St. Paul's Church National Historic Site | |
Location | 897 South Columbus Avenue, Eastchester, Mount Vernon, New York |
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Coordinates | 40°53′34″N73°49′33″W / 40.89278°N 73.82583°W |
Area | 6 acres (24,281 m²) |
Built | 1765 |
Architectural style | Georgian |
Visitation | 11,615 (2023) [1] |
Website | Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site |
NRHP reference No. | 66000580 |
NYSRHP No. | 11941.000001 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 [2] |
Designated NHS | July 5, 1943 |
Designated NYSRHP | June 23, 1980 |
Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site is a church and National Historic Site in Mount Vernon, New York, just north of the New York City borough of the Bronx. Established in 1765, Saint Paul's Church is one of New York's oldest parishes and was used as a military hospital after the American Revolutionary War Battle of Pell's Point in 1776. The 5-acre (20,000 m2) cemetery surrounding the church contains an estimated 9,000 burials dating from 1704. The church and cemetery were designated as a United States National Historic Site in 1978 to protect them from increasing industrialization of the surrounding area.
The parish that founded Saint Paul's Church was established in 1665. The first church at the site was a small, square, wooden structure built in 1695 and was known as the Church of Eastchester. The present day church was built in 1764, but its name was not changed to Saint Paul's Church until 1795.[ This paragraph needs citation(s) ]
The election for an open seat in the New York assembly, held on the Village Green in Eastchester, Westchester County on October 29, 1733, is one of the better known political events in colonial America. Two hundred and seventy five years after the contest, historians continue to cite the election to advance various arguments about colonial life. One recent student used the election to argue for the persistent importance of monarchy in the outlook of colonists, while another scholar treated the voting as an important point in the development of political awareness among New York artisans. Many writers address the election, held at what is today St. Paul's Church in Mt. Vernon, as part of the story of the printer John Peter Zenger, whose acquittal in a seditious libel case in 1735 is seen as a foundation of the free press in America. The first issue of Zenger's New York Weekly Journal carried a lengthy report on the famous election, producing one of the few complete accounts of a colonial election available to historians. [3]
On October 18, 1776, the Revolutionary War Battle of Pell's Point was fought less than a mile from the church, and the church served as a hospital for the British Army following the battle. The church's tower contains a bell that was cast in 1758 at the same London foundry as the Liberty Bell. Local stories attest that George Washington ordered the parishioners to bury the bell to prevent the British from melting it down and using it for ammunition. The bell still hangs in the tower today. [4]
During the early part of the 20th century, the parish began to decline, and the last Sunday service held at Saint Paul's took place in May 1977.[ This paragraph needs citation(s) ]
The church (along with its carriage house, cemetery, and grounds) was designated as a National Historic Site on July 5, 1943, although not formally authorized until November 10, 1978. [5] [6]
Today, visitors can visit the church and the 225-year-old church tower on ranger-guided tours. The carriage house next to the church now serves as a museum and visitor center. The site was opened to the public in 1984 and is now operated by the National Park Service under a cooperative agreement with the Society of the National Shrine of the Bill of Rights at Saint Paul's Church, Eastchester.[ This paragraph needs citation(s) ]
This significant site was added to the African American Heritage Trail of Westchester County in 2004 as part of a mission to “preserve and interpret the legacy and contributions that people of African descent have made to the development of our unique American identity.” It is one of only 14 such sites. [7] [8]
Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population of 1,004,456, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 55,344 (5.8%) from the 949,113 counted in 2010. Westchester covers an area of 450 square miles (1,200 km2), consisting of six cities, 19 towns, and 23 villages. Established in 1683, Westchester was named after the city of Chester, England. The county seat is the city of White Plains, while the most populous municipality in the county is the city of Yonkers, with 211,569 residents per the 2020 census. The county is part of the Hudson Valley region of the state.
Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the borough of the Bronx. As of the 2020 census, Mount Vernon had a population of 73,893, making it the 24th-largest municipality in the state and largest African-American majority city in the state. Mount Vernon has 12,898 Jamaicans with African and Indian descent that had immigrated from their homeland of Jamaica after the country gained its independence from Britain on August 6, 1962.
New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately 17 miles (27 km) from Midtown Manhattan. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the 7th-largest city and 22nd-most populous municipality in New York.
Eastchester is a town in southern Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was over 34,641 at the 2020 United States census over 32,363 at the 2010 census. There are two villages within the town: Bronxville and Tuckahoe. The town contains a census-designated place also named Eastchester, which is the whole town of Eastchester excluding Bronxville and Tuckahoe.
