Timeline:
Chronology of the History of Pelham

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1609 - Henry Hudson and his crew, sailing the Half Moon, are the first Europeans to sail up the Hudson River and to see some of what later will become The Bronx and Lower Westchester County.

1611 - Rev. John Pell, D.D. (1611-1685), Thomas Pell's younger brother, is born in England.

1613 - Thomas Pell, who purchased the land that became today's Pelham (as well as surrounding area) is born in England, the son of the Rev. John Pell, D.D. Thereafter, as a young man, he reportedly serves as a Page to Prince Charles and, later, a Gentleman of the Bedchamber of Charles I, King of England. Some sources say Thomas Pell was born in 1608.

1616 - The Rev. John Pell, D.D., dies in England leaving two sons: Thomas Pell (1608-1669) who is described in early London records as a "Gentleman of the bed chamber of Charles I, King of England" and Rev. John Pell, D.D. (1611-1685) a professor of mathematics and the author of several volumes on scientific issues.

1626 - The Dutch purchase Manhattan from the Indians.

1629 - The West India Company (not the Dutch Government) makes the first attempt to found a colony in what is now Manhattan.

1634 - Anne Hutchinson arrives in Boston, Massachusetts with her husband, their children and some of her husband's relatives.

1635 - According to research detailed in Lockwood Barr's history of Pelham, Thomas Pell may have arrived in the colonies via any of several ships including the "Planter", the "Speedwell" or the "Hopewell". Very early he reportedly settles in Dorchester, Massachusetts and, later, Windsor, Connecticut. Research detailed in Vol. I, No. 1 of Pelliana says that it is "certainly" the case that the Thomas Pell that arrived in Boston on the Speedwell was not the Thomas Pell who founded what later became Pelham. 

1637 - Thomas Pell serves in Pequot War under Captain Mason.

1637-38 - Anne Hutchinson is banished from Massachusetts and finds refuge with her family in Rhode Island.

Before 1639 - Thomas Pell serves with Lion Gardner at Fort Saybrooke, Connecticut.

1640/41 - Thomas Pell moves to New Haven, Connecticut.

1642 - Anne Hutchinson's husband dies in Rhode Island.

1642 - John Throckmorton and a band of settlers migrate from Rhode Island to live on Throg's Neck.

1642 - Anne Hutchinson and her family also migrate from Rhode Island and start a small settlement somewhere in the area that later became the Town of Eastchester near the Hutchinson River.

02/03/1643 - Sir John, the son of Rev. John Pell, D.D., sole heir to his uncle, Thomas of Fairfield, Connecticut and Pelham, New York, is born in England, February 3, 1643. In the English records he subsequently is designated as "Sewer in ordinary to his Majesty Charles II, King of England."

08/20/1643 - Anne Hutchinson and most of her family are massacred during an Indian uprising.  John Throckmorton and others who settled with him on what came to be known as Throg's Neck flee the area.

1647 - Thomas Pell moves to Fairfield, Connecticut, where it is believed he lived the rest of his life.

1649 -Charles I, King of England, is beheaded in England.

02/09/1653 - Thomas Pell purchases land in Fairfield, Connecticut from Philip Pinckney, one of the "Ten Founds" who settled East Chester.

06/27/1654 - Thomas Pell signs a treaty with Siwanoy Sachems and buys 9,166 acres including what we know today as Pelham, New Rochelle, portions of Bronx County and much of the land east of the Hutchinson River northward to Mamaroneck.

1654 - The Village of Westchester is founded in what is now Bronx County is founded as the first permanent settlement by Europeans.  The settlement is located at the head of navigation of Westchester Creek and reported is founded by men who were prompted to settle the area by Thomas Pell of Fairfield, Connecticut.

04/19/1655 - Cornelius Van Thienhoven, the Fiscal of the Province of New Netherland, serves a protest against Thomas Pell and others for settling at Vreelant (including what became the Town of Eastchester) claiming that the Dutch had obtained lawful title to the land from the Indians.

1660 - After the Cromwells, the throne is restored to Charles II and unrest follows.

06/08/1661 - John Richbell makes a treaty with the Indians by which he became the "principal proprietor" of Mamaroneck. Richbell later had a dispute with Thomas Pell over ownership of a parcel of land on one of the three necks at Mamaroneck.

1661 - Rev. John Pell, D.D. (1611-1685), Thomas Pell's younger brother who is a professor of mathematics on the Continent and the author of several volumes on subjects pertaining to science is ordained Deacon by the Bishop of London and subsequently given the living of the Rectory of Fobbing in Essex.

1662 - Thomas Pell is made a Freeman of Fairfield, Connecticut.

1663 - The so-called "Ten Families" aided by Thomas Pell of Fairfield, Connecticut, found the Town of Eastchester in what is now the northeast Bronx.

06/24/1664 - Thomas Pell grants what came to be known as the Eastchester Planting Grounds to James Eustis and Philip Pinckney for themselves and their associates to the number of Ten Families, to settle down at Hutchinson's, that is where the house stood, at the meadows and uplands to Hutchinson's River"; this was the beginning of the Town of Eastchester.

09/18/1664 - English take control of New Amsterdam and rename the settlement New York.

09/29/1665 - Thomas Pell testifies in a court proceeding and states that "he bought the land in question in 1654, of the Natives, and paid them for it".

1665 - Thomas Pell, residing in Fairfield, Connecticut, is elected as a representative to the General Court..

10/08/1666 - Governor Richard Nicholls issues royal patent to Thomas Pell essentially confirming his Treaty with the Indians to acquire his lands.

1666 - Governor Richard Nicholls issues royal patent of East Chester which describes it as a "plantation . . . commonly known and called by ye name of The Ten Farms or East Chester".

05/01/1667 - Under terms of October 6, 1666 patent issued by Gov. Richard Nicolls confirming Thomas Pell's land purchase, "one lamb upon the first day of May" shall be paid to the British Crown "if the same shall be demanded"; this is the first time that obligation came due..

1667 or 1668 - Thomas Pell's wife, formerly the "Widow Brewster," dies.

09/13/1669 - Thomas Pell is served with a special warrant citing him to appear in the next court of assizes to answer in connection with a dispute with John Richbell regarding a parcel of land on one of the three necks at Mamoroneck. The dispute is settled by an agreement between Richbell and Sir John Pell, Thomas Pell's nephew and sole heir, on January 18, 1671.

09/21/1669 - Thomas Pell executes a will, shortly before his death, naming his nephew, John Pell, his sole heir.

09 or 10/1669 - Thomas Pell dies and leaves his property to his nephew, John Pell, 2nd Lord of the Manor.

10/13/1669 - Orders of the Court instruct that an inventory be taken of the estate of Thomas Pell of Ann Hook's Neck".

10/20/1669 - Itemized appraisal of New York estate of Thomas Pell of "Ann Hook's Neck" is completed, showing a New York estate worth 1,294 pounds.

1670 - Sir John Pell, Thomas Pell's nephew and sole heir, arrives in the area from London.

