History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. I, Part 171

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 171

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1 The following extract from a letter in the New York Evening Post for December 6, 1879, is of interest in connection with the Varian family : " In the good keeping of Dr. William Varian, of Kingsbridge, New York City, is now, and has long been, the ancient;family Bible of his ancestors, the Varians of Westchester County, New York, the proud lot of which was to be preserved, uninjured, through the War of the Revo- lution, by being buried in the cellar of their dwelling-house, the old resi- dence in the town of Scarsdale, near the former Morris and Popham Es- tates, still standing, and occupied by a Varian. Althoughi being much exposed (the family being patriotic) to the depredations of British sol- diers, and especially of the ' cow-boys '-those notorious brigands of the period, so well described in Cooper's 'Spy ' and Bolton's ' History of Westchester County "-this farm-house escaped both the torch and their pillage, and the dark cellar at the dawn of peace, true to its trust, de- livered up the remarkable volume as good as ever, to be the household companion of subsequent generations, whose names are registered there- in. This ancient English Bible is a large folio, with thick embosscd lids, fitted originally with clasps, and bears the date 1715 on the title page, but not the name of the place where it was published. Strangely, too,

FMC

"THE LOCUST." RESIDENCE OF L. C. POPHAM, SCARSDALE, WESTCHESTER CO., N. Y.

"GREYROCK." RESIDENCE OF D. J. GARTH, SCARSDALE, N. Y.

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SCARSDALE.

Just below the Varian cottage, and close by the roadside, stands an ancient mile-stone, dating many years back, and being one of the few antiquities of the town. Its inscription, still quite legible, is as follows:

" XXI Miles to N. York, 1773."

A short distance southwest of the Episcopal Church stands a spacious stone mansion, formerly the resi- dence of George Nelson, supervisor of the town in the year 1867, now occupied by Henry W. Bates. This mansion was built about a quarter of a century ago by the father of the Rev. Dr. Olssen, for many years rector of the parish, and is one of the two stone resi- dences in the town. The only other one is the former residence of the late Edward Nelson, brother of the preceding, and is now oceupied by Charles P. Crane, a lawyer practicing in New York City. The mansion is a spacious structure, with turreted tower on the southeast corner and broad verandas on the south and west, and stands among a number of handsome trees, on the north side of the baek road to Searsdale Station, at some distance from the road.

On the Mamaroneck road, about quarter of a mile beyond the Fish mansion, stands the residenee of Dr. Alexander M. Bruen, built upon the site of what was formerly known as "Cooper's Folly." The latter was at one time the residence of the famous novelist, Jas. Fenimore Cooper, who lived within the township for a few years, but never made it his permanent resi- dence. The above name was given to it by the towns- people, from the peculiar nature of its architecture and the wretchedness of the workmanship. In its general appearance it resembled the typical Swiss châlet, and the timber,of which it was composed was so unseasoned and so poorly put together that the house had to be taken down within a few years of its erection. The novelist resided here for about three years after the date of building the house, 1840, and upon his departure the property passed into the hands of Dr. Bruen, who, upon the same site as "Cooper's Folly," built the present large mansion. Just north of this stood, till within a few years, a small, weather- beaten cottage of two stories and steep, pitehed roof, where, it is reported, Cooper wrote the "Spy," his famous novel, the scene of which is the "Neutral Ground" of the Revolution, of which Searsdale formed a part. About eight years ago this cottage was torn down to make way for the large and more pretentious dwelling which occupies a site close by, and is the residence of Green Wright.

But a few rods from Hartsdale Station, and just within the town limits, stands a peculiar mansion, which has long been an object of wonder to many, and which is, perhaps, the most unique structure in

the town. This was built for a residence, by the pro- prietor of the powder-works before mentioned, about the year 1847, and is now occupied in connection with the lithographie works near by. The building is sit- uated on the steep hill-side in such a manner that, although it presents two stories in front, behind the roof barely comes above the top of the terrace. The material is stone or brick, stuccoed and whitewashed. The building is of two full stories, uearly square in plan, with flat roof, on which is a square cupola, with a minaret surmounting the whole. The front is deeply recessed to form the porch or veranda, which is two stories and supported by large round pillars. On either side of the building the hillside is terraced and an avenue of shade-trees extends from the main road to the front door. Altogether the building closely approaches the Tuscan style of architecture and presents an appearance of much greater antiquity than really belongs to it.

