--Detail from 'View from
Misses Masters School' by J. C. Cropsey, c.1890 |
The farther backward you can look,
the farther forward you are likely to see.
Winston S. Churchill
History is philosophy, teaching by examples. Thucydides I view it as a noble undertaking to rescue from oblivion those who deserve to be eternally remembered. Pliny |
WELCOME...
Thank you for visiting the VillageHistorian website.
The front cover of my 2011 book,Among the 25-30 images that appear in
the book, 5 are black and white reproductions of
stunning
FAQ:
Why did you write
George Washington's
“Richard Borkow has done a first-rate job of telling the
story of the American Revolution in Westchester County
and putting dramatic events there in the context of the
larger war—especially the decision to march to
Yorktown.”
—
Thomas Fleming, author of
The Perils of Peace,
“Just when it seemed that the subject of the American
Revolution had been thoroughly explored, Richard Borkow
has given us a fresh look at the war’s culminating
event—the 1781 march of French and American troops to
Virginia.”
—Joseph Wheelan, author of
From the publisher's press release:
Richard Borkow
is the village historian of
To learn more about Dobbs Ferry's exceptional history, please consider the following options:
Persons who wish to conduct in-depth scholarly research regarding Dobbs Ferry's history are invited to schedule a visit to the archives of the Dobbs Ferry Historical Society, which is located at the Mead House, 12 Elm Street-- telephone: (914-) 674-1007. These archives contain an extensive collection of historic documents, correspondence, artifacts and maps, historical publications, books, paintings, films and oral history recordings relating to Dobbs Ferry. The historical society also publishes The Ferryman, a lively and attractive historical newsletter, which appears quarterly. Please see the website of the Dobbs Ferry Historical Society for additional guidance on ways to search for historical information about our village.
Historic Treasures of Westchester County is an initiative of "Virtual Archives," a collaborative effort of the Westchester County Archives and The Westchester County Historical Society. Access their web page, Historic Treasures of Westchester County, for a beautiful display of historical material from many of Westchester's towns and villages. On the web page relating to Dobbs Ferry, you will find antique picture postcards and other pictorial artifacts from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Dobbs Ferry and neighboring localities played a vital role during the Revolutionary War and are important sites on the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route (W3R). Early in 2009, Congress passed legislation to establish the W-R Revolutionary Route as the Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail, and the legislation was signed by the president on March 30, 2009. Information about the role of Dobbs Ferry during the Revolutionary War is posted on the web site of the National W3R Association.
The website which you are currently visiting includes a pictorial account of the 1781 encampment of the allied American and French armies in Dobbs Ferry, Ardsley, Hartsdale and Edgemont. The strategic decisions made at the encampment in mid-August, 1781, led to a dramatic turnaround in the military fortunes of the United States at the Battle of Yorktown, in Virginia, two months later, to the end of the Revolutionary War and to remarkably favorable peace terms for our country.
Additional sections on this website include:
The historic maps
web page
and
The
notable quotations web page,
which contains passages from articles and books which describe Dobbs
Ferry of yesteryear.
Please feel free to contact me. I welcome your observations and feedback.
Richard Borkow, M.D.
Village Historian of Dobbs Ferry
Trustee, Dobbs Ferry Historical Society
July, 2012
We are very appreciative
the W-R legislation in the Senate |
Faxes from the citizens of Dobbs Ferry, including all of those who responded to the mayor’s newsletter, and all of those who responded to e-mails from the leaders of both political parties, and from the citizens and supervisor of the Town of Greenburgh, were extremely helpful at the time of the Congressional alert in June, 2007. Your intervention changed the course of events! Thank you! |
DOBBS FERRY'S ROAD TO FREEDOM DAY 2017
The twelth annual commemoration of Dobbs
Ferry's Road to Freedom Day is scheduled for
The Road To Freedom celebration will begin on that date at Gould Park at 1 PM. Led by fife and drum, we will follow the route taken by the Continental army on Sunday, Aug 19, 1781, en route to Virginia and the decisive American and French victory over British General Cornwallis at Yorktown. We will pause at the Little White Church Cemetery in order to pay tribute to the Revolutionary War and Civil War soldiers and veterans who are interred in that historic cemetery.
Following the Road to Freedom Walk we will gather on the lawn of the Mead House, 12 Elm Street, for a variety of demonstrations and exhibits, including artifacts, women's makeup and dress, games of the period, musical selections of the period played on the fife by the The Ministers of Apollo musicians, and refreshments.
Dobbs Ferry's Road to Freedom celebration is a joint initiative of the Dobbs Ferry Historical Society and the Village of Dobbs Ferry.
.