MeH and Mr. |. S. Hall. ILLUSTRATIONS. Mount Kisco. Mount Kisco Depot and French's Hotel. The Episcopal Church. The Methodist Church. The Presbyterian Church. The Roman Catholic Church.. The Public School. Mount Kisco Educational Institute. CONTENTS Origin of Name Kisco 7 Why the Place was Called Mount Kisco 7 A Hundred Years Ago 8 New Castle Corner 8 Kirbyville 9 The Railway 9 Growth and Development of Mount Kisco 11 Incorporation 1 1 Location and Advantages . 12 Description 12 Kirby's Pond 12 Fire Department 13 Fires 13 Churches 15-22 Newspapers 23 Schools . . 23 Societies 25 Cemetery 26 Town Line 27 The Mount Kisco Educational Institute 27 Population 27 Village Officers 27 Advertisements 29-32 c o z C MOUNT KISCO. ORIGIN OF NAME KISCO. The name Kisco is an Indian word, the particular meaning of which has never yet been ascertained. Its similarity to the Indian name Kiskatamenahook, meaning a brook, but originally of some locality by a brook, * may account for the name Kisco being applied to this locality, there having been, it is said, an Indian village along Kisco river. In i 762 a road was laid out in Kisco mountains. | WHY THE PLACE WAS CALLED MOUNT KISCO. A mountain spur and a brook near by had been for many years called Kisco. On the completion of the Harlem railroad to this place in the early Spring of 1847, the station was called New Castle, and for several years thereafter was known by no other name, although the station was wholly in the town of Bedford. The name given the station by the railroad officials was considered peculiarly inappropriate by the inhabitants of the place, who, in accordance with due notice given, assembled in front of J. S. Hall's, the then depot house, in 1850, choose Henry Wood chairman, and proceeded to vote upon a name for the new village growing up around the railroad station. { The name Kisco Valley had been proposed. The chairman sug- * Trumbull's History of Conn. t Record of Highways in County Clerk's office. t This meeting was called at the suggestion of the then president of the road And was in response to the efforts made by Stephen Wood and his son Henry to have the name of the station changed. HISTORY OF MOUNT KISCO. gested Kisco. The late Stephen Wood, sr., said " why not call it Mount Kisco ? " This last proposition was heartily endorsed by the late Capt. J. W. Merritt, and the name Mount Kisco was adopted by an almost unanimous vote. The R. R. tickets were soon after this changed from New Castle to Mount Kisco. In December of the same year the Mount Kisco post office was established, and James S. Hall appointed postmaster. A HUNDRED YEARS AGO. There were only a few farms and farm houses, one grist mill, one fulling mill, one store, one tavern and one church within the corporate limits of Mount Kisco one hundred years ago. The land owners were Seeley Sarles, John Israels, Gilbert Green, Thomas Green. Caleb Kirby and Sutton Craft. There was only one house where is now the R. R. station. It was a small house, standing about midway between the depot house and Dr. Millers. Kirby's pond furnished water power for the mills. The present Main street was the principal roadway. The sand bank at the station extended to the highway and across the R. R. track. At New Castle corner were St. George's church and Craft's tavern. NEW CASTLE CORNER. Here, for many years, was the only store and the only post office within a circuit of five miles. It was a small hamlet delightfully situ- ated on somewhat elevated ground on the north and west sides of Kirby's pond. It is only a small part of an extensive area of a com- paratively smooth surface spreading out from the lowlands about the railroad station far to the southward and skirting the Mill street road for a considerable distance, where are fine farms, palatial residences, HISTORY OF MOUNT KISCO. spacious barns, all denoting thrift and prosperity. In 1722, it was a new settlement in the woods. KIRBYVILLE. A little farther down Mill street road from New Castle Corner is Kirbyville, the former home of the Kirbys, — Caleb Kirby and his descendants. Here have been several mills and factories. Caleb Kirby lived in the house now occupied by Mr. J. K. Vail. The march of progress and improvement have left