Timeline of Briarcliff Manor
{{short description|None}}
{{For|a more detailed description of Briarcliff Manor's history|History of Briarcliff Manor}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Historical populations
|type=US|percentages=pagr|width=12em
|1910|950
|1920|1027
|1930|1794
|1940|1830
|1950|2494
|1960|5105
|1970|6521
|1980|7115
|1990|7070
|2000|7696
|2010|7867
|footnote=Sources:
* 1910 to 1940
* 1950 to 2000
* 2010
|}}
| class="wikitable" align="right" |
| |
ImageSize = width:280 height:420 PlotArea = left:40 right:10 top:10 bottom:10 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1850 till:2014 AlignBars = early ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:50 start:1850 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:10 start:1850 Colors = id:gray value:gray(0.7)
Define $dx = 20 # shift text to right side of bar PlotData = bar:event width:20 color:Red shift:($dx,-4) from:1850 till:1900 color:red from:1900 till:2000 color:orange from:2000 till:2014 color:yellow mark:(line,gray) at:2010 text:"2009 Expanded library reopens" at:2006 text:"2003 Briarcliff Lodge demolished" at:2002 text:"2002 Village centennial" mark:(line,white) at:1982 text:"1982 Large downtown fire" at:1971 text:"1971 Present high school opens" at:1964 text:"1964 Village Hall constructed" at:1958 text:"1959 Train station reopens as library" at:1952 text:"1952 Village semicentennial" at:1939 text:"1939 Briarcliff Lodge closes" at:1927 text:"1927 Part of Mt. Pleasant is incorporated" at:1915 text:"1913 Municipal Building constructed" at:1911 text:"1908 First International Road Race" at:1907 text:"1907 Scarborough is incorporated" at:1902 text:"1902 Village founded, Briarcliff Lodge built" at:1890 text:"1890 Walter Law comes to Briarcliff Manor" at:1880 text:"1880 First train stops in Briarcliff Manor" at:1864 text:"1864 Scarborough post office established" |
The history of Briarcliff Manor, a village in Westchester County, New York, can be traced back to the founding of a settlement between the Hudson and Pocantico Rivers in the 19th century. The area now known as Briarcliff Manor had seen human occupation since at least the Archaic period, but significant growth in the settlements that are now incorporated into the village did not occur until the Industrial Revolution. The village, which was incorporated with one square mile in 1902, has expanded primarily through annexation: of Scarborough in 1906 and from the town of Mount Pleasant in 1927 to its current area of {{convert|6.7|sqmi|km2}}. The village has also grown in population; from 331 when established to 7,867 in the 2010 census.
Prehistory
- Archaic period: Around this time, the area of Scarborough-on-Hudson is first inhabited.
- Precolonial era: The area of present-day Briarcliff Manor is inhabited by a band of the Wappinger tribes of Native Americans known as Sint Sincks (or "Sing Sings").