Nearly opposite "Fox Meadow Gardens," on the post road, stands the residence of George Burgess, who, with his family, settled in the town about thirty years ago. This is an interesting old mansion, built in an old-fashioned, rambling style, and surrounded by shade-trees, while to the north and northeast extend the farm lands of the owner. Another interesting mansion is "Rowsley," formerly the property of William B. Lang. This stands on the north side of the road which runs eastward from the post road from " Drake's Corner," surrounded by handsome lawns and shaded by beautiful trees. The house is a long and roomy structure, but of only two stories, the upper of which is in the mansard roof. A wide veran- dah skirts the mansion on the east, south and part of the west side, and is covered with ereeping plants and vines. One room in particular is especially in- teresting as being an exaet counterpart of one of the rooms of the famous Cluny Palace in France. This room has a large tiled fireplace on the north, opposite the entrance, while ou either side of the room are large windows filled with diamond-shaped panes. The floors, walls and raftered ceiling are of polished oak or similar wood, and, together with the mail-clad figures which stand on either side of the fireplace and the ancient furniture and hangings, they lend to the room a quaint appearance, very suggestive of past centuries.

EARLY MAILS AND TRAVELING FACILITIES- NOTED LOCALITIES, ETC .- At the beginning of the present eentury the mail and traveling facilities of the town were of the most primitive kind. Of regular stage lines there were none, while the mail service was limited to a single trip each way during the week. The mail was carried to and fro in saddle-bags by an old man, Calhoun by name, mounted upon a small horse, the down trip being made on Wednes- day and the return on Friday. The route at this time was from New York City to Danbury, Conn. Thus the service remained until about 1810, when, in-

the illustrative pictures, of which there are several, are explained in the Dutch language."

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HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

stead of on horseback, the mail was transported in a small box-wagon with an arched canvas top, drawn by a single horse. This was in turn superseded by a more suitable conveyance drawn by a pair of horses, and finally this gave way to the regular old-fashioned mail-coach, with its four horses and the typical guard tooting upon his long horn. At this time the service had been increased to a trip each way every day, the coach going down to the city in the morning and re- turning at night, the route being from New York to North Castle, witli a change of horses at White Plaius. The stopping-place of the coach in Scarsdale was the Varian Tavern, where the coach drew up at the large barn which formerly stood just to the side of the tavern proper. In these early days of the repub- lic, private as well as public conveyances were few in the town, the respectable vehicles in Scarsdale num- bering but three. These were in the possession, re- spectively, of the Popham, Tompkins and McCabe families, and the impression made by them upon the rustic minds of the population was not iuconsiderable. The route of the mail-coach through the town lay along the old " Boston turnpike," or post road, which is about half a mile from the railroad and nearly par- allel with it. 'This has always been the main thor- oughfare of the town, and until its doubtful improve- inent at the hands of the Tweed ring of New York City, in 1872, it was a pleasant and well-shaded country road. In that year the road was broadened, leveled and straightened so as to retain little of its former attractiveness, but the past few years have done much to cover up the traces of the improving hands of thirteen years ago. At this time a short cut was made for the road around the foot of the hill on which were situated the Griffin and Tompkins farnis, and a portion of the old road was thus left, which runs over the hill and past the site of the birth-place of Governor Tompkins, the present resi- dence of Charles Butler, at the "Fox Meadows, " Maplehurst," formerly on the "Trayis" farm, and the old Griffin and Fisher homesteads, until it again joins with the main road at a point just north of the publie school.

The principal offshoots of this road are as follows : At the northern part of its course through the town, the Mamaroneck road, on which are the Fish and Bruen mansions, and from which turn off the "Saxton Woods " road, running in a northeasterly direction ; and "Lincoln Avenue," on which, at almost the very limits of the town, stands the Friends' Meeting- House; and at the southern part of its course, a road running to the eastward, past the Drake and Lang mansions ; and just south of this, the " Scarsdale depot road," running westward, on which are the old Morris homestead and, near by, the Church of St. James the Less. On this road and just opposite the Morris mansion took place in the time of the Revolu- tion the tragic event described in Bolton's history of the county. It seems that an officer of the French

