Ardsley History Timeline
In 2013 Walter Schwartz, former Village Justice and Village Historian, created the original Timeline of Ardsley History to document the significant events that took place in the Village of Ardsley. Actually, he created two timelines: one for the Village and another for the Ardsley School District. In 2019 there was an effort to combine the two timelines and also to update them. This effort involved Walter and several other members of the Historical Society’s Board of Directors.
Since that time there has been an effort to update the timeline on an ongoing basis. Therefore, if you notice any inaccuracies in the timeline or any important events that have not been included, please notify us at info@ardsleyhistoricalsociety.org.
1700s
July 6 - August 18, 1781: George Washington’s troops camped in the area between Concord Road and Ardsley High School that was once known as “Washington Hill.” Washington maintained his headquarters in the Appleby farm house, near the former site of radio station WFAS (on Secor Rd in the Town of Greenburgh)
1788: Town of Greenburgh established. A hamlet near the Saw Mill River became known as “Saw Mill River Corners” (or simply “Saw Mill Corners”). Sometime before 1850, the name “Ashford” came into common use for this area
1800s
March 25, 1861: Methodist Church established in the hamlet of Ashford
1872: William Slocum began a 38-year tenure as School Master or Principal of the local schools. In 1872 the local census showed 200 children between the ages 5-21, while the average school attendance was only 50 children
1880: Ashford train depot constructed by the NYC & Northern Railroad
March 2, 1883: Local post office opened, due to the efforts and influence of Cyrus Field, entrepreneur of the Transatlantic Cable Company. However the name was changed from Ashford to Ardsley, after Field’s ancestral home in England, since there already was an Ashford post office upstate
July 23, 1887: Opening of two room Ashford Avenue School to house grades 1-8 at cost of about $3,100
1894: Railroad taken over by the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad (Putnam division)
1884-1893: Construction of the New Croton Aqueduct from Croton Reservoir
1884-1893: Construction of the New Croton Aqueduct from Croton Reservoir to New York City and extended under the length of Ardsley, most notably where the Library and Secor Ambulance Corps buildings presently stand
1894: Ardsley Heights development with electrical lighting (south of Ashford Avenue up to Riverview Avenue)
January 14, 1896: Petition approved to incorporate the Village of Ardsley
February 11, 1896: Election of Daniel Lawrence as Ardsley’s first President, Board of Trustees and Officers
March 5, 1896: Banquet at Ardsley Lyceum to Celebrate Village’s Incorporation
April 27, 1896: Enactment of First Village Ordinances, By-Laws and Police Regulations
1900s
October 28-30, 1903: Grand Fair for New Methodist-Episcopal Church building. Publication of Ashford/Ardsley History by Rev. Eli Quick
January 8, 1906: Adolph Lewisohn, national public figure, acquired first Ardsley property, later expanded to 356 acres with 40-room mansion, which he maintained until his death in 1938
September 18, 1912: Ceremony for laying of cornerstone and placement of time capsule at Ashford Avenue School Building for kindergarten through twelfth grade
November 16, 1912: U.S. President William Howard Taft luncheon guest of Adolph Lewisohn at Heatherdell Farm
1913: Woodycrest development begins (north of Ashford Avenue, including Fairmont & Orlando Avenues)
1913: First Episcopal Church services held upstairs in the Quimby building on Ashford Avenue
December 6, 1914: Great Ardsley Fire destroys Downtown Business District, four family members perished
1915: Abandoned school building on Ashford Avenue converted into the Ardsley Municipal Building
October 22, 1916: First church service of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church
1917: Isabel McCartney elected Ardsley Village Treasurer, first woman elected to a village-wide office in Westchester County
April, 1917: Ardsley Troop 3 chartered by the Boy Scouts of America. Rev. Alfred S. Clayton, pastor of the Ardsley Methodist Church, first scoutmaster
1920: Census shows 900 people living in Ardsley
August 1, 1921: Chartering of Ardsley American Legion Post #458. Meetings held at the McCartney Real Estate and Insurance Agency building at 477 Ashford Avenue
1922: Arthur W. Silliman began 36 years of service as head of the Ardsley Public Schools. During his tenure the pupil population increased from 303 pupils to more than 2,000
1923: Eight Ardsley girls registered as Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA). They were the first members of Ardsley Girl Scout Troop 1, known as the Bluebirds
May 10, 1923: First incarnation of the Ardsley Public Library established on second floor of Municipal Building
February 7, 1924: Death of William Odell, Second Village President, and owner of Odell Coal, Feed & Flour Co.
