New Rochelle, New York

17th and 18th centuries

This area was occupied by cultures of indigenous peoples for thousands of years. They made use of the rich resources of Long Island Sound and inland areas.

By the 17th century, the historic Lenape bands, who spoke a language in the Algonquian family, were prominent in the area. Their territory extended from the coastal areas of western present-day Connecticut, Long Island and south through New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware.

In 1654, the Siwanoy Indians, a band of Lenape (also known as the Delaware by English colonists), sold land to English settler Thomas Pell.^[3] Some 33 families established the community of La Nouvelle-Rochelle (French pronunciation: [la nuvɛl ʁɔʃɛl]) in 1688. Many of them were artisans and craftsmen from La Rochelle, France.

A monument containing the names of these settlers stands in Hudson Park, the original landing point of the Huguenots.^[4] In 1689, Pell officially deeded 6,100 acres (25 km²) for the establishment of a Huguenot community.^[5]

Jacob Leisler is an important figure in the early histories of both New Rochelle and the United States. He arrived in America as a mercenary in the British Army and later became one of the most prominent merchants in New York. He was subsequently appointed acting-governor of the province; during his tenure he acted on behalf of the Huguenots.^[6]

One condition of the sale was that Pell and his heirs would receive "one fatt calfe" on June 24 of every year thereafter, if demanded.^[7] The "fatt calfe" was commemorated in the New Rochelle 250th Anniversary half dollar, minted in 1937.^[7][8] Pell's descendants did not request a calf until the 1950s.^[9][10] Since then, there have been occasional "fatt calfe" ceremonies.^[10][11]

Of all the Huguenot settlements in America founded with the intention of being distinctly French colonies, New Rochelle most clearly fulfilled such plans. The colony attracted French refugees until as late as 1760, during the French and Indian War in North America between Britain and France.

The settlement was named after La Rochelle, France, where many of the French refugees had come from. The people continued to speak French, and it was common practice for people in neighboring areas to send their children to New Rochelle to learn the language.^[12]

In 1775, General George Washington stopped in New Rochelle on his way to assume command of the Army of the United Colonies in Massachusetts.^[13] In 1776 the British Army briefly occupied sections of New Rochelle and Larchmont. Following British victory in the Battle of White Plains, New Rochelle became part of a "Neutral Ground" for General Washington to regroup his troops.^[13]

After the Revolutionary War ended in 1784, patriot Thomas Paine was given a farm in New Rochelle for his service to the cause of independence. The farm, totaling about 300 acres (1.2 km²), had been confiscated from its owners by the state of New York due to their Tory activities.

The first national census of 1790 shows New Rochelle with 692 residents. Some 136 were African American, including 36 who were freemen; the remainder were enslaved.^[14]

19th and 20th centuries

Through the 18th century, New Rochelle had remained a modest village that retained an abundance of agricultural land. During the 19th century, however, New York City was a destination from the mid-century on by waves of immigration, principally from Ireland and Germany. More established American families left New York City and moved into this area. Although the original Huguenot population was rapidly shrinking in relative size, through ownership of land, businesses, banks, and small manufactures, they retained a predominant hold on the political and social life of the town.

The 1820 Census showed 150 African-Americans residing in New Rochelle, six of whom were still enslaved. The state abolished slavery by degrees: children of enslaved mothers were born free, and all enslaved people were freed by 1827.

In 1857 the Village of New Rochelle was established within the borders of the Town of New Rochelle. A group of volunteers created the first fire service in 1861. In 1899, a bill creating the New Rochelle City Charter was signed by Governor Theodore Roosevelt. It was through this bill that the Village and Town of New Rochelle were joined into one municipality. In 1899, Michael J. Dillon narrowly defeated Hugh A. Harmer to become New Rochelle's first mayor. The recently established city charter designated a board of aldermen as the legislative unit with two members to be elected from each of four wards and 10 elected from the city at-large.^[15]

By 1900, New Rochelle had a population of 14,720. Throughout the city, farms, estates, and wooded homesteads were bought up by realty and development companies.^[16] Planned residential neighborhoods such as Rochelle Park, one of the first planned communities in the country, soon spread across the city, earning New Rochelle the sobriquet "City of Homes".^[17] In 1909, Edwin Thanhouser established Thanhouser Film Corporation. Thanhouser's Million Dollar Mystery was one of the first serial motion pictures.^[18] In 1923, New Rochelle resident Anna Jones became the first African-American woman to be admitted to the New York State Bar.^[19]

