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WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
ness in NewYork. I onkers, (p. v.,) on tbe Hudson, near tbe center of tbe w. border of tbe
town, was incorp. April 12,1855. It contains 9 churches, several private seminaries,12 banks, and
2 newspaper offices. Pop. in 1859, 6,800. It is a steamboat landing,2 and a station on the Hudson
River R. R. It has several manufactories and a great number of beautiful suburban villas.2
Spuyten Duyvil, (p. v.,) on the creek separating the town from New York, is the seat of
several large founderies, and is principally inhabited by operatives. Tuckalioe, (p.o.,) an old
settlentSnt in the e. part, is a station upon the Harlem R. R.1 Near this place are several marble
quarries. King'S Bridge (p.o.) lies upon Harlem River, and is connected with NewYork City
by a bridge. Riverdale, below Yonkers, is a group of villas and a r. r. station. Soutli
Yonkers is a p. o. The Croton Aqueduct passes through this town from n. to s. A castellated
stone mansion, built by Edwin Forrest, the tragedian, on the banks of the Hudson, a mile below
Yonkers, has lately been purchased for an educational institution by the Roman Catholics.5 The
country now included in Yonkers, West Farms, and Morrisania, and containing about 24,000 acres,
was granted to Adrian Yan der Donck in 1646, with the right and title of Patroon. He gave to
his estate the title of llColen Donck," perfected its title hy purchase from the Indians, and took
measures tor its improvement.3 There are 15 churches in town.7
YORRTOWI8—was formed March 7, 1788. It lies upon the n. border of the co., w. of the
center. Its surface is broken and hilly. The Highlands lie along the n. border; and several
points are elevated 600 to 1,000 ft. ahove tide. The principal stream is Croton River,4 flowing
across the s. part. Moharsic Lake,5 near the center, Mohegan Lake, in the n. part, and Magriga-
nies Lake, in the n. e. corner, are small bodies of water. Crompond, (Yorktown p. o.,) near
the center, Pines Bridge, (p. o.,) near the e. line, Jefferson Valley, (p. o.,) in the n. e.
corner, and Shrub Oak, (p. o.,) near the n. line, are hamlets. A rolling mill, wire factory,
gristmill, and sawmill have been erected 2 mi. w. of Croton dam. This town formed a part of
Cortlandt Manor, and in the division of 1734 fell to the shares of Andrew Miller, Gertrude Beeck-
man, Cornelia and John Schuyler, Gertrude Yerplanck, Elizabeth Skinner, John Watts, Philip
Yerplanek, and Susannah Warren. A Presb. church built at Crompond10about 1738 was burned
July, 1779, and a committee in Congress in 1839 reported in favor of paying $3,500 for the loss, as
the premises had been used as a storehouse hy the Continental troops. Col. Green was surprised
in this town May 13, 1781, hy a party of refugees, in which affair Maj. Flag, 2 subalterns, and 27
men were killed, and many wounded. The census reports 7 churches in town.11
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loss; and his estates were sold by the State to his tenants at
very' moderate rates.
£62,075 hy the British Government, as an equivalent for thia
loss; and his estates were sold by the State to his tenants at
very moderate rates.
7 4 Prot. E., 3 M. E., 2 Presb., 2 R. C., Bap., Ref. Prot. D., Wes.
Meth., and Unita.
8 The country e. of Cortlandtown was called by the Mohegans
Appanraghpogh; and the e. part of Yorktown is still called
" Amawalk,”—probably an abbreviation.—Bolton’s Westchester,
II, p. 377.
9 The Croton dam, at the head of the Croton Aqueduct, is in
this town. At the top it is 166 ft. ahove tide and 55 ft. above
the bed of the river; 61 feet wide at low water level, with
openings of 90 and 180 feet for the passage of the surplus
waters. Between these is a partition, forming the foundation
of the gatehouse and sluiceway for relieving the Structure from
the pressure of the lake, and for the discharge of water during
repairs. The water flows over an ogee-curved apron of cut
stone laid upon hewn timber, and is received in a pond, formed
by a second dam, 300 ft. below. The aqueduct is taken from
the lake through a tunnel, on the 8. side, 180 ft. long in the solid
rock; and the flow of water is regulated hy a double set of metal
gates. The dam was destroyed while building, in Jan. 1841;
hut the present structure promises to stand without injury, and
almost without repair, to an indefinitely remote period. Tha
surface over which the waste water flows is now much more
ample than was intended before the accident in 1841. The pond
has a capacity of 500,000,000 gallons.
Croton River was named Kitchawan, signifying a large and
swift current. The bend west of Pines Bridge was named
Keweghtegnack. The commissioners were obliged to purchase
about 900 acres of land overflowed hy the dam, at an average
cost of $500 per acre.
10 Often called “Crom Pond,” the Dutch term for Crooked
Pond, It consists of 2 parts united. Near this pond is French
Hill, where the French forces under Rochambeau were en<
camped in 1781-82. Turkey Mountain is an extensive woodland
tract to the s. e.
112 M. E., 2 Friends, Bap., Cong., and Presb. |
1
The principal of these are the Yonkers Collegiate Institute
and Gymnasium, conducted on the military system, Starr’s Board¬
ing School, several female seminaries, and a public free school.
2
New York, and are under the charge of Sisters of Charity.
3
was erected, in 1858, in the rear of the mansion. The premises
4
0 Van der Donck subsequently took an active part in repre¬
5
senting in Holland the interests of the colonists against the
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