1923: Eight girls registered as the first members of Ardsley Girl Scouts as part of Ardsley Girl Scout Troop I
1925: Ardsley Acres Development breaks ground, south of Ashford Avenue (including Almena Avenue and Ridge Road)
July 19, 1928: Ardsley Patrolman Joseph A. Bachman was killed while chasing after a speeding motorist
1929: Beacon Hill development begins south of Heatherdell Road (including Beacon Hill & Captain Honeywells Roads)
1929: Our Lady of Perpetual Help becomes a Roman Catholic parish in Ardsley
November 20, 1930: Opening of a section of Saw Mill River Parkway between Ardsley and Elmsford
May 2, 1932: Resolution enacted by Westchester County Board of Supervisors to rename Woodlands Park as the V. Everit Macy Park in honor of the former Chairman of the County Parks Commission
May 14, 1934: Death of Mayor Frank Addyman while in office after seven years as head of Village Government. He was honored with a military funeral followed by internment at Ferncliff Cemetery
December 17, 1935: Robbery of First National Bank of Ardsley on Ashford Avenue
1938: Ardsley Gardens Development begins north of Ashford Avenue (including Abington Ave and Cross Road)
1938: Sprain Brook Manor Development begins south of Ashford Avenue (including Lincoln Ave, McKinley Place & Taft Lane)
June 10, 1939: King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom travel up Saw Mill River Parkway through Ardsley enroute to visit President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at Hyde Park
July 30, 1940: Henry Raab appointed Chief of Police, remaining in office 22 years
1942: Ardsley Public Library donated their book collection to the war effort, effectively ending Village library service until 1972
May 30, 1943: The original Roll of Honor dedicated, listing names of each Ardsley School District resident who served in World War II. Initial two panels were on display in the small park (now known as Legion Park) across the street (Rt 9A) from Addyman Square
1948 (est.): McCartney Real Estate building moved from Addyman Square to Miss Joann DeRosa’s property at 12 Northfield Ave in Dobbs Ferry
November 7, 1949: Ardsley train station relocated northward across Ashford Ave to east side of the tracks to make way for bridge piers and parkway ramp
1949: Twenty-One Acres development begins at Orlando and Park Avenues
November 19, 1950: Dedication of new building on Ashford Avenue for Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Church
1951: First of six sections of Huntley Estates Development closes with homes sold on Crestview Place, Beacon Hill Road and Highland Drive
1951: Irene Beasley purchased Captain Honeywells’ estate (at 133 Heatherdell Road). That house was built in 1750 and is the oldest house in Ardsley
1953: Opening of Concord Road Elementary School for grades K to 3
May 4, 1953: Appointment of Former Mayor Francis J. McCormack as Village Justice, succeeding B. Wilbur McDowell, and beginning his 21-Year tenure
1954: Ardsley Community Nursery School opens doors on American Legion Drive
1955: Bill Fernandez starts Ardsley Little League with 250 boys
December 15, 1955: NYS Thruway opens through Ardsley
April, 1956: Dedication of McDowell Park off Heatherdell Road
November, 1956: Huge fire destroys Lewisohn mansion; property later sold to Ardsley School District and used for new high school building
1956: American Legion Post #458 begins construction of new building on Aqueduct Street. The Village renames Aqueduct Street to American Legion Drive
November, 1956: St. Barnabas “mission church” moves into its own building at the corner of Heatherdell & Revolutionary Roads. The original building is moved to American Legion Drive and is still operating today as the Ardsley Community Nursery School
November 1, 1956: Ardsley Garden Club is founded with Mrs. Jackie Beeson as its first president
April 1, 1957: First workday for Mary Kamens, Ardsley Village Clerk, who retired 41 years later
May 29, 1958: Passenger Service ended on Putnam Railroad Line
1958: Opening of new Ardsley High School at top of the hill at current Farm Road location
February 1, 1959: The cover of Today’s Living, the New York Herald Tribune’s Sunday Magazine, features the McDowell Park parking lot that was flooded each winter for use as an ice skating rink, illustrated by noted sports-theme artist and Ardsley resident Donald Moss
February 7, 1960: Dedication of new Ardsley Methodist Church building on Ashford Avenue
June 4, 1961: The cover of Today’s Living, the New York Herald Tribune Sunday Magazine, of Ardsley Little League at McDowell Park, illustrated by noted sports-theme artist and Ardsley resident Donald Moss
July 1, 1962: Ardsley-Secor Volunteer Ambulance Corps formed
March 30, 1964: Death of B. Wilbur McDowell, Village Justice for 41 years beginning in 1912, and later Greenburgh Receiver of Taxes
1966: American Legion Post #458 honors the WWI and WWII veterans from Ardsley who gave their lives during these wars by erecting two bronze plaques on the front of its new building (on American Legion Dr)
1970: Girls Softball League formed with five teams
