Historical Research Report on the Kingsland Point Lighthouse
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HISTORICAL RESEARCH REPORT ON THE KINGSLAND POINT LIGHTHOUSE PART A HISTORICAL RESEARCH REPORT ON THE KINGSLAND POINT LIGHTHOUSE by Marilyn E. Welgold, Ph.D. • Associate Prof, of History Pace University September 18, 1979 PART A The task of researching the Kingsland Point Lighthouse was facilitated by the work done by Cblonel Charles H. Roe whose excellent article on the history of the lighthouse appeared in the Westchester Historian in the fall of 1968. The section of Jeff Canning's and Wally Buxton's (pseudonym of William C. Gross) History of the Tarry- towns dealing with the lighthouse was extremely helpful as were Mr. Buxton's newspaper articles and the work done by Lewis Rubinstein for the Hudson River Valley Commission's Hudson River Lighthouses. Documen tation and oral history material collected by Christopher Lennox for the Historical Society of the Tarrytowns also proved useful as did the fine report written for the County of Westchester by Mary J. Madigan of American Arts and Antiques Magazine. Building upon the firm foundation laid by the aforementioned experts, this researcher visited numerous libraries and archives in search of those elusive gems of historical information which can bring an inanimate object like a lighthouse to life. Having served as a consultant to the Nassau County Museum, the Wildcliff Museum and Natural Science Center in New Rochelle, and the Gregory Museum in Hicksville, Long Island and as president of the Huguenot-Thomas Paine Historical Association and member of the board of directors of the -2- latter organization as well as the Westchester County Historical Society, the researcher approached the problem of the Kingsland Point Lighthouse from a museological standpoint. 'When gathering material for the Historical Data section of the report, the intention was to furnish the museum consultant with information which will prove useful from an exhibit and interpretive standpoint. Although additional historical data can be found in the manuscript which constitutes Part B of this report, the researcher will be happy to elaborate further upon the material in Part A of the report for the benefit of the museum consultant or representatives of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation of the County of Westchester. The principal divisions of Fart A of this report are: I. Sources of Information - a critical analysis of the collections consulted. II. Living Information Sources - a discussion of resource people still alive as well as those, now deceased, whose recollections of the lighthouse were recorded. III. Maps - a discussion of cartographic aspects of the project. Copies of pertinent maps are found in the Historical Data Section of the report. IV. Illustrations - a summary and analysis of photographs and other illustrative material included in the Historical Data section of the report. V. Historical Data - a packet of material which includes a microfilm copy of the first lighthouse keeper's log, copies of representative pages of other keepers' logs, xeroxes of significant primary and secondary sources relating to the -3- lighthouse, copies of maps and illustrations, some of them in the form of slides intended to be used by the museum consultant for research purposes, and a cassette tape of an interview with lighthouse keeper Laureat Leclerc. Bibliography - a list of over one hundred sources divided into two categories: 1. Lighthouses and 2. Hudson River and Hudson Valley -4- I. SOURCES 0? INFORMATION Historical Society of the Tarrytowns 1 Grove Street Tarrytown, New York 91^-631-837^ In view of the great interest in preserving the Kingsland Point Lighthouse demonstrated by the Historical Society of the Tarrytowns over the years, it is not surprising that the organization's library has a valuable collection of material pertaining to the lighthouse. Of special interest are: Clipping files containing articles from Westchester and New York City newspapers. Pile of correspondence relating to lighthouse preservation efforts Material pertaining to Laureat Leclerc, lighthouse keeper from 19^3 to 195**. In addition to detailed articles about dr. Leclerc1s activities as keeper, the files contain his personnel records and letters of commendation. A taped interview with keeper Leclerc is also available at the Historical Society of the Tarrytowns and a cassette copy of this tape is included among the Historical Data accompanying this report. A rare issue of the Scientific American containing information about the construction of the lighthouse. See Historical Data Section for a copy. The Tarrytown Argus and Press Record on microfilm Maps and photographs which are described in the appropriate sections of this report. -5- It should be noted that Mrs. Adelaide R. Smith, curator, Miss Ruth Neuendorffer, librarian, and Mrs. Mary Lawson, i'lrs. Lee Vial, and Mrs. Ann Wilson of the library staff, Mrs. Lucille Hutchinson, map consultant, and Mrs. Sylvia Nichols, assistant in the Map Division, are all knowledgeable and extremely helpful individuals. Westchester