12/09/1670 - Sir John Pell (Thomas Pell's nephew and sole heir), having arrived from London, meets the Governor of Connecticut John Winthrop, Jr. and presents his letters and papers.

12/15/1670 - Certificate of Recognition is issued indicating that Sir John Pell (Thomas Pell's nephew and sole heir) has met the Governor of Connecticut John Winthrop, Jr. and has presented his letters and papers; the certificate reads in part ". . . that the Governor hath received from persons of honor in England (letters and testimonies) that the bearer of them, Sir John Pell, sewer in ordinary to his Majesty, and son of Dr. Pell of London, is undoubtedly the nephew of Mr. Thomas Pell of Fairfield. . . "

1671 - Sir John Pell and John Richbell are "appointed to lay out the new Road to New England, through East Chester."  This becomes the Old Boston Post Road (now Colonial Avenue in Pelham). 

01/18/1671-72 - John Richbell and Sir John Pell, Thomas Pell's nephew and sole heir, settle a dispute that arose between Richbell and Thomas Pell while Thomas Pell was alive regarding a parcel of land on one of the three necks at Mamoroneck.

01/25/1671-72 - John Pell, Second Lord of the Manor of Pelham, and John Richbell of Mamaroneck settle a land dispute that first began between Thomas Pell and Richbell before Thomas Pell's death in September 1669.

01/13/1673 - Originally a Native American trail, the Old Boston Post Road between New York and Boston (now Colonial Avenue in Pelham) is first traveled by a post rider.

1674 or 1675 - Sir John Pell, Thomas Pell's nephew and sole heir, marries Rachel Pinckney, daughter of Philip Pinckney (one of the original Ten Proprietors of East Chester). Soon after the marriage, according to Barr, "Sir John Pell erected his Mansion House on the shores of the Sound near where now stands the Bartow Mansion in Pelham Bay Park."

1675 - Thomas (3rd Lord of the Manor of Pelham) is born to Sir John Pell and his wife, Rachel Pinckney Pell.

10/30/1677 - Philip Pinckney, one of the original Ten Proprietors of East Chester, is appointed by townsmen ". . . to go to our Governor to meet Mr. Justice Pell, Esq. [John Pell, nephew and sole heir of Thomas Pell], where it is intended that our Governor is to decide any differences that may arise betwixt us concerning the bounds of our patent."

11/01/1683 - Westchester County, including much of what is today's Bronx, is created with the county seat located in the Village of Westchester.

1685 - Rev. John Pell, D.D. (1611-1685), Thomas Pell's younger brother (and father of Sir John Pell, 2nd Lord of the Manor) who is a professor of mathematics on the Continent and the author of several volumes on subjects pertaining to science is ordained Deacon by the Bishop of London and subsequently given the living of the Rectory of Fobbing in Essex dies in England in a state of "want".

10/20/1687 - Governor Thomas Dongan issues to Sir John Pell (Thomas Pell's nephew and sole heir) a royal patent that refers for the first time to the Manor of Pelham, saying ". . . the tract of land, islands and premises aforesaid are by these present erected and constituted to be one lordship and manner, and the same shall from henceforth be called the lordship and manner of Pelham . . . " This is the second royal patent to establish a Manor, the first being Fordham in November 1671.

09/20/1689 - Jacob Leisler purchases from John Pell, nephew and sole heir of Thomas Pell, 6,100 acres of land intended as a home for French Huguenot refugees.  The land becomes New Rochelle, named in commemoration of the suffering of Huguenots at La Rochelle, France. 

03/25/1690 - First time John Pell (2d Lord of the Manor), his heirs and "asignes" (sic) are obligated to make annual payment "for ever" of 20 Shillings to the British Monarchy based on October 20, 1689 letters patent issued by NY Governor Thomas Dongan confirming validity of Thomas Pell's June 27, 1654 purchase of lands from local Native Americans. 

03/03/1729 - Thomas Pell, 3rd Lord of the Manor of Pelham, sells to Edward Blagge of New York City a large tract of land north of the Old Boston Post Road (now Colonial Avenue in Pelham).  Much of this tract is today's Village of Pelham and this is the among the first such large tracts of land within the area of today's Town of Pelham to pass out of the Pell family.

1732 - The first stage coach route between New York and Boston is established via the Old Boston Post Road. 

11/11/1732 - John Glover born in Salem, Massachusetts.  As a Colonel and American Patriot he later led the Marblehead Mariners in the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

1750 - Homestead that subsequently became the farm of Colonel Philip Pell III (1753-1811) which occupied much of what later came to be known as Pelham Heights or The Heights is built.

1750 - 1760 - At about this time, the home that we know today as Pelhamdale was built not far from the old Boston Post Road.  Located today at 45 Iden Avenue, the home is on the National Register of Historic Places, the New York State Register of Historic Places and the Westchester County Inventory of Historic Places.  The home belonged at one time to Philip Pell II, the father of Col. Philip Pell III. 

06/21/1753 - Great Minnefords Island (subsequently known as City Island and, until 1896, part of Pelham) is sold by Amos Dodge to Samuel Rodman who owns a large acreage on the mainland opposite the island.

06/01/1755 - Samuel Rodman sells Great Minnefords Island (subsequently known as City Island which was part of Pelham until 1896) to John Jones of Jamaica, Queens.

05/24/1757 - Some time the evening of May 24 or in the early morning hours of May 25, someone steals from John Pell of "the Manor of Pelham" four silver tankards, one silver mug, one silver teapot and one silver sword, all the original family silver of Thomas Pell and his nephew John Pell.  The son of the man who owned the silver is subsequently jailed after offering to sell several pieces of the silver.

1760 - About this time, the great rapier and the silver tankard believed to have belonged to Thomas Pell (brought with him from London and handed down through the Pell family) are stolen from Joseph Pell (1740-1776), the 4th Lord of the Manor, allegedly by a relative and are pawned in New York City where they since have vanished.

1761 - Benjamin Palmer purchases Minneford Island and creates a syndicate hoping to build a major commercial city on the Island within Long Island Sound which was later renamed City Island which, for many years, was part of Pelham.

06/19/1761 - Joseph Palmer sells Great Minnefords Island to his brother Benjamin Palmer who devises a grand scheme to develop the Island as a grand port city to rival New York and to be known as "City Island".  At the time, the island is located within Pelham.

05/10/1763 - A ferry from the mainland to City Island (part of Pelham until 1896) opens. 

10/27/1763 - Benjamin Palmer secures from Governor Cadwallader Colden letters patent covering riparian rights to the 400 feet of land under water at high tide around Great Minneford's Island (subsequently known as City Island, part of Pelham until 1896). 

1765 - Construction on St. Paul's Church in the Town of Eastchester (now in Mt. Vernon) begins this year or thereabouts. Eleven years later, following the Battle of Pelham on Oct. 18, 1776, the Church is used as a hospital by the British.

