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. II > Part 9
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After the enactment of the so-called Excise Law of 1857, the sale of intoxicating liquors without license being unlawful, the granting of licenses was by the county Board of Commissioners of Excise, consisting of three commissioners, appointed by the county judge and justices of the Sessions of the county of West- chester, and this board exercised its power to grant such licenses in all the towns of the county, including, of course, the town of Yonkers. In 1870 another act was passed by the Legislature, by which, in all parts of the State, local Boards of Excise for each eity, village or town were appointed. Yonkers then exist-
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HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
ing as a town, this act provided a town board for it, consisting of the supervisor and justices of the peace. But at the time, the village of Yonkers existing for municipal purposes and being situated geographically within the town of Yonkers, it also had a local Board of Excise, with power limited to the village bounds. This board consisted of the village board of trustces. In 1872 the city of Yonkers was incorpora- ted and the charter made its bounds eoincident with the bounds of the town and abolished the town gov- ernment. Under the act of 1870, on the incorpor- ation of the city, three commissioners for it were appointed by Mayor Courter, September 4, 1872. His appointment being questioncd, it was confirmed by the amended charter of 1873. The first appointed excise commissioners for the city were Peter U. Fow- ler, Samuel B. Jones and Patrick Brown. These men continued in office till the following year. April 21, 1873, Mayor Courter appointed, and the Common Council confirmed, John Wallace, Samuel B. Jones and Peter U. Fowler as excise commissioners. These men continued in office till 1876, but their powers were meanwhile suspended by the passage of an act of 1874, which, as to the county of Westchester alone, revived the old system of county excise commissioners. The revival of that system was short of life. In 1876 the act of 1874 was repealed, and from that time the excise commissioners for Yonkers have been appointed under the city charter and the act of 1870 for the city alone. The commissioners appointed in 1876 were appointed by Mayor Gibson. They were Samuel B. Jones, John S. White and John Wheeler. The com- missioners appointed in 1879 were appointed by Mayor Masten. They were Samuel B. Jones, John O'Brien and Henry Stengel. These men were reappointed by Mayor Swift in 1882, and again by Mayor Stahlnecker in 1885. They are the commissioners at the present time.
To this paper of Mr. Prime we add that this Board of Excise controls the most potential, most penetrating and furthest-reaching influence of the city of Yonkers for daily and permanent harm. Upon the police report for 1885 we find that Yonkers contains one hundred and forty-six licensed places for the sale of intoxicating drinks, and six places where these drinks are supposed to be sold without license. From the same report we learn that of seven hundred and forty arrests made in the city during the year and disposed of by the city judge, two hundred and eighty-five were for intoxication. The machinery which produces this result is in the hands of the peo- ple. The people elect the mayor and Common Council. The mayor nominates, and, with the consent of the Council, appoints the excise commissioners, who hold offico for three years. The excise commissioners, when appointed, have the licensing of liquor saloons in their hands, without reserve. Of course, the re- sponsibility of it is upon the people. Is it not inper- ative upon the people to think of this ?
SECTION XI.
Other City Departments (Fire, Water, Police, Educa- cational).
THE FIRE DEPARTMENT .- The following history of this department from 1852, has been furnished to us by E. Alex. Houston, M.D., who served in it from 1864; was its chief engineer from 1876 to 1880, and is one of the present fire commissioners.
Before 1852 there was no provision for the extin- guishment of fires in Yonkers. The destruction by fire of a mill on what is now ealled Mill Street, first led the people to serious thought of need for making such provision. Mr, Robert P. Getty, always one of Yonkers' most enterprising men, procured at his own expense, and brought to town, a small "gooseneck " engine. The first fire company was organized under the name of "Protection Engine Company No. 1," with George L. Condit as foreman. Not long after the organization of the engine company, Mr. Getty also purchased a second-hand hook-and-ladder-truck, and on the 15th of August, 1853, "Hope Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1," was organized, David Chambers, foreman. Messrs. Robert P. Getty, Charles E. War- ing, Jonathan Vail, H. N. Otis, Everett Clapp, Wm. T. Coleman, James Stewart, Joseph Pecne and many other always public-spirited and still prominent men of the city have served their time as firemen, and as members of the hook and ladder company.
