The Scarsdale Historical Society is pleased to announce the Zoom premiere of a new film, Pathway to a Scarsdale Community: Fox Meadow and the Butler Estate. The half hour documentary, the first in a series about Scarsdale neighborhoods, is the story of Charles and Emily Butler who owned the magnificent 500-acre estate that became the neighborhood of Fox Meadow. The film will be shown via Zoom on Thursday, November 12th at 7:00pm. Please register to view the film here.

Using rare photographs and new research, the film portrays the life of Charles Butler (1802-1898), a brilliant financier and philanthropist who also had a surprising influence on national events. The second part of the film is about his daughter, Emily Ogden Butler (1840-1927) who played an important role in the community and early suburbanization of Fox Meadow and Greenacres. 

The Scarsdale Historical Society was motivated to produce the film after it received a trove of rare photographs of the Fox Meadow Estate, which was donated by Joan Brandt of Saugerties, New York. Her late husband, Everett, who enjoyed collecting, bought the photo album at a flea market in the 1960s. When he passed, his wife and children were thoughtful enough to contact the Historical Society and donate the photo album.

The film, Pathway to a Scarsdale Community: Fox Meadow and the Butler Estate, was directed by Lesley Topping, a veteran filmmaker originally from Scarsdale, working under the historical guidance of Barbara Shay MacDonald, the Historian and Vice President of the Scarsdale Historical Society. Barbara MacDonald also is one of the film’s narrators. 

About the Scarsdale Historical Society
The Scarsdale Historical Society exists to discover, preserve, and disseminate historical information as well as inspire others to learn about and contribute to the history of Scarsdale and the Central mid-Westchester region.

Our other films include A Tour of the Cudner-Hyatt House, A History of the Bronx River, Scarsdale in the 18th and 19th Centuries, and Anna Richards Brewster’s Life and Art in Scarsdale.