History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. I, Part 135

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898, ed
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co.
Number of Pages: 1354

USA > New York > Westchester County > History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. I > Part 135

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Of the New York State Militia, mustered into the United States service for periods of three months or more, there are :

Henry Dietz, I. J. Post and E. F. Terhune, 71st ; N. J. Sauds, 15th ; C. Il. Kniffen, 15th; William Morrison, 15th ; George E. Jardine, 37th Regiments.

Cromwell Post, No. 466, of White Plains .- This post was organized March 19, 1884, by Comrade James H. Jenkins, of Farnsworth Post.

The charter members were Valentine M. Hodgson, Edward B. Long, John C. Verplanck, George W. Brown, Edward W. Bogart, Henry I. Williams, Berlin K. Palmer, David P. Barnes, George W. Coventry, James S. Snedeker, Richard Roach, Charles Whiston and George Lewis.

Valentine M. Hodgson was Commander for 1884, and the officers for 1885 werc Commander, Edward B. Long; S. V. C., Crawford N. Smithi; J. V. C., George W. Coventry ; Surgeon, David P. Barncss ; Chaplain, David W. Bogart; Officer of Day, George W. Brown ; Officer of Guard, Henry J. Williams ; Adjutant, Edward W. Bogart; Q. M., Berlin H. Pahner ; Q. M. S., James McCarty.

The following is a list of the members, with their military history in brief :

Valentine M. Hodgson, first lieutenant, 67th N. Y .; Edward I. Long, Ist N. J. : John C. Verplanck, innsiciau, 320 N. Y .; George W.

Brown, 53d Ky .; James S. Snedeker, landsman, gunboat "Hybisens;" Berlin 11. Palmer, 51st N. Y .; Edward W. Bogart, 95th N. Y .; David P. Barnes, first sergeant, 6th N. Y. Il. Art .; R. Roach and 11. 1. Williams, 6th N. Y. II. Art .; George W. Coventry, 40th N. Y .; Charles B. Whiston, 27th N. Y .; Robinson W. Smith, 76th N. V .: Sidney Martine, 32d N. Y .; James Il. Budway, 38th N. Y .; Daniel W. Flandrow, 95th N. V .; Daniel W. Bogart, drummer, 95th N. Y .; James A. Mel'arty, 4th N. Y .; George 11. Morse, 29th Mass .; Oscar Stephens, 5th N. Y .; Crawford N. Smith, 3d D. S. Inf .; Thomas Rush, 164th N. Y .; Henry A. Maynard, 21st N. Y .; John Lowry, 3d Regt. Prov. N. Y. Cav .; John Simmons, 49th N. Y .; Alexander Jones, 128th N. Y .; Benjamin S. Dick, 221 N. V. S. M .; Mervin Sniflin, 6th N. V. II. Art .; 1. O. Spencer, yeoman, U. S. S., "Katah- din ; " Stanley F. Newell, 37th N. Y.

Ward B. Burnett Post, No. 496, of Tarrytown .- This post was organized Jnly 1, 1884, W. C. Reddy, of l'ost Rice, New York City, being the mustering officer.

Charles N. MeCutchen, late of Vosburgh Post, Peekskill, was the organizer and first Commander of this post for 1884, and was succeeded by C. J. Car- penter, who is the present Commander.

The charter members were :

Richard B. Coutant, Charles N. Mccutchen, Henry White, J. C. Jones, Louis Ilelwig, Thomas Arthur, Charles Ilumphreys, Joseph S. M. Slagle, J. J. Linson, Alexander Hamilton, Jacob Van Tassell, Harry J. Parnell, C. T. Carpenter, E. T. Vocom, Thomas Rawcliffe, William Covert, Bishop Armstrong, William C, Cushing, Jacob Wood, Henry Humphreys, George B. Cypher and James D. Sce.

Since organization of the post the following mcm- bers have been mustered in: Thomas Birdsall, Thomas Taxter, Sylvester Gesner, B. Frank Davis and Elias Bryant.

