 | New Rochelle New York: Encyclopedia II - New Rochelle New York - History
New Rochelle New York - History
New Rochelle New York - 17th century
New Rochelle's history begins with the purchase by Thomas Pell of the Pelham Manor tract, of which the city would become part, from the Siwanoy Indians in 1654.
In 1687 a purchase agreement is made between John Pell, nephew of Thomas Pell, and Jacob Leisler, a wealthy merchant and acting Governor of New York who acts as agent for the Huguenots, for 6,000 acres (24 km²) of land and a donation of 100 acres (0.4 km²) for a French church.
In 1689, thousands of Huguenots - French Protestants who left France following the revocation by Louis XIV of the Edict of Nantes, which had protected them from religious persecution - began settling the area. Their new home was named after La Rochelle, the port from which they had departed France. There is a monument in Hudson Park which commemorates all the names of these Huguenot settlers.
Also in 1689 John and Rachell Pell officially deed the 6,100 acres (25 km²) of New Rochelle to Jacob Leisler. The Deed requires "as an Acknowledgment to the Lord of the said Manor one Fatt Calfe on every fouer and twentieth day of June yearly and every Year Forever (if demanded)."
New Rochelle New York - 18th century
In 1775 General George Washington stops in New Rochelle on his way to assume command of the Army of the United Colonies in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In October of 1776, the British Army occupies New Rochelle and Larchmont. General Sir William Howe establishes headquarters on the heights above North Avenue opposite Eastchester Road. The British support troops, 4,000 Hessians and Waldeckers under Lieutenant-General Baron von Knyphausen, landed at Davenport Neck. The British left New Rochelle on October 25th, clogging available roads and leaving destruction behind. Two days later, the Battle of White Plains was fought, bringing victory to the British but allowing Washington to regroup his troops. New Rochelle became part of the "Neutral Ground."
Through the 18th century, New Rochelle, with a 1790 population of 692 residents, remained a modest village. It retained an abundance of agricultural land, 300 acres (1.2 km²) of which was awarded in 1784 to the patriot Thomas Paine by New York State for his service to the cause of independence. He wrote his pamphlet Common Sense while residing there. {Now on a small street in New Rochelle, Thomas Paine Cottage is a small museum where many revolution re-enactments are played out.}
New Rochelle New York - 19th century
In 1879, Hohn H. Starin, former U.S. Congressman and New York transportation king, buys five islands, names them Glen Island and creates perhaps the first theme park open to the public. His 12 steamboats transported millions of New York residents and others to the attractions which included a zoo, a natural history museum, a railway, a German beer garden (around the castle-like structure which still stands today), a bathing beach, and a Chinese pagoda. A chain ferry transported visitors from a mainland dock.
In 1892, the New Rochelle Public Library is established and located in the Trinity School, on Trinity Place. Rose Hill Gardens, located on what is now Rose Hill Avenue, is one of the largest botanical gardens in the country during the 1800's. The first orchid in the United States is cultivated here.
In 1896, David's Island is re-named Fort Slocum after General Henry Warner Slocum, a Civil War officer. Fort Slocum becomes the largest recruiting depot east of the Mississippi, with greatest use during World War I and II.
New Rochelle New York - 20th century
In the early part of the twentieth century, the County's famous Glen Island Casino on Long Island Sound continued to draw such celebrities as Glenn Miller, the Dorsey Brothers and Ozzie Nelson.
In 1930, New Rochelle population hits 54,000, up from 36,213, in 1920. In the early 30's, it is the wealthiest city per capita in New York State, the third wealthiest in the country.
New Rochelle had two of the first suburban branch department stores in America, with Arnold Constable opening on Main Street in the 1940s and Bloomingdale's purchasing the locally owned Ware's Store in the late 1940s.
New Rochelle was the scene of the first court-ordered school desegregation case in "the north" when the United States Supreme Court decided in 1962 that New Rochelle's Lincoln School boundaries had been intentionally drawn to create segregated elementary school districts. Lincoln School was closed and demolished in 1965 with students of that district allowed to attend any other city elementary school. Today the school district is known for its diversity, and the High School honors civil rights leader Whitney Young in the name of its auditorium and civil rights martyr Michael Schwerner in the name of its library.
Part of downtown New Rochelle near the Metro North train station was revitalized in the summer of 1999 with the opening of the $190 million New Roc City, an entertainment complex featuring a 19-screen movie theater, Westchester's first and only IMAX theater, mini-golf, go karts, an arcade, a health club, restaurants, a hotel, and a supermarket. New Roc City was built on the former Macy's and New Rochelle Mall sites.
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 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