05/13/1766 - A ferry service to Hempstead, Long Island is opened from the tip of Great Minnefords Island (subsequently known as City Island, part of Pelham until 1896). 

10/18/1776 - After being stymied in their efforts to march to the mainland from Throg's Neck by a small band of American sharp shooters hiding behind cords of wood, British troops and German mercenaries are ferried across the Bay from Throg's Neck to Pell's Point located within today's Pelham Bay Park and begin to march inland.  Colonel John Glover spies them from a hill behind what is now Memorial Field in Mount Vernon and rushes forward with approximately 750 men to meet them.  Colonel Glover and his men, hiding behind stone Walls along Split Rock Road in what was then Pelham hold off more than 4,000 troops for the better part of the day, saving Washington's Army by allowing it to withdraw safely to White Plains. Following the Battle of Pelham, General Howe and his troops reportedly camp on what are now the grounds of Pelham Memorial High School before marching to New Rochelle for encampment and planning in advance of the Battle of White Plains. 

08/27/1776 - According to General Heath, two ships and a brig came to anchor a little above "Frog Point" [Throgg's Neck].  Col. Graham with his regiment was detached immediately to prevent their landing to plunder or burn.  Before Col. Graham arrived, several barges full of men landed on City Island, then a part of Pelham.  They killed a number of cattle.  Two companies of Col. Graham's men ferried to the Island, but the enemy carried off one man and fourteen cattle. 

01/30/1777 - As a storm cleared, fifteen ships, one brig, two schooners, and two sloops came to between Hart and City Island.  They were from the eastward, and were supposed to have troops on board.

07/06/1782 - Aaron Burr marries local resident Mrs. Theodosia Prevost.

02/28/1788 - Benjamin Palmer, one of the principal proprietors of City Island which then was part of Pelham, petitions N.Y. Governor George Clinton seeking reimbursement for losses suffered during the Revolutionary War when he and his family were held prisoners by the British.  He later petition George Washington on the same subject. 

11/25/1783 - Evacuation Day, the day General George Washington and his triumphal troops entered New York City.  Among those riding beside General Washington at the time was Pelham Patriot Col. Philip Pell III. 

03/07/1788 - The County of Westchester is divided into Towns and the Manor of Pelham is designated officially as the Town of Pelham.

09/29/1789 - Benjamin Palmer, one of the principal proprietors of City Island which then was part of Pelham, petitions "His Excellency George Washington, President of the United States, seeking reimbursement for losses suffered during the Revolutionary War when he and his family were held prisoners by the British.  He previously had petitioned N.Y. Governor George Clinton.

1790 - The population of the Town of Pelham is 199. 

07/17/1791 - Aaron Burr writes his wife saying "I fear the road near Pelham will discourage you from riding.  As you are likely to make use of it, would it not be worthwhile to have a few days work done on it?"

04/28/1795 - The vestry of Trinity Church in New Rochelle appoints Trustees to superintend the erection of an academy on the Church grounds.  The Trustees include many notable Pelham residents such as Isaac Roosevelt, Herman LeRoy and others.

01/17/1797 - The first recorded conveyance of Hunter's Island (then part of Pelham and now part of Orchard Beach) takes place.  A deed of this date in the records of the Office of the County Clerk of Westchester shows a transfer of "Appleby's" island (Hunter's Island) from John Blagge to Alexander Henderson.

02/22/1798 - James Davenport, surveyor, creates one of the earliest maps showing the Town of Pelham.  It is entitled "Town of Pelham, West Chester County.  James Davenport, surveyor, February 22, 1798."

04/28/1799 - John Hunter, who subsequently owned Hunter's Island (then part of Pelham and now part of Orchard Beach) marries Elizabeth Desbrosses, a "great heiress" who owns more than two and a half million acres of land in the Hudson Valley.

05/08/1799 - An advertisement announces that that the auctioneering and commission business of noted Pelham figure John Hunter and his father, Robert, would hence be known as John Hunter & Co.  Robert Hunter died shortly thereafter.

Late 1700s - George Washington reportedly visited what is now Pelham and slept in the farmhouse of Col. Philip Pell III that was located, until it burned in 1888, at what is now the intersection of Cliff and Colonial. 

04/07/1801 - Records of a Town Meeting held this date contain the first known reference to the existence of a school within the Town of Pelham.  The reference reads:  " . . . at a Town Meeting held at the School House in the Town of Pelham on Tuesday, the 7th day of April 1801 . . . there were elected seven Commissioners of Schools."  The location of the school is unknown.

03/16/1812 - A group of property owners in Pelham, the town of West Chester, and City Island (then part of Pelham) are instrumental in getting an Act of the NY State Legislature passed authorizing construction of a toll bridge across the Hutchinson River at its mouth.  The bridge is built, but subsequently destroyed by a storm.

04/12/1816 - A storm destroys the toll-bridge across the mouth of the Hutchinson River.  The bridge was erected after a group of property owners in Pelham, the town of West Chester, and City Island (then part of Pelham) get an Act of the NY State Legislature passed authorizing construction of the bridge.

01/01/1819 - A man named Nicholas Haight sells to Captain George Washington Horton 42 acres of land on the southern half of City Island which was part of Pelham until 1896.

1825 - Some time after the turn of the century, and certainly by about 1825, a small settlement on both sides of the site of today's railroad station in Pelham developed and became known as Pelhamville.  It was quite distant and separated from the main part of the Town of Pelham which, at that time, included City Island as well as quite a number of dwellings built along what we know today as Shore Road. 

1825 - General Lafayette reportedly visits Pelham and calls on Philip Pell IV, son of Col. Philip Pell III, at the farmhouse of Col. Philip Pell III that was located, until it burned in 1888, at what is now the intersection of Cliff and Colonial. 

03/08/1825 - The Hon. John Hunter, a wealthy and notable Pelham resident, is elected as one of the original thirteen directors of The Delaware and Hudson Canal Company.

04/13/1826 - A stock company is created to operate a school that the vestry of Trinity Church in New Rochelle established in 1795.  Among the directors are notable Pelham figures John Hunter and Herman LeRoy, Jr.   

1836 - 1842 - Some time between 1836 and 1842 (the date is not certain), Robert Bartow builds what Robert Bolton described as "a fine stone house in the Grecian style, which presents a neat front, with projecting wings".  The home then was located in on Shore Road in Pelham when Pelham extended much farther south into what we know today as Pelham Bay Park.  The home is the structure now known as the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum that serves as the headquarters of the International Garden Society on Shore Road, Pelham Bay Park, Bronx County. 

08/10/1836 - Hogg Island, now known as Travers Island where the New York Athletic Club facility in Pelham Manor is located, is sold by William E. Sheffield and his wife, Mary, and Rhoda Silliman to Elias D. Hunter, son of John Hunter of Hunter's Island.  Elias Hunter apparently, at some point, transfers title to his father, John Hunter. 

1837 - Rev. Robert Bolton becomes minister at St. Paul's Church in the Town of Eastchester. The church still stands in Mt. Vernon.

