The Scarborough Historic District is a national

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

located in the suburban community of

Scarborough-on-Hudson Briarcliff Manor () is a suburban village in Westchester County, New York, north of New York City. It is on of land on the east bank of the Hudson River, geographically shared by the towns of Mount Pleasant and Ossining. Briarcliff Manor inc ...

, in

Briarcliff Manor, New York Briarcliff Manor () is a suburban village in Westchester County, New York, north of New York City. It is on of land on the east bank of the Hudson River, geographically shared by the towns of Mount Pleasant and Ossining. Briarcliff Manor inc ...

. The district was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1984, and contains seven historically and architecturally significant properties dating from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. Most of the properties are domestic, or used for education or religion. The most common architectural styles within the district are Mid-19th Century Revival and

Late Victorian Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...

Profile

The district contains 26 contributing buildings, two contributing sites, and one contributing structure. They are associated with three estates: Beechwood, Rosemont, and Woodlea (now Sleepy Hollow Country Club); The Clear View School, a school complex; two religious properties: Saint Mary's Episcopal Church and Scarborough Presbyterian Church; and Sparta Cemetery, which dates back to before the Revolutionary War. All properties stand in much the same condition as when first nominated, except Rosemont, which was demolished in the mid- to late-1980s. Several properties within the district exemplify Mid-19th Century Revival architectures, including Greek, Gothic, Renaissance, and Neoclassical styles; their formal landscaping exemplifies estate landscaping at the turn of the 19th century. Most of the properties were established by wealthy landowners, ranging from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. The district, which remains generally rural and sparsely developed, borders the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

and lies within the towns of Ossining and Mount Pleasant, between the villages of Ossining and Sleepy Hollow. Most of the district's buildings are set on large parcels of land, and many are clearly visible from

U.S. Route 9 U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a north–south United States highway in the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and New York in the Northeastern United States. It is one of only two U.S. Highways with a ferry connection (the Cape May–Lewes Ferry, between ...

(the former

Albany Post Road The Albany Post Road was a post road – a road used for mail delivery – in the U.S. state of New York. It connected New York City and Albany along the east side of the Hudson River, a service now performed by U.S. Route 9 (US 9). Hi ...

), the district's major thoroughfare. Stone and brick walls line Route 9 within the boundaries of the district. The district achieved State Register status on August 6, 1984, National Register district status on September 7, 1984, and local landmark status on January 5, 1988.

Beechwood

Beechwood is an estate built in 1780; it was most notably the home of National City Bank president

Frank A. Vanderlip Frank Arthur Vanderlip Sr. (November 17, 1864 – June 30, 1937) was an American banker and journalist. He was president of the National City Bank of New York (now Citibank) from 1909 to 1919, and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury from 18 ...

and his family. The mansion has gone through a number of expansions and renovations; the most recent involved dividing the mansion into three segments for use as condominiums. Beechwood was a filming location of the 1970 film ''

House of Dark Shadows A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

'', and a filming location and the primary setting of '' Savages'', a 1972

Merchant Ivory A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as industry ...

film. In the 1890s,

Henry Walter Webb Henry Walter Webb, Sr. (May 6, 1852 – June 18, 1900) was an American railway executive with the New York Central Railroad under Cornelius Vanderbilt and Chauncey Depew. He was also Vice President of the Wagner Palace Car Co. Early life Webb was ...

substantially added to the estate from numerous properties, including an earlier estate named Beechwood. Webb also renovated and expanded the mansion, hiring

R. H. Robertson Robert Henderson Robertson (April 29, 1849 – June 3, 1919) was an American architect who designed numerous houses, institutional and commercial buildings, and churches. Life and career Robertson was born in Philadelphia of Scot ...

to double the size of the house. Robertson designed the expansion in the

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

style, to be compatible with the neoclassical

Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...

of the original but more ornate.

The Clear View School

The Clear View School was built in 1917 by Frank Vanderlip on his Beechwood property as the Scarborough School, the first

Montessori The Montessori method of education involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing real-world skills. It emphasizes indepen ...

school in the United States. In 1978, the school closed; The Clear View School purchased the property in 1980 and opened in 1981. It runs a day treatment program for 83 students with

mental disorder A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

Rosemont

Rosemont, also known by the names Scarborough House and Hillside, was a

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

mansion built around 1840. The house was near the birthplace of Rear Admiral

John Lorimer Worden John Lorimer Worden (March 12, 1818 – October 19, 1897) was a U.S. Navy officer in the American Civil War, who took part in the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first-ever engagement between ironclad steamships at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 9 Mar ...