The list sent by the Commander of the post did not give the regiments of the members in full.

B. F. Davis and C. J. Carpenter belonged to the Seventh and Eighth Regiments of New York Militia, respectively, and served for three and six months.

The post, in succeeding one that had succumbed, after a struggle of several years, has probably but a short existence before it.

Of the charter members several scem to have joined by transfer from other posts.

C. Theodore Carpenter, Commander ;'Edward S. Yocom, Senior Vice- commauder ; Thomas Rawcliff, Junior Vice-Commander ; William E. Cushing, Adjutant ; Bishop Armstrong, Quartermaster ; Thomas Birdsall, Chaplain; Jacob W. Wood, Officer of Day ; Henry Humphrey, Officer of Guard.

Horatio Seymour Post, No. 590, of Yonkers .- This post was mustered in at Yonkers on Tuesday, June 29, 1886, by Comrade John C. Shotts, of Kitching Post, with the following membership :

Commander : Frederic Shonnard, major, 6th N. Y. II. A .; Senior Vice- Comunauder : Fisher A. Baker, lieutenant-colonel, 18th Mass. Vol .; Ju- nior Vice-Commander : Edward J. Maxwell, first lieutenant, 630 N. Y. Vol .; Surgeon : Dr. Galusha B. Balch, assistant surgeon, 2d N. V. Vet. Cav .; Chaplain : John Forsyth ; Officer of the Day : James V. Lawrence ; brevet-major, Gen. statt ; Officer of the Guard : Augustus W. Nichol ; Quartermaster : William Welsh, captain, 68th N. Y. Vol. (by proxy of Comrade Matt. Ellis, formerly of Kitching Post) ; Adjutant : James F. Farrell, captain, 5th N. Y. Art .; Sergeant-Major: George W. Farmum, corporal, 23d Conn. Vol .; Quartermaster-Sergeant: Thos. Ewing, brevet major-general, Army of the Frontier.

Frederick "Whittaker

+ Wounded.

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HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

CHAPTER X.

WESTCHESTER COUNTY AT THE PRESENT DAY.

BY J. THOMAS SCHARF, A.M., LL.D.

ONE has but to glance at any good map of New York City to realize what must with almost absolute certainty be the rare good fortune of Westchester County. The great metropolis has already stretched its briarean arms in all directions from its northern limits, and its geographical necessities compel it to spread outward like a fan over the surface of West- chester County. Its present corporate shape may be compared to the Cleopatra's needle, which now forms oue of its notable monuments. The city is, in fact, a rude obelisk, with its base on the boundary line of Yonkers and its apex at the Battery. The general uniformity of the outline is preserved on the one side by the East River and on the other side, and much more regularly, by the Hudson. These great water highways necessarily interpose a formidable obstacle to the spread of population in either direction, and although the introduction of steam ferriage and the construction of the Brooklyn bridge have modified the inconveniences of transit across broad rivers, the gen- eral trend of population continues to the northward. Elevated railroads and the development of transpor- tation facilities have brought all portions of the county within easy reach, and New York is steadily absorbing the outlying territory. Morrisania and Fordham have already been appropriated, and, with the accelerated ratio of increasing population, the day is probably not far distant when almost the entire county will have become little more than a suburb of New York.

A writer of twenty years ago,1 speaking of the con- templated iuiprovements beyond the then northern boundaries of the city, says : " Assuredly this region will be the site of the future magnificence of this me- tropolis. During the coming five or ten years the Fifth Avenue will no doubt be soonest built up, and built up grandly, but the city will not stop on that account ; it will be succeeded by an age of imperial magnificence. That will be the day for the now ne- glected west side of the island. The poetical prophecy,

' Westward the star of empire takes its way,'

and which is fast becoming historical truth, will re- ceive another illustration." Much of this prediction has already been realized and a comparatively brief period in the future may be expected to work a won- derful transformation in the physiognomy of those portions of Westchester County which as yet have not assumed the distinctively urban character.