Poet and resident James J. Montague captured the image of New Rochelle at the time in his 1926 poem "Queen City of the Sound".^[20]

In 1930, New Rochelle recorded a population of 54,000, up from 36,213 only ten years earlier. During the 1930s, New Rochelle was the wealthiest city per capita in New York state and the third wealthiest in the country.^[21]

By the end of the century, the Metro North railroad station was rebuilt along with a $190 million entertainment complex, nicknamed New Roc City, which featured a 19-screen movie theater, an IMAX theater, an indoor ice-hockey arena, mini-golf, go karts, an arcade, restaurants, a hotel, loft-apartments and a mega supermarket. The complex was built on the site of the former New Rochelle Mall, which had opened in 1968.^[22]

21st century

In 2014, New Rochelle's planning board approved $149 million in developments to three major sections of the city. The developments include restaurants, stores, hotels, an entertainment area, theaters and a mixed-use waterfront area, and are expected to be completed within 10 years.^[23] Additional tax breaks ranging in the tens of millions of dollars have since been awarded by the city government to further the redevelopment of the downtown area.

In March 2020, New Rochelle became one of the first reported centers for COVID-19 transmission in New York state during the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak. On March 10, 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered components of the New York Air National Guard and New York Army National Guard to institute a one-mile radius containment area centered around the Young Israel of New Rochelle synagogue in the Wykagyl section of the City in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus. The implementation of this containment area, which covered multiple neighborhoods in New Rochelle and extended into parts of the neighboring Town of Eastchester, marked the first use in the state of New York of social distancing measures and the closure of schools, houses of worship, and other institutions to combat the spread of the pandemic.^[24][25][26] Large gathering places including schools and places of worship were declared closed, while National Guard troops were deployed to provide logistical support such as assistance with the distribution of food and the disinfection of public areas.^[26]

Historic sites

• Columbia Island – a small island (approx. 150 feet (46 m) square) situated between Davids Island and Pea Island. Up until 1940 it was known as Little Pea Island. CBS purchased it and built a concrete foundation to support a transmitter building topped by a 410-foot (120 m) tall antenna tower for WCBS-AM.^[27][28] The transmitter remained in operation until the 1960s, when the station was moved to nearby High Island.
• Execution Rocks Lighthouse – centered in the middle of Long Island Sound, just south of Davids Island. The structure was built in 1849 and includes a 55-foot (17 m) tall tower and the 'keeper's house'. It is rumored that the lighthouse's site got its name before the American Revolutionary War when British colonial authorities executed people by chaining them to the rocks at low tide and allowing the rising water to drown them. In reality, the name was chosen to reflect the historically dangerous shipping area created by the rocks exposure during low tides.
• Huckleberry Island – a 10-acre (40,000 m²) island owned by the Huckleberry Indians, Inc., a club within the New York Athletic Club. The island is an important nesting site for waterbirds such as egrets and night herons.
• Leland Castle – a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built as the summer residence of Simeon Leland, a wealthy New York City hotel entrepreneur. It has since been acquired by the College of New Rochelle and is used as an art gallery available to the public.
• St. John's Wilmot Church – a historic Episcopal parish located in the northern end of the City at the intersection of North Avenue and Wilmot Road, formerly referred to as "Cooper's Corner".
• Thomas Paine Historical Site – a historical nexus within the city, the site comprises: the country home of the American pamphleteer and Revolutionary War hero Thomas Paine, his burial site, monument, and a museum. Paine's Cottage was built in 1793 and is a National Historic Landmark. The Thomas Paine Memorial Building, built in 1925, houses the library and museum collection of the Thomas Paine National Historical Association. Also on the site is the Brewster Schoolhouse, one of the oldest structural relics in Westchester County.
• Trinity-St. Paul's Episcopal Church – added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. It is located at the northwest corner of Huguenot Street (also known as the Boston Post Road) and Division Street. This church represents the body of the majority group of New Rochelle's founding Huguenot French Calvinistic congregation that conformed to the liturgy of the established Church of England in June 1709. King George III gave Trinity its first charter in 1762. After the Revolutionary War, Trinity became a parish of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America.