County Historical Society 43 Read Avenue Tuckahoe, New York 914-DE 7-1753 Although the Westchester County Historical Society has an extensive collection of books, pamphlets, documents, clipping files and maps dealing with every community in the county, including Tarrytown and North Tarrytown, its Hudson River and lighthouse related holdings are limited to: File on the Kingsland Point Lighthouse compiled by Frank Sanchis as part of his Westchester architectural survey. The file contains photographs taken in 1976 and a brief historical survey of the site. Charles H. Roe's article on the lighthouse appearing in the Westchester Historian. (See bibliography for complete citation.) Clipping files containing articles on the ecology of the Hudson River and a reprint of the Pocantico Gazette containing an advertisement for a steamboat serving Tarrytown. A 1923 Rand Mc Nally map showing the location of the lighthouse. (See Map section.) -6- a 1938 U.S. Geological Survey map on which the lighthouse appears. (See Map Section.) Hudson River Museum 511 Warburton Avenue Yonkers, New York 914-963-^550 Included in an enormous black box of Hudson River material stored on the third floor of the museum are: Nineteenth century periodical articles on the Hudson River including the illustrated story of the burning of the Henry Clay from Gleason's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion of 1852 two folders on the Hudson-Fulton Celebration of 1909. a folder of photographs of the Hudson River including views of the palisades but none of the Kingsland Point Lighthouse photographs of steamboats the August 23, 1897 issue of the magazine, Hudson River by Daylight, containing advertisements and pictures, Yonkers Public library Hudson River Museum Branch 511 Warburton Avenue Yonkers, New York 914-337-1500 The Yonkers Public Library's local history collection housed in its own room in the Hudson River Museum Branch of the library contains a valuable box of postcard views of the Hudson River. The relevance of this material to the Kingsland Point Lighthouse -7- Museum is discussed in the section of this report which deals with illustrations. The library also has a small collection of books on the Hudson River and Valley but most of these works, along with many others, can be obtained at the New York Historical Society. The New-York Historical Society 170 Central Park West New York, New York 10024 212-TR 3-3^+00 Material relative to the Kingsland Point Lighthouse Museum can be found in three separate areas of the New-York Historical Society: the Manuscript Division, the Print Division, and the library. Of primary importance in the Manuscript Division is the Hudson River Day Line Collection, an enormous array of ledgers, cash books, ticket account books and other items pertaining to steamboats which plyed the Hudson passing the kingsland Point Lighthouse daily, except during the coldest months of winter. Unfortunately, although the Manuscript Division has some material on the Roundout Lighthouse, there is nothing on the Kingsland Point Lighthouse. Nevertheless, in the Print Division, the following items of interest can be found: an 1886 photograph of the lighthouse. (See Illustrations section.) Robert Havell's late nineteenth century views of the river from Tarrytown Heights. Panoramic Map of the Hudson River. (See Map section.) Assorted Illustrations of Hudson River steamboats. The library of the New-York Historical Society has a comprehen sive collection of books and periodical articles dealing with the history, geography, and ecology of the Hudson Valley. Almost all of the works listed in the bibliography which forms part of this report can be found at the New-York Historical Society. Although each' publication enhances the reader's awareness of the beauty and historical significance of the Hudson River, the following books, for which complete bibliographic citations appear later in this report, were especially helpful: Carmer, Carl.L. The Hudson. Ringwald, Donald C. Hudson River Day Line. Ringwald, Donald C. The Mary Powell. The following work found in the library of the New-York Historical Society contains a good photograph of the Kingsland Point Lighthouse: Panorama of the Hudson from Albany to New York. Pictures and historical data can also be found in Ruth P. Glunt's Lighthouses and Legends of the Hudson. In addition to this work, the library of the New-York Historical Society has a small collection on general lighthouse history and the Annual Report of the Operations of the Lighthouse Board for the period 1897/98 - 1904/05. New York Public Library 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue New York, New York 212-790-6161 Although the New York Fublic Library has a good collection of books dealing with the Hudson River, the works are scattered among -9- the general collection, the local history collection (both in the main building), and the annex on West 43rd Street between 10th and 11th Avenues. One who visits all three locations quickly concludes that Hudson River research can be done more efficiently at the New York Historical Society where everything is, at least, in the same building.