07/12/1839 - The New York Herald publishes an account of a visit to Pelham by Martin Van Buren who became President of the United States.  Van Buren visited the mansion of John Hunter on Hunter's Island (then part of Pelham and now part of Orchard Beach). 

1843 - Rev. Robert Bolton's time as minister at St. Paul's Church in the Town of Eastchester ends as he devotes attention to the creation of Christ Church in Pelham.

04/28/1843 - The cornerstone of Christ Church at the corner of Today's Pelhamdale Avenue and Shore Road in Pelham Manor is laid.

09/15/1843 - Rev. Robert Bolton, Rector of Christ Church, relinquishes all right in the property on which Christ Church is built.

1846 - The population of the Town of Pelham is 486.

Pre-1848 - A large race field known as the Pelhamville Race Track extends from the large Village Parking Lot behind the Village of Pelham Village Hall up to about where St. Catharine's Church now stands.  According to Lockwood Barr, the track was "where Westchester squires, who bred fasttrotting and pacing horses and were proud of their sporting proclivities, would meet to hold friendly brushes, each driving his own favorite steed; and they do say the side bets were often sizeable!" 

1848 - Robert Bolton, Jr. publishes the first edition of his History of Westchester which includes a chapter in Vol. I on the history of Pelham.

12/27/1848 - The New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad from New Haven to the junction with the New York and Harlem (near Williams Bridge) is opened and operates trains to Canal Street in New York City.  Its cars were hauled by horses from 42nd Street to Canal Street. The New Haven Railroad opened what came to be known as the Main Line at the end of December 1848 and the station was called Pelhamville.  In what should come as no surprise, the railroad quickly led to explosive growth and suburban development in the area. 

12/28/1848 - First scheduled train of the New Haven Main Line departs New York City and passes through Pelhamville.

1848 - 1872 - Until 1872, Pelhamville was merely a "flag stop" on the New Haven Line.  This meant that trains on the New Haven Line did not stop there regularly.  Rather, a "flag" was raised as a signal to the engineer to stop the train so that passengers at the station could embark.  According to the Village of North Pelham Souvenir Program for the Golden Jubilee Celebration of Village of North Pelham, "Four trains stopped at Pelhamville station, if you flagged them, and you paid your fare of five cents to New York, on the Train."

07/14/1849 - The first Post Office in the Town of Pelham is established with John Bolton as its first postmaster.

Pre-1850 - 1851 - Sometime before this period, an organization known as the Pelhamville Village Association was created to develop certain tracts of unincorporated property in the Town of Pelham lying north of the New Haven Line railroad tracks and east of the Hutchinson River.  The organization purchased Anthony Wolf's farm for development. 

06/21/1851 - The first of two subdivision maps for Pelhamville is filed and recorded in the Index of Maps, Office of the Register, Westchester County, White Plains.  The second is filed July 26, 1893.

09/08/1851 - The lot on which the Old Stone House (aka the Alexander Diack Home) located at 463 First Avenue is sold to Alexander Diack by Lewis C. Platt and Henry Marsden.  The home, built by Diack, is said to be haunted by the widow of a subsequent owner, James Parrish.

10/11/1851 - A map is filed entitled "Map of Building Lots, being a Continuation of Pelhamville, Westchester County, N.Y., the property of John B. Coppinger" showing a sub-division into streets and residential plots of lands bounded on the north by the Railroad, on the west by Fifth Avenue, on the east by Cliff Avenue and on the south by Second Street.

05/13/1852 - John Hunter of Hunter's Island (then part of the Town of Pelham and today part of Orchard Beach, Bronx County) creates a will that will subsequently dispose of his large farm known as the Provost Farm covering much of today's Split Rock Golf Course in Pelham Bay Park.

1859 - A Sunday school is started in Pelhamville by daughters of the Reverend Robert Bolton, Rector of Christ Church.  This is considered the birth of what evolved into the congregation of the Church of the Redeemer.

08/11/1852 - A development map by William Bryson entitled "Map of Prospect Hill Village, Town of Pelham, Westchester County, New York" is filed this date.

09/12/1852 - Notable and wealthy Pelham Resident John Hunter, who owned Hunter's Mansion on Hunter's Island (then part of Pelham, now part of Orchard Beach), dies at his home, leaving a life interest in his estate to his only surviving child, Elias Desbrosses Hunter.

10/15/1855 - James Parrish buys the Old Stone House (aka the Alexander Diack Home) located at 463 First Avenue from Mr. Diack.  The home is said to be haunted by the widow of a subsequent owner, James Parrish.

08/19/1857 - The Rev. Robert Bolton, founder of Christ Church and creator of the Bolton Priory, dies in England.

08/08/1860 - The Town of Pelham's first Post Office, initially established in 1849, is "discontinued" although it reportedly is reestablished one month later.

09/08/1860 - The Town of Pelham's first Post Office, initially established in 1849 and "discontinued" on August 8, 1860, reportedly is "reestablished" on this date.

1861 - 1865 - The Civil War results in a pause in the development of Pelham.  According to Tom Fenlon's book on the History of Pelham, the pause in development lasted until about 1870.

11/19/1862 - The second Post Office in the Town of Pelham is established on City Island, then part of the Town of Pelham.

10/12/1863 - George W. Horton and his wife, both of City Island which is then part of Pelham, present a plot of land to Grace Church at the corner of Main Street and Pilot Avenue on City Island.  The Church was previously organized in 1862 under the auspices of Christ Church, Pelham.  .

1864 - A tract of land located at Fourth Avenue and Third Street is purchased for purposes of erecting a church.  On February 17, 1872, the Church of the Redeemer was incorporated and thereafter began services in the church building built on the site. 

03/22/1865 - Notable and wealthy Pelham Resident Elias Desbrosses Hunter, whose father John Hunter owned Hunter's Island (then part of Pelham, now part of Orchard Beach) and built Hunter's Mansion, dies.

Pre-1866 - The first public school in what later became North Pelham and today is the Village of Pelham is opened.  It is known as the Pelhamville School.

01/17/1866 - The New York Herald publishes an advertisement announcing the auction of "the largest and finest collection" of art ever exhibited or offered for sale in the United States.  The collection belonged to Pelham resident John Hunter who owned Hunter's Island (then part of Pelham and now part of Orchard Beach) and who built Hunter's Mansion.

09/04/1866 - John Hunter 3rd, grandson of John Hunter who owned Hunter's Island (once part of Pelham and now part of Orchard Beach) and built Hunter's Mansion conveys Hunter's Island to former New York City Mayor Ambrose C. Kingsland.

/27/1867 - John Hunter 3rd and his wife, Anne M. Hunter, convey by deed to Nanette Anne Bolton, a triangular piece of land situated at that time in New Rochelle (but in Today's Pelham Manor) which Nanette Bolton donates to Christ Church.

