Sources:
* 1910 to 1940[1]
* 1950 to 2000[2]
* 2010[3]
The history of Briarcliff Manor, a village in Westchester County, New York, can be traced back to the founding of a settlement between the Hudson and Pocantico Rivers in the 19th century. The area now known as Briarcliff Manor had seen human occupation since at least the Archaic period, but significant growth in the settlements that are now incorporated into the village did not occur until the Industrial Revolution. The village, which was incorporated with one square mile in 1902, has expanded primarily through annexation: of Scarborough in 1906 and from the town of Mount Pleasant in 1927 to its current area of 6.7 square miles (17 km2).[4][5] The village has also grown in population; from 331 when established to 7,867 in the 2010 census.[1][3]
1680 (1680): Frederick Philipse purchases the Ossining area from Indian sachem Ghoharius with the consent of his brother Weskora. Weskora becomes the first name of Scarborough.[7](p11)
August 4, 1685 (1685-08-04): Philipse purchases about 156,000 acres (630 km2) from the Sint Sincks, Philipsburg Manor, extending from Spuyten Duyvil Creek along the Hudson River to the Croton River.[4][8]
18th century
1778 (1778): The Wappingers unsuccessfully attempt to sue the Philipse family for control of the land; their claim dies out after around fifty tribespeople, organized into the Stockbridge Militia under Abraham Nimham and his father Daniel Nimham, are killed by British forces in the Battle of Kingsbridge during the American Revolutionary War.[9][10]
1779 (1779): The New York State Commission on Forfeiture confiscates the Philipses' land; it is sold in 1784–85.[1][8]
19th century
Illustration of James Stillman's farm c. 1886.[nb 1]
1839 (1839): Briarcliff Manor's oldest church, Saint Mary's Episcopal Church, is founded.[8]
1881 (1881): The Whitson's Corners post office is established.[8]
1890 (1890): Walter W. Law moves with his family to the area and purchases his first 236 acres (96 ha) with the James Stillman farm for $35,000 ($921,800 today[14]).[4]
1891 (1891): Congregation Sons of Israel is formed by eleven men in Ossining.[7](p101)
1892 (1892): Elliott Fitch Shepard ordered the construction of Scarborough's first dock at the present Scarborough Park to allow construction materials to be shipped to his property.[15]
1895 (1895): Elliott Fitch Shepard's mansion Woodlea is completed.[16](p153)
1896 (1896): Briarcliff Congregational Church is built to replace the congregation's use of the schoolhouse.[13]
1897 (1897): The post office is renamed the Briarcliff Manor Post Office.[8]
August 4, 1898 (1898-08-04): The first Scarborough train station and post office is struck by lightning and burns down.[17]
1900 (1900): Law owns more than 5,000 acres (7.8 sq mi) of Westchester County,[13][18] and becomes the largest individual landholder in the county.[19]
1900 (1900): Law establishes the School of Practical Agriculture on Pleasantville Road on 66 acres (0.1 sq mi).[11]
c. 1901–10: Walter Law establishes Briarcliff Farms,[20] the Briarcliff Table Water Company and the Briarcliff Greenhouses.[4]
1901 (1901): Briarcliff Steamer Company No. 1 is formed.[4]
1902 (1902): Law has invested $2.5 million ($68.4 million today[14]) in the village by this time.[11]
1902 (1902): A proposition is presented to the supervisors of Mount Pleasant and Ossining on October 8 for the incorporation of the Village of Briarcliff Manor.[8] On November 21, the village is incorporated.[6][12] At the time, Law owns all but two small parcels of the square mile village, and employs 100 of its residents.[11]
1904 (1904): The first twenty-nine street lights, all electric, are installed.[8]
1906 (1906): Walter Law replaces the village railroad station; Law's building currently houses part of the Briarcliff Manor Public Library.[6]
1906 (1906): Scarborough is incorporated into Briarcliff Manor.[8]
1907 (1907): Law's Briarcliff Farms move to Pine Plains, New York, and Law begins developing Briarcliff Manor more as a municipal corporation.[11]
The First American International Road Race, 1908
April 24, 1908 (1908-04-24): Briarcliff Manor sponsors The First American International Road Race; the event centered around the village,[21] and more than 300,000 people watch the race; the village has more than 100,000 visitors that day.[6](p83)
