Pelham Bay Park

Pre-colonial times Before the colonization of what is now New York State in the 17th century, Pelham Bay Park comprised an archipelago of islands separated by salt marshes and peninsular beaches. Geologically, most of the park's land first formed during the end of the last ice age, the Wisconsin glaciation, which occurred 10,000 to 15,000 years before the first colonists arrived. The melting of the glaciers caused the formation of the current marshes. Sea level rise from the melting glaciers caused sedimentation along the shore, creating sand and mud flats. Gradually, saltwater cordgrass started to retain sediment, causing some of the inland marshes to flood only during high tide. The Siwanoy (transliterated as "southern people") were the first Native American tribe to inhabit the Long Island Sound's northern shoreline east to Connecticut. They lived a mostly hunter-gatherer existence. which were used for diplomatic purposes among local Native American tribes. Two glacial erratics in the park, deposited during the end of the last ice age, were used ceremonially by the Siwanoy: the "Gray Mare" on Hunter Island, and Mishow near the Theodore Kazimiroff Nature Trail. 17th and 18th centuries The Dutch West India Company purchased the land in 1639. and alternatively Oostdorp, meaning "east village". In 1642, Anne Hutchinson and her family moved from Rhode Island to Split Rock, along the Hutchinson River in what is now Pelham Bay Park. Although the family was English, the land was part of New Netherland under Dutch authority. The exact location of the Hutchinson house is unknown, with one scholar saying that the house was in the modern-day park on the east side of the Hutchinson River, in reprisal for the unrelated massacres carried out under Willem Kieft's direction of the Dutch West India Company's New Amsterdam colony. After the British forces unsuccessfully attempted to trap the main body of the Continental Army on the island of Manhattan, British Army commander-in-chief General Sir William Howe looked for another location along Long Island Sound to disembark his troops. After a series of attacks, the British broke off, and the Americans retreated. In 1836, Robert Bartow, a descendant of Thomas Pell, Bartow died in 1868, and his family sold the mansion to the city in the 1880s. 1870s and 1880s: Creation In the 1870s, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted envisioned a greenbelt across the Bronx, consisting of parks and parkways that would align more with existing geography than a grid system similar to the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 in Manhattan. That grid had given rise to Central Park, a park with mostly artificial features within the bounds of the grid. However, in 1877, the city declined to act upon his plan. Around the same time, New York Herald editor John Mullaly pushed for the creation of parks in New York City, particularly lauding the Van Cortlandt and Pell families' properties in the western and eastern Bronx respectively. He formed the New York Park Association in November 1881. There were objections to the system, which would apparently be too far from Manhattan, in addition to precluding development on the site. However, newspapers and prominent lobbyists, who supported such a park system, were able to petition the bill into the New York State Senate, and later, the New York State Assembly (the legislature's lower house). In June 1884, Governor Grover Cleveland signed the New Parks Act into law, authorizing the creation of the park system. , in the park Legal disputes carried on for years. Opponents argued that building a park system would divert funds from more important infrastructure, and that everyone in the city would need to pay taxes to pay for the parks' construction, regardless of whether they lived near the parks. In particular, Pelham Bay Park was located within Westchester County at the time, out of city limits. The city was reluctant to pay to buy the parkland because of the cost and locations. Supporters argued that the parks were for the benefit of all the city's citizens; that the value of properties near the parks would appreciate greatly over time; that the Pelham Bay Park site could easily be converted into a park; and that Pelham Bay Park would soon be annexed to the city. Ultimately, the parks were established, owing to efforts from supporters. After much litigation, the city acquired the land for the park. Although the residents of Pelham had initially supported the park's creation, they came to oppose it when they found that the park's creation would decrease the town's tax revenue. A month