Westmore News SS 2018 Feature
Sesquicentennial celebration kicks off with proclamations, history and cake (Repost)
About 150 people came out to the senior/community center Monday night, May 14, the actual anniversary of the village’s date of incorporation, to celebrate Port Chester’s sesquicentennial, a word that was tripped over and a subject of conversation during speeches the entire night.
150th Committee member and Park Avenue School teacher Jen Carriero-Dominguez said sesquicentennial, meaning 150th anniversary, was a new vocabulary word for her students.
In presenting proclamations in honor of the occasion, some elected officials got tongue-tied pronouncing it.
Those officials were from the neighboring municipalities of Rye, Harrison and Rye Brook, the Town of Rye, County of Westchester, and State of New York.
“This is a unique community that has welcomed immigrants for the last 100 years,” said County Executive George Latimer. “It must be the oldest incorporated village in the county.”
“Port Chester is a great neighbor of Rye,” said City of Rye Mayor Josh Cohn. “It has a rich history of achievement over the last 150 years.”
“We are so thrilled to be here and are in awe of the longevity,” said Rye Brook Mayor Paul Rosenberg. “We are the newest village, just incorporated in 1982. We wish you nothing but the best for the next 150 years.” He read from the proclamation he presented, saying the land that became Port Chester was bought from the Poningo Indians for eight coats, seven shirts and 90 feet of wampum.
Originally named Sawpit from the time when ships docked in Port Chester harbor, the name was later changed to Port Chester by a slim five votes.
It is one of only 12 villages incorporated under a charter and has always been populated by immigrants.
“To me what this celebration is about is the next 150 years,” said Brian Hegt, who represented Governor Andrew Cuomo. “This community is set up for another 150 years of success.”
County Legislator Nancy Barr spoke about “the rich and vibrant history of Port Chester, the shining star of the Sound Shore, one of the most diverse communities in all of Westchester. We picked a date that was not tonight. May 20 is declared 150th Birthday of Port Chester Day in the county. It will be on the jumbotron in front of the County Center.”
“Sawpit reflected Port Chester’s industrial beginnings,” said Rye Town Supervisor Gary Zuckerman. “He described the village as “a giving community that offers many people an opportunity.”
Coming in late after getting stuck in traffic on his way back from Albany, Assemblyman Steve Otis spoke about “the sense of family and the sense of hard work” in Port Chester. “People have character. The American dream continues to happen in Port Chester every day.”
Mayor Richard “Fritz” Falanka announced the names of every current and former elected official in attendance, a very long list.
“It’s a great pleasure to have everyone come back and share this great occasion with the Village of Port Chester,” he said. Speaking of the past Port Chester officials, he said: “Without their hard work, a lot of this wouldn’t be possible. We spend a lot of time trying to get the village’s work done.”
He also introduced the committee that made this and all the upcoming 150th anniversary activities possible, chaired by Mary Strauch and Denise Quinn.
Committee member and architect Norm Davis, who was born in Port Chester, is descended from the Studwells and Lyons, two of the first pioneer families to settle in the area, gave an interesting presentation complete with maps and old postcards, describing Port Chester’s history through landmarks and people.
“Rye settlers referred to the marshy harbor area as Saw Log Swamp, or the Saw Pits, or worse,” he said. “It was simply the place to cut lumber, using the method that gave the place its name.”
The name Sawpit, he said, first appeared in print only in 1732, nearly 100 years after Rye was settled.
Some of the earliest families to homestead here included the Lyon, Bush, Purdy, Bloomer, Merritt and Brown families, he said. The Brown Homestead still stands on Browndale Place. Records place Samuel Brown on this property as early as 1733.
He showed a picture of the John Lyon House on Lyon’s original farmland near Highland Street. The farm, part of what is now Lyon Farm condominiums off King Street, remained in use with cows and sheep until the 1970s when the home was demolished.
The Port Chester Country Club, near the future Park Avenue School, was gone by 1927.
William Ward and his NYC partner saw opportunity in the area and built a factory on Midland Avenue adjacent to the train tracks. By 1851, RB&W “was one of the largest manufacturers in the entire New York area and the largest employer in Port Chester, sometimes including three or four generations form the same families,” said Davis. “They manufactured military hardware in both World War I and World War II.” He said the plant closed in 1973 after a devastating fire wiped out the entire operation.
The Bush-Lyon Homestead “is the home that makes Port Chester an historic icon of Westchester County,” said Davis. Abraham Bush was a sea captain who regularly sailed out of Sawpit. He married John Lyon’s daughter, inheriting much of John Lyon’s land in the process. He said the true age of the Bush Homestead is unknown and it may have been built for Lyon’s sons. The older parts probably date to around 1720. The barns served as slave quarters for several generations.
With incorporation of the village on May 14, 1868 “came a new local government and a new sense of identity,” said Davis. The downtown burgeoned with stores, theaters and hotels.
“The marina, Route 1, the railroad, the shops and the people. Even today, these things remain the forces that give Port Chester a life and a personality that Rye and Greenwich do not possess,” concluded Davis.
Self-taught artist Steve Rossi, who was born and raised in Port Chester, presented three framed drawings of various Port Chester landmarks to the mayor. “These are my birthday gifts for Port Chester,” he said.
Mario Gomez showed a video of present day Port Chester made by Port Chester High School student Eli Taylor-Lemire and PCHS alumnus Donell Clark, a graduate of the School of Visual Arts with a BFA in Film/Video.
Carriero-Dominguez talked about the many cultural and annual events, restaurants and organizations that make Port Chester great and activities that will be going on in the schools to teach about Port Chester’s past 150 years through the arts.
“Being from Port Chester teaches our students about the diversity in the real world, and in our schools’ One World Clubs teach our students how to be virtuous and leaders in global character education competence,” she said.
Village Manager Chris Steers concluded by speaking of Port Chester as an active and healthy community, including the unveiling of the farmers’ market the day before.
“We’re on our way,” said Steers. “As the mayor says, ‘It’s Port Chester’s time.’ What’s happening is because of the hard work of everyone who has come before.”
The presentations were preceded by a reception with passed hors d’oeuvres and followed by birthday cake donated by Neri’s Bakery and the singing of “Happy Birthday” to the Village of Port Chester. The room was decorated with a red carpet, balloons and 150th logos galore.
The next 150th event, PCFest in Lyon Park, originally scheduled for Sunday, May 20, has been postponed to Sunday, May 27 from 2-5 p.m. due to expected inclement weather.
By Jananne Abel