Winter 1998

A Bit of Yorktown History
From "Bolton's History"
Continuation from the Fall Issue (click here to read beginning of article)

"The principal aboriginal settlement in this part of Appamaghpogh occupied the summit of Indian Hill, a vast height, which rises to an elevation of nearly six hundred feet above the northern margin of Lake Magrigaries, (Hollow Lake) situated in Jefferson Valley. On the southern side of the hill lies the Indian burying-ground.

The remains of several Indians have been lately disinterred near the residence of Dr. Fountain, whose property borders the lake. Indian Hill is also memorable as the last spot inhabited by a band of aborigines in Westchester County. On the eastern border of the town is situated the Indian cemetery of Amawalk.

"Upon the partition of the manor of Cortlandt among the heirs of Stephanus van Cortlandt in the year 1734, the following allotments were made in this town.

"North lot No. 1, Andrew Miller; ditto No. 3, Gertrude Beeckman; ditto No. 4, Cornelia and her husband, Col. John Schuyler. This gentlemen was the father of the illustrious Gen. Philip Schuyler."

The Davenport House
by Bridget Krowe

The Davenport House was built in 1750 by Richardson & Lydia Davenport. Historians disagree about whether this couple was British or Dutch (having Anglicized the name "Danvers"). It is the only surviving structure in Westchester County that was continuously held by the American forces during the American Revolution, a fact proclaimed on the Westchester County Tricentennial marker in front of the house (click here for photo).

By virtue of its view of the ford over the Croton River near what is now Pines Bridge, the Davenport House was the headquarters for the First Rhode Island Regiment (approximately 28 men), commanded by Colonel Christopher Greene. On May 14th of 1781, the British advanced on the house, in retaliation for Colonel Greene's attack on Delancey's headquarters, with a force of 200-300 men. The American troops, mostly freed slaves and American Indians, were all killed but the house was never taken over by the British. Holes from the musket balls used in this massacre are still evident in rafters in the attic.

The Davenport House remained in the hands of linear descendants of the builders until just after the turn of this century when it was sold to H. W. Wilson and his wife who were publishers of library books and journals. In the 1920s, they formed the Croton Heights Realty Co. to begin residential development of the area which had been farmland until then. Some say that this was the first residential development that ever existed in Yorktown Heights and by 1935, there were 35 homes in Croton Heights.

After the Wilsons both passed away, the Davenport House became the property of the Westchester County Historical Society which sold it at auction to the Krowe family in 1981. For part of the time it was owned by the Historical Society, the Davenport House was the first site of the Yorktown Museum. For about ten years, Cortland and Doris Auser were the tenant/caretakers of the house. The late Mr. Auser was Yorktown's Town Historian for years and Mrs. Auser was the director and curator of the Yorktown Museum.

Thus, this house has a long and colorful history.

Part of a continuing series of "Treasures in Our Town " published in the Newsletter.

In Memoriam
Cortland Auser, Former Town Historian

 As another year comes to a conclusion, we look back on a year where Yorktown lost a soldier of History. Retired Lieutenant Colonel of the U. S. Air Force, Cortlandt Auser, died earlier this year on January 8th. (Click here for the full text of the Memorial published in News and Events.)

Please renew your membership with the Yorktown Historical Society in January 1999. Membership dues are on a calendar year basis:

150th Anniversary

Congratulations to The Community Church for having a very successful rededication service on October 25th to celebrate its 150th Anniversary (click here for photo). Don't miss the old-fashioned setting of the Christmas Eve candlelight service at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 24, 1998.

The church history goes back to 1785 when the Yorktown Baptist Society, a branch of the Stamford Baptist Church, was organized. In 1788, the Yorktown Baptist Church was officially constituted, with Elder Reuben Garrison as the first pastor. Services were held in homes until the first Baptist meeting house was built in 1802, during the pastorate of Elder Isaac Rhodes. This original building, which was later moved to the comer of Baptist Church and Hunterbrook Roads and remodeled, has at times served as a parsonage. In recent years it has provided housing for the church caretakers.

In 1848, the present Greek Revival-style building, larger than the first building, was constructed and dedicated to the Lord. Services were held under various pastors and visiting preachers until 1890, after which the church was mostly closed for 27 years. In 1917, Rev. Harry B. Roberts, pastor of the Yorktown Presbyterian Church, began holding Sunday afternoon services in the Baptist Church building. In the following years a movement was begun to buy the building from the Baptist society. The purchase was completed in 1924 and a non-sectarian Community Church, complete with constitution and by-laws, was organized. In 1933, Rev. Roberts became permanent pastor of Community Church and that year conducted the first of our continuous Christmas Eve candlelight services.

In 1940, under the leadership of Rev. F. Gordon Ham, the church was incorporated as The Community Church of Yorktown under the religious corporation laws of the State of New York. Fellowship Hall and the Sunday School classrooms were added to the building in the early 1970s, while Malcolm Foster was pastor.

(Courtesy of The Community Church, October 1998)