Mr. A. M. Grant next bought an engine, and housed it wear his factory, and a company was formed under the name of Lady Washington Engine Com- pany No. 2. A. G. Van Orden was the first foreman. The company ran the engine for about two years, when, Mr. Grant not being able to sell it to the people, it was locked up for a year.
These movements occurred before the incorporation of the village, which, as has been seen, took place in April, 1855. On the 1st of October of that year the village Committee on Fire and Water reported that there was no engine, fire apparatus or fire company of any kind under the jurisdiction of the village ; that the engines and the hook-and-ladder truck belonged to private village residents, and that their owners were willing to dispose of them at a fair price. The committee also recommended that an appropriation of three thousand dollars be made, if the taxable voters should approve, for the purpose of purchasing the said appar- atus. A special meeting of the voters was called for, and held, June 18, 1856. Only seventy-six votes were cust, of which forty-six were for the measure. After several meetings of the Trustees following this vote, and much debate on thesubject, it was at last decided to purchase the engine of Mr. Grant. In the same year, 1856, it was resolved that fire limits should be fixed, and that no persons outside these limits should be taxed to support the fire department.
In 1859, Mr. Cornelius B. Lawrence, with twelve others, bought the engine formerly used by the actor
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YONKERS.
Chanfrau in his play of "Mose," for which they paid five hundred dollars. They afterwards sold it for six hundred dollars, and bought the one then known as " Howard 34," of the New York department. This company, when organized, applied to the village trustees to be recognized as a part of the Fire De- partment, but their application was refused on the score of economy, tlie late Leonard M. Clark being the only trustee who favored the application. Later on, however, January 10, 1860, the petition was granted on coudition that the company pay all their expenses, and be no charge to the village. The com- pany served creditably for nine years, and then dis- banded of their own aecord.
On the 5th of October, 1863, some young men or- ganized a compauy under the name of "Mazeppa Hose." They shortly after disbanded, after selling their earriage, a fine one, to Hudson Hose Company, No. 1, which was organized January 8, 1868. The latter paid two hundred dollars for the carriage, spent considerable money in decorating it, aud at a later day sold it to the eity for three hundred and fifty dol- lars. Ralph I. Bush was this company's first foreman, but to Wm. R. Wilkinson, who afterwards served as foreman for eight terms, the company is indebted more than to any one else for its success. The engines were provided with tenders for carrying the hose. The ten- ders were usually drawn by runners,-"jumper boys" they were termed,-a sort of fireman's primary school. The presence of the boys around the houses was not desirable, though they were sometimes useful. The first chief of the department was Daniel Blauvelt, and the first assistant engineer was F. Bennett. When the latter resigned, Robert F. Rich was chosen in his place. Chief Blauvelt resigned September 7, 1863, and Eli L. Seger was chosen instead, with John S. Waterman as assistant. Anthony B. Archer was the next chief, with John S. Brown as assistant, and the next chief was Samuel L. Smith.
At a meeting of the Board of Representatives of the department, held September 16, 1867, it was decided to have two assistant engineers. An election was held October 1, 1867, at which Samuel L. Smith was elected chief, and John Crowley and David Chambers first and second assistant eugineers. At this election one hundred and sixty-one votes were polled, which indicates the strength of the Department at that time. It was not altogether equal to half the preseut num- ber of men enrolled as aetive firemen.
On the 4th of October, 1869, Samuel L. Smith was re-elected chief, with L. F. Searles and H. S. Myers as first and second assistant engineers. Chief Smith resigned on the 10th of November following, when L. F. Page was elected and served the balance of the term. On the 4th of November, 1870, John H. Mat- thews was elected, and on the 18th of September, 1871, L. F. Page was again chosen, with John Coon and R. Tansy first and second assistants. September 25, 1872, after Yonkers had beeome a city, John Coon
was elected chief, and Henry S. Myers and R. J. Wil- cocks, assistants. September 24, 1874, Henry S. My- ers was elected chief, and Edward J. Mitchell aud E. Alex. Houston, assistants.
April 19, 1874, "City Hose Co. No. 3" was organ- ized, with Charles Mallory as foreman, and in the spring of 1876, " Palisade Hose Co. No. 4," was added. Edward Whalen, foreman.