cavalry, accompanied by several companions, went one Sunday to the smithy of Gilbert Vincent to have his horse shod. A sou of the smith, alone, was at the house, and he refused to perform the work, partly from religious scruples and also on the ground of lacking the necessary fuel for the forge. The officer, thinking this merely a pretext, or that lie was unwil- ling to do the enemy a service, provoked a quarrel with the young man, which ended in thic death of young Vincent. To quote from Bolton : " When his brother, Elijah Vincent, who belonged to De Lancey's refugee corps, heard of the outrage, he vowed revenge on the murderer, and the better to accomplish his purpose, determined to lay in wait and watch the French scouting-parties as they passed to and fro from Scarsdale to their eucampment on the Greeu- burgh hills. For several nights he watched in vain, but at length the opportune moment for revenge ar- rived. It so happened that a party of the Duke of Lauzun's patrols were passing the very spot where Vincent lay concealed behind the bushes. He im- mediately rose and fired upon the unsuspecting com- pany, and a captain of the Hussars fell from his horse, mortally wounded." Vincent made his escape and finally went to Canada, where he died.

Within a few feet of this spot, and at the bottom of a small valley, the road crosses a little streau. Here, on one side of the road, is a quicksand of unknown deptlı, which has remained until the present day, not- withstanding repeated attempts to fill it up, and into this unfortunate cattle have from time to time strayed and been rescued only with difficulty.

On the road to New Rochelle, and just beyond "Castle Cosy," formerly the residence of the late George M. Wheeler, there is anotlicr small brook, known as the "Hutchinson," a branch of the Ma- maroneck River, and this is spanned by a small wooden bridge. Just at this point the road is closely bordered on either side by dense thickcts and small trees, making it rather a lonely spot, and the story in the town is that many years ago a pedlar was waylaid here one dismal night and murdered for his moncy. There seems to be no actual record of this deed of blood, but the bridge is known as the " Pedlar's Bridge" from the circumstances of the story.

Another legendary tale in which Scarsdale takes much pride is that, during the Revolution, one of the British generals, presumably Sir William Howe, hearing of the existence of the Bronx and imagining it to be navigable, ordered the commander of the fleet, theu lying at New York, to sail up the river in time to participate in the battle of White Plains. As the depth of the river at no point iu its course along the border of the town was much over three feet, the humor of the legend may be appreciated by all. The following poem, from the pen of William A. Butler, the poet, appeared in the Scarsdale Gleaner during the summer of 1875, and fitly expresses the state of the case :

IM BYOWALI

RESIDENCE OF MRS. J. M. FULLER, SCARSDALE, WESTCHESTER CO., N. Y

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SCARSDALE.

" After rockets, and blue-lights, and so forth:, On the night of the glorious Fourth,

At midnight I thought I would go forth

To the Bronx, fairest stream of the North ; There I met the old naval commander (Or his ghost), in a shocking bad hat,

Who was ordered up here to meander With his fleet, and his guns, and all that ;

He stood where the water was wettest -- It almost came over his shoes --

And he cried, 'O my soul that regrettest The glory the Fates did refuse,

What a mercy to all these Scarsdalers- That they in this stream couldn't lie ;

For at once with my frigates and sailors

I had blown their rebellion sky-high,

When these shores, which I now have my eye on, Ilad been fuller of ' scars ' than of 'dales,'

And the unicorn here, and the lion,

Would have roared and erected their tails.

O where this fine sylvan drapery,

ur these villas of wonderful shape,

Or hot-house, or green-house, or grapery, Had they once got a taste of my grape"!

Because Washington pulled at their trigger They fancy 'twas up with our jig,

But if only the Bronx had been bigger, Then hers had not been so big,'

'Then, moth I, ' this old salt should be throttled, If his long yarn is false, as methinks,

But it true then the Bronx should be bottled To mix with Centennial drinks !"

Another statement, presumably not a legend, in which Scarsdale ean justly take great pride, and which is vouched for by excellent authority, is " that no Searsdale-born person was ever in jail or the poor- house." Considering that the town has had a corpo- rate existence of over a century, this indeed may be a source of just satisfaction to all the inhabitants.

