Lewisboro: Did You Know?

LEWISBORO, N.Y. The sleepy little collection of hamlets known as Lewisboro has some interesting facts you may not know:

Did you know that Lewisboro's Mead Memorial Chapel in Waccabuc is privately owned?
Photo Credit: *Katherine Pacchiana*

by Katherine Pacchiana

04/12/2013 12:01 a.m.

Wild Oaks Village was designed for a lifetime. Wild Oaks Village in Goldens Bridge was designed for progressive living, meaning a young couple could start out in a garden apartment, move to a town house and eventually on to a single-family home, as their income and family increased.
Waccabuc has a privately owned church. The Mead Memorial Chapel on Mead Street was designed by Hobart B. Upjohn, the architect of Geneva’s Hobart & William Smith Colleges and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Katonah. Built in 1905-07, the chapel is an outstanding example of late Gothic Revival religious architecture. It is one of the county’s last remaining churches still owned privately.
Goldens Bridge has a unique bridge. Bridge L-158, off Route 22 just south of Route 138, is the only surviving double-section Whipple truss railroad bridge in New York State. It was erected near Kingston in 1883 and moved to Goldens Bridge in 1904. The bridge’s design represents an important development in 19th century engineering technology.
Onatru is a nonce-word. Onatru Farm on Elmwood Road got its name in 1905 because its new owner, Edward Lane, had always wanted to live “on a true farm.”
Goldens Bridge was known for its fox terriers. Wildoaks Kennel in Goldens Bridge was the home of Bessie Gross Bondy, a founding member of America’s Wire Fox Terrier Club, who bred over 50 champion terriers and competed worldwide.
South Salem is home to an original saltbox. The Osborn-Bouton-Mead House on Pound Ridge Road in South Salem is one of the county’s rare surviving early 18th century saltbox homes and still retains its original floors, paneling, hardware, fireplaces, chimney and some of its original plaster.
Shaker Hollow is named after furniture. Shaker Hollow on Spring Street in South Salem, originally a farm house dating to 1795, was owned from 1928-1944 by Juliana Force, first director of New York City’s Whitney Museum and a dedicated collector of Shaker furniture, hence the name.

The sources for these facts include the Town of Lewisboro website, the Westchester Historical Society website and "Westchester County: A Pictorial History" by Susan Cochran Swanson and Elizabeth Green Fuller.

Are there little known facts about Lewisboro you’d like to share with our readers? Email kpacchiana@dailyvoice.com.

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