through the generosity of Hon. Clarence Lexow, Chairman of our Tappan Monument Committee, a tablet has been affixed to the granite block stating that "This property, acquired November 13, 1905, by the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, preserves the identity of a place of historic interest, and commemorates the Fortitude of Washington and his Generals in one of the crises of the American Revolution." The proximity to this spot of the building in which Washington made his headquarters, the tavern in which Andrè was confined, the campground of the Continentals, the scene of the massacre of Baylor's troops, etc., invests the locality with interest for the student of history and imparts value to Washington Place and its included memorial as one of the historic landmarks of the Hudson valley. (See Reports for 1905, 1906 and 1907.)

YONKERS MANOR HALL GIFT.

In our last Annual Report we recorded the signal expression of confidence in the Society given by the Hon. William Pryor Letchworth, of Portage, in his gift of Letchworth Park to the State of New York to be in our custody. It is our pleasure to record in the present report a similar testimony in the generous offer of Mrs. William F. Cochran to give $50,000 for the preservation and $5,000 additional for the renovation of the Old Philipse Manor Hall at Yonkers, the conditions of the gift being that title to the property shall vest in the State and the custody shall be in this Society.

The movement for the preservation of this interesting landmark, the oldest part of which is believed to be 226 years old, may be said to have begun forty years ago when the then village of Yonkers purchased it for the sum of $44,000 for a village hall. Since then, with the growth and incorporation of the city of Yonkers, real estate values have increased so greatly that the property is now estimated to be worth at least $100,000 or $125,000.

The acquisition of the Manor Hall by the municipality in 1868 distinctly contemplated the historical value of the structure and the desirability of some form of public control which should remove it from the vicissitudes of private ownership. In 1877, the Board of Aldermen, on motion of Mr. Frederick Shonnard, adopted a resolution providing for the appointment of a permanent Committee on Historical Relics who should have certain responsibilities with regard to the Manor Hall and grounds. This committee did a great deal to stimulate interest in the Hall and the history of the city which had grown up around it. On October 18, 1882, the bicentennial of the Hall, commemorated with the greatest popular demonstration that Yonkers had ever seen, still further impressed upon the public mind the dignity of the old landmark.

For several years thereafter, the people of Yonkers enjoyed a sense of security in the possession of their cherished relic; but in 1895, the proposition to erect a new municipal building in the space between the Manor Hall and Warburton Hall on the north. and extending from Music Hall to the south line of Manor Hall on the west indicated the danger to which the Hall was exposed even with municipal ownership under certain conditions and evoked the most vigorous protest from various civic organizations and leading citizens. Among the former were the Yonkers Historical and Library Association, Kekeskick Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Yonkers Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Empire State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society. The last named society had been founded that year, and one of its first acts was the adoption on November 26, 1895, of a respectful entreaty to the Yonkers Common Council not to disturb the architectural condition or relations of the building or reduce the dimensions of the site upon which it stood. This memorial was signed by the Hon.

Andrew H. Green, President, Gen. Horace Porter, Judge Henry E. Howland, Mr. Walter S. Logan,* and Mr. William H. Webb,* Executive Committee. Among the prominent residents of Yonkers and Westchester county who by voice, pen and other resources have been leaders in the championship of the old building and who are entitled to grateful remembrance for their services to the cause may be mentioned Judge T. Astley Atkins, Dr. Galusha B. Balch, Mr. William Allen Butler,* Miss Mary Marshall Butler, Rev. S. Parkes Cadman, Rev. David Cole, D. D., Gen Thomas Ewing,* Mr. Theodore Gilman, Mr. John C. Havemeyer, Col. Wm. L. Heermance,* Hon. Norton P. Otis,* Col. Ralph E. Prime, Mr. G. Hilton Scribner, Hon. Frederick Shonnard, Judge Stephen H. Thayer, Hon. James Wood, and others. Responding sympathetically to the overwhelming expression of public sentiment, Mayor John G. Peene on December 23, 1895, vetoed the ordinance for the new building.

