Chestnut Ridge in Maps

The map above is from the 1867 Beers Atlas. I believe the "Joint Dist." in the green square is Chestnut Ridge, though the name is not on the map. The M. E. Church marked on the map was built in the 1840s and torn down in 1925. Mrs. Forgea's mother, Lavenia Brundage, was the organist there for several years.


Here is the same view in 1881. As you can see, it's mostly unchanged.


This is the same view in 1901. As you can see, the Prospect Hill Farm and the Combs View Farm are now longer marked. However, many of the same names are still there - plus a few new ones. By this time, Glenette's mother had married Glenette's father, Clarence Smith, and moved into the village, where Glenette was born in 1897.


Now, in the Westchester County Atlas of 1929-31, you can really appreciate the change in the landscape. The old community of Zars, Brundages, Reynolds, and Searleses is gone, replaced by massive estates, most notably that of Arthur W. Butler. The Chestnut Ridge Methodist Church is gone. Ironically, this is the first map in which the word "Chestnut" appears.

Another irony - though Arthur W. Butler may have virtually destroyed Chestnut Ridge, he was also responsible for saving it. Today most of his property is a nature preserve, meaning that the remains of Chestnut Ridge are likely intact beneath the surface. It would make a wonderful site for an archaeological excavation one day.