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Historic Pelham Blog Archive
November 13, 2006
350TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
BOOK: "THOMAS PELL
AND THE LEGEND OF THE PELL TREATY OAK" -- $11.95 (PROCEEDS AFTER
PRINTING COSTS WILL GO TO
BARTOW-PELL MANSION MUSEUM).
CLICK HERE TO BROWSE BEFORE YOU BUY!
LEARN MORE.
Monday, November 13, 2006
The Isaac Roosevelt Stone Carved in 1833
Along the Long Island Sound shore, only a few feet south of today's
boundary between the the Town of Pelham and Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx
is a large boulder that contains the following inscription in letters
nearly one foot high:
Isaac Roosevelt
1833
A photograph of the stone taken on Saturday, November 11, 2006, appears
immediately below. The image shows a carving rendered faint by the ravages
of time and tides. Thus, immediately below I have included a duplicate
copy of the image on which I have outlined the carving.
Isaac Roosevelt was one of the organizers of
Christ Church, in which a memorial tablet dedicated to his memory still
exists. The boulder is believed to have been a boundary marker for a
portion of the large acreage purchased in the area by Robert Roosevelt.
According to Lockwood Barr in his popular history of The Ancient Town of
Pelham:
“Another interesting
[property] mark is ‘Isaac Roosevelt 1833,’ carved on a boulder at the
edge of the Sound, just south of the Pelham Manor Line. As already
related, the Roosevelt family, around 1800, purchased the great tract
bounded by the Shore Road, Pelhamdale Avenue and what is now the
Branch Line. On an eminence on the edge of the Sound, now in New York
City, just south of the Pelham Manor line, Elbert Roosevelt built his
home. In Christ Church, Pelham, there is a memorial tablet to Isaac
Roosevelt (son of Elbert), who died in Pelham, September 30th, 1856,
aged 43 years (born 1813). So, when Isaac Roosevelt carved his name on
the boulder in 1833 he was just 20 years old. Records of the Church
show that Isaac Roosevelt was one of the organizers of Christ Church,
serving as Vestryman and as Treasurer from its formation, until his
death. The site of the old Roosevelt home on the Shore Road is now
included in Pelham Bay Park.”
Source: Barr, Lockwood, A Brief, But Most
Complete & True Account of the Settlement of the Ancient Town of Pelham
Westchester County, State of New York Known One Time Well & Favourably
as The Lordshipp & Mannour of Pelham Also the Story of the Three Modern
Villages Called the Pelhams pp. 125-26 (Richmond, VA The Dietz Press,
Inc. 1946).
The Isaac Roosevelt stone is not difficult
to locate. As you leave Pelham on Shore Road you will pass Shore Park on
the left and a number of homes on the east side of Shore Road. Shortly
after you leave Pelham and enter Pelham Bay Park, there is a small
parking area on the left (east side) of the roadway. Its entrance
usually is blocked with boulders. Several footpaths are accessible from
that parking area. They lead down to the shoreline.
At low tide it is easy to walk along the
shore line back toward the Pelham Town Boundary (northward). You will
reach the "end" of the shore line where a fence blocks your continued
progress along portions of the shore owned by private home owners. The
last large boulder lying on the shore at that spot contains the carving,
although it is difficult to see.
Please Visit the
Historic Pelham
Web Site
Located at
http://www.historicpelham.com/
Click here to see a
single index of all Historic Pelham Blog Postings to date.
posted by Blake A. Bell @
4:53 AM
Comment
Click Here To View the Actual Blog Posting for
November 13, 2006.
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