in the Borough of the Bronx are taken from a recent statement by Mr. James L. Wells :
" The fact should be realized that in point of population the 23d and 24th wards constitute the fourth largest city in the State, leav- ing New York out, of course, and that, with the rapid transit road to aid in development, it will be but a very few years until that section will rank second in population to the aggregation of humanity on Manhattan Island.
" If the increase of population continues proportionately in only the same ratio as in the recent past, the population of that section of the city above the Harlem River should in 1910 be 330,000, in 1920 should be 660,000, and in 1930 may reasonably be expected to be 1,300,000; and that this growth will be attained when the proposed rapid transit road is constructed is beyond question. And it need not be feared that there is not territory enough for such a large popu- lation. With the newly annexed territory the portion of the city above the Harlem River is double the size of that below, and if you can put two millions on Manhattan Island, there is surely ample room for a million and a half in twice as much space.
" In 1874, when the original 23d and 24th wards were annexed to New York, the total assessed value of the property was about $23,- 000,000. The total assessed value for the year 1896 was $$6, 105,405. The first large inercase after 1874 was in 1890, when the valuation' went up to $44,000,000; but from 1890 to 1897 it ran up to $96,000,000 -more than doubling in seven years with the improved transpor- tation facilities, while it required sixteen years for doubling prior to the creation of such facilities. In ten years, when the rapid transit road is built, the assessed value of the property in the city limits north of the Harlem River will be $200,000,000."
In Westchester County proper there has been a steady and quite uniform development during the last decade. The most noticeable feature of this growth is, of course, the advance in population in Yonkers, Mount Vernon, Pelham, and New Rochelle, along the New
626
HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY
York City line-an inevitable concomitant of the great strides made in the annexed territory. A potent factor of the general improve- ment in this section has been the introduction of trolley roads, afford- ing quick transit and a practically universal " transfer " system. In 1894 the elevated railway established a uniform fare of tive cents from the Battery to the end of its suburban line at Tremont. This produced a vast increase in the trans-Harlem traffic: in 1893, while the ten-eent fare still prevailed, the suburban branch of the elevated road carried 5,867,848 passengers, but in 1897, after a brief trial of the five-cent rate, the number had increased to 11,145,134. Mean-
YONKERS HIGH SCHOOL.
time electric cars were being substituted for horse cars throughont the annexed territory, and also in Yonkers, Mount Vernon, and Now Rochelle. In 1899 the cnbmination was reached by establishing a single tive-cent fare from Yonkers to New Rochelle by way of Mount Vernon, and from all these places to the Harlem River; and in ad. dition the elevated railway instituted a transfer arrangement by which trolley passengers were carried to the Battery, or elevated passengers to Mount Vernon, Yonkers, and New Rochelle, for a total of eight cents. This remarkable cheapening of fare for the long ride is but an incident of general concessions to the public which leave
d
627
FROM 1842 TO 1900
nothing to be desired except improvements in the service common- surate to the enormous growth in the trolley traffic.
The trolley is likewise exercising a peculiar developing influence in the Hudson River municipalities, where the steepness of the ascent from the railway and from the village centers to many of the resi- dence localities has always been a hindrance to diversified progress. Two trolley routes now cross the county: one from Yonkers through Mount Vernon to New Rochelle, the other from Tarrytown through White Plains to Mamaroneck.
Nine new villages have been incorporated during the present decade: Pelham Manor and Larchmont in 1891, Mamaroneck in 1895, Pelham, North Pelham, and Ardsley in 1896, Pleasantville in 1897, and Bronxville and Croton in 1898.
This volume is issued before the appearance of the census returns of 1900 for Westchester County proper. 1 In 1898, however, local Phu- merations were made in the villages of the county, with the following results in the incorporated places : ?
VILLAGES
POPULATION
New Rochelle (Town of New Rochelle)
12,297
Peekskill (Town of Cortlandt).
9,496
Sing Sing ( Town of Ossining) 8,160
White Plains (Town of White Plains)
7.303
Port Chester (Town of Rye)
7,257
Tarrytown (Town of Greenburgh)
4,671
North Tarrytown (Town of Mount Pleasant ) .
1,011
Mamaroneck (Towns of Mamaroneck and Rye).
3,729
Dobbs Ferry (Town of Greenburgh)
2.840
Irvington (Town of Greenburgh) 2,013
1,712
Mount Kisco (Towns of Bedford and New Castle) .
1,371
Croton (Town of Cortlandt).
1.211
Pleasantville (Town of Mount Pleasant ).
1,181
Larchmont (Town of Mamaroneck).
711
North Pelham (Town of Pelham)
027
Pelham Manor (Town of Pelham)
136
Bronxville (Town of Eastchester)
391
Ardsley (Town of Greenburgh)
372
Pelham (Town of Pelham) ...
112
In the same year the estimated populations of the Cities of Yonkers and Mount Vernon were, respectively, 40,000 and 23,900. Thus the total urban population of the county in 1898, contained in two cities and twenty incorporated villages, was about 133,000.
New Rochelle was incorporated as a city by an act of the legislature of 1899, which received the governor's signature on the 24th day of March. The first city election was held April 25, 1899, resulting in the election of Michael J. Dillon ( Democrat) as mayor, the other city
' The population of the Borough of the : From Smith's Manual of Westchester County, 152.
Bronx for 1900 (official) Is 200,307.
Hastings (Town of Greenburgh).
628
HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY
officers chosen being : treasurer, J. Arthur Huntington; police justice, John A. Van Zelin; assessors, Augustine Smith. P. B. Brady, and I1. W. Tassler; aldermen at large, Henry C. Kuchler, Jacob Hollweg's, John Stephenson, John Kress, and Frank Holler; aldermen. William Il. Neilson, Robert C. Archer, John Grab, Ulric X. Griffen, H. A. Siebrecht, Sr., and Peter Cunneen; supervisors, George H. Crawford, Jacob R. Wilkins, and Peter Doern. The city government was or- ganized on the 28th of April following.
630
GENERAL INDEX
Bronx. Borongh of the. 2. 89, 95, 603. 623. 625. 627: see also Fordham Manor, Kingsbridge. Morrisania, Westchester, and West Farms.
Bronx Kills, 4. Bronxland. 87, 142, 150.
Bronx Park. G19.
Bronx River, 5. 11. 89. 373, 388, 389, 50G, 549. 550, 551. 553. 562. 567.
Bronx River Pipe Line. II. 548, G14.
Bronxville incorporated village), 590, 657.
Bndd, John, of Rye, 124.
Bndd's Neck, 124,
Burgoyne's expedition. 433. Burr, Aaron, 419, 446. 549.
Byram Lake, 13.
Byram Point, 2.
Byram River, 11, 124, 200, 450.
Carleton, Sir Guy, 518, 522.
Castle Philipse, 160, 162, 530.
Vanldwell. William, 602, 60S.
Cedar Tree Brook, 115. 129, 141.
Chappagna. 16, 518, 591, 607. 620.
Chappaqua Hills, 7.
Chatterton's Hilf. 388, 380, 293. 395, 506, 550.
Whenowith, Alexander 1 .. 21. 42, 51.
Chevaux de frise at Furt Washington, 351. 361. 373.
Christiansen, Henry. 59.
Vity Island. 6. 174, 352, 532. 620, 621.
(lason's Point. 5.
"('lerment," The, 538.
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