While the people of Westchester may felicitate themselves on the added prosperity and increase in

values of property which the change will involve, they will have to deplore the inevitable loss in picturesque- ness, beauty and variety of interest which the county now presents to the eye in such eminent degree. Cities are ruthless destroyers of rural scenery. They fill up the bosky dells, demolish the picturesque crag and towering hill, mow down the lordly giants of the forest and annihilate the general aspect of rural love- liness and peace. The least sentimental of land- owners must regret the inflow of urban population, when, as in Westchester, it involves the destruction of as lovely bits of landscape as the eye of man ever rested on. Traversed by picturesque ridges and romantic streams, with the blue expanse of Long Island Sound on the one side and the lordly Hudson on the other, the county is exceptionally favored by nature, aud there is no strip of territory of equal extent in the whole country which combines in the same degree advantages of location and beauty of sur- face with the artificial adornmeuts wrought in the lapse of many generations by intelligent direction and skill.

While the bolder beauties of the Hudson are not comprised within its limits, its territory adjacent to the borders of that classic stream has long been a favorite theme for song and story. Cooper, Paulding and Irving have drawn a rich store of literary mate- rial from within its confines, and the bold, original genius of Poe found much of its inspiration while the poet was roaming along the banks of the river or gazing from the windows of his little cottage at Ford- ham.

The development along the shore of the Hudson is a striking indication of what may be anticipated for the whole of Westchester County. "The whole re- gion of country bordering the Hudson River, north of Spuyten Duyvel," says a writer,2 " was, until within a very recent period, occupied by isolated residences and grand estates, some of them embracing several thousand acres. Notable examples were the Philipse and Livingston Manors, the titles to which came di- rectly from the crown. Gradually these extensive tracts were sub-divided, leaving still, however, large areas in the possession of single individuals. Many of these smaller estates have undergone a process of improvement and embellishment, until the lordly mansions on the Hudson have become fanied on both sides of the Atlantic for their beauty and picturesque surroundings. . . Art has done its share to add to the charms of the landscape. Here are the resi- dences of many leading New Yorkers,-elegant, com- fortable homes, surrounded with tastefully ornament- ed grounds, and presentiug all the evidences of that domestic enjoyment which is, after all, the sun of human happiness."

Following the course of the Hudson within the boundaries of Westchester County, we pass in succes-

1 The Growth of New York, New York, 1865, p. 42.

2 Description and Map of Castle Ridge, Tarrytown.

517

WESTCHESTER COUNTY AT THE PRESENT DAY.

sion through many noted localities. The first point of interest is High Bridge, now within the corporate limits of New York, which carries the waters of the Croton Reservoir across the valley of the Harlem River at an elevation of one hundred feet, and is one of the noted engineering triumphs of the world.

The hamlet of King's Bridge is charmingly located in a beautiful valley, near the point where the Harlem flows into the Hudson. High, rolling hills encom- pass it, on the crests of which are fortifications and fine growths of timber .. The locality was first selected by the Dutch as the site of their projected city, New Amsterdam, but afterwards abandoned.

After leaving King's Bridge we approach the city of Yonkers, the largest town in the county, pausing by the way to take a glance at Fort Washington and the Spuyten Duyvel. From Manhattanville to Fort Washington, two miles below Spuyten Duyvel, the shore line presents a fine range of heights, once hand-

Westchester County proper begins at the Spuyten Duyvel. The scenery in the immediate vicinity is very fine. At Riverdale Station, on the Hudson River Railroad (the first station beyond the Spnyten Duyvel), asplendid view is had of the Hudson, with the villas clustered along the eastern bank and the Palisades showing their perpendicular fronts against the swelling outlines of the Ramapo Range. The city of Yonkers is seen in the distance, and ucar at hand are the convent of Mount St. Vincent and the castle- like mansion (belonging to the convent) which was formerly the property of Edwin Forrest, the tragedian.