1908 (1908): The village police department is organized and The Church House, the parish house of the Scarborough Presbyterian Church, is completed.[8]
1909 (1909): Walter Law forms the Briarcliff Realty Company to sell Briarcliff Farms' original property in the village.[11]
1910 (1910): The Briarcliff Community Center, nicknamed "The Club", is established in the 1898 Briarcliff Schools building.[8]
May 11, 1911 (1911-05-11): Sleepy Hollow Country Club is founded in Scarborough, Elliott Fitch Shepard's home "Woodlea" is purchased for its clubhouse.[22]
1912 (1912): Walter Law's School of Practical Agriculture building burns down.[6](p38)
1913 (1913): The Village Municipal Building is built at a cost of $20,000 ($478,900 today[14]); it is opened on July 4, 1914.[7](p78)[23]
1914 (1914): The village library, originally in the Briarcliff Community Center, is founded.[8]
1914–18 (World War I): 91 Briarcliff Manor residents serve in the U.S. armed forces.[8]
1917 (1917): The first village Girl Scout troop is founded by Louise Miller and Mrs. Alfred Jones.[6](p77)
1926 (1926): St. Theresa's Catholic Church is founded with thirty-six families; the present church is dedicated two years later.[24]
1927 (1927): Briarcliff's school building is demolished to make way for the Briarcliff-Peekskill Parkway.[8]
1928 (1928): The high school opens, and a section is added to the 1909 school building.[8]
Village Municipal Building decorated for the village semicentennial, 1952
1934 (1934): A 100-mile race in the village is sponsored by the Automobile Racing Club of America.[8]
1935 (1935): Briarcliff's road race is held again.[6](p84)
1936 (1936)–1954 (1954): The Briarcliff Lodge houses the Edgewood Park School.[25]
1941–45 (World War II): More than 340 of the village's 1,830 residents Briarcliff Manor residents serve in the U.S. armed forces.[7](p78)
1946 (1946): The People's Caucus, an organization which calls out interested residents for candidacy, is created.[7][26]
1950–53 (Korean War): Approximately 30 Briarcliff Manor residents serve in the U.S. armed forces.[8]
October 10, 1952 (1952-10-10)–October 12, 1952 (1952-10-12): Briarcliff Manor celebrates its semicentennial celebration, publishing a book about the village and its history.[8]
1952 (1952): The Crossroads neighborhood of 84 houses is completed.[8]
1953 (1953): Todd Elementary School opens to free space at the Law Park grade school for middle- and high-school students.[6]
1958 (1958): The Briarcliff Manor train station, along with the Putnam Division, is shut down.[27]
1959 (1959): The Briarcliff Manor Public Library reopens in the former train station.[6]
1959 (1959): Faith Lutheran Brethren Church is founded in Scarsdale.[7](p75)
Current location of the original fire bell
1960s (1960s): The Municipal Building's cupola bell, which had tolled at the end of the World Wars,[7](p78) is moved to the front of the new firehouse.[23]
1960 (1960): The village's first corporate facility (part of Philips Laboratory) opens.[6]
1964 (1964): The new Village Hall opens, replacing the Municipal Building.[6]
1965–72 (Vietnam War): At least five men serve in the U.S. armed forces, with four killed and another wounded.[6]
1971 (1971): The present Briarcliff High School opens to ease the large enrollment at the grade-school building.[6]
1974 (1974): A permanent firehouse is built in Scarborough; it is replaced with a larger station in 2009.[23]
April 1977 (1977-04): Pace University purchases Briarcliff College as a satellite of the school's Pleasantville campus.[6]
1978 (1978): The Scarborough School closes; it reopens in 1981 as The Clear View School.[6]
1980 (1980): The Chilmark Club becomes a part of the village's Parks and Recreation Department; Pace University begins leasing the middle school building, and the middle school is moved to a portion of the new high-school building.[6]
2000 (2000): The pool house in Law Memorial Park is demolished; construction on a new facility begins shortly after.[1]
21st century
The park and pool pavilion, shown in April 2014
The village's clock and pocket park were dedicated in May 2009.[32]