17th century
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1680}}|event=Frederick Philipse purchases the Ossining area from Indian sachem Ghoharius with the consent of his brother Weskora. Weskora becomes the first name of Scarborough.{{rp|page=11}}}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1685|08|04}}|event=Philipse purchases about {{convert|156000|acre|km2}} from the Sint Sincks, Philipsburg Manor, extending from Spuyten Duyvil Creek along the Hudson River to the Croton River.}}
18th century
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1778}}|event=The Wappingers unsuccessfully attempt to sue the Philipse family for control of the land; their claim dies out after around fifty tribespeople, organized into the Stockbridge Militia under Abraham Nimham and his father Daniel Nimham, are killed by British forces in the Battle of Kingsbridge during the American Revolutionary War.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1779}}|event= The New York State Commission on Forfeiture confiscates the Philipses' land; it is sold in 1784–85.}}
19th century
File:Stillman Farm in Briarcliff Manor.jpg of St. Theresa's Catholic Church.{{rp|page=79}}}}]]
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1839}}|event=Briarcliff Manor's oldest church, Saint Mary's Episcopal Church, is founded.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1854}}|event=All Saints' Episcopal Church is founded.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1864}}|event=Weskora is renamed Scarborough.{{rp|page=11}}}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1865}}|event=A one-room schoolhouse is built on land donated by John Whitson; it is the first schoolhouse and church in the area.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1880}}|event=The Whitson's Corners station is added to the New York City & Northern Railroad train schedule, and the first train arrives on December 13.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1881}}|event=The Whitson's Corners post office is established.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1890}}|event=Walter W. Law moves with his family to the area and purchases his first {{convert|236|acre|ha}} with the James Stillman farm for $35,000 (${{Inflation|US|35000|1890|r=-2|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}{{Inflation-fn|US}}).}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1891}}|event=Congregation Sons of Israel is formed by eleven men in Ossining.{{rp|page=101}}}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1892}}|event=Elliott Fitch Shepard ordered the construction of Scarborough's first dock at the present Scarborough Park to allow construction materials to be shipped to his property.{{cite news|title=Hudson Valley Land Developers Prepare for Building Campaign|newspaper=New York Herald|page=2|url=http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2014/New%20York%20NY%20Herald/New%20York%20NY%20Herald%201917/New%20York%20NY%20Herald%201917%20a%20-%200082.pdf|date=1917|access-date=May 28, 2015}}}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1893|10|13}}|event=The Scarborough Presbyterian Church is founded.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1895}}|event=Elliott Fitch Shepard's mansion Woodlea is completed.{{rp|page=153}}}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1896}}|event=Briarcliff Congregational Church is built to replace the congregation's use of the schoolhouse.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1897}}|event=The post office is renamed the Briarcliff Manor Post Office.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1898|08|04}}|event=The first Scarborough train station and post office is struck by lightning and burns down.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1900}}|event=Law owns more than {{convert|5000|acre|sqmi}} of Westchester County, and becomes the largest individual landholder in the county.{{cite news|title=Westchester Excels Nevada|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/12/26/100480686.pdf|access-date=July 2, 2014|work=The New York Times|date=December 26, 1904}}}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1900}}|event=Law establishes the School of Practical Agriculture on Pleasantville Road on {{convert|66|acre|sqmi|sigfig=1}}.}}
20th century
File:Briarcliff Lodge c. 1905 (2).png, a Tudor Revival resort, c. 1904]]
{{Listen|plain=yes|style=float:right|filename=07 At The Briarcliff Lodge.ogg|title=At The Briarcliff Lodge|description=From Carmino Ravosa's Briarcliff show}}
- {{Timeline-event|date=c. 1901–10|event=Walter Law establishes Briarcliff Farms, the Briarcliff Table Water Company and the Briarcliff Greenhouses.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1901}}|event=Briarcliff Steamer Company No. 1 is formed.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1902}}|event=Law has invested $2.5 million (${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|2500000|1902}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}{{Inflation-fn|US}}) in the village by this time.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1902}}|event=A proposition is presented to the supervisors of Mount Pleasant and Ossining on October 8 for the incorporation of the Village of Briarcliff Manor. On November 21, the village is incorporated. At the time, Law owns all but two small parcels of the square mile village, and employs 100 of its residents.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1902}}|event=The Briarcliff Lodge opens.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1903|02|10}}|event=The Briarcliff Manor Fire Department is founded by Frederick C. Messinger from Briarcliff Steamer Company No. 1.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1903}}|event=Briarcliff College is founded at the Briarcliff Lodge.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1904}}|event=The first twenty-nine street lights, all electric, are installed.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1906}}|event=Walter Law replaces the village railroad station; Law's building currently houses part of the Briarcliff Manor Public Library.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1906}}|event=Scarborough is incorporated into Briarcliff Manor.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1906}}|event=Briarcliff Manor's first downtown stores are built.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1907}}|event=Law's Briarcliff Farms move to Pine Plains, New York, and Law begins developing Briarcliff Manor more as a municipal corporation.}}