The scenery in the immediate neighborhood is made up of undulating hills, sloping gently to the river's range, with innumerable mansions and cottages em- bowcred in trees. The settlement of Riverdale is unique in its way, being a group of handsome resi- dences, the effect of which is unbroken by meancr dwellings or business houscs.

VIEW OF FORT WASHINGTON, 1886.1

somely wooded. The mounds of the old fort mark a spot which was famous in Revolutionary annals. The loss of this important post, followed, as it was, shortly afterward by the fall of Fort Lee, on the opposite bank of the Hudson, was a disastrous blow to the American cause and spread consternation and gloom throughout the colonies. Washington Heights, which crown the ridge near the site of Fort Washington, are the site of many fine residences.

The Spuyten Duyvel, it is said, derives its name from a legendary anecdote narrated by Washington Irving, who ascribes the performance from which it arose to Anthony Van Corlaer, trumpeter to the doughty Governor Stuyvesant. The original legend asserts that a valiant Dutchman, obstinately bent on crossing the stream in a storm, attempted to swim across " en spyt den duyvel " (in spite of the devil), but midway sank and was seen no more.

1 From " Hudson River Illustrated." Copyright, 1875. By D. Apple- tou & Co.

The approach to the city of Yonkers is extremely interesting and picturesque. Handsome knolls and ranges of hills line the edge of the valley, and, on a fine eminence, is the large stone mansion of the Van Cortlandts, the road to which lies through the wooded range known as "Cortlandt's Ridge." It passes over a deep ravinc, through which flows a sparkling brook, and is lined by masses of jagged rock. In front of the mansion a handsome view is obtained of the valley of Yonkers, and at the foot of the hill flows Tippet's Brook. On the west side of the ridge is a charming view of the Hudson River, the Palisades and adjacent hills. The ancient residence of the Cortlandt family stands in the valley below, about a mile from King's Bridge. A portion of the estate has been laid out as a park.

Yonkers, seventeen miles from the City Hall of New York, is doubly interesting from its historical associations and its size and importance as the prin- cipal town in the county. As the seat of the Philipse

518

HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

Manor it was formerly known as Philipsburgh. The old Philipse manor-house is one of the landmarks on the river. In the immediate vieinity are many pala- tial residences, ineluding "Greystone," the residenee of Hon. Samuel J. Tilden. For many years Yonkers was an easy-going Dutch village, but after the open- ing of the Hudson River Railroad it sprang into sud- den life and activity and soon became a flourishing suburb of the metropolis. It is now one of the hand- somest eitics in the country.

Hastings, the first village above Yonkers, is the spot where Cornwallis, after the fall of Fort Washington, crossed the river to attack Fort Lee. About a mile further on is Dobbs Ferry, near which was fought the

the river, embowered in a dense growth of shrubbery. It is of stone, with many gables, the eastern side being elothed with ivy from slips presented to Irving by Sir Walter Scott at Abbotsford. The original structure was the " Woolfert's Roost," which gives its title to one of Irving's sketches. On the opposite bank is Tappan, memorable as the scene of the mas- saere of Baylor's regiment by the British under General Grey, and from the faet that about a mile from the town Major Andre, the victim of Arnold's treachery, was executed and buried.

Tarrytown, about a mile beyond Tappan and on the eastern side of the river, was the scene of Andre's capture. Here was erected a monument in honor of

.......

....

THE CITY OF YONKERS.1

battle of White Plains in October, 1776. The Living- ston manor-house, near by, was the headquarters of Washington and also the spot where the conference was held in 1783, between George Clinton and Sir Guy Carleton, the British commander, with reference to the evacuation of New York City. At Dobbs Ferry the Hudson widens into a bay which is known as the Tappan Zee.