later, a group of Pelham residents petitioned Hewitt to oppose the park plan. The government of New York City also did not want to pay taxes to the town of Pelham if it bought the land for the park, which had been one of the reasons for its initial opposition to acquiring the land. There was a proposal to have New York City pay taxes to Pelham if it acquired the land, which the city's Tax Department called "entirely novel, and of course, wrong". Despite Pelham residents' opposition to the park, the city acquired the land for Pelham Bay Park in 1887, and it officially became a park in 1888. Pelham Bay Park became a recreation area under the auspices of the Bronx Parks Department, which bought the land for $2,746,688, . The park used land from multiple estates spread out over an excess of . 1890s to 1920s: Early years In 1890, Mullaly proposed using the site for the 1893 World's Fair due to its size; however, the fair was eventually awarded to Chicago instead. The Pell family's burial vault was also marked for preservation that year, and in July 1891, the descendants of the Pell family were given permission to maintain and restore the plot. After the park opened, several individuals were allowed to reside in the mansions within the park. In 1892, the New York City Department of Public Parks separately allowed the occupation of the Hunter, Hoyt, and Twin Island houses. The next year, two buildings near Pelham Bridge were auctioned off. Pelham Bay Park's ownership was passed to New York City when the part of the Bronx east of the Bronx River was annexed to the city in 1895. This number dropped to thirty-three the next year. Orchard Beach, at the time a tiny recreational area on the northeast tip of Rodman's Neck, was expanded that year. By 1917, Hunter Island saw half a million seasonal visitors. Immediately after assuming his position in 1934, Moses ordered engineers to inventory every park in the city to see what needed renovating. He devised plans for a new Orchard Beach recreation area after he saw the popularity of the Hunter Island campsite. The beach and existing golf course would be reconstructed through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) under the 1930s New Deal program. Moses canceled 625 leases for the project, and after campers unsuccessfully sued the city, the site was cleared of campers in June. Moses decided to connect Hunter Island and the Twin Islands to Rodman's Neck by filling in most of LeRoy's Bay. The deteriorated Hunter Mansion was demolished with the construction of the beach. The golf courses were reopened in June 1935, sixteen months after construction commenced. John van Kleek designed the brand-new Split Rock golf course as part of the city's program to upgrade or build ten golf courses around the city. A final design for the beach was unveiled in July 1935. The beach project involved filling in approximately of LeRoy's and Pelham Bays with landfill, Moses thought that waste from the New York City Department of Sanitation would be cheaper than sand. In early 1935, workers began placing the garbage fill around Rodman's Neck, Twin Island, and Hunter Island. After the garbage began washing onto the beach, the rest of the site was filled-in using sand starting in 1936. The beach, designed by Gilmore David Clarke and Aymar Embury II, was dedicated in July 1936 The beach officially opened on June 25, 1937. Soon after Orchard Beach opened, it was expanded, starting with the southern locker room in 1939. The water between Hunter and Twin Islands was filled in during 1946 and 1947, with new jetties at each end of the beach. The promenade was extended over the fill and opened in 1947, Further improvements were made to the bathhouse pavilion in 1952 and to the northern jetty in 1955. A new concession stand was added north of the pavilion in 1962, and a privately funded Golf driving range was also added that year. The beach was renovated starting in 1964. In 1959, after the Rodman's Neck section of the park had been used for various purposes, the New York City Police Department used land from the park to create the Rodman's Neck Firing Range at the southern tip of the peninsula. Previously, the parkland at Rodman's Neck had been underused, with the NYPD and United States Army using the land at various times. 