1868 - F.W. Beers Atlas is published containing Plate 35 "Town of Pelham City Island" shows a total of 46 structures within Pelhamville on both sides of the New Haven Line tracks to what is now known as Colonial Avenue; north of the tracks are 41 structures apparently consisting of 39 residences, the school and the railroad station; south of the tracks southward to what is now Colonial Avenue are 5 structures apparently consisting of 4 residences and a structure housing "N.Y.L. Co."

1870 - The population of the Town of Pelham is 1,790.

05/12/1870 - With a boundary dispute between Pelham and New Rochelle simmering, the New York Legislature passes a law fixing the boundary as a line shown on the so-called Bond Map of New Rochelle created in 1711.  The legislation apparently fails to settle the dispute since Pelham petitions authorities in the fall of 1897 to locate and fix the line.

1872 - In 1872, a ticket office opened and New Haven Line trains begin to make regular stops at Pelhamville.  The Pelhamville station was a small, simple wooden building sitting only a few feet north of the two tracks, which essentially ran east and west at that location.  It was described as "a bleak building, . . . a two-and-a-half story building situated on the north side of the tracks [that] also housed the post-office, established there in 1878." 

02/17/1872 - According to Lockwood Barr:  "In the early days of Pelhamville there were no churches.  Residents of the district petitioned Christ Church in Pelham Manor to establish a Chapel, and in 1859 a Sunday School was started in Pelhamville by daughters of Rev. Robert Bolton, Rector of Christ Church.  Subsequently a congregation was organized and a chapel built and put into service under the guidance of Christ Church.  In 1864 a tract of land was bought at Fourth Avenue and Third Street and later a church erected.  On February 17, 1872 there was incorporated the Church of the Redeemer.  The first Rector was the Rev. Cornelius Winter Bolton, son of Rev. Robert Bolton of Christ Church, Pelham." 

1873 - The Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association is organized to develop unincorporated property principally in what we know today as the Village of Pelham Manor.  The original map in the prospectus for the project shows "Pelham Manor" on the south of the Old Boston Post Road (today's Colonial Avenue) and "Huguenot Heights" on the section north of road.  This development led to the incorporation of the Village of Pelham Manor in 1891.

01/09/1873 - The first post office to be located within today's Village of Pelham is established with William H. Sparks as the first postmaster.  The records of the U.S. Postal Service reportedly do not show the location of the office.

06/03/1873 - The Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association, the development association from which today's Pelham Manor may be said to have sprung in part, is organized by local citizens with a capital of $1,000,000.

10/01/1873 - The railroad tracks of the Harlem River and Portchester Railroad Company are leased to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company and become known as the "Branch Line" running through Pelham Manor and used by today's Amtrak trains.

1874 - The nearby towns of Morrisania, West Farms, and Kingsbridge are annexed to New York City, becoming the 23rd and 24th wards. These wards are placed under the control of the Department of Public Parks.

02/17/1874 - The so-called "Schulyer-Crosby Survey", a map created in 1872 in an effort to settle a boundary dispute between Pelham and New Rochelle, is filed.

07/30/1874 - The Bartow Post Office is established within the Town of Pelham near (or in) the Bartow Station on the New Haven Branch Line located near where today's roadway turns off Shore Road towards City Island.

10/30/1874 - The development firm known as the Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association draws up articles providing for the creation of a community church from which evolved the Huguenot Memorial Church.

07/09/1876 - The Little Red Church (Huguenot Memorial Church) opens.  It is believed to be the nation's only "Centennial Church", opened in honor of the Centennial of the United States.  Rev. Charles E. Lord is the first pastor.

11/21/1878 - Pelhamville Post Office opens in the New Haven Line Pelhamville station building.

03/03/1879 - The Pelham Manor Post Office is established in the Station of the New Haven Branch Line at the end of the Esplanade.

Early 1880s - With risk to life and limb from traffic on the New Haven Line growing, the grade of the New Haven Line tracks is raised through much of Pelhamville, although trains continued to cross Wolfs Lane / Fifth Avenue at street level until the early 1890s when the street grade was lowered and the overpass was built. 

1880 - The population of the Town of Pelham is 2,540.

1881 - Robert Bolton, Jr. publishes the second edition of his History of Westchester which includes a chapter in Vol. II on the history of Pelham.

1881 - As of this date, there are basically only three undeveloped tracts of land in that part of Pelhamville north of the New Haven Line tracks (later known as North Pelham and part of today's Village of Pelham).  According to Lockwood Barr:  "A map of the Town of Pelham dated 1881, giving the Pelhamville district, shows three undeveloped tracts at that time.  First:  the extreme northern tip, now Chester Park, was marked 'Andrew Browse,' being bounded on the south by what now is approximately 7th Street; Second:  a tract marked 'Andrew Heisser,' bounded on the west by Third Street, on the north by the Browse tract, and on the east by New Rochelle; Third:  the triangular tract north of the railroad and west of the New Rochelle line, marked 'Col. R. Lathers,' now Pelhamwood.  Col. Lathers also owned an adjoining tract in New Rochelle."

01/10/1882 - Although the Manor Club had its beginnings in the 1870s, it reportedly was formally "reorganized" during a meeting held on January 10, 1882.

06/07/1883 - Members of the Manor Club hold a meeting at which plans are made for a permanent home for the Club to be called "The Manor House".

08/08/1883 - Frederic W. Stevens and Adele Livingston Sampson Stevens (who formerly was a pupil of Nanette Anne Bolton at the Priory School for Girls in Bolton Priory) purchase Bolton Priory.  She presents it to her daughter Mrs. Frederick H. Allen as a wedding gift and it remains in the Allen family for many years.

12/27/1885 - At 6 a.m., a New Haven Line passenger train pulled by a steam locomotive crashes into the wooden station platform that had blown over onto the tracks at the Pelhamville Station and derails, killing the fireman and injuring mail clerks and a number of passengers.

01/13/1887 - The New York Athletic Club purchases Hogg Island from the estate of John Hunter (the property then being known as Edgemere) and changes the name to Travers Island in honor of William R. Travers, president of the Club until 1886. 

11/24/1887 - The corner stone for a new club house of The Manor Club (the first club house) is laid on the Esplanade on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1887.

1888 - Farmhouse of Colonel Philip Pell IIII (1753-1811) built in 1750 and which sat on farmland that once occupied much of what later became the original Village of Pelham (The Heights) is destroyed by fire.

1888 -- A commission purchases Pelham Bay Park, Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx Park, Crotona Park, Claremont Park, St. Mary's Park, Mosholu Parkway, Pelham Parkway, and Crotona Parkway.  This creates the foundation for the park system of The Bronx and, ultimately, is partly responsible for the southern boundary of the Town of Pelham which remains largely undeveloped and scenic parkland.

01/13/1888 - The New York Athletic Club purchases Hogg Island from the estate of John Hunter (the property then being known as Edgemere) and changes the name to Travers Island in honor of William R. Travers, president of the Club until 1886. 

10/12/1888 - New York City begins acquiring 1,728 acres of land for the future development of Pelham Bay Park including much land that formed the southern part of Pelham. 