Irvington, in the immediate vieinity of Dobbs Ferry, derives its name from Washington Irving, whose former residence, "Sunnyside," is one of the chief points of retreat on the river. It stands near

Van Wart, who was one of the three American mili- tiamen who seized the unfortunate young officer. Here also is the famous old Dutch Church, heavy with the marks of more than two centuries, and Sleepy Hollow, deseribed by Irving in his well-known legend narrating the luckless courtship of Ichabod Crane. The neighborhood is rich in interesting associations growing out of the residence here for many years of Washington Irving and members of his household; and the romantic beauty of the surroundings fully fortifies the deep and strong affeetion which Irving contracted for his riverside cottage and the adjacent neighborhood. Tarrytown is now a charming sub- urban locality, its hills affording handsome sites for many beautiful villas surrounded by well-kept gardens

1 From " Hudson River Illustrated." Copyright, 1875. By D. Apple- ton & Co.

519

WESTCHESTER COUNTY AT THE PRESENT DAY.

and lawus. Nearly opposite Tarrytown the Palisades form a lofty cliff, near the shore, ealled Point-110- Point, and the scenery on both banks of the river in the immediate neighborhood is indescribably beautiful.

Sing Sing, noted as the site of one of the State Prisons, is the next town on the eastern bank of the river. The surrounding seenery is picturesque. About a mile to the east of the town are the Chappaqua Springs. On the west side of the river are Grassy Point and Stony Point, with Forts Clinton and Mont- gomery, both noted strongholds in the Revolutionary War. About two miles above Sing Sing is the source of the Croton River, which furnishes the water supply for New York City. It is conveyed by an aqueduet forty miles long, with sixteen tunnels and forty-four bridges. Croton Point, four miles above Sing Sing, is a tongue of land projecting into the river and covered with vineyards and orchards. It separates Tappan Zee from Haverstraw Bay. At its extremity a noble view of the river is obtained. Some distance below is Point-no-Point and in the opposite direction the Highlands loom into view. The upper end of Haverstraw Bay is marked by Stony Point on the west and Verplanck's Point on the east. Verplanck's Point was also the site of a fort in the Revolutionary period. The view from this spot is exceedingly beau- tiful, commanding the passage through the Highlands at West Point. Nearly opposite is Gibraltar or Caldwell's Landing, which marks the commencement of the Highlands.

"By wooded binff we steal, by leaning lawn ; By palace, village, cot, a sweet surprise Al every turu the vision breaks upon ; Till to our wondering and uplifted eyes The highland rocks and hills in solemn grandeur rise. "

It was here that the search was made many years ago for sunken treasure supposed to have been deposited by the noted buccaneer and freebooter, Captain Kidd.

Beyond Verplanck's Point, on the east bank, is Peekskill, forty-three miles from New York. It stands upon a broad bay, at the month of a ereek, and looks ont upon the Dunderberg or Thunder Mountain. It is historically noted as the place where Edward Pal- mer, a British spy, was executed by order of General Putnam. He was hanged from a tree on the village green. The beautiful Highlands rise in their lovely majesty to the northward and westward of the town, and the river, pent up into a narrow channel between their flinty jaws, rushes onward in impetuous course only to spread out again in the beautiful, placid bay of Haverstraw. There is no grander river scenery in the world than at this portion of the Hudson. Writ- ing of the Highlands, Dr. Mitchell says,-" This solid barrier of rock, which is sixteen miles wide and extends along both sides of the Hudson to the distance of twenty miles, in ancient days seems to have impeded the course of the water and to have raised a lake high enough to eover all the country to Quaker Hill and the Taghkanic

Mountains on the east, and to Shawangunk and the Catskills on the west, extending to the Little Falls of the Mohawk, and to the Hadley Falls of the Hud- son, but by some convulsion of nature the mountain chain had been broken, and thus the rushing waters tound their way to the now New York Bay."

Near Peekskill the territory of Westchester termi- nates at the boundary line which separates it from Putnam County. It would be impossible to depiet in language the manifold beauties and advantages of its Hudson River front, already lined with beautiful homes and destined to become, no doubt, in course of time, one of the most densely populated localities in all the world. For nearly fifty miles it presents an unbroken succession of picturesque building sites with charming prospects of hill and river scenery, thought by many to be unrivaled in any quarter of the globe.