1960s-present: Cleanup and restoration The City began landfill operations on Tallapoosa Point in Pelham Bay Park in 1963. However, the state and federal governments did not favor the landfill being located at Tallapoosa. In October, Mayor John Lindsay signed a law authorizing in the creation of two wildlife refuges, the Thomas Pell Wildlife Sanctuary and the Hunter Island Marine Zoology and Geology Sanctuary, on the site where the landfill was planned to be expanded. Tallapoosa West continued to be used as a landfill until May 1968, when the landfill permit was revoked. In November of that year, Tallapoosa West was made a part of the Pell refuge. The dump was still operating as late as 1975, when the garbage there was described as being ten stories high. The landfill closed in 1978. The waste from the landfill reportedly led to health problems for residents of nearby communities such as Country Club. The Tallapoosa landfill at Pelham Bay Park was designated a hazardous-waste site in 1988, and cleanup began in 1989. In 1983, the Theodore Kazimiroff Environmental Center was proposed for the park, alongside a nature trail that would wind through the park's terrain. It would be named out of respect to the late historian, A $1 million renovation of the Orchard Beach pavilions () was completed by 1986. By the end of the decade, large numbers of human and animal remains were being dumped in Pelham Bay Park, including 65 human bodies that were dumped in the park from 1986 to 1995. Pelham Bay Park was also very dirty, and discarded trash from several decades prior was still visible. NYPD officers on these cases theorized that the frequency of body dumpings might be attributable to two things: the park's remote location near highways, as well as a belief that the parkland is haunted by the remains of the Siwanoy buried there. In 1990, NYC Parks received a $6.3 million gift for improvements to Pelham Bay Park and twenty other parks around the city. NYC Parks used the money to renovate trails and clean up weeds. A renovation of Orchard Beach started in 1995. A water park for the beach was proposed, but ultimately canceled in 1999. A few years later, as part of the city's ultimately unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics, several facilities in Pelham Bay Park were proposed for upgrades. The new facilities would have included a shooting center at Rodman's Neck; a horseback riding track; and a fencing, swimming, and water polo facility in the Orchard Beach pavilion. The bid ultimately was awarded to London instead. In 2010, construction began on extending the jetty at Orchard Beach at a cost of $13 million. Soon after, work started on a $2.9 million project to restore Pelham Bay Park's shoreline, which entailed renovating the seawall, adding a dog run, and creating a new walking trail. In 2012, Native American shell middens were found at Tallapoosa Point, prompting an archaeological investigation. Further digs at the site uncovered more than a hundred artifacts, some of which dated to the third century CE. Work on the restoration project was paused in June 2015 as a result of the finds. The restoration project was restarted in September 2015. ==Geography==

At , Pelham Bay Park is the city's largest, being slightly more than three times the size of the Central Park. as well as Goose Island in the Hutchinson River, are also part of Pelham Bay Park. The northwestern section, divided from the eastern section via the Lagoon. It contains both golf courses, as well as the Thomas Pell Sanctuary; the Bartow-Pell Woods; Goose Creek Marsh; and the Siwanoy, Bridle, and Split Rock Trails. The park is crossed by Amtrak's Northeast Corridor railroad at this location, as well as by the Hutchinson River Parkway and New England Thruway. In the latter half of the 20th century, Pelham Bay Park's biodiversity decreased: in that time, the park was observed to have lost 25% of its 569 native species of plants as well as 12.5% of its 321 non-native species. East Twin Island, a rocky formation with "ribbons of color" caused by sedimentary erosion, is connected to neighboring Two Trees Island via a thin mudflat land bridge. Two Trees Island itself consists of a rocky plateau upon which one can see Orchard Beach and the environmental center. West Twin Island was at one time connected to neighboring Hunter Island via a man-made stone bridge, which now lies in ruins in one of the city's last remaining salt marshes. The two islands that are now combined as Twin Island have been owned by NYC Parks since the 1888 acquisition of Pelham Bay Park. Twin Island was restored in 1995 as part of the Twin Islands Salt Marsh Restoration Project, which cost $850,000. Tallapoosa Point was used as a dump from 1963 until 1968, when landfill operations ceased It is technically also a sound, and the northern end connects via a narrow channel to Pelham Bay. The Hutchinson River empties into Eastchester Bay near the northern end. The lower portion of the bay opens onto the East