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.
In 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 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 MoreV. Everit Macy (1871-1930) has been described as "a helluva nice guy." He earned a degree in 1893 from Columbia's School of Architecture, where he studied alongside Chester Aldrich, architect of his future house. Macy himself never practiced professionally. Instead, this amazingly busy and selfless man spent his entire adult life improving the lives of others, mainly in Westchester County.
Read MoreDuring the early 1900s, Briarcliff was home to one of America’s most famous detectives. His friend, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle called him “America’s Sherlock Holmes” and The New York Times called him “The greatest detective America has produced.”
Read MoreWith the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing women the right to vote very soon upon us, it is our privilege to be able to bring to your attention one of the most prominent of the Suffragists, Carrie Chapman Catt…
Read MoreOn September 23, 1780 British Major John Andre, dressed in civilian clothes, rode south through Westchester on his way to British-held New York City after meeting with American General Benedict Arnold. In his boot were the plans for the American Fortress at West Point which Arnold planned to surrender to the British.
Read MoreMrs. Eileen O’Connor Weber was an exceptional woman, but that is something the community already knows. She was a woman whose charisma, generosity, and larger-than-life personality lives in Briarcliff Manor to this day.
Read MoreDriving down Scarborough Road, one might notice a long brick wall running from Philips Laboratories to one of its distant entrances on Holbrook Road. I often wondered why this wall was there. I eventually discovered that this wall once served as the border of the “Waldheim” estate of James and Ellin Speyer.
Read MoreThis famous and mysterious figure has a little known connection with our village. On Sunday March 24, 1889 the Leather Man was found dead at one of his regular overnight stops in a rock shelter off Hillcrest Drive on the former Dell Farm in Briarcliff Manor not far from the intersection of the Old Chappaqua Road and the Taconic Parkway.
Read MoreYes you read it correctly. Suffragist rather than the more familiar Suffragette. It is believed that "Suffragette," which has fallen into disfavor, was originally coined by The Daily Mail in London as a derogatory term for female activists. Suffragist is now considered the correct name.
Read MoreOne of the many well-known people who have called Briarcliff Manor home is Flora Ettlinger Whiting. Flora was a pioneer in collecting American antique furniture and decorative arts. Much like Henry DuPont at his “Winterthur” estate in Delaware, Flora Whiting at the “Ashridge” estate in Briarcliff Manor filled it with the prized specimens of this aesthetic of American design.
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