April 27, 1971: First organizational meeting of the second incarnation of the Ardsley Public Library
1971: Opening of new Ardsley Middle School (grades 5-8) just beyond village borders in unincorporated section of the Town of Greenburgh, south of Ashford Avenue
October 8-10, 1971: 75th Anniversary Celebration of Village in Macy Park
June 18, 1972: Major Flooding of Saw Mill River and downtown business Area during Hurricane Agnes
June 25, 1972: Opening of Ardsley storefront library on Centre Street in Hillcroft shopping area, near where Daitch Shopwell was later located
Oct 9, 1974: Mastodon bones found on grounds of Huntley Drive/Overlook Road property
1976: Ardsley Kiwanis Club planted 13 cherry trees in the lower portion (along Rt 9A) of Bicentennial Park in honor of the Bicentennial
October 13, 1979: Dedication of new expanded American Legion Post building
January 23, 1980: Death of Arthur Silliman, Head of Ardsley Schools 1922-1958. Later he became Village and School District historian and in 1975 he completed a 3-volume History of Ardsley
April 9, 1980: Slipping slope behind Ardsley A & P crashes into back of stores in shopping center along Rt 9A (where Rite Aid currently stands)
July 21, 1980: All-time heat record in Ardsley set at 104 Degrees
December 25, 1980: All-time coldest recorded local temperature: Minus 4 degrees
February, 1982: Initial meeting of the Ardsley Historical Society, led by Arline Weston who became its first president
February 9, 1982: New York Court of Appeals decision affirms Ardsley’s right to join Greenburgh Town Park after seven years of litigation and unanimous decisions in all three courts. However, a bill sponsored by Assemblyman William Finneran who was a member of the Greenburgh Town Board when the litigation began, and subsequent inaction by the Village Board, effectively ended Ardsley’s use of the Park after one summer (1982)
March 1983: Marie Stimpfl elected Ardsley’s first Female Mayor
May 17, 1983: Death of Francis J. McCormack. He held 4 elective positions in the Village: School Board Trustee, Village Trustee, Mayor and Village Justice
January 17, 1984: January 17, 1984: Groundbreaking for the new Ardsley Library on American Legion Drive; dedication on October 21, 1984
October 19, 1985: Earthquake Measuring 4.0 on Richter Scale strikes Greenburgh near Ardsley. Newspaper headline: “It’s Ardsley’s Fault”
July 1-2, 1987: Felony Hearing for notorious NYC-based Green Dragons Youth Gang presided over by Village Justice Walter Schwartz in Village Court
July 17, 1987: Stephen Blaha retires as Police Chief after 33 years
1988: Revolutionary War cannon ball found at Ardsley residence
Oct 23, 1988: Dedication of Floyd H. Lichtenberg Park at Ardsley Public Library
Oct 29, 1988: Dedication of Thelma Zimmer & William Van Dorn Youth & Community Center on Center Street
November 28, 1989: Army Corps of Engineers project finally eliminates chronic Saw Mill River flooding problem
June 11, 1989: Ardsley High School Baseball Team wins fourth consecutive NYS Class C Championship
December 22, 1992: Renown Water Wheel Restaurant destroyed by fire
May 2, 1993: Ardsley Children’s Library wing dedicated; made possible by $450,000 donation from Thomas & Agnes Carvel Foundation
January 6, 1996: Flag Raising Ceremony to Commemorate Ardsley Village Centennial
1996: Roll of Honor (now expanded to six panels) rededicated in Ashford Park (currently known as Pascone Park)
April 25, 1998: Dedication of Village Clock in Addyman Square (gift of the Garden Club)
Feb 27, 1999: Dedication of Ardsley’s new Village Hall at 507 Ashford Ave
2000s
2000: Census shows 4,269 people living in Ardsley
Sept 11, 2001: Resident and Ardsley volunteer fireman William Pohlmann killed in World Trade Center attack
February 2, 2002: Death of Beatrice Proske, longtime Ardsley resident, at age 102. Bea was an art historian, specifically in Spanish and American Sculpture. She was the author of preeminent studies on both Spanish and American sculpture
April 7, 2004: Ardsley approved a resolution to accept a NY State grant ($12,600) for the purchase and installation of six historical markers to commemorate the role that this area played during the American Revolution. Arline Weston and Frank Jazzo were instrumental in obtaining this grant and they also raised an additional $4,200. These markers were installed in 2008 (4 in Ardsley and 2 in Greenburgh on the property of the Odell House). In 2009 President Obama made this part of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail (w3R-US.org)
November, 2004: The Ardsley Voters approved a referendum to move the Village elections from March to November. 2005 was the first year that Village elections were held in November
May, 2005: Dedication of the new ASVAC building (on American Legion Drive)
July 19, 2005: Dedication of plaque at Police headquarters to honor Patrolman Joseph A. Bachman who was killed on July 19, 1928 while chasing after a speeding motorist
September 25, 2005: Dedication of Blue Star Memorial Plaque in Addyman Square (gift of Garden Club)
