HISTORY & MYSTERIES
These details are from a map of the Town of Cortlandt which accompanied the 1940 census. According to a note on the map it was prepared in January, 1935 "in the office of the County Engineer, with workers supplied by the Westchester County Emergency Work Bureau." The map can be viewed and downloaded from the … Continue reading Census Map of Croton, 1935
"Camping at the City's Doors" was the title of an article in the June, 1905, issue of Country Life in America magazine, which described places where "one can feel as far away from civilization as upon an Adirondack lake, but a twenty minutes' row or paddle takes one across the river to catch a train, … Continue reading Camping at Croton Point, 1905
Another example of the innovative advertising Clifford B. Harmon used to sell land in Harmon, “the highest, healthiest, most beautiful, most accessible and most aristocratic part of Westchester County. . . . where the New York Central's million dollar electric terminal is located.” “Don't wait! HARMON is your golden opportunity. . . . $10 secures … Continue reading Cannon Ball Time to Harmon
These beautiful glass lantern slides show the gardens of Van Cortlandt Manor in 1930, when the property was still owned by Van Cortlandt descendents.1 The photographs are from the Garden Club of America collection in the Archives of American Gardens at the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian's website states that "the Garden Club of America was … Continue reading The Gardens of Van Cortlandt Manor, 1930
"Among all the rich and luscious terrestrial fruits which gladden the heart of man and delight his taste and renovate his health," wrote the Eclectic Magazine in April, 1864, "none surpass in variety and value the fruit of the vine. . . . In all ages and in all countries, where the soil and climate … Continue reading Dr. Underhill, a Patriarch and a Man of Renown
"Something New!" proclaimed this ad from the May 30, 1908 issue of the Peekskill Highland Democrat. "Right on the Beautiful Croton River, where Cool Breezes blow even on the warmest days." This ad must have been the beginning of a publicity campaign, because about a month later the New York Times 1 published a short … Continue reading American Cooking, Japanese Service!
Oscar Levant, the quick-witted pianist, composer, actor, author and quiz-show panelist, had his first "extended engagement" at the Mikado Inn in 1922. In his 1965 book, The Memoirs of an Amnesiac, Levant wrote about those days, which must have been quite an experience for a young man who was then just 16 years old. "During … Continue reading Oscar Levant Plays the Mikado
"Harmon-on-the-Hudson has been one of the most active suburb real estate centers since early this spring," reported the New York Tribune in this article published on June 12, 1921. "Clifford B. Harmon . . . says that in the last few weeks about one hundred building lots have been sold mostly to recently married couples, … Continue reading Newly Married Folks Buy . . . at Harmon
Here is an early post card of the "Belle Terre, Log Cabin Restaurant at Camp Broadway, Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y." According to the book by the Croton Historical Society in Arcadia's Images of America series, the Log Cabin Restaurant was located near the "present entrance to Arrow Crest." In a previous post we featured a later post … Continue reading Log Cabin Restaurant Revisited
Below is issue 1 of Theodore J. Cornu's extraordinary hand-drawn, hand-lettered, self-published journal, Hudson Valley Echoes. When the publication opens you can click on the pages and enlarge them. The embedded viewer uses Flash, so if you don't see it below because your device doesn't support Flash, you can click here. Issues 2 to 4 … Continue reading Hudson Valley Echoes, Issue #1
CROTON 