PHILIPSE MANOR HALL.

Improvement, Maintenance and Use.

Philipse Manor Hall is the venerable stone and brick building in the City of Yonkers which, for a long period prior to the American Revolution, was the manorial seat of the Lords of the Manor of Philipsborough. This building and the acre of ground upon which it stands in the oldest part of the City were purchased from the City of Yonkers and presented to the State of New York through the generosity of the late Mrs. William F. Cochran, who gave $50,000 for that purpose, upon the condition that this Society should be custodian of the property. The gift was accepted by the State by chapter 168 of the laws of 1908 which committed it to our care. At the time of the gift, the property was estimated to be worth $100,000 and it was considered that in parting with it at $50,000, the municipality contributed an equal amount in order that the Manor Hall might become a public monument. At that time the building was used as the City Hall and it was not until July 3, 1911, that the building was formally vacated and the property actually transferred to our custody.

On page 39 preceding, under the heading "Manor Hall Fund, Cochran Gift," we have referred in detail to the generosity of Mrs. Cochran and her son, Mr. Alexander Smith Cochran, in providing funds for the renovation of the building and in our former Reports we have described in detail the work of the restoration and improvement. The restoration of the Manor Hall has been done with admirable self-restraint by the architect, Mr. G. Howard Chamberlain, and on both outside and the inside the antique appearance of the building has been well preserved without unnecessary modern distractions. The principal interior features of the Manor Hall, besides the building itself, are the

valuable collection of colonial furniture deposited therein by Mr. Alexander Smith Cochran and his remarkable collection of portraits of famous Americans, including works by Benjamin West, Gilbert Stuart, Copley, Peale and other celebrated artists. The latter are estimated to be worth $100,000.

For the greater safety of the historic building and its contents, we have built in the northwestern corner of the grounds a detached brick building in which we have installed the steamheating apparatus for warming the Manor Hall. The steam is conducted to the latter by means of underground pipes, thus eliminating the danger of fire which existed with the old system of heating with a furnace in the basement of the Manor Hall itself. The detached building also serves as the lodge of the janitor. The Manor Hall property, with the improvements made by us, and its contents, are now valued at about $250,000.

The renovation of the property was completed, so far as the funds at our disposal would permit, in the spring of 1912, and the Manor Hall was thrown open to the public informally on May 16, 1912. It is open on week days from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m., and on Sundays from 2 p. m. to 6 p. m.

It is the policy of the Society to permit the use of the old Common Council chamber in this building for patriotic and historic gatherings, but this has been prevented thus far by the lack of suitable furniture. In fact, this chamber, which the municipal authorities made by throwing together several rooms on the second and attic floors of the north wing, is entirely out of harmony architecturally with the rest of the building. The projecting wooden brackets and timbers supporting the roof strike a particularly discordant note, and the whole chamber ought to be remodeled as well as supplied with seats and a suitable platform and desk. We trust that the State will furnish the means for this improvement at no distant date.

We have permitted the Yonkers Historical and Library Association to place its library and archives in one of the rooms and to hold meetings therein, and have also allowed the Keskeskick Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution a similar privilege with respect to meetings.

On Memorial Day, May 30, 1912, the veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic held their usual exercises around the Soldiers' Monument on the lawn in front of the Manor Hall.

The Manor Hall is the object of increasing public interest. Situated within five minutes' walk from the New York Central Railroad station, at the intersection of some of the principal thoroughfares in the business part of the City, it is readily accessible by walking, steam cars, street cars and automobiles; with the result that many people, from both near and far, visit the building out of historical, archaeological, architectural or art interest. (See plates 40 and 41.)

Philipse Manor Hall Book.

In May, 1912, the Society published a book entitled "Philipse Manor Hall," by Edward Hagaman Hall, L. H. D., containing a history of the building and much collateral information. The book consists of 255 pages of reading matter, with fourteen plates of illustrations. The latter include a folding plan of the building and a folding plan of the ornamental ceiling of the east parlor. This book, which has been printed through the generosity of Mr. Alexander S. Cochran, has been sent gratuitously to the members of the Society and the principal public libraries and universities of the country. It has been placed on sale at the nominal price of seventy-five cents a copy, as the object of the Society is not to make a profit on the book, but to disseminate information about the Manor Hall and that important chapter of the history of the State relating thereto. Copies may be had upon application either to the headquarters of the Society, No. 154 Nassau Street, New York, or to the Superintendent of the Manor Hall at Yonkers, N. Y.

Ancestral Badge of Frederick Philipse.

The publication of our Philipse Manor Hall book has been the means of eliciting several interesting facts about the Philipse family. Among others, we have learned that the jeweled badge of the ancestral offices of Keeper of the Deer Forests of Bohemia, which Mr. Frederick Philipse wore on the occasion of the mar

riage of his sister Mary to Major (later Colonel) Roger Morris in the Manor Hall on January 19, 1758, is now in the possession of Mr. John Morris Robinson of St. John, N. B. Mr. Robinson is a descendant of Mrs. Beverly Robinson (nee Susannah Philipse), a sister of the bride and of the last Lord of the Manor. Frederick Philipse's ancestors in Bohemia had for some generations held the office of Master Ranger of the Royal Forests, and the insignia of office is a golden stag, embellished with three jewels set in the side of the body, a circlet of gems around the stag's neck, a jewel pendant under the stag, and similar ornaments in the chains from which the stag is suspended. Through the courtesy of Mr. Robinson we are enabled to reproduce a photograph of the badge in plate 42.

Mineral and Mining Rights of Philipse Manor.

On page 186 of our Philipse Manor Hall book, in treating of the dissolution of the Manor and the persistence of old manorial rights and customs, we referred to the legal difficulty of eradicating the rights of the Philipse family in real estate acquired over two centuries ago, and to the obstacles which ancient mineral rights presented to the giving of clear titles to real estate within the bounds of certain portions of the old Manor. While the existence of these mineral and mining rights have not affected the title of the State to the Manor Hall property or the relations of this Society thereto, it seems appropriate to mention, with a view to completing the history of this phase of the subject, that the Legislature of 1912 passed a law to extinguish the mineral rights of the Philipse heirs in the counties of Putnam and Dutchess. A similar bill was passed by the Legislature of 1911 but was vetoed by Governor Dix. The bill which was enacted in 1912 and received Governor Dix's signature forms chapter 509 of the laws of 1912 and reads as follows: