Question: In the 1920s, successful businessmen built mansions located on top of hills in Chappaqua, which served as the basis for the name given to them: Hilltopper. The Douglas Grafflin Elementary School occupies a site where a Hilltopper Mansion built by Sigmund Neustadt once stood. What was the name of the estate and mansion?
Answer: Southerleigh
Learn more by visiting the NCHS’s core exhibition, The Story of New
Castle, at the Horace Greeley House, Tues-Wed-Thurs-Sat, from 1 pm – 4 pm.
New Castle Trivia, in collaboration with the Town of New Castle
eNewsletter.
This garden was created by Lauren Fischer for her Girl Scout Gold Award project in the Summer of 2019.
Historical gardens:
In the 1800s, many homes had several gardens, each which
served a different purpose:
Kitchen gardens were used for the
house’s cooking, and were usually kept near the kitchen. By growing their own
vegetables and herbs at home, people had easier access to a wide range of food,
such as mint and parsley. Intended for a similar purpose, medicinal gardens included herbs that were able to treat a wide
variety of ailments. For instance, feverfew could treat headaches and fever,
and marigolds could be made into a poultice to help prevent infections. Ornamental gardens were designed to
look beautiful, just as they are today. Some of the flowers planted were
different, however. Two of these included in the Greeley House garden are phlox
and hollyhock; in the mid 1800s, hollyhock was considered somewhat
oldfashioned, and would have been planted in what was known as a
“grandmother’s garden”.
At the Greeley
House, several beds have been planted to reflect what gardens of the 1800s
looked like and what plants they included, though these beds are not grouped by
purpose. Plants include lavender, yarrow, sunflowers, horehound, dill, and
others, along with the plants listed above.
Preparing for the historic gardens, June/July 2019.
Question: In the early 1890s, Gabrielle Greeley Clendenin and her husband, the Reverend Frank Clendenin, moved into a concrete barn built by her father, Horace Greeley, and converted it into a house. What was the name given to this house?
Answer: Rehoboth
Learn more by visiting the NCHS’s core exhibition, The Story of New
Castle, at the Horace Greeley House, Tues-Wed-Thurs-Sat, from 1 pm – 4 pm.
New Castle Trivia, in collaboration with the Town of New Castle
eNewsletter.
Question: The largest company in Chappaqua itself was the Chappaqua Shoe Factory on North Greeley Avenue, which employed both men and women, and even children as well. From what year to what year did this business exist?
Answer: 1885-1900
Learn more by visiting the NCHS’s core exhibition, The Story of New
Castle, at the Horace Greeley House, Tues-Wed-Thurs-Sat, from 1 pm – 4 pm.
New Castle Trivia, in collaboration with the Town of New Castle
eNewsletter.
Question: The largest industry in Chappaqua in the Gilded Age was an eyeglasses manufacturer which, from 1874-1888, was one of the foremost manufacturers in the United States. What was the name of the manufacturer?
Answer: Spencer Optical
Manufacturing Company
Learn more by visiting the NCHS’s core exhibition, The Story of New
Castle, at the Horace Greeley House, Tues-Wed-Thurs-Sat, from 1 pm – 4 pm.
New Castle Trivia, in collaboration with the Town of New Castle
eNewsletter.
Question: An agricultural machinery dealership occupied the largest building in Chappaqua, which was specifically built for that purpose. What was the name of the man who had it built?
Answer: Edward S. Quinby
Learn more by visiting the NCHS’s core exhibition, The Story of New
Castle, at the Horace Greeley House, Tues-Wed-Thurs-Sat, from 1 pm – 4 pm.
New Castle Trivia, in collaboration with the Town of New Castle
eNewsletter.
Question: During the Civil War, anti-draft riots abounded and many places, such as Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune office, were attacked – and the office was nearly burned. It has been told that rioters even reached his home in Chappaqua and threatened to burn it, leading to his wife, Mary Greeley, stockpiling gunpowder and threatening to blow up the house if they tried. When did these anti-draft riots occur?
Answer: July 10-15, 1863
Learn more by visiting the NCHS’s core exhibition, The Story of New
Castle, at the Horace Greeley House, Tues-Wed-Thurs-Sat, from 1 pm – 4 pm.
New Castle Trivia, in collaboration with the Town of New Castle
eNewsletter.
Question: In what year did the Greeley family move to the house on King Street, which now serves as the headquarters for the New Castle Historical Society?
Answer: 1864
Learn more by visiting the NCHS’s core exhibition, The Story of New
Castle, at the Horace Greeley House, Tues-Wed-Thurs-Sat, from 1 pm – 4 pm.
New Castle Trivia, in collaboration with the Town of New Castle
eNewsletter.
