Arthur Manor Film Premiere

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Please join us for the premiere virtual screening of our latest film, Arthur Manor: A Historical Tour of Scarsdale’s First Suburban Community about the history of this Edgewood neighborhood. In 1891, the Arthur Manor Suburban Home Company began construction of a housing development that initiated Scarsdale’s transformation from a rural town of farms and estates to a modern suburb. This 20-minute film features Jordan Copeland, SHS board member and newly appointed Scarsdale Associate Village Historian, as he guides us through Arthur Manor to learn about the history of this unique community and how its growth impacted the nearby neighborhood of Edgewood. The film was directed and edited by Lesley Topping and is her second film in our series about Scarsdale’s remarkable neighborhoods.

The film will be shown via Zoom on Monday, June 21st at 7:00 p.m. and will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the filmmakers. This event is presented by SHS and the Scarsdale Public Library. Click here to register.

The first film in this series, Path to a Scarsdale Community: Fox Meadow and the Butler Estate was co-produced and narrated by Barbara MacDonald, Scarsdale Village Historian and the Society’s Historian. It can be viewed here.

Westchester: History of an Iconic Suburb Event

Join us for a conversation with author Robert Marchant, to hear about his new book Westchester: History of an Iconic Suburb. This live virtual event will provide an informative and lively dialogue on Westchester’s fascinating and often surprising past, moderated by Jordan Copeland. The book examines four centuries of development in Westchester uncovering “a complex and often surprising narrative of slavery, anti-Semitism, immigration, Jim Crow, silent film stars, suffragettes, gangland violence, political riots, eccentric millionaires, industry and aviation, man-made disasters and assassinations.”

Sunday, March 7 at 3 p.m. via Zoom
All members of the public are welcome. Admission is free.
Registration is required. Click this link.

Robert Marchant is a staff reporter at Hearst Media in southern Connecticut and the Greenwich Time newspaper. He lives with his family in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. Jordan Copeland is a Scarsdale resident and Trustee of the Scarsdale Historical Society and Scarsdale Public Library  who has researched extensively and given many presentations about the history of Scarsdale.

The Scarsdale Historical Society is pleased to sponsor this event, along with The Scarsdale Forum, League of Women Voters Scarsdale and Scarsdale Public Library.

Annual Meeting via Zoom

Dear Scarsdale Historical Society Member,

Please join us for our Annual Meeting via Zoom on Tuesday, February 9th at 7:30 p.m. In addition to a brief update on the Historical Society and election of directors, Lesley Topping will discuss Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s. visits to Scarsdale in the 1960s. She will also discuss Jack Davis, renowned cartoonist and illustrator and long-time Scarsdale resident.

The Zoom link is below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87487448056?pwd=TGlEdFVlMHlHL2xsTmRJdjE4c0JsZz09
Meeting ID: 874 8744 8056
Passcode: 825514

Below are links to additional information about the Annual Meeting as well as information about renewing your membership for 2021. If you have already renewed, thank you and please disregard the Membership Card.

• Annual Meeting agenda

• Membership Application

Best regards,

Randy Guggenheimer
President, Scarsdale Historical Society

Historical Society to Premiere Fox Meadow Film via Zoom

Charles and Emily Butler

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.

The Butler’s estate, Fox Meadow.

Online Zoom Class: The History of Arthur Manor and How It Sparked Scarsdale's Suburban Transformation

Through an investigation of old photographs, maps, articles, and the physical legacy of long-ago events, we will examine the early twentieth century creation and growth of Arthur Manor and Edgewood.  You will learn how the Arthur Manor development initiated the transformation of Scarsdale from a rural area of farms and estates to the modern suburban community it is today.

Your $20 tuition supports the Scarsdale Adult School, a nonprofit continuing education program for lifelong learning. Register here: https://bit.ly/3c1JYiw

Wednesday, April 15, 2020 at 7:30pm.

Historical Society Presents Two Documentary Films

The Scarsdale Historical Society, in cooperation with the Scarsdale Public Library, invite the public to join us for an afternoon of films at Quaker Ridge School Auditorium (125 Weaver St., Scarsdale, NY) on Sunday, February 9th at 3:00pm. Admission is free and light refreshments will be provided.

THE LIFE AND ART OF ANNA RICHARDS BREWSTER is a short (9 minute), poignant film that rediscovers the magnificent work of Anna Richards Brewster (1870-1952), a Scarsdale resident, who in her day was recognized as one of America’s finest Impressionist painters. Her work was widely exhibited in Europe and America, and she painted many familiar stunning landscapes of Scarsdale.

A RIVER RETURNS: A HISTORY OF THE BRONX RIVER is a 40 minute film that provides a historical journey down the Bronx River and a tale of how it was rescued from severe pollution to become a model for restoring natural resources nationwide. The Bronx River may be a small river but it played a large role in shaping the towns and lives of people in Westchester County, including Scarsdale.

These documentaries were professionally produced and directed by Scarsdale native Lesley Topping with Barbara Shay MacDonald, VP, Historian of the Scarsdale Historical Society. Ms. Topping is an independent filmmaker, producer and film editor whose work includes dramatic films, documentaries, and television programs. She has edited award-winning films for the Cousteau Society, CBS, PBS, and A&E, and worked on many feature films. She also produces multimedia content for businesses and not for profits.

After each film, there will be an opportunity to ask questions of Ms. MacDonald and Ms. Topping.