April, 1876, " Mountaineer Engine Co. No. 2," was organized, Simon Deitzel, foreman. This company was given the engine to that time used by Lady Washington Company, No. 2. The latter company was furnished with a hose carriage instead, and has since served as a hose company.
September 18, 1876, Assistant Engineer E. Alex. Houston was elected chief, and George A. Kemp and John Lacy, assistant engineers. To this time little or no money due the Department from foreign iusurauce companies had been collected. Chief Houston, as- sisted by George A. Mitchell, Treasurer of the Depart- ment, determined to get the money due, and after hard work collected over three hundred and fifty dollars the first year. Since then, about the same amount has been collected yearly, and divided among the several companies. Before the election of Chief Houston the only means of giving an alarm of fire had been the ringing of the church bells. Hc determined to secure, if possible, the erection of a proper fire alarm bell. By dint of perseverance he finally succeeded in this, and at his success the rejoicing of the firemen was great. A grand torchlight parade by the depart- meut was made July 3, 1877, which was pronounced the fiuest ever witnessed in the county. The expense of it, two hundred and sixty-seven dollars and seven- ty cents, was defrayed by contributions of the citizens. On September 16, 1878, Chief Houston was unani- mously re-elected, and at the same time John Lacy and Thomas H. Dodds were elected assistant engineers.
May 26, 1879, "Irving Hose Co. No. 5" was organ- ized, witlı J. R. Prote as foremau.
September 18, 1880, Chief Houston declined a re- election, and Assistant Engineer Lacy was elected chief, and Charles Fisher and Simon Deitzel assist- ants. Iu September, 1882, John Lacy was re-elected chief, and J. R. Prote and Dauiel McGuiness assist- ant engineers.
February 1, 1884, "Houston Hose Co. No. 6" was organized with William Kairns, foreman.
The Department now consists of two eugine com- panies for duty in that small part of the city which is on so highi an elevation as not to permit the water to flow from its hydrants with power enough for the use of liose companies, one Hook and Ladder Com- pany, which also carries two fire extinguishers, and six hose companies ( But for " High Service Water Works," see under Water Department). It has thus a total of uine outfits, and these by the latest city reports were worked by a force of three hundred and fifty-seven men. The system is purely volunteer. Formerly the
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HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
department was under the control of the Board of Aldermen, but since the amendment of the Charter in 1881, it has been under the charge of a Board of four Fire Commissioners, appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the Aldermen. The first Commissioners appointed in this way were John O. Campbell, George A. Mitchell, Joseph Peene and John Pentreath. Mr. l'eene resigned after a short term, and E. Alexander Houston was appointed iu his place. The board continues to consist of the four men thus appointed. viz. :
George A. Mitchell, term of office will expire October 1, 1886; John Pentreath, terin of office will expire October 1, 1887 ; E. Alex. Houston, term of office will expire October 1, 1888 ; Lawrence Kelly, term of office will expire October 1, 1889.
Before 1874, water for use at fires was had only from the Hudson or the Nepperhan, or from cisterns. But on the 1st of January of that year, the Yonkers Public Water Works having been completed, hydrant water was introduced into the city from the Sprain and Grassy Sprain Brooks which have been described. The lower basin or reservoir of the water-works is located about four miles from Getty Square. From this basin, the water is raised by steam pumps into a distributing reservoir located on a high elevation. There are about three hundred hydrants in the city. The pressure at these hydrants varies from one to one hundred and twenty-five pounds according to the lay of the land.
The Fire Department of Yonkers is regarded as one of the Model Fire Departments of the State. The cost of maintaining it for the last ten years has averaged about three thousand dollars a year. This includes the purchase of some apparatus and hose.
The present chief-engineer is John S. Brown, and the assistant-engineers are, first, James Mulcahey, and second, William Allison. Their terms will expire in September, 1886.
THE WATER DEPARTMENT .- The following history of this department is contributed by Mr. William W. Wilson, who has been chief-engineer of the water- works since March, 1874.
A disastrous conflagration which occurred in the summer of 1869, and caused the destruction of much valuable property, served to direct public attention for the first time strongly to the necessity of providing a system of water supply.