On the other side of the county, skirting Long Island Sound, a widely different panorama is presented, but one which also has individual charms and bean- ties of its own. The shore line is broken into many promontories or peninsulas and the general effect is remarkably diversified and beautiful. Westchester, the towuship contiguous to New York City on the east, presents a rolling surface, with fine grass and pasture lands, which are abundantly watered by small streams aud springs. The Bronx River, flowing through the middle of the township, is the principal stream, and along its banks are many beautiful localities. The general appearance of the valley is most romau- tic. East of "Bronxdale" is a low traet of land known as " Bear Swamp," which derives its name from the savage animal that formerly made its home in the morass. Throckmorton's Neck, between Westchester Creek and Pelham Bay, is the site of many hand- some residenees which command noble views of Long Island Sound. At its extremity stands Fort Schuyler, one of the defenses of New York City from approach by way of the Sound. Here the tides from opposite directions meet in the Sound. Opposite City Island, on the northeast side of the point, are the well-known Stepping-Stones, a line of rocks projecting from the Long Island shore, which become visible at low water. On the highest of them stands the light- house known as "Stepping-Stone Light." On the northeast side of the point lies Loeust Island, and on the south are many handsome residences lining the western shore of the East River, including the old Livingston place, noted for its beautiful eedar of Lebanon, said to be the finest in the United States, It is fifty feet in height and its branches extend for a distance of fifty feet. On the road from the Point to Westchester village are many beautiful residences. On the eastern side of Westchester Creek, in Castle Hill Neck, stands the old Wilkins mansion, now a farm- house, in which it is said three Loyalist elergymen, ineluding Dr. Seabury, (afterwards bishop of Conneeti- eut), were seereted during the Revolution.

520

HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

Cornell's Neck, in the southwest corner of the town, between the Bronx River and Pugsley's Creek, com- mands some beantiful views of East River and the adjacent islands. The noted property known as "De Lancey's Mill" is located about three miles from the mouth of the Bronx and opposite the village of West Farms. The township of the latter name- formerly part of the borough of Westchester and now incorporated with the city of New York-contains many beautiful sites, among them being the former residence of the poet, Joseph Rodmau Drake, on Hunt's Point, near its extremity, overlooking the East River and Flushing Bay. Near the entrance of Jef- ferd's Neck is Rose Bank, the beantiful estate of William H. Leggett, on the bank of the East River, which here has the appearance of a lake. In front of the house a view is had of Riker's Island, the Two Brothers, the entrance to Hell Gate, with New York City in the distance. The ancient Manor of Mor- risania, also at one time a part of Westchester County, is now a district of New York City. It was originally a favorite resort of the Indians, as is shown by the numerous remains discovered in monnds, etc., and re- mained but sparsely settled for years. In 1848, how- ever, it began to yield to the encroachment of the city's population, and, in course of time, a flourishing town was built up. It now forms the thickly-popu- lated Twenty-third Ward of New York City. Mott Haven, which occupied part of the ancient tract of Morrisania, is the seat of an extensive iron foundry established by Jordan L. Mott. Adjoining it is the Harlem Bridge, affording communication with the city proper. In the vicinity of the bridge is the ter- minns of the New Haven and Hudson River Rail- road, with a large depot and dock. On an elevation northeast of the depot stands the manor-house of what at one time was known as "Old Morrisania," with the ancient vault of the Morris family. On the east side of the Mill Brook, at the southwest angle of the old township of Morrisania, stands the country- seat of the noted statesman, Gouverneur Morris. It is eight miles from New York City and nearly opposite Hell Gate, commanding a noble view of the surround- ing conntry and the river. The Mill Brook Valley passes ncar the old mansion to its junction with the Harlem Kills. It was the scene, during the Revolu- tion, of many daring exploits of Enoch Crosby, the noted spy. About two miles from Harlem Bridge, near the banks of the stream, in the neighborhood of Tremont, lived the celebrated Charlotte Temple.

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History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. I, Part 135

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898, ed Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co. Number of Pages: 1354

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898, ed
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co.
Number of Pages: 1354