File:Briarcliff International Road Race.jpg, 1908]]
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1908|04|24}}|event=Briarcliff Manor sponsors the First American International Road Race; the event centered around the village, and more than 300,000 people watch the race; the village has more than 100,000 visitors that day.{{rp|page=83}}}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1908}}|event=The village police department is organized and The Church House, the parish house of the Scarborough Presbyterian Church, is completed.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1909}}|event=Walter Law forms the Briarcliff Realty Company to sell Briarcliff Farms' original property in the village.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1910}}|event=The Briarcliff Community Center, nicknamed "The Club", is established in the 1898 Briarcliff Schools building.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1911|05|11}}|event=Sleepy Hollow Country Club is founded in Scarborough, Elliott Fitch Shepard's home "Woodlea" is purchased for its clubhouse.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1912}}|event=Walter Law's School of Practical Agriculture building burns down.{{rp|page=38}}}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1913}}|event=The Village Municipal Building is built at a cost of $20,000 (${{Inflation|US|20000|1913|r=-2|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}{{Inflation-fn|US}}); it is opened on July 4, 1914.{{rp|page=78}}}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1914}}|event=The village library, originally in the Briarcliff Community Center, is founded.}}
- 1914–18 (World War I): 91 Briarcliff Manor residents serve in the U.S. armed forces.
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1917}}|event=The first village Girl Scout troop is founded by Louise Miller and Mrs. Alfred Jones.{{rp|page=77}}}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1925}}|event=V. Everit Macy donates {{convert|265|acre|ha}} to the Girl Scouts of the USA, which later becomes the Edith Macy Conference Center.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1926}}|event=St. Theresa's Catholic Church is founded with thirty-six families; the present church is dedicated two years later.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1927}}|event=Briarcliff's school building is demolished to make way for the Briarcliff-Peekskill Parkway.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1928}}|event=The high school opens, and a section is added to the 1909 school building.}}
File:Briarcliff Manor Municipal Building 1952.jpg
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1930}}|event=V. Everit Macy creates Chilmark Park, a {{convert|250|acre|ha}} community in Briarcliff.{{rp|page=56}}}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1934}}|event=A 100-mile race in the village is sponsored by the Automobile Racing Club of America.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1935}}|event=Briarcliff's road race is held again.{{rp|page=84}}}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1936}}|end_date={{End date|1954}}|event=The Briarcliff Lodge houses the Edgewood Park School.}}
- 1941–45 (World War II): More than 340 of the village's 1,830 residents Briarcliff Manor residents serve in the U.S. armed forces.{{rp|page=78}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1946}}|event=The People's Caucus, an organization which calls out interested residents for candidacy, is created.}}
- 1950–53 (Korean War): Approximately 30 Briarcliff Manor residents serve in the U.S. armed forces.
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1952|10|10}}|end_date={{End date|1952|10|12}}|event=Briarcliff Manor celebrates its semicentennial celebration, publishing a book about the village and its history.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1952}}|event=The Crossroads neighborhood of 84 houses is completed.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1953}}|event=Todd Elementary School opens to free space at the Law Park grade school for middle- and high-school students.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1955}}|end_date={{End date|1994}}|event=The Briarcliff Lodge houses The King's College.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1958}}|event=The Briarcliff Manor train station, along with the Putnam Division, is shut down.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1959}}|event=The Briarcliff Manor Public Library reopens in the former train station.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1959}}|event=Faith Lutheran Brethren Church is founded in Scarsdale.{{rp|page=75}}}}
File:Briarcliff Library pre-2007.jpg
- {{Timeline-event|date=1960s|event=The Municipal Building's cupola bell, which had tolled at the end of the World Wars,{{rp|page=78}} is moved to the front of the new firehouse.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1960}}|event=The village's first corporate facility (part of Philips Laboratory) opens.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1964}}|event=The new Village Hall opens, replacing the Municipal Building.}}
- 1965–72 (Vietnam War): At least five men serve in the U.S. armed forces, with four killed and another wounded.