Crime

According to the New Rochelle Police Department, New Rochelle is the safest city of its size in New York State and the fifth-safest city of its size in the United States.^[34] The majority of crimes committed within New Rochelle are non-violent property crimes, including burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Property crime, on a scale of 1 (low crime) to 10, is 4 compared to the US average of 3. Violent crime (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) is 3, equal to the US average.^[35]

Residential profile

While the formerly industrial downtown section is more densely developed, with condominiums, high rises, offices, shopping centers, affordable housing complexes, a medical center, nursing homes, two college campuses and an intermodal transportation hub, the rest of the city consists of sprawling residential neighborhoods. There are more than 11,500 single-family houses within the city, more than that of neighboring Larchmont, Mamaroneck, and Scarsdale combined. The total number of separate households surpasses 26,000, more than that of neighboring Pelham, Pelham Manor, Eastchester, Scarsdale, Mamaroneck and Larchmont combined.^{[citation needed]}

Waterfront

The shoreline of New Rochelle measures 2.7 miles (4.3 km), but due to many irregularities and off-shore islands, the actual length of the waterfront is 9.3 miles (15.0 km).^{[clarification needed]}

• Yacht, sailing and rowing clubs dot the coast on Long Island Sound and beach clubs line the shores of Davenport Neck. Beckwithe Point, the Greentree Country Club and the Surf Club are the largest of the private shore clubs, providing waterfront recreation to members during the summer season.^{[citation needed]} The New York Athletic Club sits on Travers Island, located on the border of New Rochelle and Pelham Manor.
• Echo Bay Yacht Club and Huguenot Yacht Club are two well-known private yacht clubs in the city.^{[citation needed]}
• New York Sailing School and New Rochelle Rowing Club, each of which has a history dating back over 100 years.^{[citation needed]}
• The city operates a large marina with 300 slips and 150 mooring spaces.

Parks

The city has a collection of parklands and nature preserves, with 102.5 acres (0.415 km²) of inland waters, 231.51 acres (0.9369 km²) of public park lands and 168 acres (0.68 km²) of park lets.

• Glen Island – In 1879, John H. Starin, a former US Congressman and New York transportation king, bought five islands which he named 'Glen Island' and created perhaps the first theme park open to the public. His 12 steamboats transported millions of New York residents and others to the attractions which included a zoo, a natural history museum, a railway, a German beer garden (around the castle-like structure which still stands today), a bathing beach, and a Chinese pagoda. Today the park is a 105-acre (0.42 km²) island property connected to the mainland by a drawbridge built in the 1920s. One of the main features of the park is its pristine, crescent shaped beach offering access to Long Island Sound.
• Five Islands Park is a series of islands connected by small footbridges and pathways, offers playground, sports, hiking and camping facilities for all residents to enjoy.
• Hudson Park encompasses 13 acres (0.053 km²) along the city's harbor front and includes a beach for residents, the city boathouse, greenhouses, the shore station of the United States Coast Guard and several yacht and rowing clubs. The park is traditionally accepted as the original landing place of the Huguenot settlers. A granite boulder with bronze tablets commemorates the event.
• Davids Island, a 78-acre (320,000 m²) island off the coast of the city, is being transformed from a former American military base (Fort Slocum) into a park and environmental preserve. Beginning just after the Civil War, the island was a military base used to protect New York Harbors, during World War I it served as an army recruitment station and up until 1967, it maintained various 'Cold War' facilities. Today it is home to a variety of plants, birds, and animals. These include the endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle, and rare birds such as osprey and least terns. Davids Island also supports valuable wetlands, rare rocky intertidal areas, and sandy beaches. The waters surrounding the Island are home to Winter Flounder, Atlantic Herring, and Atlantic Silversides.
• Ward Acres, located in the North End, is a combination of untouched forest, wild lawns and meadows, acres of hiking, exercise trails and historic horse stables/cemeteries. In 2007, The Westchester County Department of Conservation produced a Natural Resource Management Plan in order to identify and protect the natural resource needs of the park. It encompasses 62 acres (250,000 m²), with the forests divided into four main sections, each distinct in both general characteristics and species presence. It is formed by a portion of a former private state that contained a horse farm, and by an old railroad right of way. It includes a 3-acre (12,000 m²) fenced-in dog run, and it is the only park in the City in which residents can walk a dog without a leash.^[37]
• The Leatherstocking Trail is a 2-mile (3.2 km) long, inter-municipal hiking trail situated between New Rochelle and Mamaroneck, eventually linking into Saxon Woods County Park. It is part of a larger "Colonial Greenway Trail" in which it connects to Twin Lakes/Nature Study and Saxon Woods parks.^[38]
• Sheldrake Lake which formerly served as a reservoir supplying the areas drinking water, is now a 60 acres (0.24 km²) park and nature conservancy promoting an increased understanding of the local ecology.
• Twin Lakes Park, combined with the adjacent Nature Study Woods comprise 220 acres (0.89 km²) of woods, marsh, lakes, ponds and some fields along the Hutchinson River in New Rochelle's Northend. There are many foot trails weaving through woods, marshlands, fields and around two large lakes (formerly reservoirs).^[39]

Golf

• Wykagyl Country Club is located in the Wykagyl section of New Rochelle on North Avenue just south of Quaker Ridge Road. Golfweek magazine ranks Wykagyl as one of America's Top 100 Classic Courses.
• Pelham Country Club, straddles the border of New Rochelle and Pelham Manor. The course is a mile from the Westchester-New York City border and Pelham Bay Park.

