Village Of Pelham Manor

We are a small, suburban village of about 5,500 people on about 1.2 square miles. Our size gives us the intimacy and advantages of a small village, such as neighborhood schools, while our location gives easy access to New York City and major transportation links. Grand Central Station is 29 minutes via Metro North's New Haven line; Interstate 95 and the Hutchinson River Parkway serve our village and LaGuardia and Westchester County airports are 13 and 15 miles away.

Pelham Manor has a long and rich history dating from before the first Dutch settlers arrived and the area was home to the Siwanoy Indians. In Colonial times, The Battle of Pelham fought on October 18, 1776 was a turning point in the War of Independence.

On November 11, 1654, Thomas Pell negotiated a treaty with Wampage, Chief of all the Siwanoy Indians and acquired title to about 50,000 acres including all of today's Bronx and everything east of the Hutchinson River north to Mamaroneck. Pell took possession of his property and called it "Pelham" in honor his tutor Pelham Burton.

Pell was challenged almost immediately by the Dutch who sent the Marshall of the Dutch Court in March 1655 with a court order stating that the English were trespassing on Dutch territory. Pell refused to accept the Dutch order and for the next several years they tried unsuccessfully to dislodge him. Finally, on September 21, 1664 English warships, supported by a militia unit called the Westchester Trained Band and led by Thomas Pell, sailed into the harbor of New Amsterdam and accepted the surrender of Governor Stuyvesant.