In 1900, it was proposed to remodel the police stables on the Manor Hall grounds for use as a firehouse and a contract for the work had been let; whereupon some of the gentlemen already named contributed about $2,500 to recoup the contractor and secured the entire removal of the unsightly structure. About this time the Manor Hall Association was formed and did valuable work in defense of the building. Since then, the old building has stood alone in its native simplicity and picturesqueness save for the beautiful soldiers' monument which had been erected in 1891 on the east lawn and some small brick additions in the rear.

The dangers from which the building had been saved admonished those interested that steps should be taken to remove it from all utilitarian uses and preserve it solely for its educational and civic value. In 1903, after a conference with the various local societies which had been working for the salvation of the Manor

*Now deceased.

Hall, a bill was drafted and introduced in the Legislature by Senator Charles P. McClelland and Assemblyman Francis G. Landon, appropriating $50,000 for the purchase of the property by the State and committing it to the custody of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society. The latter provision was the voluntary suggestion of the Yonkers societies. On April 4, 1903, the Common Council of Yonkers signified its willingness to contribute to the State the remaining value of the property, estimated at $50,000 or more, by formally approving the bill and urging its passage. The bill failed of passage and was introduced again in the Legislatures of 1904 and 1905 by Assemblyman Geo. N. Rigby with no better success.

Meanwhile, the old building had become the local Faneuil Hall the recognized place of meeting for historical purposes and the shrine of patriotic pilgrimages by the public school children and adults. On October 16, 1907, the Civic League of the Women's Institute of Yonkers, of which Miss Mary Marshall Butler is President, devoted its first meeting of the season to the subject of Manor Hall, when addresses were made by Judge Thayer and the Secretary of this Society. On the following day, Mrs.. Cochran wrote to Mr. Butler, asking her to communicate to this Society the offer of $50,000 for the purchase of Manor Hall from the City, upon condition that the title should vest in the State and that this Society should be custodian and requesting that her name be temporarily withheld. On November 11, 1907, the Trustees of the Society adopted the following resolutions:

Whereas, Miss Mary Marshall Butler of Yonkers has communicated to the Trustees of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society the offer of a person whose name at present is not disclosed to give $50,000 for the purchase of the Manor Hall of Yonkers upon condition that it shall become the property of the People of the State of New York and shall be in the custody

of this Society, to be preserved in perpetuity as an historical monument for the benefit of the American people; therefore be it

Resolved, That the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society hereby signifies its consent to accept the custodianship of said Manor Hall property, with sincere appreciation of the generosity, public spirit and patriotism of the Donor, and of the responsibility which the trust involves.

Resolved, That in this generous act, the Donor not only has proffered the means for preserving one of the most interesting antiquities of the Colonial Period of the United States, but also has given a notable impulse to the movement in this country for the perpetuation of the landmarks of American history for the promotion of education, patriotism and civic spirit.

Resolved, That with a knowledge of the long-cherished wishes for the preservation of the Manor Hall and of the diligent and selfsacrificing labors of many patriotic citizens for many years to that end, the Trustees of this Society hereby express to the Donor not only their own grateful appreciation but also the confident assurance of that of the People of the State of New York when the benefaction shall be made known to the public.

Resolved, That the Trustees express their particular pleasure at having received this generous tender through Miss Mary Marshall Butler, not only on account of their high regard for her character as manifested in her many-sided philanthropic work, but also as the daughter of the late William Allen Butler, one of the Charter Members and original organizers of this Society and one of the most earnest workers for the rescue of the Manor Hall.

Resolved, That the President be authorized to appoint a committee of Trustees and Members of the Society with power to confer with the Donor or the Donor's representative and to take such steps as may be necessary and expedient to carry out the Donor's generous purpose.

Subsequently the President appointed the Committee named on page 13 to take charge of the negotiations. The Committee drafted a bill to carry out the purpose of the benefaction, and it was unanimously approved by the Common Council of Yonkers December 9, 1907. On January 13, 1908, the new Common Council