unremoved a rock on the lawn in front of this house. On this rock, it is said, Gen'l Washington once ate his dinner during a temporary halt in the march of the patriot army through this place. By the junction here of the Mill street and Wampus pond roads, is formed a triangular space serving as a sort of park, opposite which stands the district school house and several dwelling houses. THE RAILWAY. In the latter part of the year 1845 the Harlem R. R. Co., in the extension of its line of railway through Westchester County, began tha construction of their road along the low-lands skirting the broken and irregular line of Chappaqua hills and by Kisco mountain, and in the early part of the spring of 1S47, the cars were running as far as Mount Kisco. There were at first four passenger trains daily, — fare 75 cents to New York. The first appearance of a locomotive in the immediate vicinity of Mount Kisco was in the latter part of the winter of 1846 and 7, when the track was being laid on the newly graded road. People living along the line of the road flocked to the adjoining hills to see the locomotive and cars go by, and on the arrival of incoming trains a crowd of persons were waiting at the station to see the " iron horse." MOUNT KISCO DEPOT AND FRENCH'S HOTEL. HISTORY OF MOUNT KISCO. 11 Mount Kisco was the upper terminus of the road until the follow- ing June when trains began running to Croton Falls. The first train of cars that came to Mount Kisco, consisted of some freight and milk cars and one passenger car. This was in Feb- ruary. 1847. MOUNT KISCOS GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. It was not until the completion of the railroad to this place that the growth and development of Mount Kisco as a business centre commenced. Houses, stores, churches, hotels and factories were built, new streets opened and farms divided up into building lots. The first building erected was the Captain Merritt store house, where is now the post office, and the first dwelling house that of Smith Hall now B. C. Tompkin's, the office of E. T. Baily & Son, real estate and insurance agents. This dwelling was completed in the spring of 1847. Briggs' hotel was built in 1851. The large building now used for Ga Nun & Co's. store was built for Isaac Carpenter very soon after the comple- tion of the railroad to this place, and the third floor was used for a number of years as a ball room. The Mount Kisco Educational Institute was erected in 1856 Strang's hotel in 1858; the Frank Halstead store house, corner of Main street and Maple avenue, in 1869 ; the Spencer Optical factory in 1873, and re-built in 1877; the Opera House was built in i884-5"and opened in February 1885 as a skating rink. INCORPORATION. At an election held in the old Captain Merritt store house corner of Main street and Kisco avenue, June 1st, 1875, to vote on incorpora- ting the village, the result was 144 majority vote in favor of village incorporation. 12 HISTORY OF MOUNT KISCO. The first Board of Trustees consisted of Alfred A. Sutton, presi- dent; Chancy Smith, Charles Van Tassel, William Banks and Andrew G. Carpenter, trustees. Succeeding presidents have been Jackson Hyatt, J. 0. Miller, W. I. Halstead, A. L. Banks and Theodore Car. penter. LOCATION AND ADVANTAGES. The village lies partly in the town of Bedford and partly in the town of New Castle. Within the village boundaries are Kisco moun- tain, New Castle Corner and Kirbyville. Its diversified scenery, its beautiful drives in every direction, its high elevation above the sea level, its pure bracing air, make it a very desirable place for residence. The death rate, during the last fifteen years has averaged only fifteen persons each year, about \\ per cent, of the entire population. The average age of those who have died was fifty-three years. DESCRIPTION. Its surface is diversified with hill and dale, mountain and plain. The railway passes in a north-easterly direction through the place, and two streams of considerable size, the Kisco and Branch brook, are within its borders. Main street, the principal thoroughfare and along which are nearly all the business places and churches, forms an irregu- lar semi-circle in its course through the village. Kisco mountain looms up several hundred feet, with steep precipitious side of rocks and forest trees and slopes oft westward with gentle declivity to the valley of the Kisco. KIRBY'S POND. In the early settlement of the country it was found that here was an excellent place for a mill site, and a dam was accordingly built? HISTORY OF MOUNT KJSCO. 