Community Corner

From Sing Sing to Ossining: A 200 Year History

200 years ago, Sing Sing became the first village in Westchester County chartered by New York State.

 

Today, the village is known as Ossining.

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“[We are] a very diverse and accepting community excited about moving forward, with people from all over the world living here side by side,” said Mayor William Hanauer, sounding off on the village’s 200th birthday.

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The people of Ossining may be diverse, but they are alike in their desire to protect their village’s history.

 

“Ossining’s history is not only important locally, but also regionally and nationwide,” said Miguel Hernandez, former mayor of Ossining and current member of the Ossining Historical society.

 

While Ossining’s documented history dates back 200 years, the story of the land on which the village dates back even further, Hernandez told Patch.

 

In 1685, Frederick Philipse purchased the land from the Sint Sinck Indians, incorporating it into his family manor. The land remained in Philipse’s family until the Revolutionary War, when the family was found to be British Loyalists. When the land was confiscated by the state of New York, it became known as Sing Sing, a variation on the Native American name.

 

By the early 19th century, the village had become a prosperous port, prompting New York State to extend its first charter of Westchester County to Sing Sing in 1813.

 

But over the next several decades, the village’s Sing Sing Prison grew notorious in reputation for its heinous criminals and harsh rule. In an effort to distance itself from that reputation, the village decided changed its name to Ossining in 1901.

 

Sing Sing and the village gained worldwide recognition after the prison was written about in 1835, in Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, non-fictional account of this French nobleman's visit to the U.S. in which he sought to explain to his countrymen what he believed was the essence of our nation. The work was the product of Tocqueville’s travels in the United States, and highlighted Sing Sing when discussing the country’s penal system. Today, Sing Sing still operates as a maximum-security prison, holding around 1,700 inmates.

 

In addition to Sing Sing Prison, another important historical site in Ossining is the aqueduct, which was built in the 1840s.

 

“This is truly one of the wonders of the world,” Hernandez said.

 

The aqueduct was designed to carry water from the Croton reservoir to New York City, and was modeled after the aqueducts of ancient Rome.

 

Ossining is also fortunate to have many standing gothic churches that date back to the late 1800s. The churches were built by famous architects, and were richly decorated—many of the churches have stain glass designed and furnished by Tiffany Glass.

 

The Brandreth Pill Factory is also one of the most famous landmarks in Ossining’s history, and operated in the 1800s. The pills, said to remove impurities in the blood, were advertised and sold worldwide, and mentioned in literature like Moby Dick and a short story penned by Edgar Allan Poe.

 

“Brandreth sort of invented the idea of mass advertising and product placement,” Hernandez said.

 

The two cemeteries in the village are both historically significant, as well.

 

The Sparta cemetery was constructed in 1764, making it the oldest in Westchester County.

 

Dale Cemetery was built in 1851, and serves as a model of the rural cemetery movement. This meant making cemeteries appear as if they are in a natural world instead of being laid out in a grid fashion. Recently, the cemetery got lifted onto the state register of historic places, and the historical society is waiting for it to be put onto the national register. The cemetery is Hernandez’s favorite place in the village.

 

“It’s outstanding because it tells the story of the people, well known and not so well known who made Ossining the place it is today,” Hernandez said.

 

While so many important landmarks remain in Ossining, Hernandez admits that it’s difficult to preserve them all.

 

“We have lost several historic sites,” he said. “We lost a home that belonged to Robert Havel, the 19th century engraver who illustrated a book called Bird of America, and we lost the summer home of President Chester A. Arthur.”

 

Hanauer is in agreement with Hernandez, and hopes to sustain the village’s past, in a time of innovation.

 

“When you have a historic community with historic architecture, it’s your responsibility to maintain it,” Hanauer said. “While you build, you must keep in mind the history and construct buildings complementary to the others.”

 

In order to stop further damage and loss of history, legislation of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Ossining created the Historical Preservation Commission. The commission's designates historic buildings within two historic districts of their jurisdiction. The districts date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, the Downtown Historic District, and the Sparta Historic District. Additionally, if an individual building meets certain criteria for architectural and historic significance, the commission can make the building a landmark. 

Anyone who wants to change the facades of any of the buildings must come before the commission, and if approved, must make alterations within the historic character of the period in which the building was created.

 

“I’m trying to help create a community awareness of the rich history that Ossining has,” Hernandez said. “If you know your history, you not only know an indicator of what’s going to happen in the future, but also an understanding of why things are the way they are.”

 

 


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