The Daily Eagle’s Illustrated History of Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon lies on the border of The Bronx and is the eighth most populous city in the state of New York. The city’s community is split in two by the Metro North railroad track. The Northside has a suburban feel, with tree lined streets and residential homes, while the Southside has an urban feel. Mount Vernon’s downtown business district is located on the city’s Southside with City Hall, office buildings and other municipal establishments. The Southside became a mostly African American community while the Northside became a predominantly Caucasian community. Mount Vernon’s present city limits were once the center of the town of Eastchester, and Mount Vernon’s history is closely related to that of Eastchester’s.
Mount Vernon has an enormously diverse population and over 98 different nationalities call it home. In just four square miles the ethnic backgrounds of its citizens range from African American, Hispanic, German, Portuguese, Polish, Irish, Italian, Russian, Greek, Indian, Middle Eastern, Brazilian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Central American, South American, Gambian, Jewish, Korean, Puerto Rican, West African, West Indian, and Jamaican.
The City of Mount Vernon is rich in colonial history. In the 17th century the land east of the Hudson River to the northern shore of Long Island Sound including Westchester County and southwestern coastal Connecticut, was inhabited by Siwanoy Indians. The Siwanoy were driven north and westward when Dutch settlers moved into the area. The Dutch ruled from 1629-1664 calling it New Netherlands, and from 1665-1776 it became part of the English colony of New York.
In 1654 Thomas Pell, a Connecticut Englishman, obtained a Native American land grant, which contained part of what became Eastchester. Pell gave a land deed to ten families who settled in Eastchester. By 1776 Eastchester consisted of a few scattered farm families, a mill, and several taverns. By the time of the 1790 census Eastchester had 740 people, and had become a prosperous rural community by selling its farm products in New York City.
In 1763, the people of Eastchester began building historic St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. The present stone and brick building was an upgrade from the small, square wooden meeting house, which stood about 60-80 yards west of the current church. The meeting house had been in use since 1700, but by the 1760s, Eastchester was a larger, wealthier town, and needed a more substantial building.
The church was a large undertaking for a relatively small town, and construction stopped during the military disruptions of the American Revolution. On the eve of the war, most of the exterior was in place, and the tower had been erected about 2/3 of the way to the present steeple. The interior was little more than a dirt floor but, even in its unfinished form, the church was the best built and centrally located building in the area. The church was used as a field hospital during military campaigns, and was used by the American, British and Hessian armies. Construction was resumed in 1783 after the completion of the war, and by 1788 the church building was completed. Plaster was added to the interior walls in the early 1800’s. In 1805, after completion of the balcony, it was consecrated, and remained a house of worship through the late 1970s. The Federal Government accepted the church and grounds as a gift from the Episcopal Diocese in 1980. Saint Paul’s Church National Historic
In the mid-1800’s Eastchester began to grow rapidly as the New York and Harlem Railroad reached White Plains by skirting the western edge of Eastchester, and the New York-New Haven railroad passed directly through the town. New York was becoming a metropolis, and rent and other living expenses were high. With two commuter railroad tracks passing through, Eastchester’s farm land was sold to build homes that were much more affordable than those in New York City.
John Stevens, father of the American railroad, played a large role in founding Mount Vernon. He was elected as Mount Vernon’s Town Magistrate, and also became the president of the Industrial Home Association No. 1. The Association purchased five adjoining farms in Eastchester for a total of 367 acres. This acreage was divided into quarter acre parcels, and the members of the Association drew lots to determine ownership. The Stevens House was the “First Family of Mount Vernon” home. On December 22, 1850 the Association named the new settlement Mount Vernon, and by August 1852 three hundred houses had already been built or were under construction. In 1853 Mount Vernon was incorporated as a village with 1,370 inhabitants.
During the 1850s and 1860s, the adjacent communities of East Mount Vernon, West Mount Vernon, Central Mount Vernon, Fleetwood, and Chester Hill were absorbed into Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon grew as middle-class families, southern migrants and impoverished immigrants from many countries arrived to start a new life. Mount Vernon was founded on the belief that it was important to build homes that residents could afford and be proud of. Mount Vernon became a city in 1892 and an official seal was adopted with the Latin phrase “Urbus Jucundarum Domuum,” which translates as “A City of Happy Homes.”