Immediately after this event (Yonkers at the time was still a village only), the Board of Trustees took speedy action, and called a public meeting to ascer- tain by popular vote whether the Board should under- take to provide reservoirs of water and other necessaries for the extinguishment of fires. They at the same time arranged that engineers should be consulted, and requested to report upon the best incans of pro- curing a supply of water for all purposes.
The popular vote thus called ont was taken, Sep- teinber 11, 1869, and by a heavy majority, decided the questions proposed by the Trustees in the affirmative.
A number of meetings of the Trustees followed, in which the subject was further considered, and reports from engineers were received. The result was the calling of another popular inceting "to vote upon the question of bonding the village to the extent of two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars for the ex- pense of introducing water." The meeting was held on January 9, 1872, and decided the question in the negative.
Early in 1872, Yonkers was incorporated as a city, and in the autumn of that year the Mayor was authorized to appoint a Committee of citizens to co- operate with the Common Council in considering the expediency and means of procuring an ample supply of water.
The labors of this Committee were zealously under- taken, faithfully performed, and without doubt rc- sulted in bringing about a clearer idea of what was needed to accomplish this end than the Yonkers public had previously received. The gentlemen who performed this valuable service were Thomas W. Ludlow, Dennis McGrath, Patrick White, Jacob Read, Frederick A. Back, John T. Waring, Timothy Ryan, George B. Upham, M.D., Samucl Leggett, Cyrus Cleveland, Joseph Masten, Robert P. Getty, Rudolf Eiekemcyer, Isaae H. Knox, George B. Skinner, Abijah Curtiss, Charles R. Dusenberry, James Stew- art and Prof. William H. C. Bartlett on the part of the citizens, and James C. Courter, Mayor, with Alderman Eli L. Seger, John Brennan, Albert Keeler, William Macfarlane, Ethan Flagg, Hyatt L. Garrison, Henry R. Hicks and Zebulon H. Brower, constituting the Common Council of the city.
The committee entered energetically upon the execution of its duties. The proper sub-committees were appointed, and much work was accomplished in cousidering not only the sources, but also the methods of supply. The Committee's report, together with the reports of its sub-committees, was presented January 9, 1873, and named the Nepperhan River and the Sprain Brooks as the only available sources of supply.
By resolution embodied in the report, the Common Council was requested to make early application to the Legislature for the passage of an act empowering the city to incur an indebtedness of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the purpose of obtaining a supply of water.
Among other matters in the report was a recommen- dation to appoint a committee, consisting of Messrs. Robert P. Getty, Rudolf Eickemeyer, Jacob Read and Eli L. Seger, to investigate nnd report wlicther a sufficient supply could be obtained from subterranean sources in the valley of the Nepperhan. In prosecu- ting this investigation, they sank a well to a consid- erable depth, much of it through quicksand, and reached the bed rock of the valley. Analyses of the water they encountered in their work showed that it was doubtful if a supply suitable for all purposes could be obtained from this source.
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YONKERS.
The Committee of the Common Council on laws and ordinances then caused a bill to be prepared, which was presented in the Legislature and became a law February 28, 1873. This bill is entitled "An act to provide for a supply of water for the city of Yonkers."
It provides for a Board of Water Commissioners, five in number, fixes their terms of office and how they shall be allotted, and designates the powers of the Board and the ways in which its duties shall be executed. It originally limited the issue of bonds to the sum of $300,000, but by various amendments the amount has been since raised to $745,000, to cover not only the expense of introducing water according to the first plans, but also to provide for the various ex- tensions which have since been rendered necessary. Among the most important additions to the works has been the establishment of a High Service District which has involved the erection of a High Service water tower.
The members of the first board and their terms of office were as follows, viz: Rudolf Eickemeyer, five years ; Robert P. Getty, four years ; David Haw- ley, three years; Patrick White, two years, and Stephen Barker, one year. The Board was organized March 24, 1873. Before the expiration of the year Mr. Hawley and Mr. Barker resigned, and their places were filled by Mr. Isaac H. Knox and Mr. Charles Hamilton, the former of whom was made president of the board. Mr. Hamilton resigned in 1874 and was succeeded by Mr. Jacob Read.