(1818-1897). It became headquarters to

Stein and Day Stein and Day, Inc. was an American publishing company founded by Sol Stein and his wife Patricia Day in 1962. Stein was both the publisher and the editor-in-chief. The firm was based in New York City, and was in business for 27 years, until clos ...

in 1973, and was known at that time as Scarborough House. The house was demolished in February 1990. The area was developed in the late 1990s with five up-scale homes on a cul-de-sac called Admiral Wordens Lane The mansion was used by Frank Vanderlip as a dormitory for Scarborough School boarding students. Rosemont stood opposite Vanderlip's Beechwood, at the corner of Route 9 and Scarborough Road.

Saint Mary's Episcopal Church

Saint Mary's Episcopal Church, founded in 1839 by William Creighton and incorporated in 1883 as Saint Mary's Church, Beechwood, is Briarcliff Manor's oldest church; it was reincorporated in 1945 as Saint Mary's Church of Scarborough. Its first service was in 1839 in a small schoolhouse on an acre of Creighton's Beechwood property, at the corner of Albany Post and Sleepy Hollow Roads. The service was led by Creighton's son-in-law Reverend Edward Nathaniel Meade. The granite church was built in 1850 by local stonemasons and paid for primarily by Creighton and Meade, but also by Creighton's wealthy neighbors, including US Navy Commodore

Matthew C. Perry Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He played a leading role in the o ...

James Watson Webb General James Watson Webb (February 8, 1802 – June 7, 1884) was a United States diplomat, newspaper publisher and a New York politician in the Whig and Republican parties. Early life Webb was born in Claverack, New York to Catherine Louisa ( ...

William Aspinwall William Aspinwall (1605 – c. 1662) was an Englishman who emigrated to Boston with the ''Winthrop Fleet'' in 1630. He played an integral part in the early religious controversies of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Life Aspinwall as most of t ...

, and

Ambrose Kingsland Ambrose Cornelius Kingsland (May 24, 1804 – October 13, 1878) was a wealthy sperm oil merchant who served as the 71st mayor of New York City from 1851 to 1853. In 1851, he initiated the legislation that eventually led to the construction of Ce ...

. The first services there were held on September 21, 1851. The church is in near-original condition, with a design based on the 14th-century

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

St. Mary's parish church in

Scarborough, England Scarborough () is a seaside town in the Borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Scarborough is located on the North Sea coastline. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town lies between 10 and 230 feet (3–70 m) above ...

and is the only church with a complete set of John Bolton (brother of

William Jay Bolton William Jay Bolton (31 August 1816 – 28 May 1884) was the first artist in the United States to design and manufacture figural stained glass windows.Clark, p. 40 ''Bolton was now prepared to undertake a larger project, an impressive array ...

) stained-glass windows. The church's rectory was built in 1931 as a memorial to its first two rectors Creighton and Meade. Notable parishioners included Commodore Matthew Perry,

Viola Allen Viola Emily Allen (October 27, 1867 – May 9, 1948) was an American stage actress who played leading roles in Shakespeare and other plays, including many original plays. She starred in over two dozen Broadway productions from 1885 to 1916. Be ...

, and

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

. Irving, the author of "

Rip Van Winkle "Rip Van Winkle" is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Dutchmen, imbibes their liquor and falls aslee ...

" and "

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a gothic story by American author Washington Irving, contained in his collection of 34 essays and short stories titled ''The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.'' Written while Irving was living abroad in Birm ...

", brought and planted the ivy surrounding the church. He had received it from

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...

, from Abbotsford. The ivy of the parish house was brought from the Argonne battlefield, after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, by Narcissa Vanderlip. The Sleepy Hollow Country Club surrounds the church grounds on three sides. During

, the

New York Guard The New York Guard (NYG) is the state defense force of New York State, also called The New York State Military Reserve. Originally called the New York State Militia it can trace its lineage back to the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Th ...

's First Provisional Regiment was stationed at the former Holbrook Military Academy, guarding the

Croton Aqueduct The Croton Aqueduct or Old Croton Aqueduct was a large and complex water distribution system constructed for New York City between 1837 and 1842. The great aqueducts, which were among the first in the United States, carried water by gravity from ...