13 which remained until swept away in a great freshet the 29th of April, 1854. The pond had hitherto covered fifty-five acres, but the new dam soon after built caused the pond to cover seventy-five acres, and this dam remained until its owner, Judge Leonard, had it torn down December 4th, 1888, and the pond thoroughly drained. Robert Flewelling was owner of the pond and mill property until 1791, when Caleb Kirby became owner. FIRE DEPARTMENT. This was organized in 1878, with four fire companies, two hand fire engines, one hose carriage and one hook and ladder truck. To these have since been added a small "jumper" hand engine. Ira Ellis was chief. LYCEUM. Organized 1881 with eight-hundred miscellaneous books, mostly standard works. A reading room was opened and supplied with news- papers and magazines. The reading room has been discontinued, and the library placed in the jewelry store of F. T. J ell iff. FIRES. Optical Factory burned April 21, 1877 Smith's Wheelwright Shop . House of Chancy Smith . . Carriage House of E. Dauchy Barn of Dr. Witherell . . . St. Francis R. C. Church . . Mount Kisco Hotel .... March 7, 1878 Oct. 19, 1879 Jan. 5, 1881 Oct. 22, 1886 Nov. 26, 1886 Mar. 30, 1887 HISTORY OF MOUNT K1SC0. L5 Bam of E. E. Dingee burned June 29. 1890 P. Fitzgerald " Mar. 13. 1892 " Judge Leonard " " 31, 1892 " Stephen Malone " " 14, 1892 Piersall Tenant House " April 6, 1892 CHURCHES. ST. MARK'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH. This church, built in 185 1 and dedicated January 25th, 1852, stands a short distance to the rear of the former site of St. George's church, built in 1761 and removed in 1839 and turned into a barn. The old church was used as a hospital in the time of the Revolution. The parsonage was given the society by will of the late Thomas Wright. The church has a seating capacity of 150, and a membership of 126. The pastors in charge were : — Isaac D. Vermilyea William L. Peck . Joseph W. Hyde . Charles W. Bolton James W. Sparks Joseph H. Young Charles B. Mee . John Anketell . . Benj. T. Hall . . Walter Mitchell . Epiphinaus Wilson The present church stands in the 1852 to 1858 1858 to 1863 1863 to 1867 1867 to 1872 1872 to 1874 1874 to 1876 1876 to 1880 1880 to 1882 1882 to 1887 1887 to 1889 1889 to centre of a burying ground in the southern part of which were buried, in the time of the Revolution, a number of soldiers belonging to the Continental army who died in the church, then used as a hospital. Some of the headstones bear HISTORY OF MOUNT KISCO. i; mark of great age. On one is inscribed : " In memory of Isaac Lounsberry, who was born October nth, 1703, and died March 3d, '775-" NEW CASTLE METHODIST CHURCH. The building of the first Methodist Church in 1826 at New Castle Corner was an outgrowth of a season of revival meetings held there at the houses of members of the North Castle Methodist church. Its first Board of Trustees were Caleb Kirby, James Fish, John P. Hor- ton, Tyler Fountain and Benj. Kirby. It was included within the Bedford circuit, having ten preaching places. The preachers were as follows : — Horace Bartlett and Stephen Farrington .... 1826 Horace Bartlett and human Andrus 1827 Nicholas White and Luman Andrus 1828 Nicholas White and Henry Hatfield 1829 Noble W. Thomas and Henry Hatfield .... 1830 Noble W. Thomas and John Reynolds 1831 John Reynolds and Daniel Devinne ...'•' 1S32 Henry Hatfield and Denton Keeler 1833 Loren Clark and Denton Keeler I &34 Loren Clark and Alonzo F. Silleck 1835 Geo. L. Fuller and Alonzo F. Silleck 1836 Seymour Van Dusen and Wm. H. Bangs . . .1837 Nathan Rice and Wm. H. Bangs 1838 Robert Travis and J. L. Dickerson 1839-40 Jesse Hunt and James H. Romer 1841-42 Up to this time ( 1843 ) tne society had increased sufficiently in membership to warrant the building of a larger church edifice, which was accordingly built a little farther south and west than the first church, and dedicated February 1843. The old church was thereafter used as a parsonage. HISTORY OF MOUNT KISCO. 