19th Century School Board Notebooks Discovered and Digitized

The Scarsdale Historical Society, in partnership with the Scarsdale Public Schools and Scarsdale Public Library, has re-discovered and digitized a collection of school board minute books dating as far back as the 1860s. The books are providing valuable material for the Historical Society’s upcoming documentary on the history of the Scarsdale schools, set to premiere in December. 

The existence of the notebooks was referenced in old articles and books from 50 years ago, but neither the Historical Society nor the Scarsdale Public Library knew of their current whereabouts. One of the earliest members of the school board, Judge William Mercer, originally donated them to the district in 1925. He was a member of the board for 25 years, and the chair for 20 of those years.

An article from 1925 referencing the long-unseen record books. Judge Mercer, one of the earliest school trustees, gifted them to the Board of Education 100 years ago.

On a hunt to find them, the Historical Society reached out to Honoré Adams, District Clerk and Executive Assistant to the Superintendent, who ultimately found them in district storage.

Honoré Adams, District Clerk, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent, and hero behind the rediscovery of the minute books.

There are 7 notebooks from the years 1868-1928, largely handwritten. They offer a rare glimpse into the district’s earliest days — a time of oil lamps, tight budgets, and even the occasional stray farm animal wandering onto the grounds. Together, the books trace the humble origins of a district that would grow into one of the nation’s most respected.

The earliest school board minute book, dating back to 1867.

Now fully digitized, transcribed, and searchable online, the minute books are accessible to the public through the library’s Digital Collection on the New York Heritage website. “We are privileged to host these historic files and make them accessible to the public,” stated Elizabeth Bermel, Director of Scarsdale Public Library. The digitization project was funded by a grant provided by the Historical Society, with all three organizations collaborating closely to preserve the fragile originals. 

"This project is exactly in keeping with our mission to preserve and share Scarsdale’s history," said Randy Guggenheimer, President of the Scarsdale Historical Society. "We are grateful to collaborate with the Scarsdale Public Schools and Scarsdale Library, continuing the village’s long tradition of community-minded spirit and collective effort."

“Our students can learn so much from this initiative,” said Drew Patrick, Superintendent of Scarsdale Public Schools. “It’s a real-life lesson on the power of primary sources, and how history is best understood through the records of those who lived it.”

To access to the digitized books, visit click here.

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Women Rising: Extended Interview with Former Editor of Scarsdale Inquirer

The Full Interview Conducted by Film Director Lesley Topping for Our Film, Women Rising: The Scarsdale Suffragists

In 2024, for our film Women Rising: The Scarsdale Suffragists, we had the privilege of interviewing Linda Leavitt, an accomplished journalist who served as Associate Editor and later Editor-in-Chief of the Scarsdale Inquirer from 1984 to 2015. Beyond contributing to our project, we also sought to document Linda’s remarkable career and legacy.

The following two videos highlight Linda’s reflections on her journey in journalism, her most memorable stories, the evolving roles of women in Scarsdale, and the history of the Scarsdale Inquirer.

The Scarsdale Inquirer was Scarsdale’s first local newspaper. It originated in the late 1800s, as a neighborhood newsletter in Scarsdale’s Arthur Manor and later evolved into a newspaper under the ownership of the Bronxville Review. When the paper faced financial difficulties in 1919, a group of Scarsdale suffragists, who had recently formed the Scarsdale Woman’s Club, bought the paper. Over the years, the Scarsdale Inquirer was transformed into award-winning and beloved local newspaper. Although the Woman’s Club sold the paper in 1959, it continued to be staffed mostly by women. After Linda Leavitt’s retirement in 2015, Valerie Abrahams succeeded her as Editor-in-Chief, and led a team of talented dedicated journalists until the paper ceased publication in 2024. 

About Linda Leavitt

Linda Leavitt joined The Scarsdale Inquirer in 1984 as associate editor covering Scarsdale schools, arts and entertainment and religion. When editor David Kirkwood retired in 1991, she was appointed editor, serving until her retirement in July 2015.

During her tenure as editor the paper won many awards from the New York Press Association, including overall best newspaper, general excellence and awards for editorials, news and feature stories. Along with her predecessor Kirkwood, Leavitt received the New York State Bar Association Media Award in 1985 for the paper’s coverage of the Scarsdale crèche case.

The Inquirer was honored by the Scarsdale community several times over the years: in 1997 by the Scarsdale Historical Society and in 2001 with the Town and Village Civic Club Public Service Award. In 2006, Leavitt was named a distinguished alumna of Scarsdale High School and also received the Scarsdale Teen Center Visions of Community Award. In October 2015 the Scarsdale Forum presented her with its public service award.

Since retiring, she has joined the boards of the Scarsdale Adult School and the Scarsdale Woman’s Club. She takes painting classes with the adult school and writes a monthly column and occasional theater reviews for the Inquirer.

Leavitt moved to River Road with her family in 1954. She attended Greenacres Elementary School and was in the first class to go all the way through the Scarsdale Junior High School. She attended Connecticut College and received her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College.

She is a lifelong member of Hitchcock Presbyterian Church. She lives in Stamford, Connecticut with her husband Liam Murphy. She has two daughters and four grandchildren.