1889 - Three tracts of land that form the original Village of Pelham (which we know as Pelham Heights or The Heights, part of today's Village of Pelham) are laid out as a suburban commuting village.  Once again, Barr tells us:  "The tract near the station was known as the Johnson property.  The McClellan property was to the south.  The Henry Grenzebach tract was on the east end, towards New Rochelle.  Benjamin L. Fairchild, who had real estate interests in Mt. Vernon, secured control of the Johnson tract.  Fairchild, Corlies and their associates, with John Fairchild as engineer, in 1889, laid out the three tracts as a suburban commuting village, building streets, installing water, sewers, gas, etc. . . . "

01/08/1889 - A new school building opens to replace the Pelhamville School in what became the Village of North Pelham, part of today's Village of Pelham.  The new school building is a predecessor to today's Hutchinson School on Fourth Street, a school building erected in 1914 with an addition made in 1928. 

06/15/1889 - The first club house of the New York Athletic Club opens on Travers Island. 

Early 1890s - The grade level of Wolfs Lane / Fifth Avenue is lowered slightly and an overpass is built to accommodate the New Haven Line railroad tracks overhead.

01/18/1890 - Residents of the area that became the Village of Pelham Manor found the organization that becomes the Pelham Manor Fire Department. 

02/14/1890 - Organizers of the group that became the Pelham Manor Fire Department agree to divide the local area into four fire "districts" and elect distrect chiefs overseen by a "general chief".   

04/18/1890 - Organizers of the group that became the Pelham Manor Fire Department order "Chemical Engine No. 1" -- a 25-gallon chemical tank mounted on two wheels.  The equipment is used for years to fight fires in the area in and around the Village of Pelham Manor.

1891 - The Village of Pelham Manor is incorporated. 

03/20/1891 - The first of five development maps covering the Pelham Heights area is filed with the Office of the Register, Westchester County.  Others are filed on December 5, 1892, April 19, 1894, April 14, 1897 and October 20, 1902.

08/20/1891 - A development map for a restricted residential neighborhood to be known as Chester Park in the northern tip of today's Village of Pelham is filed and recorded in the Index of Maps, in the Office of the Register, Westchester County, White Plains.  

05/13/1892 - One of a number of development maps for what became the Village of North Pelham that later merged with the Village of Pelham is filed.  It is the Map of North Pelham, Town of Pelham, Westchester County, New York, May 13, 1892.

08/08/1892 - William and Elizabeth Standen deed "The Green" (in Chester Park) to the Pelhamville Land & Homestead Association.

12/05/1892 - The second of five development maps covering the Pelham Heights area is filed with the Office of the Register, Westchester County.  Others are filed on March 20, 1891, April 19, 1894, April 14, 1897 and October 20, 1902.

02/07/1893 - Westchester County Board of Supervisors creates the Fire District of the Town of Pelham and local citizens organize two volunteer fire companies.

02/20/1893 - Upon petition of forty taxpayers in the Village of Pelham, The First Fire District of the Town of Pelham is established by the Board of Supervisors of Westchester County.  The territory included in the First Fire District of the Town of Pelham was the entire area that comprises today's Village of Pelham.

03/09/1893 - One of a number of development maps for what became the Village of North Pelham that later merged with the Village of Pelham is filed.  It is the Pelhamville Land Homestead Map, March 9, 1893.

06/06/1893 - The Post Office in the Town of Pelham first established in 1849, then discontinued August 1860 and reestablished one month later, is "discontinued" again and mail to former patrons of the office is ordered sent to New Rochelle.

07/26/1893 - The second of two subdivision maps for Pelhamville is filed and recorded in the Index of Maps, Office of the Register, Westchester County, White Plains.  The first was filed June 21, 1851.

1896 - The original Village of Pelham (including what is known as The Heights or Pelham Heights) is incorporated.  The village is bounded by New Rochelle on the west, the New Haven Railroad Main Line on the North, the Hutchinson River on the east and the southerly edge of Colonial Avenue on the south. 

01/01/1896 - The Post Office established on City Island in 1862 (when City Island was part of the Town of Pelham) is made a Branch of the New York City Post Office.

01/11/1896 - The Parish of St. Catharine of Alexandria is founded in Pelhamville, part of today's Village of Pelham.  The Parish was founded as an out-mission on January 11, 1896 by St. Gabriel's Church, New Rochelle.  It was constituted as a separate Parish later that year on December 8, 1986.  According to Barr, "The land for the Church was given by Patrick and Catharine Farrell, and a temporary Church built.  On May 13, 1896 The Pelham Press announced that 'The cornerstone of St. Catharine's Church was laid last Sunday, with impressive ceremonies." 

04/14/1896 - The name of the Pelhamville Post Office is officially changed to the Pelham Post Office on this date.  Shortly thereafter (see below), the local station on the New Haven Line is changed in name from Pelhamville to Pelham. 

06/06/1896 - An act passed by the New York legislature establishing a new boundary line between Westchester County and today's Bronx County becomes effective, formalizing the annexation of southern portions of the Town of Pelham and the Town of Eastchester, as well as the entire incorporated village of Wakefield into Greater New York.  The act reads in part as follows:  "All that territory comprised within the limits of the towns of Westchester, Eastchester and Pelham, which has not been annexed to the city and county of New York at the time of the passage of this act, which lies southerly of a straight line drawn from the point where the northerly line of the city of New York meets the center line of the Bronx river, to the middle of the channel between Hunter's and Glen islands, in Long Island Sound, and all that territory lying within the incorporated limits of the village of Wakefield, which lies northerly of said line, with the inhabitants and estates therein, is hereby set off from the county of Westchester and annexed to, merged in and made part of the city and county of New York, and of the twenty-fourth ward of the said city and county, and shall hereafter constitute a part of the city and county of New York and of the twenty-fourth ward of said city and county, etc. etc."  Interestingly, as pointed out by Tom Fenlon in his history of Pelham, "The area sometimes called Pelhamville was the only real hamlet remaining after the last 'taking' by New York City.  Pelham Manor was incorporated as a Village in 1891, but at the time it had only one commercial building.  It contained a general store and a branch post office.  It was on one side of the Esplanade and the Huguenot Church manse on the other.  There was no other store in the Village, and it could hardly qualify yet as a hamlet. . . ."

07/01/1896 - Following the agreement by the Postmaster General of the United States to change the name of the local post office from Pelhamville to Pelham, on July 1, 1896, the name of the station on the New Haven Railroad Main Line is changed from Pelhamville to Pelham. 

08/29/1896 - The Village of North Pelham, now merged with the Village of Pelham, is incorporated.  Its boundaries become the New Haven Railroad to the south, the Hutchinson River to the east / northeast and the New Rochelle line to the west / northwest.

1898 -- The city of Greater New York is created as a federation of five boroughs with the 23rd and 24th Wards becoming the borough of The Bronx.   

03/16/1898 - An Act of the Board of Supervisors of Westchester County is passed establishing the boundary between New Rochelle and Pelham in an effort to settle a boundary dispute. 

