Part of our is mission is to increase awareness of the history of the Village of Briarcliff Manor. To this end this section provides a series of articles featuring some of the historic and notable buildings, events, and people of our village.
Over time we will add articles, and/or update existing articles. When we do we will send out a notification by e-mail. We welcome comments and suggestions for the BMSHS History Notebook, which can be sent to mail@briarcliffhistory.org. If you have a question please send it to us and we will do our best to find the answer.
The building above no longer exists. It ceased to exist in 1911 when it was destroyed by fire. However, it was once one of the earliest buildings in Briarcliff Manor, being dedicated even before (1891) the incorporation of the Village (1902). During its relatively short existence, however it was home to three organizations, important in the history of the Village: The School of Practical Agriculture and Horticulture; The Pocantico Lodge, and Miss’s Knox School.
Read MoreFrom about 1936 onwards a spy for the Nazi regime in Germany lived first in Ossining and then in Briarcliff Manor. His name was Dr. Ferdinand A. Kertess. His activities came to light around 1940, and he was eventually convicted of violating Federal export control laws in 1943.
Read MoreMaurice LaCroix was born in 1889 in Lille, France. and entered the hotel business at the age of fourteen as assistant chef at the Hotel Bel Dor in Reims.
He emigrated to the United States when he was seventeen and worked at the Astor, Belmont, Knickerbocker and Biltmore hotels (1906-1909) in New York City and at the Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough (1919-1923)
In 1923, a year before Walter Law's death, the Law family leased the lodge to Chauncey Depew Steele for 20 years. That year he hired Maurice LaCroix as Head Chef.
Read MoreWalter Law looms so large in the history of Briarcliff Manor that it's easy to forget there were already things (buildings, farms, churches etc.) here before the village was founded in 1902
The Washburn House is one of the earliest homes in Briarcliff Manor. It was sold by the New York State Commission on Forfeiture to Joseph Washburn in 1775. It was at one time the residence of George A. Todd Jr., a teacher and principal for almost forty years.
We were delighted to come across this story documenting the visit of a brother and sister who had grown up in the Washburn House, moved away and then returned in 1986 when they were able visit their former house, reminisce and tell some stories about what it was like growing up there.
Read MoreBriarcliff Manor has a perhaps surprising prominence in the history of the Girl Scouts. Founded in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low, the Girl Scout movement was meant to be an American, female adaptation of the ideals of Robert Baden-Powell, whose Scouting movement in Britain had proved popular. Girl Scouts today still recite the ‘Girl Scout Pledge’ that Low developed, and I remember learning about her when I was a Girl Scout.” It was shortly after WWI that Briarcliff Manor became part of the quickly growing Girl Scout movement. There are two major connections between Girl Scout history and Briarcliff Manor. The first national Girl Scout camp, Camp Andree Clark, is located in Briarcliff Manor, across from the Edith Macy Conference Center which was also an early center of Girl Scout activity. And Briarcliff Manor resident Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon was the author of the Girl Scout Handbook.
Read MoreIt all started when a long time Briarcliff Manor resident visited the Historical Society and showed us the brass plaque in the picture above. This raised a number of questions: What was this? How did it relate to the present war memorial? It’s clearly quite old, probably dating back to just after the First World War. Where had it been all this time? Since Memorial Day was approaching, we thought that it was appropriate to take a look at the history of the War Memorial. This forms the first part of this notebook.
You look at the War Memorial and see the names there, but what do those looking know about the people behind the names, real, living people who gave their lives for their county. The second part of this notebook attempts to at least partially address this.
Read MoreRohde Jones shares some reflections and remembrances of her life in her hometown.
