Steering Committee Formed For Eastchester's 350th Anniversary

With 2014 on the horizon, Town and even County officials are already gearing up and looking for fellow Eastchester residents to assist in the planning of the 350th anniversary celebration.

A committee has been set up with Robert Riggs and Linda Doherty as chairs. Riggs, a former Bronxville Trustee and Eastchester Town Clerk Doherty head a working Steering Committee comprised of local historians, representatives of the historical groups and representatives of the Town and Villages of Bronxville and Tuckahoe.  

This group has begun to focus on 2014 and the many different ways the town as a whole can come together to heighten interest in its rich history.  While they have moved forward to initiate Eastchester 350th Anniversary Inc., a New York not-for-profit corporation all agree that the celebration's programs and projects have to come from interested groups and individuals throughout the entire town who wish to participate.

"Eastchester's history is a microcosm of the growth of our republic," stated Town Historian Richard Forliano.  Its earliest beginnings in 1664 evolved from a land settlement by families from Fairfield, CT close to the area now known as Eastchester Creek near St. Paul's Church in Mt. Vernon.  

This effort was coordinated by Thomas Pell to protect his settlement to the east from Indian attack.  In 1665 25 of the settlers on the “land between Hutchinson’s Brook” and the Bronx River signed the “Eastchester Covenant” that governed their relationships including property rights, education and religious practice. 

The original 1665 Eastchester Covenant still exists and will be exhibited during the course of the celebration.  From the colonial story through the Revolutionary War, the establishment of the new country, the growth of transportation via train, the move from an agrarian to a suburban town and through the Civil War and its post-war political re-divisions as New York City spread northward, Eastchester has a long and rich history."

As County Legislator and Eastchester Historical Society President Sheila Marcotte describes it, "our town has so much to be proud of and there are many possibilities for celebrating its roots, its development and its life today."

"The Steering Committee for the 350th Anniversary Celebration is reaching out now to our neighbors and friends to seek their involvement," Marcotte continued.

The Steering Committee members include Riggs and Doherty as Co-Chairs and the following members: former Eastchester Town Clerk Patricia Dohrenwend, current Town Councilman Joseph Dooley, Eastchester Rotarian and community volunteer Michael Fix, Eastchester Historical Society Vice President Annmarie Flannery, Town Historian Richard Forliano, attorney and resident Judy Lockhart, County Legislator and Eastchester Historical Society President Sheila Marcotte, Bronxville Village Historian Eloise Morgan, former co--Chair of the Bronxville Historical Conservancy, Former Town Councilman Leslie Vacarro, former Co-Chair of the Bronxville Historical Conservancy Robert Wein and former Tuckahoe Mayor and supporter of village history Phil White.  

Interested residents may contact the group through these individuals or via e-mail at 350thanniversary@eastchester.org.