Pelham is a suburban town in Westchester County, approximately 10 miles northeast of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 13,078, an increase from the 2010 census. Historically, Pelham was composed of five villages and became known as "the Pelhams". Pelham currently contains two independently incorporated villages: the Villages of Pelham and Pelham Manor.
John Peter Zenger (October 26, 1697 – July 28, 1746) was a German printer and journalist in New York City. Zenger printed The New York Weekly Journal. He was accused of libel in 1734 by William Cosby, the royal governor of New York, but the jury acquitted Zenger, who became a symbol for freedom of the press.
Valley Forge National Historical Park is the site of the third winter encampment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War from December 19, 1777 to June 19, 1778. The National Park Service preserves the site and interprets the history of the Valley Forge encampment. The park contains historical buildings, recreated encampment structures, memorials, museums, and recreation facilities.
The Pelham Islands are a group of islands in western Long Island Sound that belonged to Thomas Pell in the 17th century. The islands, and most of the surrounding area, were purchased from the Siwanoy Indians by Pell in 1654, creating Pelham Manor. This large tract of land would eventually become the present-day Town and Village of Pelham and Pelham Manor, Town of Eastchester, cities of New Rochelle and Mount Vernon in Westchester County, and the Pelham Bay and Eastchester neighborhoods of the Bronx in New York City.
The Hutchinson River is a 10 mile-long (16 km) freshwater stream located in the New York City borough of the Bronx and Southern Westchester County, New York, United States. It forms on the New Rochelle–Scarsdale municipal line off Brookline Road in the latter community and flows south, draining a 19.4-square-mile (50 km2) area. It continues to serve as New Rochelle's city line with Eastchester; further downstream; its lower reaches divide Mount Vernon and Pelham until it enters the Bronx and empties into Long Island Sound's Eastchester Bay.
Buildings, sites, districts, and objects in New York listed on the National Register of Historic Places:
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Westchester County, New York.
The John Jay Homestead State Historic Site is located at 400 Jay Street in Katonah, New York. The site preserves the 1787 home of Founding Father and statesman John Jay (1745–1829), one of the three authors of The Federalist Papers and the first Chief Justice of the United States. The property was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1981 for its association with Jay. The house is open year-round for tours.
Trinity Episcopal Church Complex is a historic Episcopal church complex at 335 Fourth Avenue in Mount Vernon, Westchester County, New York. It is two blocks south of its mother church, Saint Paul's Church. The complex consists of the church (1859), old parish hall (1892), new parish hall, and rectory (1893). The church, old parish hall, and new parish hall are connected to form an L-shaped building. The church was designed by Henry Dudley and built in the Gothic Revival style and enlarged and substantially redecorated in the 1880s. It is a one-story masonry structure with a steeply pitched, slate covered gable roof.
Bolton Priory is a historic home built in 1838 for the Reverend Robert Bolton and his family, in the Village of Pelham Manor in Westchester County, New York. The home stands upon a wooded tract of land overlooking Pelham Bay; the once large estate surrounding it has now diminished to 3.7 acres. Influenced by the Romantic Movement in England, Bolton chose to design the house in the Romantic idiom. The building was designed to appear as if it had been constructed over a period of time; stone was used in one section and brick in another, to give the impression of various additions.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in southern Westchester County, New York, excluding the cities of New Rochelle and Yonkers, which have separate lists of their own.
The history of Westchester County, a county in the state of New York, can be traced back to the founding of a settlement between the Hudson River and Long Island Sound in the 17th century. The area now known as Westchester County had seen human occupation since at least the Archaic period, but significant growth in the settlements that are now incorporated into the county did not occur until the Industrial Revolution.
There are numerous nationally and locally designated historic sites and attractions in Westchester County. These include architecturally significant manors and estates, churches, cemeteries, farmhouses, African-American heritage sites, and Underground Railroad depots and waystations. There are sites from pre-Revolutionary and Revolutionary times, as well as battlegrounds. Westchester County also played an important role in the development of the modern suburb, and there are many associated heritage sites and museums.
The African American Heritage Trail of Westchester County in New York was created in 2004 to help preserve and interpret the historic landmark places that help tell the narratives of women and men of African descent who have made significant contributions to an American identity. The initial list had 13 sites. Westchester County historian and Schulman History Honoree Dr. Larry Spruill was lead consultant and researcher for the project.
Sir John Pell IV, 2nd Lord of Pelham Manor was a British-born American landowner who owned Pelham, New York, as well as land that now includes the eastern Bronx and southern Westchester County, New York.
William Shipley Coffey was an American lawyer, politician, and judge from New York.