19 The preachers were : — Charles F. Pelton and J. K. Sill . . .1843 Chas. F. Pelton and D. Turner . . . 1844 Daniel Devinne 1845-46 John Luckey . . .' 1847-48 J. Z. Nichols 1849 Thomas Sparks 1850 51 Davis Stocking 1852-53 Benjamin Griffin 1 854-55 C. S. Brown 1856-57 Thomas Lodge 1858-59 David Buck 1860-61 Albert D. Vail 1862-63 E. Foster lS6 4 Thomas Fero l8 65 Jeremiah Millard 1866-67-68 From 1845 to 1856 it was connected with the Pines Bridge church. The year 1868 was the beginning of a new era in the history of the New Castle Methodist church both as to change of location and of a new and much larger house of worship. At a cost of about $25,000, a church and parsonage were erected on grounds bought of Hezekiah D. Raymond, and the church was dedicated August 20th, 1868. The old church property was sold Jan* 18th, 1868. The new church is much nearer the R. R. depot than was the old one, much finer in appearance, having two towers, one ninety the lother forty feet in height. In the higher tower is a bell weighing eighteen -hundred pounds. The church has a seating capacity of five- hundred, and a membership of about two-hundred and seventy. Its preachers were : — J. Millard l868 D^ Los Lull 1869-70 J. F. Richmond 1871-72 C . M. Egeleston 1873-74 'OS J. \V. Ackeily 1875-77 20 HISTORY OF MOUNT K IS CO. S. J. Ferguson W. E. Ketcham George Clark . G. W. Terbush De Los Lull . W. A. Chadvvick A new $2500 pipe organ of Jardi placed in the recess back of the pulpit. This organ has two manuals, twenty-two registers and 943 pipes. Mrs. Frank Miller is organist. 878-79 880-82 883-85 886-87 888-90 891-94 ine & Sons' make has just been THE MOUNT KISCO PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. The church edifice was erected in 1851 on grounds given by Joseph W. Merritt. It is a plain building with a short tower or cup- ola, a bell and stained glass windows, and has a seating capacity of two-hundred and fifty. The main entrance is through a wide doorway opening into a lobby at the south end of the church, a door at each end of the lobby opens into the large audience room, back of which is the lecture room used for Sunday school and prayer meeting, just back of the pulpit is a pipe organ. A place for the choir is arranged between the pulpit and organ. A new parsonage was built-in 1882 on a part of the church grounds where the horse sheds formerly stood and these were removed to the rear of the church. The church has a membership of one hun- dred and thirty six. The preachers were : — Andrew Shiland 1852-69 John Hancock 1869-74 John H. Frazee 1874-77 John Johnson 1877-82 Addison Madiera 1882-86 Harris R. Schenck 1886-92 David Laughlin 1892 HISTORY OF MOUNT K1SC0. 21 A new $1400 pipe organ of Jardine & Sons' make has recently been put into the church. This organ has two manuals, fourteen registers and five-hundred and fifty pipes. Miss Florence Lyon is organist. ST. FRANCIS ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. Father McGean of Sing Sing was the first Catholic priest to con- duct services in Mount Kisco. This was in 1861. The nearest Roman Catholic church was at Croton Falls. It was a long distance for members of this society at Mount Kisco to go in attending their own church. Efforts were consequently made to have a church of their own at Mount Kisco, and a church was accordingly built in 1862 at the junction of Main and Green streets, costing about $2,500, and and in 1872 a parsonage was built costing about $3,500. The church was burned on the night of Nov. 29th, 1886, and in the following year a larger and handsomer edifice was erected on the same site, and dedicated February 19th, 1888. The church has a seating capacity of two-hundred and twenty, and a membership of two-hundred and fifty. The first pastor was Father McClellan of Sing Sing. The first resident pastor was Father Brennan. The pastors succeeding him were : — Father Henry Father Newman " McCauley " Conroy " Gregg " Wall MEETING HOUSE OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. This building for divine worship was erected in 1856. It is situate on a ridge of land just east of the R. R. depot. The main entrance is at the south end of the building and it has a seating capac- HISTORY OF MOUNT KISCO. 