. The regiment held a service at Saint Mary's in 1918, as described in a contemporary regimental history: On July 5, 2015, Saint Mary's Episcopal Church closed after 175 years in operation.

William Rockefeller William Avery Rockefeller Jr. (May 31, 1841 – June 24, 1922) was an American businessman and financier. Rockefeller was a co-founder of Standard Oil along with his elder brother John Davison Rockefeller. He was also part owner of the Anaconda ...

, who lived nearby at

Rockwood Hall Rockwood Hall was a Gilded Age mansion in Mount Pleasant, New York, on the Hudson River. It was best-known as the home of William Rockefeller, brother of John D. Rockefeller. Both brothers were co-founders of the Standard Oil Company. Other ow ...

, was a regular attendee of the church in the last few years of his life.

Scarborough Presbyterian Church

Scarborough Presbyterian Church is the third-oldest in Briarcliff Manor., and has a property. The church has its origins with

Elliott Fitch Shepard Elliott Fitch Shepard (July 25, 1833 – March 24, 1893) was a New York lawyer, banker, and owner of the '' Mail and Express'' newspaper, as well as a founder and president of the New York State Bar Association. Shepard was married to Marg ...

and his wife

Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt Shepard Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt Shepard ( New Dorp, July 23, 1845 – Manhattan, March 3, 1924) was an American heiress and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family. As a philanthropist, she funded the YMCA, helping create a hotel for guests of the ...

purchasing a roadhouse on the Albany Post Road. In 1892, after enlarging and remodeling the store, adding diamond-paned windows and replacing the floors and porches, the building was first used as a church. The church's organization meeting was held with nineteen charter members. After Elliott Fitch Shepard's death in March 1893, Margaret donated the present church building and manse. The

Spanish Renaissance The Spanish Renaissance was a movement in Spain, emerging from the Italian Renaissance in Italy during the 14th century, that spread to Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries. This new focus in art, literature, quotes and science inspired b ...

-style church was designed by Augustus Haydel (a nephew of

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in additio ...

) and August D. Shepard (a nephew of Elliott Shepard and of

William Rutherford Mead William Rutherford Mead (August 20, 1846 – June 19, 1928) was an American architect who was the "Center of the Office" of McKim, Mead, and White, a noted Gilded Age architectural firm.Baker, Paul R. ''Stanny'' The firm's other founding pa ...

). The two nephews later designed the 1899 Fabbri Mansion in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. The church's cornerstone was laid on October 13, 1893. During construction of the building's foundation, workers found quicksand, though Shepard was intent on constructing the church there and had the construction workers dig 30 feet into the ground to find firm ground for the foundation. European workers were brought to the site to aide in the building's construction. The Italian Renaissance Revival building was of limestone delivered from Indiana by railroad, requiring a special track laid at Scarborough to accommodate the delivery. The completed church was dedicated on May 11, 1895, in memory of Elliott Fitch Shepard. It was briefly known as Shepard Memorial Church. The dedication was attended by

Cornelius Vanderbilt II Cornelius "Corneil" Vanderbilt II (November 27, 1843 – September 12, 1899) was an American socialite and a member of the prominent United States Vanderbilt family. Noted forebears He was the favorite grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbil ...

, Frederick W. Vanderbilt,

Chauncey Depew Chauncey Mitchell Depew (April 23, 1834April 5, 1928) was an American attorney, businessman, and Republican politician. He is best remembered for his two terms as United States Senator from New York and for his work for Cornelius Vanderbilt, as ...

, William Sloane of W. & J. Sloane,

William Seward Webb William Seward Webb (January 31, 1851 – October 29, 1926) was a businessman, and inspector general of the Vermont militia with the rank of colonel. He was a founder and former president of the Sons of the American Revolution. Early life Webb w ...

, H. Walter Webb, and James A. Burden Jr. It was built of pink granite rubble with limestone trim, with a steeple supported by

flying buttress The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...

es. The interior has mosaic tile floors, fluted

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s with gilded capitals, a

coffered A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also c ...

ceiling made of redwood, and stained-glass windows. The church's 1,498-pipe organ was constructed around 1894; it was the first all-electric action organ in the world. The church property also contains the church's carriage house, used for offices, and the parish house, designed by Augustus D. Shepard and completed in 1908. From 1929 to 1974, the Scarborough Engine Company of the

Briarcliff Manor Fire Department The Briarcliff Manor Fire Department (BMFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the village of Briarcliff Manor, New York and its hamlet Briarcliff Manor, New York#Neighborhoods, Scarborough. The volunteer fire department ...

had its first firehouse in the church's garage building or barn, which is older than the church building itself. Since around 1995, the church has run the Scarborough Presbyterian Children's Center, a non-denominational preschool housed in a building next door to the church, with an outdoor playground nearby. The preschool serves families in Briarcliff Manor and Scarborough, Ossining,

Tarrytown Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North Hu ...

