HISTORY & MYSTERIES
Departing from Camp in the Small Lagoon by Theodore Cornu. Pen-and-ink drawing from Hudson Valley Echoes, issue #3, 1953. "Early morning is greeted by the calls of the Crows as they fly off at their slow pace to distant hills. Crows have always been numerous at this place. A wind starting at daybreak now blows … Continue reading Departing from Camp in the Small Lagoon by Theodore Cornu
This postcard, postmarked from Croton in 1907, is labeled "Camp Schrader, Mesmonk Island, Croton River." Anyone know what island this was?
A beautiful depiction of Finney Farm, from the letterhead used by Mabel Dodge Luhan.
Detail from the Atlas of Westchester County, New York. From actual surveys and official records by G.W. Bromley & Co., Civil Engineers. Published by Geo. W. & Walter S. Bromley. 243 Broadway, New York. 1881. The entire atlas is available online at David Rumsey.
These two prints, from U.P. Hedrick's, The Grapes of New York, published in 1908, show the grapes that made Richard T. Underhill famous as the "Grape King." Underhill began his vineyard by planting European varieties of grapes he purchased in Brooklyn from André Parmentier, a wealthy, educated Belgian who came to America to escape the … Continue reading The Grape King of Croton Point
Anyone know where this was in Croton?
This hand-colored engraving, after a painting by William Hart, is from the portfolio Gallery of Landscape Painters—American Scenery published in New York by G.P. Putnam & Sons in 1872. The view is looking southwest from what we know today as Finney Farm Road. Croton Point is jutting out into the river and the Palisades can be … Continue reading Croton Point, circa 1869
This map is from the "pocket edition" of the New York Walk Book, published in 1923 by the American Geographical Society. The Croton area walks include: Salt Hill Route—Croton to Croton Lake Station Croton Lake Region—Harmon to Millwood Montrose to Harmon via Spitzenberg and Keg Mountains In addition to the maps the book has detailed … Continue reading New York Walk Book, 1923
This postcard shows the Van Cortlandt Manor Ferry House, circa 1907.
On July 2, 1923 the Westchester Board of Supervisors purchased Croton Point and opened a limited area to the public. One of the plans for the land was to create a second amusement park, similar to Playland, which opened in 1928. This drawing, by civil engineer and landscape architect Gilmore D. Clarke, shows what the amusement park at Croton Point … Continue reading Playland at Croton Point
CROTON 