“ Growing up in and spending such incredibly important adult years in Briarcliff Manor has truly been the bedrock of my life – I cannot adequately express how grateful I am to have spent such meaningful and precious years in the village and to this day know that my years there were indeed the very best preparation for my professional life as an educator and the most special roles of my life – mother and grandmother”
Read MoreEvery year the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society organizes a series of presentations on topics related to the history of the village. This year is the 50th Anniversary of the Society and the centennial of the death of Walter W. Law, the founder of our village. We usually hold these presentations in the Village Vescio Community Center. But this year we’ve decided to do something a bit different. We’ve decided that the focus of our Anniversary year will be on Walter Law himself, and we’re going to try to hold the presentations in some of the village’s Houses of Worship. The first of these presentations was at the Briarcliff Manor Congregational Church (BCC) because of the close relationship between Law and the church: Law contributed the land on which it was built and also donated a number of the spectacular stained-glass windows. Pastor Todd Farnsworth of the BCC eagerly accepted to give the presentation, which took place February 17th, 2024, and was entitled “Mr. Law, We need a church.”
Read MoreOn Friday, April 24, 1908 an event took place in Briarcliff Manor, the like of which had never been seen in the village before and has not been seen since.
Read MoreHere are excerpts from his recollections of growing up and what the area was like in his youth.
Read MoreShe recalls life at the school and some of the notable visitors and classmates she encountered while there.
Read MoreIn 1839 a professor of Greek and Oriental Languages bought a house in Ossining, NY about 2 miles from where I'm writing this post in Briarcliff Manor. The professor never lived in Ossining, turning over the title to his son, Benjamin soon after purchasing it. But he did visit the house often.
Read More“Dented, scratched and battle-scarred, bronze green from a century and a half of warlike years in France, Haiti and Cuba, two elaborate old bronze cannons, one at least of which was once the property of the tyrant, Jacques I, Emperor of Haiti stand today on a peaceful lawn in Briarcliff Manor, awaiting the ceremonial day when the American Legion will move them to their final pedestal of honor in Law Memorial Park.”
Read MoreBriarcliff Manor is a heckuva big place to be called a “village.” It is part of both the Town of Ossining and also the Town of Mount Pleasant. But it shouldn’t be a big surprise because as of the early 1900’s, Walter Law had purchased 5,200 acres of land and was the largest individual landowner in Westchester County. The Village of Briarcliff Manor was his handiwork.
The beating heart of the village is the tiny, tree-lined area once known as Whitson’s Corners. No matter how much things have changed, the site of its original settlement has managed to remain pretty much the same.
Read MoreThe first Church in what is now Briarcliff Manor was incorporated in 1883 as "St. Mary's Church, Beechwood," and reincorporated in 1945 as "St. Mary's Church of Scarborough," an Episcopal Church receiving its name from St. Mary's Church of Scarborough, England. Its architecture was in large part inspired by that same ancient English Church. Founded by Rev. William Creighton, D.D., in 1839, its original property was an acre of land and a "glebe lot" from his estate, Beechwood.
Read MoreEarly this month the world lost a great artist and son of Briarcliff Manor when Brice Marden died at his home in Tivoli, New York, on August 9, 2023, at the age of 84. Writing in The New Yorker in 2006, the critic Peter Schjeldahl (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Schjeldahl) described Marden as "the most profound abstract painter of the past four decades". This is reflected in the length of his obituary in the New York Times – Two full pages!
Read MoreIn the early fall of 2022 numerous files and an extraordinary collection of antique gardening and landscape books were donated by Mr. Oliver Chamberlain who drove from Rhode Island to bring it to us. We are eternally grateful. By selecting the BMSHS as the archive for this archival collection he honors us.
Read MoreIf you frequent Law Park you’ve probably seen the monument above. You may also have read the text on the plaque. For those who haven’t, It briefly tells the story of Lt. John Kelvin Koelsch, a son of Briarcliff Manor who died October 16, 1951 in the line of duty at a Prisoner of War Camp in North Korea, during the Korean War. He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously, August 2, 1955. Read on to learn more about his story.
Read MoreYou've seen them here and there around the Village, but our original historical research (our Mission after all) has revealed where each was originally placed and where it is now. Only two are in their original locations.
Read MoreProvides a short history of Briarcliff Manor from the earliest days through the pre-colonial period and the 17th-19th century. This is followed by a summary of Walter Law’s Briarcliff. The notebook concludes with a discussion of 20th century Briarcliff and the Briarcliff of today.
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