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1971}}|event=The present Briarcliff High School opens to ease the large enrollment at the grade-school building.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1974}}|event=A permanent firehouse is built in Scarborough; it is replaced with a larger station in 2009.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1974}}|event=The Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society is founded from the village's 75th anniversary committee.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1977|04}}|event=Pace University purchases Briarcliff College as a satellite of the school's Pleasantville campus.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1978}}|event=The Scarborough School closes; it reopens in 1981 as The Clear View School.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1980}}|event=The Chilmark Club becomes a part of the village's Parks and Recreation Department; Pace University begins leasing the middle school building, and the middle school is moved to a portion of the new high-school building.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1981}}|event=Rotary International founds a local chapter in the village.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1984}}|event=The Scarborough Historic District is added to the State and National Historic Registers.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1990|02}}|event=Rosemont, a Scarborough Historic District property, is demolished.{{rp|page=205}}}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1996}}|event=The grade-school building is demolished, and senior housing is built on its site the following year.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1998}}|event=The high school auditorium opens.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1999|09|16}}|event=The Beech Hill Road bridge is destroyed by the rising Pocantico River during Hurricane Floyd.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2000}}|event=The pool house in Law Memorial Park is demolished; construction on a new facility begins shortly after.}}
21st century
File:Pavilion of Briarcliff Manor.tiff
File:Clock of Briarcliff Manor (2).tiff
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2001|11}}|event=A $4-million rehabilitation (${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|4000000|2001}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}{{Inflation-fn|US}}) of Law Park is completed, with a new pavilion and pool house, paved walkways, lights and benches, a redesigned and filtered pond, and relocation of the Veterans Memorial. Over 300 people attend the Veterans Day rededication ceremony.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2002}}|event=The village celebrates its centennial, which involves numerous celebratory events.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2002}}|event=Ambient Corporation and Consolidated Edison install an experimental broadband over power lines (BPL) system in Briarcliff Manor; the system is now defunct.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2003}}|event=The present Briarcliff Middle School building is completed at a cost of $24 million (${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|24000000|2003}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}{{Inflation-fn|US}}).}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2003|09|20}}|event=The original 1902 Briarcliff Lodge building burns to the ground, and contemporary portions of the lodge and other campus buildings are later demolished.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2006}}|event=The village government installs new street signs featuring the Briarcliff Rose.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2007}}|event=In the summer, construction of a {{convert|6600|sqft|adj=on}} addition to the Briarcliff Manor Public Library begins; the facility is opened for use on February 19, 2009.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2008}}|end_date={{End date|2012}}|event=Briarcliff Manor hosts a weekly indoor farmers' market, first at the Briarcliff Congregational Church's parish house; it moves to Pace University's Briarcliff Campus in 2012.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2010|03|21}}|event=The Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society is given its first permanent location at the Eileen O'Connor Weber Historical Center, established as part of the expanded Briarcliff Manor Public Library.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2011}}|event=Hurricane Irene causes a sinkhole, of about 20 feet in diameter, to form on North State Road near Route 9A; New York's department of transportation spends about $900,000 repairing the damage.