23 ity of about one hundred and fifty, and has a neat, unpretentious appearance. Public services are held every Sunday and Wednesday mornings and a Sunday school at the close of the Sunday morning service. NEWSPAPERS. The Mount Kisco Weekly, the first newspaper ever published in Mount Kisco made its first appearance in August 1873, under the auspices of the Carpenter Bros., (Stephen and Samuel) who, for several years previous to this, had at their own home,, been carrying on a job printing business, doing their printing on a small hand printing press. This weekly newspaper met a growing demand that hitherto had been supplied by the Sing Sing papers, and a Yonkers paper. The Mount Kisco Weekly came out every Friday evening and was edited in succession by the Carpenter Bros, B. Hammond, C. E* Travis, Wm. T. Cole and Chas. E. Patteson and was by the last named removed to White Plains in 1887, and published under the name of ' ; Mount Kisco Weekly and Westchester County Reporter -.'' The Recorder, as a Mount Kisco publication, made its first appearance in Mount Kisco in the year 1881 and was edited by the late Wm. A. Miller. It had been published under the name of " The Katonah Sentinel" at Katonah since 1873. Frank Dromgoole, the present editor, purchased the paper in 1882, and he has conducted it with ability and success ever since, and as an influential Republican organ has always had the confidence and liberal support of its party- This paper is issued every Friday evening. SCHOOLS. The first school in Mount Kisco was opened in the basement of Smith Hall's house in 1849, and was called a neighborhood school- It was well attended and showed the necessity of having a school HISTORY OF MOUNT K1SC0. 25 house at the station. The district school house was built in 1 851 and stood on the highest part of the sand knoll and is now used a & Mathew's wheelwright shop. Twenty years afterwards, the necessity of providing much larger accommodations for children of school age in the district became clearly apparent, and to meet the pressing needs- in this respect the Union Free School building was,erected in 1875, at a cost of $6,500 on land bought of David Moger. The building is two story and has a cupola in which is a bell weighing three hundred pounds- There are two rooms on the first floor and two rooms connected by- large sliding doors on second floor. Each room is heated by steam. The school can accommodate one hundred and eighty pupils. There was an average daily attendance of one hundred and forty-one, during the last school year, 1891-2, and one hundred and ninety-one enrolled- The number of non-resident pupils in attendance has reached as high as thirty-seven. It is a graded school with four departments : primary. junior, senior and grammar, each having a teacher. The first princi- pal was Mr. Anderson, his successors in order of time have been Mr. Bishop Mr Brickell, Mr. Crane, Mr. Millar and Miss Noms who is the present principal. She has initiated a movement which resulted in the collection of several hundred books forming the nucleus of a good library for the use of the school. The Board of Education consists of Messrs. E. T. Baily, C. S. Ware M. Lissauer, C. Dawson and F. Dromgoole. A small school house at Kirbyville accommodates the school at the south end of the village. SOCIETIES. Kisco Lodge, No. 708, F. & A. M. was organized September 7 l87 o, and its charter received July „ 1871. Lewis F. Pelton was its first master. The lodge has eighty six members. They meet in Masonic Hall on Main Street at the head of Maple ave, two Friday 2G HISTORY OF MOUNT KISCO. evenings of each month. The present officers are : — D. F. Gorham Master F. C. Pelton Secretary S. H. Sarles Senior Warden A. J. Eaves, Junior Warden. H. W. Bischoff, Treasurer. Pearl Fountain Lodge, No. 42, I. O. of G. T., was organized in February, 1891. It has 50 members. George Finch is Chief- Meetings are held every Monday evening in the lodge rooms in Betts. building on Main street. The Woman's Christian Union was organized in January, i8£o, with 14 members. Its first officers were Emily Fowler, president; Jane