Work was begun in the summer of 1873 and pro- secuted with such vigor that a supply for fire purposes was soon obtained, and on the 1st of January 1874, water was first turned on to so much of the system of distribution as was then laid.
A small basin which has since been converted into a distributing reservoir, was constructed on Lake Avenue, at an elevatiou of about three hundred feet above mean high tide. Its supply for the purposes above named was derived from the flow of a small brook.
In the month of March 1874, William W. Wilson, C.E., was appointed chief engineer of the works. He immediately entered upon the labor of making the necessary surveys and investigations, to determine the source whence the permanent supply should be derived, and the method by which it should be intro- duced and distributed for general use.
The Sprain Brooks were chosen as the sources of supply, and a dam was built upon the Grassy Sprain at a distance of about four miles northeasterly from Getty Square. This formed a storage reservoir, hav- ing a capacity of four hundred and six millions of gallons. It covers a surface of one hundred and five acres, and its greatest depthi is twenty six feet.
The waters of the Sprain Brooks are diverted and carried into the upper end of the reservoir by means of a canal cut through the lowest part of the ridge dividing the two valleys. The whole drainage area
from which the supply is derived is three thousand one hundred and twenty acres.
The water is taken from the storage reservoir, and supplied to the city by two pumping engines, one of which can furnish three and three-quarter millions of gallons in twenty four hours, and the other one- half less.
At the time of the general introduction of water there were twenty and one half miles of pipes of all sizes in use, and two hundred and sixteen hydrants. Subsequent extensions, including the High Service district, have increased the length of mains to twenty nine miles, and the number of hydrants to three hundred and ten.
When the project of constructing the storage reser- voir was first presented, a strong opposition to the proposed location for it was developed, founded on a supposition by many citizens that the quality of the water would be injuriously affected by the extensive beds of peat found in its locality. The opposition was so strong, that discussion became quite warm. Finally the subject was referred by general consent to Col. J. W. Adams, C.E. and to Prof. W. Ripley Nichols to examine and report upon the engineering and chemical considerations involved in the project.
The reports of these gentlemen, separately submit- ted, concurred in fully endorsing the action of the Commissioners and their engineer, and this endorse- ment has been sustained by the results of the work they accomplished.
The works are divided into Low and High Serviee Districts, the former supplying elevations between tide water and two hundred and eighty feet above, and the latter greater elevations to a height of four hundred and forty feet above tide.
The High Service Works were begun in 1883, and are now completed. They are supplied by a pumping service, of a capacity of one million gallons in twenty- four hours, which draws water from the Lake Avenue distributing reservoir, and pumps into an iron tank placed in a handsome brick tower, of octagonal form, twenty-seven feet from side to side in width and one hundred feet high. From this tank the water is dis- tributed as required.
The interest of the seven hundred and forty-five thousand dollars outstanding water bonds is met by the surplus of earnings over expenses, and by direct tax laid upon the property in what is called the water district. The water act provides also for the creation of a sinking fund, and for the liquidation of the debt by installments.
The aqueduct which conveys the water from Croton Lake to New York city, forms a bridge over Saw-mill river at Yonkers. In the county twenty-five streams cross the line of the Croton aqueduct, which are from twelve to seventy feet below the grade line, and from twenty-five to eighty-tliree feet below the top covering of the aqueduet. One of the most prominent of the valleys is that where the aqueduct crosses the Saw-mill
-
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HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
river in Yonkers, the foundation of which is fifty feet below the top covering of the aqueduct.
The Yonkers Water Board consists of the follow- ing gentlemen, some of whom, it will be ob- served, together with the clerk, have served from the very inception of the work : Rudolf Eickemeyer, president ; Jacob Read, treasurer ; Jolin G. Peene, John Wallace, Michael Walsh. William H. Doty is elerk, and Wmn. W. Wilson is superintendent. The late eminent lawyer, John M. Mason, Esq., passed the last years of his life in the service of the board, and had charge of all its legal proceedings, including the important and intricate duties belonging to the appropriation of lands for public use.
Ethan Flagg, who was for several years president of the Water Board and whose name is elosely con- nected with the history of the growth of the village
the title to a considerable part of the tract once .be- longing to his grandunele, and that, with his active co-operation and largely under his direction, the plan of the prospective city was laid out substantially as we now see it.
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