}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2011}}|end_date={{End date|2015}}|event=The village becomes involved in an annexation proposal with the town of Ossining for Briarcliff Manor to annex land on which 1,600 people live. After debate and public hearings, the village government decides to end its pursuit of the annexation in May 2015.{{cite news|last=Huerta|first=Cassandra|title=Briarcliff, Ossining Scuttle Annexation Plans|url=http://briarcliff.dailyvoice.com/news/briarcliff-ossining-scuttle-annexation-plans|access-date=May 14, 2015|newspaper=Briarcliff Daily Voice|date=May 14, 2015}}}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2015|07|05}}|event=Saint Mary's Episcopal Church closes after 175 years in operation.{{cite news|last=Taliaferro|first=Lanning|title=St. Mary's Scarborough is Closing its Doors|url=http://patch.com/new-york/pleasantville/st-marys-scarborough-closing-its-doors|access-date=June 29, 2015|work=Pleasantville-Briarcliff Manor Patch|date=June 21, 2015}}}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2015|12|12}}|event=The Law Park pavilion is damaged in a large fire; around 100 firefighters in multiple departments assist to put out the fire that night.{{cite news|title=Fire destroys beloved community pavilion|work=News 12 Westchester|date=December 13, 2015|url=http://westchester.news12.com/news/fire-destroys-beloved-community-pavilion-1.11223137|access-date=December 14, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151216231729/http://westchester.news12.com/news/fire-destroys-beloved-community-pavilion-1.11223137|archive-date=December 16, 2015}}{{cite news|last=Cavallier|first=Andrea|title=Fire officials investigating massive blaze at pool pavilion in Briarcliff Manor|work=WPIX|date=December 13, 2015|url=http://pix11.com/2015/12/13/fire-officials-investigating-massive-blaze-at-briarcliff-manor/|access-date=December 14, 2015}}}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2016|05|30}}|event=Briarcliff Manor's original station building was reopened as the William J. Vescio Community Center. Mayor Lori Sullivan and former mayor William J. Vescio presided over the center's opening and the dedication to Vescio.{{refn|group=nb|Vescio, a village resident since about 1973, served the village board for 29 years, including eleven as trustee and ten as mayor. Vescio oversaw construction of the library and community center, and of a new water supply system for the village.}}}}
- {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|2017|05|29}}|event=The reconstructed Law Park pavilion is rededicated after the village's Memorial Day ceremony.{{cite book|title=Law Memorial Park and Pavilion Dedication Ceremony|publisher=Village of Briarcliff Manor|date=May 29, 2017}}}}
See also
Notes
{{reflist|group=nb}}
References
{{reflist|30em|refs=
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Further reading
{{Library resources box|by=no|onlinebooksabout=yes|others=yes|about=yes|label=Briarcliff Manor|viaf=|lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle=Briarcliff Manor}}
;Published in the 20th century
- {{cite book|last=Pattison|first=Robert|title=A History of Briarcliff Manor|year=1939|publisher=William Rayburn|oclc=39333547}} A 1939 publication on the history of Briarcliff Manor.
- {{cite book|title=Our Village: Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. 1902 to 1952|publisher=Historical Committee of the Semi–Centennial|year=1952|lccn=83238400|oclc=24569093}} A 1952 publication on the history of Briarcliff Manor.
- {{cite book|title=A Village Between Two Rivers: Briarcliff Manor|year=1977|publisher=Monarch Publishing, Inc.|editor-last=Bosak|editor-first=Midge|location=White Plains, New York|oclc=6163930}} A 1977 publication on the history of Briarcliff Manor.
- {{cite book|last=Cheever|first=Mary|title=The Changing Landscape: A History of Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough|year=1990|publisher=Phoenix Publishing|location=West Kennebunk, Maine|isbn=0-914659-49-9|oclc=22274920}} A 1990 publication on the history of Briarcliff Manor.
;Published in the 21st century
- {{cite book|last1=Feist|first1=Michael|last2=Ellis|first2=Myles|title=Briarcliff Manor: Then and Now|date=2014|publisher=Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xutZBAAAQBAJ|access-date=August 18, 2014|isbn=978-1320106931}} A 2014 publication on buildings, places, and events in Briarcliff Manor.
External links
{{Sister project links|wikt=Briarcliff Manor|commons=Briarcliff Manor, New York|b=no|q=no|s=no|v=no|voy=Briarcliff Manor|d=y|display=Briarcliff Manor}}
- [http://www.briarcliffhistory.org/ Official website for the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society]
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