06/16/1898 - The Pelham Home for Children, organized in 1888 by a small group of Pelham women, is incorporated as the Pelham Summer Home for Children.

01/05/1901 - NYAC clubhouse on Travers Island burns to the ground.

01/17/1901 - In response to complaints from nearby Pelham Manor property owners about sewage being discharged into the Hutchinson River, Olin H. Landreth (a consulting engineer for the Secretary of the New York State Board of Health) issues a report criticizing Mount Vernon and the Villages of Pelham and Pelham Manor for discharging inadequately treated sewage into the stream. 

Ca. 1906 - 1909 - William B. Randall, Charles T. Barney, Col. Wallach and Frederick L. Eldridge purchase from the estate of Col. Richard Lathers land as Winyah Park which includes "Lathers' Woods".  The 132-acre tract of rolling lands was named after an estate Col. Lathers had owned in Winyah Parish, South Carolina.  According to an announcement in The New York Times, the men "have incorporated a land improvement company known as the Winyah Park Realty Co.  The company intends to lay out the property as a high class residential park."  Part of this tract later becomes what we know today as Pelhamwood, within the Village of Pelham. 

1906 - People in the Village of North Pelham press to have the name of the New Haven Line railroad station changed from Pelham Station to North Pelham Station.  The Village of Pelham protests the move and enacts a resolution on December 19 of that year urging the owners of the New Haven Line to reject the demand.

04/13/1906 - The men and women interested in the tennis activity in Pelham Manor organized the Pelham Country Club, April 13, 1906, and the Certificate of Incorporation specified among other things: ". . . the particular objects for which this Corporation is to be formed, are to promote interest in all kinds of athletic sports, etc. etc. . ."

12/19/1906 - The Board of Trustees of the Village of Pelham adopt a resolution opposing any change of the name of the Pelham Station to the North Pelham Station on the New Haven Railroad Main Line.  The resolution reads:  "Whereas the boundary line between the Villages of Pelham and North Pelham is located in the center of the railroad property, the two stations are located in different villages and have always been regarded as town stations, being used by the residents of the Villages of Pelham, Pelham Manor and North Pelham, and the unincorporated section of the town; and Whereas the name of the station and Post Office which was originally Pelhamville, was changed to Pelham several years ago upon a petition which originated in the Village of North Pelham; and, Whereas the propery interests in the Village of North Pelham represents less than one-third of the total assessed valuation in the Town; Be it resolved that the authorities of the Village of Pelham protest against any change of the name of this station."

1907 - The panic of 1907 occurs, slowing development in Pelham. 

06/29/1907 - The present club house of the New York Athletic Club is opened on Travers Island in Pelham Manor.

1908 - The northern tip of the Town of Pelham, known as Chester Park, is developing slowly.  The 1908 edition of the John Fairchild atlas shows fewer than 20 houses in Chester Park.

1910 - The population of the Town of Pelham is 2,844.

1910 - The Boston & Westchester incorporates to take over several earlier projected electric railways serving Westchester County and New England.  A branch of the railroad subsequently is built parallel to the New Haven Railroad across what is then known as North Pelham with a station at Pelhamwood, at the edge of New Rochelle, and a station at 5th Avenue and 3rd Street. 

02/15/1910 - The Pelham Manor Post Office is consolidated with the Pelham Post Office (which, the same day, is made a branch of the New York City Post Office).  A "sub-office" operates at the Station Plaza at the end of the Esplanade until November 1, 1936.

02/16/1910 - Following the consolidation of the Pelham Manor Post Office with the Pelham Post Office the previous day (when the offices are also made a branch of the New York City Post Office) a "sub-office" opens at the Station Plaza of the New Haven Branch Line at the end of the Esplanade.

04/07/1910 - The first of two development maps for the development of Pelhamwood on property once owned by Col. Richard Lathers is filed in the Register's Office, Westchester County, White Plains.

04/09/1910 - The Pelham Sun is begun by Peter Ceder, a former New York City newspaperman who was conducting a real estate and insurance business in North Pelham.

05/12/1912 - The civic organization known as the Pelhamwood Association is formed.

09/24/1912 - The civic organization known as the Chester Heights Association is formed.

10/24/1912 - A map of the Pelham Country Club property is filed in the Office of the Register at White Plains on October 24, 1912.  Development slows, however, as the First World War approaches.

1914 - The Bronx, which forms the southern boundary of Pelham, becomes the 62nd and final county of the state of New York.

1914 - Today's Hutchinson School is built to replace the building erected in 1889.  The addition was added 1928.   

06/10/1917 - The present stone Church Building of the Huguenot Memorial Church is dedicated on this date.

01/14/1918 - Pelham Manor Board of Trustees passes resolution for bond issue in the amount of $3,500 "for the purpose of paying the expense of purchasing a piece or parcel of land to be used as a part of the land upon which now stands the Village Hall of the Village of Pelham Manor."

1919 - The cornerstone of Pelham Memorial High School is laid.  The building is completed in 1922. 

03/24/1919 - The Clerk of the Pelham Manor Board of Trustees reports that "the canvass of votes cast at the Annual Election, held March 19, 1919 . . . and that the proposition authorizing the removal of swill, garbage and ashes by the Village was carried, the vote being 57 for and 4 against."

07/1919 - The Trinity Congregational Church of New York moves to the Village of North Pelham.  According to Lockwood Barr:  In "July 1919 The Trinity Congregational Church of New York sold its property and moved to North Pelham,and on December 20, 1919 ten lots were purchased at the corner of Highbrook and Washington Avenues, Pelhamwood.  Ground was broken for the present structure in June, 1921.  The first service was held in a finished room in the then unfinished basement on December 11, 1921.  The name of the Church was changed to the Congregational Church of the Pelhams in April 1922, and on June 11, 1922 the cornerstone of the present building was laid by the Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis."   

10/08/1919 - The Pelham Manor Board of Trustees appropriates a "sum of money not [in] excess of $1,000 . . . to be used toward welcoming the returning military forces of the Village of Pelham Manor". 

12/08/1919 - To put into effect a recently adopted building code, the Pelham Manor Board of Trustees passed a resolution providing that "an inspector be appointed to perform the duties described in the building code and that his compensation be fixed at $10.00 per structure for performing such duties as prescribed in the code, to hold office at the pleasure of the Board."

12/20/1919 - Ten lots are purchased at the corner of Highbrook and Washington Avenues in Pelhamwood for construction of a new church being established by The Trinity Congregational Church of New York, which changes its name in April 1922 to the Congregational Church of the Pelhams.  Today's Community Church of the Pelhams stands on the site.

12/30/1919 - The members of the Pelham Country Club conduct a special meeting "to consider and take action upon a proposition for the enlargement of the Club and the construction of a Golf Course".

1920s - Following a pause during World I, development picks up again in Pelham with a revival during the decade of the construction of large homes. 

1920 - The population of the Town of Pelham is 5,195.