River, Little Neck Bay, and Long Island Sound. Lagoon A lagoon within the park was once part of Pelham Bay, separating Hunter and Twin Islands from the mainland, and was called LeRoy's Bay until the mid-20th century. It was popular for rowing regattas, but could not be used for regulation rowing races as it was blocked by the causeway to Hunter Island. The New York City Department of Public Parks decided to create a "temporary" wooden bridge and remove the causeway to allow the bay's tides to flow freely. Most of the lagoon was filled in during the mid-1930s reconstruction of Orchard Beach, and the bay became known as the "Orchard Beach Lagoon", or the Lagoon for short. The lagoon was chosen as the site of the 1964 Summer Olympics rowing trials, at which point it was widened and dredged, becoming a four-lane, rowing track. The track, which cost $630,000, was hosted jointly by the city and the organizers of the 1964 New York World's Fair. New York City hosted several of the 1964 Olympic trials at various locations as part of the World's Fair the same year. Afterward, the now-unnamed lagoon was used by New York-area colleges for boating regattas, since it had been determined to be one of the most suitable locations for boat racing in the United States. Multiple colleges, including Columbia, Manhattan, St. John's, Fordham, Iona, and Yale, utilized the lagoon for collegiate rowing practice. Starting in June 2009, NYC Parks started a restoration project for the cove, removing the old culvert and digging a canal to flood the north end of the cove with salt water. NYC Parks then placed a foot bridge across the canal. Some of forest were also restored, with 10,000 trees being replaced. The cove also contains a batting cage and a golf center with miniature golf, PGA simulators, and grass tees. Notable natural features Glover's Rock Glover's Rock (), a giant granite glacial erratic, has a bronze plaque commemorating the Battle of Pell's Point. The actual location where Glover watched British forces land is closer to the second tee of the current Split Rock Golf Course. The Split Rock Golf Course was named after the rock. Split Rock also gives its name to Split Rock Road in Pelham Manor, which used to extend into the park itself. Split Rock is also the location near where, in 1643, Anne Hutchinson and members of her family were massacred by Native Americans of the Siwanoy Tribe. Her daughter, Susanna, the only member of the family to survive the massacre, was at the rock during the time of the attack, which took place at the house, a distance away. The tablet was installed in 1911 by the Colonial Dames of New York. However, it was stolen in 1914. The plaque reads: ANNE HUTCHINSON Banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638 Because of her Devotion to Religious Liberty This Courageous Woman Sought Freedom from Persecution in New Netherland Near this Rock in 1643 She and her Household were Massacred by Indians This Tablet is placed here by the Colonial Dames of the State of New York ANNO DOMINI MCMXI Virtutes Majorum Filiae Conservant Treaty Oak Treaty Oak () is located on the Pell estate near the Bartow-Pell Mansion. A treaty was reportedly signed under this oak tree in 1654 between Siwanoy Chief Wampage and colonist Thomas Pell, in which Pell purchased all land east of the Bronx River in what was then Westchester County, New York. The Society of the Daughters of the Revolution erected a protective fence and a plaque near the tree, but it was destroyed by lightning in 1906 and toppled in a storm in March 1909. Parts of the original tree were donated to museums and historical societies. A replacement tree was planted in 1915, and the current tree at the location is an elm. Wildlife sanctuaries Thomas Pell Wildlife Sanctuary and the Hunter Island Marine Zoology and Geology Sanctuary consist of a total of of marshes and forests within Pelham Bay Park. They were created in 1967 as a result to opposition to a planned landfill on the site of the current sanctuaries. Much of the forests in these sanctuaries are estimated to be at least three centuries old, dating to colonial times. The park also has two nature centers at Orchard Beach and in the southwestern section of the park. as well as the saltwater wetlands adjoining the Hutchinson River. The area is home to a variety of wildlife including raccoon, egrets, hawks, and coyotes. South of Orchard Beach is a meadow that hosts the only known population of the moth species Amphipoea erepta ryensis. Another population used to exist in Rye, Westchester County. Surroundings Pelham Bay Park is bounded by the town of Pelham, New York, to the north; City Island and Long Island Sound to the east; Watt Avenue and Bruckner Expressway to the south; and the Hutchinson River Parkway to the west. To the southeast, the City Island Bridge connects the park to City Island. ==Landmarks, attractions, and recreational features==

