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Elmsford
was known as Storm's Bridge in the early 1700's and as Hall's
Corners during the middle of the nineteenth century. One-mile
square, it is midway between White Plains and Tarrytown. Its present
name - adopted in 1870 - was inspired by a mammoth elm tree, nearly
thirty feet in circumference, which had been a landmark since
revolutionary days. In
Elmsford's central square was a tavern, built in the early 1700's by
Abraham Storm, and known later as O'Brien's Chateau. During the
Revolutionary War, French and Colonial officers often gathered in
this tavern and the barmaid, Betsy, frequently garnished their
drinks with the tail feathers of chickens appropriated by the
Colonials from Torie's hen-coops in the neighborhood. Thus Elmsford
became the birthplace of that celebrated libation, "the
cocktail." The tavern was also the scene of the escape of
Harvey Birch, famous American spy, as related by James Fenimore
Cooper in "The Spy." In his writings Cooper also mentioned
another historical place in Elmsford, "Katy's Cave, "
where American soldiers were hidden during the Revolution.
Through the greater
part of the 1800's Elmsford grew very slowly. It was just a little
hamlet with a church, a school and a store, surrounded by outlying
farms. Then in the last decades of the century the railroad followed
the river northward and established a station there. This meant that
people who worked in New York City could now live in Elmsford. The
village experienced a population explosion which culminated in its
incorporation in 1910. The
easy accessibility of the community has contributed greatly to the
industrial and commercial position of the village. One of the first
radio stations in the county and perhaps the state, WRW began
operation in Tarrytown in 1920 by an Elmsford resident. Descendants
of Alexander Hamilton and Isaac Van Wart have resided in Elmsford.
Van Wart, one of the captors of Major John Andre, during the
Revolution, is buried in the cemetery of the Elmsford Reformed
Church.
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