SCARSDALE STATION. - At the extreme southern portion of the western border of the town the tracks of the Harlem Railroad run within the town limits for abont a quarter of a mile, and here, just where the road to Ashford and Dobbs Ferry erosses the line, is situated Scarsdale Station. The building is a frame structure of two stories, with a steep-pitched roof. On the lower floor is a large waiting-room, with ticket and post-office adjoining, while beyond is a freight-room. The building has not been materially altered in its external appearance for many years, but within it has been gradually improved from time to time. The station stands to the west of the line, and near by is the residence of the station-master, one of the celebrities of the town, who has held his position for more than twenty years. The Harlem Railroad was extended slowly from its original termi- nus at Harlem until it reached Tuckahoe, the station next below Scarsdale, and in 1847 it was finally pushed through to White Plains. At this time it was but a single track line, and there was no station within the town. In consideration, however, of the fact that the company had been given the land re- quired for its roadway through the Popham estate, a platform was built on the grounds of the family, just below the railroad bridge, and trains were stopped here on signal to receive or land members of the Pop-

ham family. After a few years a signal station was established in nearly the present location and in the "sixties " the road was double-tracked as far as White Plains, and its course through the town slightly altered.

The distance by the railroad from New York to Scarsdale is eighteen miles, and not many years ago the running time of the "way " trains was a full hour. Of late years a slight improvement has been made in this respect, and the "way" time is now slightly over fifty minutes, while the " express " time is thirty-six minutes. In former days the service on the road was very limited, Scarsdale being ranked merely as a way station; but in 1877, after strong efforts on the part of those citizens who did business in New York, Scarsdale was made a stopping-place for the morning express south and the evening ex- press north, while during the summer still another express stops here on each trip. Besides this, the way service has been improved in time and frequency, and of the fifteen trains that pass each way daily, thirteen stop at Scarsdale, of which two are express trains. The rate of farc was for many years exorbi- tant, being fifty-five cents for a single trip and no ex- eursion tickets issued ; but in 1878 a reduction of ten cents was made in the single fare ; excursion tickets were issued, good for three days, for eighty-five cents and within the last year the time of these has been extended to fifteen days. Commutation tiekets, good for a year and allowing for two trips each week-day, are sold for sixty-five dollars. The number of com- mnters from Scarsdale varies from fifteen to twenty- five, and there is, besides, a considerable number of transient passengers. As there are no manufacturing interests in the town, the freight traffic is entirely local, and although formerly a considerable quantity of inilk was daily sent to the city over the line, the high freight charges have caused this to be diverted from the railroad, and it is now carried to the city by a daily wagon service.

RECENT TOWN HISTORY .- In the year 1878 the town was visited by the most severe wind and rain- storm ever known in the county, which, indeed, al- most amounted to a tornado. This occurred on the afternoon of Sunday, July 20th, and although lasting barely over four or five minutes, did a great amount of damage. The path of the storm lay alnost directly from west to east, and although the houses in its track eseaped with merely the loss of blinds and other trifling damage, many beautiful and valuable fruit and shade- trees were laid low. The scene in the path of the storm was almost indescribable, the sky being of a dark leaden hue, the atmosphere thick with torrents of rain and hail, and in the midst of this huge trees reeling and swirling round in the furious wind and then falling with a terrific crash of boughs, while in all directions were flying fragments of light timber and indeed of anything that lay in the storm's traek. On the " Fox Meadow " farm alone over five hundred

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HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

fiue trees were destroyed, while on other estates the damage, though less, was nevertheless considerable. The storm ceased about as suddenly as it had begun, and in a few minutes the afternoon sun shone glori- ously upon the dripping and tangled masses of debris that lay scattered everywhere in the path of the storm.

In the year 1882 an iunovation occurred in the extension to Scarsdale of the lines of the West- chester Telephone Company from White Plains as centre. Up to 1885 the subscribers in the town numbered but five, but a new central office for Hartsdale, Scarsdale and Tuckahoe has been started at the Hartsdale Station, with over twenty-five sub- scribers, most of them within the town of Scarsdale.

It is only within late ycars, also, that Scarsdale has possessed telegraphic facilities. In 1881 the Western Union Telegraph Company established a testing station for their lines on the Scarsdale bank of the Bronx, within a stone's throw of Scarsdale Station. To this run nearly a hundred wires from all parts of the surrounding country and here is estab- lished a public telegraph office.