In 1896, New York State gave a charter to the Mount Vernon Public Library, which at that time was just a room within a school building. The Public Library was built in 1904 by a grant funded by Andrew Carnegie. Today it is the central library for the Westchester County Library System with a collection of over 500,000 volumes.
Mount Vernon High School was founded in 1895, and by 1917 it was recognized as one of the finest in the nation. E. B. White, the award-winning children’s author, (Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little) was a graduate of the class of 1917.
The year 1920 marked the beginning of a growing African-American population. Racial segregation was a reality in religion, housing, human services, politics, employment and public accommodations, and Blacks worked harder and longer to earn less money than anyone else. By 1935 the Black population had increased significantly in relation to the general population. By the end of World War II, public opinion was becoming more liberal in its racial attitudes, and President Truman openly supported integration. From 1940 onwards Blacks began to break racial barriers. Spokesmen for the Black community, Black church leaders and the NAACP were driving forces behind the emerging civil rights movement and the push to end segregation.
In 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. On May 14, 1954, Chief Justice Warren delivered the opinion of the Court, stating that “We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. . .” Brown v. Board of Education
By 1953, Mount Vernon’s population was close to 75,000, making it one of the nation’s most densely populated cities. African-American, Portuguese, and Hispanic communities grew rapidly, and became a strong presence in the city. The 1970s saw an influx of people from the Caribbean. Mount Vernon’s great cultural and ethnic diversity made it a unique place to live. Successive ethnic groups came to Mount Vernon to pursue the American Dream and helped to shape the city that we know today.
During the 1960s many southern African Americans moved to Mount Vernon seeking better jobs, opportunity and education. At the same time a number of Caucasians from the Bronx and Manhattan moved to Mount Vernon because it was a new “bedroom community” and the rising crime in New York City were driving people out. City Gate Mount Vernon Westchester County
In recent years Mount Vernon has undergone a transition from a city of homes and small businesses to a city of regional commerce. Between 2000 and 2006, the city of Mount Vernon’s economy grew 20.5%, making it one of the fastest growing cities in the New York metropolitan area. MountVernon,NewYork
Notable residents of Mount Vernon include: Lou Albano, James Bailey of Barnum & Bailey Circus, Humphrey Bogart, Art Carney, Dick Clark, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, P. Diddy, Linda Farstein, Robin Givens, Ben Gordon, George Edmund Haynes, Heavy D, W. C. Heinz, Michael Imperioli, Art Krim, Sinclair Lewis, Rodney McCray, Scooter McCray, Leroy Mills, Sidney Poitier, Adam Clayton Powell, Phylicia Rashad, Leon Robinson, Tina Sattin, Betty Shabazz, Frank Shiffman of the Apollo Theater, Nina Simone, Kenneth Wayne Singleton, J B. Smoove, Harry Warner, Denzel Washington, E. B. White, Ray Williams and Sylvia Woods.
Works Cited
“History of Brown v. Board of Education.” United States Courts. Administrative Office of the
U.S. Courts on behalf of the Federal Judiciary. Web. 12 March 2014.
“Mount Vernon.” City Gates. City Gates USA, 2011. Web. 13 March 2014.
Mount Vernon, New York 1853-2003 Urbus Jucundarum Domuum. Mount Vernon: 2003. Print.
Created by the City of Mount Vernon, New York for its 200th year anniversary.
“Mount Vernon, NY.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 10 March 2014. Web. 17 March 2014.
“Saint Paul’s Church National Historic Site.” National Park Service. U. S. Department of the
Interior. Web. 14 March 2014.
Spruill, Larry H. Images of America: Mount Vernon. Charleston: Arcadia, 2009. Print.
The City of Mount Vernon, New York 1892-1992 Centennial Journal. Mount Vernon: 1992.
Print. Created by the City of Mount Vernon, New York for its 100th year anniversary.