Orchard Beach Orchard Beach (), a public beach, is part of Pelham Bay Park the Riviera of New York City, Hood Beach, It contains a set of twin pavilions, which were both landmarked by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2006. Bronx Victory Column & Memorial Grove The Bronx Victory Column & Memorial Grove is a limestone column that supports a bronze statue of Winged Victory on Crimi Road in the park. The grove of trees that surround the statue were originally planted on the Grand Concourse in 1921 by the American Legion; they were removed in 1928 when construction began on the IND Concourse Line (). In 1930, the American Legion revealed plans to relocate the grove to Pelham Bay Park, where there would be a new monument to honor Bronx servicemen. The monument was designed by John J. Sheridan and sculpted by Belle Kinney and Leopold Scholz. Bartow-Pell Mansion A 19th-century plantation-style mansion called the Bartow–Pell Mansion (located at ) is a colonial remnant done in Greek revival style. Once the Van Cortlandt Park course was opened, city officials started focusing on plans for the Pelham course. In April 1900, surveyors began studying part of the park as a possible location for a golf course. but that the work would not be fully complete until September. By the end of 1900, NYC Parks reported that seeds had been planted for nine greens, and two bunkers and one hazard had been created. In 1934, a new 18-hole course was announced for the north side of the park, along with a renovation to the Pelham Bay course under the WPA. It was part of the rebuilding of 10 golf courses in the city. The new course brought the total number of holes in the park's courses to 36, with each course being between between the first and last tees. This comprised two 18-hole courses or four 9-hole courses. There was also a new two-story brick Greek Revival clubhouse adjacent to both of the 18-hole courses, with a golf store, Pro Shop, cafeteria, lockers, restrooms, and showers. Construction started on the new course and clubhouse in September 1934. The new Split Rock course, based on a plan from John van Kleek, opened in 1935 Bronx Equestrian Center The northern section of Pelham Bay Park is the home of the Bronx Equestrian Center on Shore Road, where visitors can ride horses and ponies through the parks' trails or obtain riding lessons. The Bronx Equestrian Center also provides wagon rides and hosts wedding events. Southwestern section The southwestern part of Pelham Bay Park contains several recreational facilities, but unlike the rest of the park, the southwestern section mainly serves the nearby neighborhoods. A long and narrow woodland called Huntington Woods, located on the southern border of this park, is named after the tract's last owners. Archer Milton Huntington, the founder of the Hispanic Society of America, and his wife, sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington, had acquired the property in 1896 after the park had been established. The city added of Huntington's estate to the park in 1925 and annexed the remaining land in 1933. The southwestern park also contains two monuments. American Boy was commissioned in 1923 by French sculptor Louis St. Lannes and carved from one block of Indiana Limestone. A tribute to the athletic body, it once stood outside the Rice Stadium and Recreation Building; the stadium, named and funded by the widow of Isaac Leopold Rice, stood at the site from the 1920s until 1989. The former stadium site is now the Pelham Track and Field. The other is the Bronx Victory Column & Memorial Grove. == Management ==

A nonprofit organization called Friends of Pelham Bay Park (founded in 1992) manages the park, while NYC Parks owns and operates the land and facilities. Compared to the Central Park Conservancy, Friends of Pelham Bay Park does not receive as much funding. Before 1992, there was no private maintenance of the park; the earliest efforts for such a thing date to 1983, when an administrator was appointed to oversee both Van Cortlandt and Pelham Bay Parks. == Transportation ==