November 2001 (2001-11): A $4-million rehabilitation ($5.35 million today[14]) of Law Park is completed, with a new pavilion and pool house, paved walkways, lights and benches, a redesigned and filtered pond, and relocation of the Veterans Memorial. Over 300 people attend the Veterans Day rededication ceremony.[1]
2002 (2002): The village celebrates its centennial, which involves numerous celebratory events.[26]
September 20, 2003 (2003-09-20): The original 1902 Briarcliff Lodge building burns to the ground, and contemporary portions of the lodge and other campus buildings are later demolished.[11]
2006 (2006): The village government installs new street signs featuring the Briarcliff Rose.[37]
2007 (2007): In the summer, construction of a 6,600-square-foot (610 m2) addition to the Briarcliff Manor Public Library begins; the facility is opened for use on February 19, 2009.[38]
2008 (2008)–2012 (2012): Briarcliff Manor hosts a weekly indoor farmers' market, first at the Briarcliff Congregational Church's parish house; it moves to Pace University's Briarcliff Campus in 2012.[39]
March 21, 2010 (2010-03-21): The Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society is given its first permanent location at the Eileen O'Connor Weber Historical Center, established as part of the expanded Briarcliff Manor Public Library.[28]
2011 (2011)–2015 (2015): The village becomes involved in an annexation proposal with the town of Ossining for Briarcliff Manor to annex land on which 1,600 people live.[5] After debate and public hearings, the village government decides to end its pursuit of the annexation in May 2015.[42]
July 5, 2015 (2015-07-05): Saint Mary's Episcopal Church closes after 175 years in operation.[43]
December 12, 2015 (2015-12-12): The Law Park pavilion is damaged in a large fire; around 100 firefighters in multiple departments assist to put out the fire that night.[44][45]
^Part of the farmhouse currently survives as the rectory of St. Theresa's Catholic Church.[6](p79)
References
^ abcdeBriarcliff Manor Centennial Committee (2002). The Briarcliff Manor Family Album: Celebrating a Century. Cornwall N.Y: Village of Briarcliff Manor.
^ abcdefghBosak, Midge, ed. (1977). A Village Between Two Rivers: Briarcliff Manor. White Plains, New York: Monarch Publishing, Inc. OCLC6163930.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstOur Village: Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. 1902 to 1952. Historical Committee of the Semi–Centennial. 1952. OCLC24569093.
^Pelletreau, William (1886). History of Putnam County, New York: with biographical sketches of its prominent men. The Van Tassel Family History Homepage.
^ abGelard, Donna (2002). Explore Briarcliff Manor: A driving tour. Contributing Editor Elsie Smith; layout and typography by Lorraine Gelard; map, illustrations, and calligraphy by Allison Krasner. Briarcliff Manor Centennial Committee.
^ abcSharman, Karen M. (1996). Glory in Glass: A Celebration of The Briarcliff Congregational Church 1896–1996. Briarcliff Manor, New York: Caltone Color Graphics Inc. ISBN 0-912882-96-4. OCLC429606439.
^Foreman, John; Stimson, Robbe Pierce (May 1991). "7". The Vanderbilts and the Gilded Age: Architectural Aspirations, 1879–1901 (1st ed.). New York, New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 152–169. ISBN 0-312-05984-1. LCCN90027083. OCLC22957281.
Pattison, Robert (1939). A History of Briarcliff Manor. William Rayburn. OCLC39333547. A 1939 publication on the history of Briarcliff Manor.
Our Village: Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. 1902 to 1952. Historical Committee of the Semi–Centennial. 1952. OCLC24569093. A 1952 publication on the history of Briarcliff Manor.
Bosak, Midge, ed. (1977). A Village Between Two Rivers: Briarcliff Manor. White Plains, New York: Monarch Publishing, Inc. OCLC6163930. A 1977 publication on the history of Briarcliff Manor.
Cheever, Mary (1990). The Changing Landscape: A History of Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough. West Kennebunk, Maine: Phoenix Publishing. ISBN 0-914659-49-9. OCLC22274920. A 1990 publication on the history of Briarcliff Manor.
Published in the 21st century
Feist, Michael; Ellis, Myles (2014). Briarcliff Manor: Then and Now. Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society. ISBN 978-1320106931. Retrieved August 18, 2014. A 2014 publication on buildings, places, and events in Briarcliff Manor.