Although so sparsely settled, Scarsdale has been visited by several severe fires, which have invariably run their course, the facilities for fighting them being entirely wanting. In 1863 the old mill which had stood for more than a century just above Searsdale Station, on the Bronx, was totally destroyed by fire, nothing but the foundations and a few fragments of machinery remaining, and no attempts at rebuilding have since been made. In the fall of 1874 the resi- dence of Benjamin Carpenter, on the high ridge to the east of the post road, was set on fire by an incendiary, and in a short time was burned to the ground, together with numerous out-buildings and barns and some live-stock. Some years after this a house of considerable size, which stood close by Scarsdale Station, on the Popham estate, at one time the residence of Robert C. and afterward of his brother, Lewis C. Popham, was totally destroyed by fire, nothing but the chimneys and foundations re- maining to mark the dwelling once a familiar land- mark.

The last large conflagration in the town was the burning of the pretty little parish church of St. James the Less, which occurred on the evening of Palm Sun- day, 1882. Although the neighborhood was speedily aroused, all efforts to save the building proved un- availing, very little of value being saved of the in- side fittings, and soon only the walls and part of the little chapel remained of the church which was so dear to all the inhabitants of the neighboring country.

SCARSDALE LAWN TENNIS CLUB .- The only organ- ization of a peculiarly social nature existing in the town is the Scarsdale Lawn Tennis Club, just enter- ing upon its third season. The club was organized early in the spring of 1883, and the first year had a membership of about twenty,-including honorary

members. The club had two courts at " Fair View," the residence of Mr. Hamilton, where the members met for practice every Saturday afternoon during the warm months. The season was marked by a handicap tournament open to all the members. In the spring of 1884 the club opened its season with a membership of nearly thirty, ladies being admitted to active membership. The club occupied four courts in Fox Meadow Gardens, which were put at their disposal by Mr. Charles Butler. During the year two tourna- ments were held, open to members only,-the first, ladies' singles, and the second, doubles, of a lady and gentleman. The last season was inaugurated on the 7th of June, at the Fox Meadow Gardens, the number of courts having been increased to six and the mem - bership aggregating forty-four. The original officers of the club were :

President. THOMAS F. BURGESS. Secretary. CORTLANDT FISHI. Treasurer. JAMES BLEECKER, JR.

The officers for 1885 were the following :

President. ALLEN M. BUTLER. Secretary. JAMES BLEECKER, JR. Treasurer. HI. GRANVILLE BUTLER.

The club meets for practice every Saturday after- noon, but the grounds are open for the use of members on any week-day. The routine business of the club is entrusted to a governing committee of seven members, including the officers ex-officio. Although of very recent origin, the Scarsdale Tennis Club now forms a prominent feature in the social life of the town, and the scene at the grounds on a bright Saturday after- noon is charming and full of interest.

AMATEUR NEWSPAPER .- Scarsdale has never been represented by a newspaper of its own except during a few months of the year 1885. In June of that year appeared the first number of The Scarsdale Gleaner, a small four-page monthly, devoted to the interests of the town. This was entirely an amateur enterprise, being printed as well as edited within the limits of the township. Although but a modest undertaking, tlie Gleaner proved a great success, tlie circulation amount- ing to more than two hundred copies, and the sub- scription list embracing many outside of the town. With its fifth number the paper was obliged to sus- pend publication, owing to circumstances beyond the control of the amateur editors, and so, after a short but highly successful carecr, the only journalistic attempt on the part of the citizens of the town came to a conclusion.

NEW ROCHELLE.

685

CHAPTER XVI.

NEW ROCHELLE.1

BY REV. CHARLES E. LINDSLEY, D.D.

THE settlement of the Huguenots at New Rochelle is believed to have been begun as early as the year 1686-87, by certain refugees from the town of La Rochelle, France. This was the year following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, by which unjust and impolitic act fifty thousand French families were driven from their homes to other countries. Many of them fled first to England, but subsequently found their way to America. Those who came first to New Rochelle were landed, it is thought, by an English vessel at Bonnefoy's Point, now Davenport's Neck. Their exact number is uncertain, but the names of some of the carly settlers are found upon the town records, between the years 1695 and 1710, and are as follows :

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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 171

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