Bridges (original bridge pictured) is located inside Pelham Bay Park. As part of the city's acquisition of Pelham Bay Park in 1888, NYC Parks claimed responsibility for maintenance over the western end of the City Island Bridge, which was within the park. By 1892, the bridge was in need of maintenance, The replacement bridge started construction in late 1898 and was completed in 1901. The Pelham Bridge, which had opened in 1871 on the site of two previous bridges, was also incorporated into the park. and NYC Parks transferred the responsibility for constructing the new bridge to the Department of Bridges in 1902. The century-old City Island Bridge was subsequently replaced again in the 2010s. Planning for the new bridge started in 2005, though a lack of funding delayed the start of construction to 2012. The new bridge was completed in 2015, and the old one was demolished soon after. Roads The park is traversed by the Hutchinson River Parkway on its west side. To the south, an exit from the Hutchinson River Parkway provides direct access to the park, Orchard Beach, and City Island. The exit and entrance ramps lead east to the Bartow Circle, where the ramps intersect with Shore Road, which runs roughly southwest-northeast, and with Orchard Beach Road, which leads southeast to the Orchard Beach parking lot. By 1902, Eastern Boulevard was referred to as "the Shore drive" since it ran close to the LeRoy's Bay shore. The same year, NYC Parks built a dirt path, which connected Glover's Rock to Shore Road. Another dirt road to Pelham Bridge was also built, and a pedestrian path from City Island Bridge to Bartow Station was built. The Hutchinson River Parkway in Pelham Bay Park replaced the old Split Rock Road in the park. The original roadway was an undivided, limited-access parkway, designed with gently sloping curves, stone arch bridges, and wooden lightposts. The original section included bridle paths along the right-of-way. There was also a riding academy where the public could rent horses. The parkway is named for Anne Hutchinson and her family, and passes through the part of the park near where the Hutchinsons were killed by the Siwanoy. Public transport Pelham Bay Park is served by the New York City Subway at its eponymous station on the west side of the Bruckner Expressway, which is served by the . The station is part of the former Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT)'s Pelham Line. The line's northern terminus is located at the southeast corner of Pelham Bay Park, and the IRT station there opened in December 1920. An exit from the station leads onto a pedestrian bridge that crosses the expressway and leads directly to the park. The southbound Bx29 makes three stops in the park: on Bruckner Boulevard near the subway station; at the intersection of Shore Road and City Island Road; and at City Island Circle. Meanwhile, Bee-Line's 45 route stops near Bartow-Pell Mansion. The Bx12 bus serves Orchard Beach during the summer only. Railroads The Harlem River and Port Chester Railroad was chartered in 1866, connecting the Harlem River in the south and Port Chester in the north. The railroad opened in 1873, with some portions passing through the current park. The route, a branch of the New Haven Line operated by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, contained six stations. One of these stations, called alternatively City Island or Bartow, in Pelham (now part of the park). In 1895, the railroad re-acquired some of the land from the park The IRT absorbed the two companies in 1902 and started designing its own monorail in 1908. and although service resumed in November 1910, the monorail went into receivership in December 1911. The monorail ceased operation on April 3, 1914, which abandoned the line on August 9, 1919. The Harlem River and Port Chester tracks were maintained by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. New stations designed by Cass Gilbert were opened in 1908, but the line's stations were all closed by 1937, having suffered from low ridership. the station's roof burned down after it was closed. An overgrown path leads from the bridle trail to the former station site. The city renovated the Shore Road railroad overpass in the early 2000s. Citing the 1906 deed that transferred the bridge's maintenance to the company that owned the railroad below it, the city then filed a lawsuit to make Amtrak pay for the renovation. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of Amtrak in 2013. Paths Bicycle paths go to all parts of the park and west to Bronx Park, east to City Island, and north to Mount Vernon. The bike trails within the park itself are of varying difficulties. Scenic trails The Kazimiroff Nature Trail, a wildlife observation trail, opened in 1986. the path was renovated in summer 1987. The park is also traversed by a bridle path. That path circumscribes both golf courses, with a spur to the Bronx Equestrian Center. ==See also==