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Published by Eastchester 350th Anniversary Inc., this coffee table-style book is the first-ever hardcover history of the town and its villages. “It is a monumental achievement” with “meticulous research, lively text and beautiful illustrations,” said Katie Hite and Patrick Raftery of the Westchester County Historical Society.
“Out of the Wilderness” details 350 years of history. It includes the history from Eastchester’s original 1664 settlement on the site of Anne Hutchinson’s massacre, through its transformation into the populated residential suburb of today, said municipal historians Eloise L. Morgan and Richard Forliano, who planned and organized the book.
“Out of the Wilderness” details Eastchester’s 1665 civil covenant that governed town life in the 17th century, a 1773 Eastchester election documented by John Peter Zinger, Eastchester’s devastation in the Neutral Ground of the Revolution, the town’s posture during the Civil War, its acceptance and practice of African-American slavery well into the 1800s, the 19th century transformation of farmland to suburbia flanked by two rivers and the political and social forces that reduced Eastchester (through the loss of Mount Vernon and the northeast Bronx) to less than half its original size.
The early 20th century, with its population explosion, changing demographics, expanding public schools, outstanding athletes and the Great Depression, is also featured.
With more than 300 images, the book sells for $50.
Those who pre-ordered the book may contact Linda Laird at 771-3351 for instructions on how to pick it up.
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