The Oldest Village in Westchester Turns 200; Events, Past and Planned

To commemorate Ossining’s bicentennial on April 2, Mayor William Hanauer read aloud the 1813 New York State Law which chartered the village.

Since, Ossining has held concerts, art exhibits, parades, races, and historic tours of homes, cemeteries and churches to fete the municipality’s 200th birthday.

Former Mayor Miguel Hernandez is playing a major role in the bicentennial by leading historic tours at a variety of sites around the village.

After his term for mayor ended, Hernandez returned to school, getting his masters degree in 2011. He decided to devote his life to teaching the story of his village.

“I felt that Ossining was a very historic place, and perhaps it would be interesting to tell people about it,” said Hernandez, who began running historic tours shortly after earning his degree.

Along his route is the Ellis House tour, which visits ten homes that date back to the 18th and 19th centuries. On the “Holy Ossining Tour,” Hernandez highlighted several of the village’s Victorian era buildings by looking at their history, architecture and legends. Hernandez also recently gave a tour of the historic Dale Cemetery that was built in 1851, in which many famous Ossining residents were laid to rest—including Benjamin Brandreth of Brandreth’s Pills.

In September, Hernandez will be leading the “Mad Men Tour.” In the first four seasons of the popular AMC drama, Don Draper and his family reside in Ossining; before the show first ran, the principal producer contacted the Ossining Historical society. The tour will be taking people to the places mentioned in the series, and Hernandez expects at least 100 people at that tour, he said.

In addition to tours, Ossining has and will be holding events curated by Hanauer commemorating the village’s anniversary.

On May 5, the village unveiled a series of sculptures throughout the downtown and the waterfront.

“The exhibit created quite a stir in the New York art world, with people coming from the city, Connecticut, and even Europe,” Hanauer said. “People are still stopping me on the street telling me how great the sculptures are.”

The sculptures will be on display in different locations until the late fall, free and open to the public.

On May 7, the mayor and the Town Board recreated the first board meeting of Sing Sing from 1813.

From June 1 to the 15, Rehabilitation Through the Arts held an exhibit at the Ossining Steamer Firehouse, showcasing the artwork of inmates at Sing Sing.

“This was the first time that a significant number of pieces were allowed out,” Hanauer said. “So even people in Sing Sing who can’t participate in the other activities are excited about the bicentennial.”

Ossining also opened an exhibit of glass plate photographs from the 19th century that held images of the village, residents and old maps.

On August 2, the Ossining Firefighter’s Parade will take place, at 7 p.m., running from Croton Avenue to the Waterfront.

Overlapping with the parade is Sankofa, which occurs in Ossining every three years. Sankofa translates to “go back and retrieve,” and marks the re-gathering of dispersed African-American population of the village who left town years ago. This Sankofa homecoming is particularly special as it overlies the bicentennial.

September 19 to the 22 is Harbor Fest weekend, and it will include educational exhibits, the Shettemac Yacht Club Regatta, the Ossining MATTERS 5K race, an art show and concerts.

According to Hernandez, allowing people to become more knowledgeable and culture isn’t the only goal for all of the bicentennial events around town.

“Historic tourism teaches people about their history on a local level, but it’s also an economic development tool,” Hernandez said. “It’s not just about talking about our past, but also has a goal of attracting people to Ossining in the future.”

“Lots of publicity and celebration began a renaissance of the village,” Hanauer added. “Whenever we have people stopping in, they’ll have lunch or dinner, or shop, and the economy gets better. Our economy is doing very well this year but it’s always nice to have that extra boost.”