Pelham
is the oldest town in Westchester County. Thomas Pell signed a
treaty in 1654 with the Siwanoy Indians to buy what is not only
the Town of Pelham but is all of the borough of the Bronx and the
land along Long Island Sound north to the Rye border and inland to
the Bronx river. Pell named his manor "Pelham" in honor
of his tutor, Pelham Burton.
Thomas
Pell's nephew, Sir John Pell, was the first of the Pells to live
in Pelham Manor. He inherited the land in 1670 and until the
American Revolution only the Pell family lived in Pelham.
During
the American Revolution, the Battle of Pelham was fought along
Split Rock Road and Wolf's Lane on October 18, 1776. Despite a
fierce fight, the British army commanded by Sir William Howe won
the battle.
The
Joshua Pell House, built about 1760, is still standing today at
145 Shore Road. Another Pell House, which was remodeled by the Hay
family in the 1820s and renamed "Pelhamdale", still
stands at 45 Iden Avenue.
The
State Legislature incorporated the Town of Pelham on March 7,
1788, and at that time included all of City Island and what is now
Pelham Bay Park east of the Hutchinson River. In 1895, the Town of
Pelham was reduced to its current area. Three Villages were
incorporated within the Town - the Village of Pelham Manor in 1891
and two others, the Village of North Pelham and the Village of
Pelham, in 1896. In 1975, the Villages of North Pelham and Pelham
(also known as Pelham Heights) merged to form the present Village
of Pelham.
