Bridge Over Troubled Parkway
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This cache is a capsule cache located in Mount Vernon, New York. It is too small to fit trading items. You will need to bring a pen or pencil because it does not fit in the cache. Please rehide as found.
In 1850, John Stevens, a merchant tailor from New York, enthusiastically endeavored to improve the condition of the working class in New York. He believed that the first step was to create a property holding class out of the rent payers. He organized the Industrial Home Association No. 1 of New York. Qualifications for membership were moral character, industrious habits and the desire to promote a common purpose. One thousand and seventeen members paid their dues and the Association bought the land which then became the Village of Mount Vernon. It consisted of five farms with a combined area of 369.089 acres, costing a total of $75,342.88 or roughly $205 per acre. The land extended from what is now Union Avenue on the east to Fifteenth Avenue on the west; and from Valentine Street on the north to Sandford Boulevard and a small portion of Kingsbridge on the south.
Proposed names for the new town were Thousandville, Rising Sun, Fleetwood, Palestine, Columbia, Monticello, Stevensville, New Washington, New Amsterdame, Olive Branch, Little New York, Jefferson, Washington, Linden and Homeville. When voted upon, the top three vote getters were: Monticello, 54, New Washington, 24, and Stevensville, 12. With the name Monticello already in use, a second vote yielded: Mount Vernon, 84, Fleetwood, 54 and Fairchester, 14. The first election for village officers was held in 1854. Five trustees were elected. A president was appointed each year by the Board of Trustees until 1863 when, under an amended charter, he was chosen by election. Besides the Village of Mount Vernon, there were a number of other locations laid out about that time by other associations: South Mount Vernon in 185l, East Mount Vernon in 185l, West Mount Vernon in 185l, Central Mount Vernon in 1853, Fleetwood in 1853, and a number of smaller ones that were all eventually absorbed by the City of Mount Vernon.
The lands which had been selected by the various associations that founded Mount Vernon consisted of farm lands traversed by a few public highways and two railroads. One was the New York and Harlem, that already had a station there, and the other was the New York and New Haven that had no station until the association built one for it.
Central Mount Vernon remained as vacant lots for a long time. There was a large chestnut tree in the center, about where North Seventh Avenue now is located which served as a guide for people who crossed the "hill" after dark. It is said that a country fair and a circus were once held on that property, and a Baseball Club, "Una" made it the resort of the sporting people. It was not until later years that Central Mount Vernon began to be built up.
Chester Hill began in 1869 when Charles Crary bought the land. He laid out the building lots in a most orderly fashion. Chester Hill became a select community because Crary had the foresight to place restrictions on the use of the lots and buyers, and it became a district of fine houses. The New York and New Haven Railroad ran on the surface for a large part of the way, and the sinking of the track was not undertaken until later years.
The social atmosphere of all Mount Vernon during its early years was genial and not exclusive. There was the Anthenaeum, or the Mount Vernon Mannerchor, a singing society, to care for the more cultivated tastes. There was the firemen's ball with its colored fire dances. There were package parties, strawberry festivals, concerts by the Vesper Quartette, lectures, temperance meetings of the Alliance Temple of Honor, parties of all descriptions, church fairs and more. If you were interested in improving local conditions, you could join a Citizens' Association in 1869. Mount Vernon had three hotels in the early days: Woods on the corner of First Street and Fourth Avenue, with twenty rooms, the Mount Vernon Hotel had twelve rooms and a hall for entertainments and Bock's on Mount Vernon Avenue on the west side with a dozen rooms, a hall and a large dining room where the Germans who settled the area held their parties. The religious community was well-established in Mount Vernon. The first church was St. Paul's Episcopal Church at Eastchester, and then the Methodist which was close by. In Mount Vernon, the first Episcopal service was held in 1852 in the old school house that stood near Scott's Bridge. It appears that the earlier churches were organized in the following order: Methodist (1852), Catholic (1852), Baptist (1853), Reformed (1853), St. Paul's Lutheran (German 1855), Liberal (1855) and Trinity Episcopal (1856) with all other denominations following.
In 1892, under the laws of New York State, Mount Vernon officially became a City.
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Fgnl Ba Gur Oevqtr!!!!!!!