2007: American Legion Post #458 member Paul Petretti led removal of old McCartney building from DeRosa property to Ashford Park where it became a museum displaying artifacts of the veterans
March, 2008: Dedication of new Ardsley Firehouse on Ashford Avenue
2010: Census showed 4,452 people residing in Ardsley
October, 2011: Ashford Park was renamed Louis M. Pascone Park in recognition of his faithful 62 years of service to the Village
September, 2013: The student population consisted of 731 students at Concord Road (grades K-4), 651 students at Ardsley Middle School (5-8) and 640 students at Ardsley High School (9-12)
2016: Water Wheel Condominium affordable housing units opened on Louis Pascone Lane near the corner of Saw Mill River and Revolutionary Roads
Feb 6, 2018: Ashford Avenue Bridge & ramp reconstruction project completed after two years of one-lane access in either direction
Jan 25, 2018: Retirement of Walter Schwartz, Village Justice for 36 years, Village Trustee for 4 years, and Village Historian
2018: Village creates the Multicultural, Diversity & Inclusion Committee
June 15, 2019 – Ardsley High School girls softball team wins NY State Class B Championship
2020: Census showed 5,079 people residing in Ardsley
March, 2020: The COVID-19 global pandemic begins to impact New York residents. Dr. Anthony Fauci recommends that people wear masks and receive two shots of the vaccine (the second shot approximately 6 months after the first shot). Many events and activities are either cancelled or offered virtually (e.g. via Zoom)
June 7, 2020 - Over 100 people stood at the corner of 9A and Ashford Avenue holding up signs and over 300 people marched from Pascone Park through the entire Village and back to the park for a rally in support of the Black Lives Matter movement
September 18-19 and 25-26, 2021 – Ardsley Historical Society conducts walking tours of the village. Over 100 people participate in the tours.
October 10, 2021 – Village holds celebration for their 125th anniversary at Pascone Park. Many village organizations have tables, some are selling memorabilia and raffle tickets. There are games for the children (including a bubble truck), Touch a Truck, music and food trucks. The day concludes with fireworks.
October 20, 2021 – Ardsley Middle School; celebrates its 50 th anniversary. The cornerstone is removed and the time capsule is extracted.
April 30, 2022 – Dedication is held for the Ardsley Train Station historical marker, located at the entrance to the South County Trailway and Elm Street. The marker was installed on March 31.
August 25, 2022: A brief ceremony was conducted in Pascone Park for those families that sponsored a Military Tribute banner. Each family was able to hold their banner for a photo opportunity. The person who initiated this program in Ardsley and who has been the driving force behind it, is Sharon Colabello (the daughter of Marty Engleman, a long-time Ardsley resident, former owner of Marty’s Mug & Munch and a WWII veteran). Earlier this year Ardsley residents were given the opportunity to purchase a banner to honor a relative who served in the military. Over 50 people took advantage of this opportunity. One business (HMH Management) sponsored two banners (for Robert Bunch Jr. and Charles Duryea); Robert and Charles were Ardsley High School graduates who enlisted in WWII but were killed in action. Girl Scout Troop #2937 in Ardsley sponsored a banner for Dorothy Kaufman, a US Navy veteran and a long-time Ardsley Girl Scout leader. The “hand over” ceremony was captured by Ch 12 news
August 29, 2022: Ardsley DPW began hanging the banners along Ashford Avenue and in Addyman Square and now all 59 banners have been hung for everyone to honor them. The banners remained on display until after Veterans Day (November 11)
October 22, 2022 – Unveiling is held for the Ardsley Encampment historical marker, located on Farm Road at the entrance to the high school. The marker was installed on June 27. Four members of the Middle School History Club, plus their advisors took turns reading from an historical narrative prepared by Society President Peter Marcus.
June 10, 2023: Ardsley participated in a Pride Celebration at Waterfront Park in Dobbs Ferry
June 17, 2023: The Ardsley Multicultural, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the Ardsley PTA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee hosted a Juneteenth Celebration at the Ardsley Middle School
June 24, 2023: MVR Insurance celebrated their 100th anniversary in Pascone Park. In 1900 James McCartney started a real estate business in Addyman Square. In 1923 the company also began selling insurance. In 2010 that building was moved to Pascone Park and today it serves as an American Legion museum
Ardsley Retirements (years of service):
Pat Basini, Village Court Clerk (40 years)
Emil Califano, Police Department (30 years)
George Calvi, Village Manager (25 years)
John Coupe, Police Lt (35 years)
Marion Demaio, Village Treasurer (29 years)
Lou Pascone, Highway department (62 years), Foreman (final 33 yrs)