, Sleepy Hollow,

Pocantico Hills Pocantico Hills is a hamlet in the Westchester County town of Mount Pleasant, New York, United States. The Rockefeller family estate, anchored by Kykuit, the family seat built by John D. Rockefeller Sr., is located in Pocantico Hills, as is the a ...

, and Pleasantville. In 1995, some of the church was renovated; in 2002, the building was more fully renovated due to years of floodwater and runoff damage, including floods from

Hurricane Floyd Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful Cape Verde hurricane which struck the Bahamas and the East Coast of the United States. It was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Floyd tr ...

Sleepy Hollow Country Club

Sleepy Hollow Country Club was founded in 1911. The main building of Sleepy Hollow Country Club was known as Woodlea, the 140-room $2 million ($ in ) mansion built in 1895 for Elliott Fitch Shepard and his family. The building, with Beaux-Arts and

Georgian Revival Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...

features, was designed by

McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...

and built from 1892 to 1895. In 1910, Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt Shepard sold the estate to

and

, who converted it into a country club. Current members include

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...

James Patterson James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an American author. Among his works are the ''Alex Cross'', '' Michael Bennett'', '' Women's Murder Club'', ''Maximum Ride'', '' Daniel X'', '' NYPD Red'', '' Witch & Wizard'', and ''Private'' se ...

, and several members of the

Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family () is an American industrial, political, and banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by brothe ...

Sparta Cemetery

Sparta Cemetery, or the Presbyterian Burying Ground at Sparta, is a burying ground dating to 1764, making it the oldest cemetery in Westchester County. It is the only contributing property outside Briarcliff Manor; the Ossining Historical Society has maintained the cemetery since 1984. , the cemetery is still owned by the First Presbyterian Church of Ossining; its original church building was built c. 1768 and was moved towards the center of Ossining in 1800. The grounds hold 34 known Revolutionary War veterans. Many of the area's earliest residents are buried in the cemetery. In September 1780, HMS ''Vulture'' fired a cannonball into the gravestone of Abraham Ladew, Jr., who died in 1774, at the age of 7 years. The ''Vulture'' was traveling south from

Croton Point Croton Point Park is a Westchester County park in the village of Croton-on-Hudson. The park has several public attractions including a miniature aircraft airport, boat launch, tent and RV camping, cabin rental, cross-country skiing, fishing, gro ...

to pick up Major

John André John André (2 May 1750/1751''Gravesite–Memorial''
Westmi ...

, a rendezvous that never occurred; Andre was captured in Tarrytown on his way to the vessel.

Gallery

File:SpartaCemetery2.tif, alt=Stone steps up to a cemetery on a hill, Entrance from Revolutionary Rd. File:SpartaCemetery3.tif, alt=Cemetery plot with gravestone visibly missing, The Ledew gravestone was stolen before 2009; a plaque remains to describe the event File:SpartaCemetery4.tif, alt=A rock with a metal plaque attached, reading "THE LEATHERMAN", Gravestone of the

Leatherman Leatherman is an American brand of multitools and knives made by Leatherman Tool Group of Portland, Oregon. The company was founded in July 1983 by Timothy S. Leatherman and Steve Berliner in order to market his idea of a capable, eas ...

File:SpartaCemetery5.tif, alt=A wooden sign "Welcome to Ossining" and a metal sign for Sparta Cemetery, Entrance from US Route 9

References

External links

The Clear View School

Scarborough Presbyterian Church

Sleepy Hollow Country Club

St. Mary's Episcopal Church
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York Historic districts in Westchester County, New York Georgian architecture in New York (state) Victorian architecture in New York (state) Buildings and structures in Westchester County, New York Mid 19th Century Revival architecture in the United States U.S. Route 9 Ossining, New York Briarcliff Manor, New York Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) National Register of Historic Places in Westchester County, New York Hudson River