Knapp, treasurer; Fannie Fish, secretary. It now has a mem- bership of between 50 and 60. Mrs. Fowler is president ; Mrs Knapp, treasurer, and Mrs. Ella Weeks, secretary. Meetings are held at the houses of members. The John Wesley Mission was organized as an auxilliary of the New Castle Methodist Church, January 1891. Meetings are held every Sunday afternoon, in the mission room on Main street, at the head of Maple avenue. CEMETERY. A tract of land, 85 acres, being a part of the Wright brothers farm, was set apart in 187 1, by Chancy Smith, as a cemetery and named Oakvvood. It adjoins Lexington avenue, and extends nearly to the railroad. The first interment, two of the Hubbell children, was made in 1872. The cemetery was incorporated in 1884, with James Wood as president, Doctor Teller, secretary and Francis M. Carpenter- treasurer. A receiving vault has been built in that part of the ceme- tery near the railway. John Crook is superintendents of the grounds. HISTORY OF MOUNT KISCO. 27 THE TOWN LINE. The New Castle and Bedford town line passes through the village of Mount Kisco, with a curvature bowing into the town of New Castle. The only record evidence showing that this line is not a straight one r but that it is curved as above stated, is a tax map on file in the Secre- tary of State's office, Albany. This is a map of 41 51 acres of land sold July 25, 1765, for non-payment of taxes, and the land so sold was in the south-western part of the town of Bedford, adjoining the town of New Castle. The line is in other respects traditional, there being no monuments to fix its course. THE MT. KISCO EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE. This institute of learning was incorporated March 31, 1857. The buiding for the school was built the year previous on elevated ground about midway between New Castle Corner and Mount Kisco depot and used for a high school until 1865, and thereafter as a hotel and summer boarding house, until burned March 30, 1857. The building was seventy feet long, forty feet wide and three stories high, besides basement and had all the modern improvements. The grounds around it consisted of about five acres. POPULATION. The number of inhabitants in the village of Mount Kisco, as shown by the State census taken in 1892, is about 1000. VILLAGE OFFICERS. J. O. Miller, President. A. L. Banks, E. T. Bailey and Boltis Moore, Trustees. Walter E. Osborn, Clerk ; and J. H. Crane, Police Justice. LU H => co < O => Q UJ O o CO A D I ER TISEMENTS. 29 ||arricige ||cpo$iforv, BLACKSMITH SHOP and WHEELWRIGHT SHOP, Whips, Blankets, Robes, &c. KISCO AVENUE, near Presbyterian Church, TOWNSEND MATHEWS, Proprietor. AND PATENTEE IVIathew's Road Cart. L. B. RICHARDS, COAL $ WOOD MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. STAGE LINE BETWEEN MT. KISCO DEPOT AND NEW CASTLE CORNER. Stage meets every Train. Fare Ten Cents. ABIJAH MERRITT, Prop. General Trucking promptly attended to. 30 AD I ER 1ISEMENTS. Everybody knows that W. R. PRICE SELLS BEST TEA Very Keasonable, ALWAYS WAIT FOR THE WAGON, AND WE'LL ALL TAKE TEA. FISH BROS. Funeral Directors, AND EMBALMERS. MOUNT KISCO, N. Y. HOYT BROS. DEALERS IN Cabinet Furniture, Chairs, Etc. CARPETS, OIL CLOTHS, MATTINGS, WALL PAPER, &c. Katonah, Westchester Co., N. Y. DEALER IN GROCERIES ^ PROVISIONS MOUNT KISCO, N. Y. Choice Gilt-edge Print Butter, made from selected cream, by the Standard Butter Co., Owego, N. Y. A D J 'ER TISEMENTS. 31 E. T. BAILY & SON, REAL ESTATE & INSURANCE A G E N T S . Country and Village Property BOUGHT AND SOLD. MOP TO LOAN 0\ f[EAL ESTATE All kinds of Property Insured at low rates, and losses promptly and fairly adjusted. J§g2g^ Parties having Property to rent or for sale will find it to their advantage to furnish us with a list of the same. STEAMER TICKETS, To and from Europe, and Drafts on Foreign Countries for sale. MAIN ST., MOUNT KISOO., N Y. OPPOSITE THE RAILROAD TICKET OFFICE. 32 AD VER TISEMENTS. E. B. BENNETT, PLUMBING, STEAM, HOT WATER AND GAS FITTING, TIN ROOFING, Stoves, Ranges and Hot Air Furnaces, Wind Mills and Pumps of all kinds. Hot Air Engines and Steam Plants erected. Contractor for Artesian or Drilled Wells, from 10 to 3000 feet. MAIN ST., opposite Post Office, MOUNT KISCO, N. Y.