07/20/1920 - The Pelham Manor Board of Trustees decrees that "[n]o vehicle shall be operated upon any highway at a greater rate of speed than one mile in three minutes."

04/04/1921 - The Pelham Manor Board of Trustees receives a letter from the State Historian suggesting the appointment of a Village Historian and Mrs. James F. Secor was appointed to such office.

05/10/1921 - The Pelham Summer Home for Children, first organized in 1888 by a small group of women of the Town of Pelham, changes its name to The Pelham Home for Children, Inc.

06/13/1921 - The Pelham Manor Board of Trustees acknowledges receipt of a deed dated May 27, 1921 from Robert C. Black Realty Company granting and conveying 2 parcels of land located at Pelhamdale Avenue and Manor Circle as a gift to the Village for use as public parks.

11/07/1921 - The Pelham Manor Board of Trustees instructs its Clerk to "write a letter to Mr. Pond concerning the noise caused by his ducks."

11/10/1921 - The second of two development maps for the development of Pelhamwood on property once owned by Col. Richard Lathers is filed in the Register's Office, Westchester County, White Plains. The first was filed April 7, 1910.

12/11/1921 - The first service of The Trinity Congregational Church of New York (which changed its name in April 1922 to the Congregational Church of the Pelhams) is held in an unfinished basement.  Today's Community Church of the Pelhams stands on the site.

06/11/1922 - The cornerstone of the building that houses today's Community Church of the Pelhams is laid by the Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis of the Congregational Church of the Pelhams.

09/29/1923 - Gene Sarazen defeats Walter Hagen in the final of the P.G.A. golf championship at the Pelham Country Club.  The 38 hole match is considered one of the most dramatic match play finals in the history of the P.G.A. championship.

05/30/1924 - Pelham dedicates a memorial to those who gave their lives in World War I and places it in Memorial Park next to Town Hall.

05/30/1924 - The Bronx Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicate a memorial plaque attached to the wall of St. Paul's Church in Mt. Vernon to honor patriots of the American Revolution buried in the churchyard, including a number who lived in Pelham.

1928 - The size of the Hutchinson School is increased through an addition.   

04/20/1928 - The First Church of Christ, Scientist (whose church building ultimately became today's Pelham Public Library) was formed on this date.

09/28/1928 - The cornerstone for the new edifice for the Church of the Redeemer (now the Daranco Town House) is laid.

10/27/1928 - That portion of the Hutchinson River Parkway from Boston Post Road to Westchester Avenue, created from lands including 83 acres in the Town of Pelham, opens.

1930 - By 1930, the Town of Pelham has become for all intents and purposes, virtually fully developed with no large tracts of land remaining for development.

1930 - The population of the Town of Pelham is 11,851.

07/26/1930 - Commuting trains on the so-called "Branch Line" running through Pelham Manor are discontinued.

07/13/1935 - Cornerstone is laid for the new church building of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Pelham.  The building subsequently became the Pelham Public Library.

11/03/1935 - First service is held in the new church building of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Pelham.  The building subsequently became the Pelham Public Library.

11/01/1936 - The Pelham Post Office opens at No. 1 Wolfs Lane in what then was the Village of North Pelham -- the location where it remains today.

12/31/1936 - The Pelham Manor "sub-office" of the Pelham Post Office located at Station Plaza at the end of the Esplanade closes.

01/30/1937 - An extension of the Hutchinson River Parkway up to the Connecticut state line opens.

04/30/1937 - Pelham's Knapp Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicate a marker to the mile stone originally erected in 1804 to mark the distance of 17 miles from New York City Hall by way of the Boston Post Road.  The marker remains, but the mile stone is subsequently stolen.

07/31/1937 - Pelham's H-Line Trolley that inspired the "Toonerville Trolley" in the nationally-syndicated comic strip "Toonerville Folks" ends its run; more than 8,000 fans of the comic strip descend on Pelham to join the celebration attended by the creator of the comic strip, Fontaine Talbot Fox. 

12/11/1937 - A southern extension of the Hutchinson River Parkway to the New York City line is opened.

12/31/1937 - The New York, Boston & Westchester railroad is placed in receivership and ceases operation.

10/15/1938 - A bronze tablet affixed to a stone is dedicated on the grounds of Pelham Memorial High School to Pelham Patriot Col. Philip Pell who fought in the Revolutionary War.

09/17/1939 - The school building of St. Catharine's Church is completed.

1940 - The population of the Town of Pelham is 12,274.  That population consists of 5,270 in the Village of Pelham Manor, 1,918 in the Village of Pelham and 5,046 in the Village of North Pelham. 

1941 - 1945 -  World War II.  Pelham provides support and many of its citizens sacrifice their lives in the War.

05/07/1944 - Having cleared its debt, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Pelham dedicates its church building for which the cornerstone was laid in 1935.  The building subsequently became the Pelham Public Library.

09/14/1967 - Thomas Pell Wildlife Sanctuary opens in Pelham Bay Park.

05/24/1970 - Historic Plaque is dedicated at the historic Joshua Pell II house located at 145 Shore Road in Pelham Manor.

06/01/1975 - The Village of North Pelham merges with the original Village of Pelham to become today's Village of Pelham.

10/17/1976 - Re-enactment of the Battle of Pelham held on the grounds of the Pelham Country Club at Mt. Tom Road in celebration of the Bicentennial; participants included re-enactors from the Glover Marblehead Regiment, the Continental Navy of the United Colonies, The Massachusetts Brigade 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 11th Regiments and the 10th Regiment of Foot.

10/08/1991 - The Pelham Town Council issues a resolution dedicating the Town House as The Richard J. Daronco Town House in honor of a Federal Judge from Pelham who was shot and killed by the parent of an unsuccessful litigant who had appeared before him.

06/12/1992 - The Pelham Weekly is founded by Maggie Klein.

09/11/1993 - A stone monument with the original 1st Fire District Town of Pelham bell is dedicated in honor of the centennial of the department and is located in Firemen's Memorial Park.

09/17/1994 - The Town of Pelham Gazebo is donated by The Rotary Club of The Pelhams through special gifts of a host of donors in the Town.

05/31/1996 - The Pelham Weekly publishes a special Centennial section in honor of the centennial of the incorporation of the Village of Pelham.

05/17/1998 - The Pelham Community dedicates a garden at the front entrance of Pelham Memorial High School to Dr. John M. Conroy who served as principal of the school for 21 years.

01/01/2000 - Pelham enters the 21st Century.

2000 - According to the 2000 census, the Village of Pelham has 6,400 residents and the Village of Pelham Manor has 5,466 residents.

09/11/2001 - The terrorist attack on the World Trade Center causes grievous loss of life.  The Pelhams suffer heartbreaking losses as a number of Pelham families lose loved ones.  

06/27/2004 - The 350th anniversary of Thomas Pell's purchase of the lands that became The Pelhams and surrounding areas from the Siwanoys on June 27, 1654.  Year long celebration culminated in a weekend of wonderful events centered around a celebration held at Bartow-Pell Mansion on June 27, 2004. 

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