HISTORY & MYSTERIES
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.
By any measure, the New Croton Dam is an engineering marvel. For 14 years (from 1892 to 1906) 1,500 men used more than 500 pieces of heavy machinery, 745,000 barrels of cement, 100,000 tons of coal and an incalculable quantity of locally quarried stone to build the dam. How did they do it? These images … Continue reading New Croton Dam Construction Plan, 1898
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
Photo of a woman and four girls posing while dancing on a lawn at the southern tip of Croton Point Park. The photograph was taken by Westchester resident John Gass, whose collection of over 1,000 images of Westchester's bridges, parks, parkways, public buildings and more are available online at Westchester.gov.
This is a detail from the Atlas of Westchester County, a color atlas created by the G. M. Hopkins Company between 1929 and 1931. It shows landmarks, land features, businesses, and some property ownership. The atlas is in four volumes (Volume 1: southeastern Westchester; Volume 2: south central Westchester; Volume 3: southwestern Westchester and along the Hudson River to … Continue reading Croton Point, 1930
Detail from the 1779 map titled "A chorographical map of the Province of New-York in North America, divided into counties, manors, patents and townships; exhibiting likewise all the private grants of land made and located in that Province; compiled from actual surveys deposited in the Patent Office at New York, by order of His Excellency … Continue reading The “Mannor of Cortland,” 1779
A detail from an unusual 1852 map of New York State and parts of surrounding states, showing distances between places of meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, including the meeting house in Croton (originally located along what is now Grand Street, between South Mt. Airy Road and Church Street). For a map of Croton showing the location … Continue reading Meeting of Friends Map, 1852
The Tumble Inn was located where Skyview is today. This postcard shows the backyard in 1919. The note on the front reads "view from our bedroom windows." On the back, "Aunt Ella" writes "Wish you were with us. $7.50 per day for my room and $10.00 for the other two at 'Tumble Inn' . . … Continue reading Tumble Inn
CROTON 