For a further exploration of the Scarsdale Inquirer’s history, see The Story of Our Century: 1901–2001: Celebrating 100 years of Scarsdale News. This book is available at the Scarsdale Public Library. 

The Scarsdale Inquirer has been digitized from 1901 - 1977, all available online. This was part of a joint project with the Scardale Public Library.

Part 1: Interview with Linda Leavitt

Exclusive Content From Women Rising: The Scarsdale Suffragists

Part 2: Interview with Linda Leavitt

Exclusive Content From Women Rising: The Scarsdale Suffragists

Scarsdale-Related Photos and Documents Sought for Scanning Event

Scarsdale Historical Society to Preserve Memories for Archives

Nineteenth-century Scarsdale resident Valeria Dean Burgess with child, a photo that has been donated to the Scarsdale Public Library archives. Historic photos from all eras are welcome at the scanning event.

The Scarsdale Historical Society is pleased to announce “Scarsdale’s History for the Future,” an upcoming community scanning event on Saturday, October 1st from 1:00-3:00 PM at the Scarsdale Public Library. The community is asked to bring in their Scarsdale-related historic photos and documents that can be digitized, at no charge, and any media will become part of the Village’s archives.

The project is part of the Scarsdale Historical Society’s mission to preserve and share Scarsdale’s unique and continuing history. The organization is seeking old photographs, fliers, diaries or documents – anything that tells the story of Scarsdale and its residents. Paper documents and photographs no larger than 11 inches by 17 inches will be digitized during the scanning event. If items brought cannot be scanned at that time for any reason, other arrangements can be made.

During the scanning event, visitors will also enjoy a small exhibition featuring items from Scarsdale’s history, and also a selection of rare artifacts that have national importance. TheScarsdale Public Library will be showing a book of town minutes starting in the 18th century; Scarsdale High School yearbooks from the 1930s; and maps of the village from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Seth Kaller, a leading American history dealer and collection-builder and a Scarsdale Historical Society trustee, will display valuable original documents and artifacts, including: the only copy in private hands of New York’s first printing of the Declaration of Independence (July 11, 1776; not Scarsdale, but close – the state’s assembly met in White Plains to vote in favor of independence, and the document was printed in New York City near Wall Street); one of Alexander Hamilton’s most revealing love letters to Eliza, written from Dobbs Ferry in 1780; Jesse Owens Congressional Gold medal; Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s law books; and a NY Votes for Women suffrage broadside.

“We encourage everyone to dust off Scarsdale-related photos and documents from their attics and basements so they can be properly preserved and enjoyed for years to come,” stated Randy Guggenheimer, President of the Scarsdale Historical Society. “We are grateful to the staff at the Scarsdale Public Library for making this effort possible.”

• Registration for the scanning is encouraged at https://www.scarsdalelibrary.org/event/history-future.

• Questions can be emailed to info@scarsdalehistoricalsociety.org.

Preserving History: Digitization of the Scarsdale Inquirer Continues

We are pleased to continue working with the Scarsdale Public Library to digitize issues of the Scarsdale Inquirer. Our latest grant will allow digitization of the issues from 1954 to 1977. Issues starting in 1901 are already online at news.hrvh.org. Here is the press release about the project:

Preserving History: Digitization of The Scarsdale Inquirer ContinuesScarsdale Historical Society and Scarsdale Public Library in Joint Effort

SCARSDALE, NY (May 5th, 2018)  In 2010 the Scarsdale Historical Society and the Scarsdale Public Library began a joint project to digitize back issues of The Scarsdale Inquirer, Scarsdale’s source for local news since 1901. Grants of over $50,000 given by the Historical Society funded the first two phases of the digitization project, covering the years 1901-1950. Now the Society has committed an additional $37,000 to continue the project through the year 1977. Anybody can access the digitized material at news.hrvh.org, an online resource housing historical newspapers as part of the Hudson River Valley Heritage (HRVH) service. You can also find links to the papers on the websites of the Scarsdale Historical Society and the Scarsdale Public Library. We anticipate full digitization through 1977 within a year.

Re-filming from the original papers and the generation of digital images for the project is being done by Hudson Archival, located in Port Ewen, N.Y. We are happy to continue working with this great local business for this part of the project. Generation of the metadata (METS/ALTO) necessary to put the images onto HRVH is being done by Digital Divide Data (DDD). DDD’s innovative social model enables talent from underserved populations to access professional opportunities and earn lasting higher income, including youth from low-income families in developing countries, as well as military spouses and veterans. 

The digitization of The Scarsdale Inquirer opens our history to students, researchers, and residents. In the past, access to back issues was available at the library in print and microfilm, with limited finding aids created by Scarsdale librarians. The creation of these indexes was very time intensive and did not allow for full text searching. Furthermore there is no index for the years 1958-1979. Once issues are put onto HRVH they are fully searchable and the content can even be found through Google searches.

“We are so grateful to the Scarsdale Historical Society for their continued support for this digitization project. The Scarsdale Inquirer is an important resource for our community and having online access will increase its availability exponentially.”
—Elizabeth Bermel, Scarsdale Library Director

Scarsdale Photos on Flickr

The Scarsdale Public Library has a growing collection of historic photos posted on Flickr.

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