Tennis

• New Rochelle Tennis Club, located in Wykagyl, is one of the oldest lawn-tennis organizations in the country.

Public

The city is served by the City School District of New Rochelle, which operates a public high school, two middle schools, six elementary schools, and one pre-k through second grade Early Childhood Center.^[59] On seven separate occasions, the City's schools have received the prestigious Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Department of Education. New Rochelle High School is one of the most diverse high schools in the country; the student body represents over 60 countries from around the world. The school offers over 240 courses including honors, research and advanced placement courses.

Libraries are operated by the New Rochelle Public Library System which is part of the county-wide Westchester Library System.

Private

Miscellaneous education

The Japanese Weekend School of New York, a Japanese weekend school, has its offices in New Roc City in New Rochelle.^[60] As of 2006, the school had about 800 students, including Japanese citizens, and Japanese Americans, at locations in Westchester County and Long Island.^[61]

Transportation

Emergency services

Fire

The New Rochelle Fire Department (NRFD) provides fire protection and first responder emergency medical services to the city of New Rochelle.^[63] The New Rochelle Fire Department responds to approximately 8,000 emergency calls annually. The city also contracts with a commercial ambulance service, Transcare Emergency Medical Ambulance Services, to provide dedicated ALS Ambulances to the city 24/7, 365. Two ambulances from Transcare EMS are stationed at two New Rochelle Fire Department firehouses in the southern and northern sections of the city.^[64] The New Rochelle Fire Department is sub-divided into two main divisions of operation: Fire and Emergency Operations, and Support Services. Each of these divisions is commanded by a Deputy Chief.^[65][66]

The Fire and Emergency Operations Division is commanded by four Deputy Chiefs, one per shift/squad, who reports to the Chief of Department/Fire Commissioner. This division supervises the department's eight fire companies and 155 uniformed members.

The NRFD currently operates out of five fire stations, located throughout the city, under the command of one Deputy Chief/Tour Commander per shift. The New Rochelle Fire Department also operates and maintains a fire apparatus fleet of five engines, three ladders, one rescue, and numerous special, support, and reserve units.^[66] In addition to the five fire stations, the NRFD also operates a Fire Headquarters administrative building.^[67]

Studios

In the early 20th century, New Rochelle was home to one of the first movie studios in the country, Edwin Thanhouser's Thanhouser Film Corporation. Originally located on the corner of Warren and Grove Street, the company moved to Main Street near Echo Avenue after a devastating fire in 1913. The studio is noted for filming the first serial in motion pictures, named The Million Dollar Mystery.^[69]

Terrytoons animation studio was located in New Rochelle from 1928 to 1968. Its most popular characters include Mighty Mouse, Gandy Goose, Dinky Duck, Deputy Dawg, Luno and Heckle and Jeckle.^[70]

In films and television

• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1912) was filmed in New Rochelle.^[71]
• Scenes in Goodfellas were filmed in the city.^[72]
• The 1996 romantic comedy Love Is All There Is was filmed at the Greentree Country Club on Davenport Neck.^[73]
• The Oscar-nominated Burt Reynolds film Starting Over includes a scene filmed at what is now known as the Hudson Montessori School on Quaker Ridge Road.^{[citation needed]}
• The Oranges, a Hugh Laurie movie, has scenes filmed inside two homes in the Beechmont neighborhood.^[74]
• In The Post, Kay Graham (the character played by Meryl Streep) home's exterior was filmed at a home on Beechmont Avenue.^[75]
• The Petrie family famously made their home at 148 Bonnie Meadow Road in New Rochelle on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the 1960s.^[76] Van Dyke's character Rob Petrie was loosely based on series creator Carl Reiner who actually did live in New Rochelle with his wife and family while working with Sid Caesar in New York in the 1950s.
• 2002's Catch Me If You Can was partly set in New Rochelle.^[77]