Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site

10/24/2026

Saturday & Sunday October 24& 25 from 10 am to 5 pm at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Pound Ridge, NY. Free and open to everyone!

10/24/2026

, Oct 24, 1756, John Odell was born to Jonathan Odell and Margaret Dyckman. That same year the family moved to the Philipse Manor in Irvington to be tenant farmers in what it today known as the Odell Tavern.

John was just 19 when he volunteered for the Mounted Guides, later named the Westchester Guides, a militia formed to defend the farmers and serve as scouts for Washington’s army. The first man to enlist, he quickly became one of its most distinguished of these guides. He has been described in the “McDonald Papers” as a serious young man of 19, a thoughtful strategist, and a master of the saber, perfecting an imposing posture astride his horse. His knowledge of Westchester’s topography gained Washington’s attention.

In July 1776, he and his company volunteered to help fortify the Kingsbridge shore against a possible attack by the HMS “Phoenix” and “Rose.” John’s decision to join the Patriot cause was solidified in November of 1776, when British and Hessian troops encamped near his father’s house, destroying the orchards, hogs, wheat, and arresting his father.

John later returned in August 1778 to protect the tenants of Philipse Manor. In a surprise British attack, Odell rallied the terrified troops and led them to safety on the opposite side of the Saw Mill River.

In 1780, as guide to Col. Thompson at Youngs’ House in Valhalla, he advised a retreat, overruling the officer who maintained: “I am ordered to defend this post.” Odell advised, “Not against impossibilities!” He was correct; the post was lost.

Odell and his cousin Brom Dyckman attempted to capture James DeLancey, commander of Loyalist raiders “DeLancey’s Cowboys” who terrorized the Neutral Zone and had long been a thorn in Washington’s side. They came close – all the way to the Cowboys’ headquarters; however, DeLancey was gone. It was a daring feat, nonetheless.

Odell served with honor and was both feared and respected by the British; in fact, a £100 bounty was issued for his capture. In his pension application, he wrote of his service: “At times when the country needed the services of all of its citizens, he embarked with zeal in the cause of his country.”

Image: "Odell Inn," c. 1933. Library of Congress.

10/23/2026

Did you miss us last week for Toast 250 in New Rochelle? Here's a recap! Plus you can catch us with historical games at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation for the this weekend!

10/22/2026

Update: Mary Philipse Morris' performance has been moved to 11:00 am on Sunday, October 25th at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. Don't miss this unique museum theater piece and those of other women of the Revolution at the Battle of White Plains this weekend!

This weekend! Philipse Manor Hall will be at RevFest 250: The Battle of White Plains at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation this Saturday & Sunday, October 24 & 25, 2026. Visit the Philipse Manor Hall booth for historical games and our traveling exhibit on the American Revolution in New York.

UPDATE: Mary Philipse Morris' one-day-only performance has been moved to 11:00 AM on Sunday, October 25th!

Portrayed by Philipse Manor Hall Education and Programs Manager Sarah Wassberg Johnson, Mary Philipse Morris will recount the history of her life and the trials and tribulations the Philipse family experienced during the American Revolution in this special one-woman museum theater show.

Learn from other women of Revolutionary Westchester all weekend with special performances by Mrs. Margaret Arnold (Peggy Shippen), Deborah Sampson, Hannah Archer Till, and many more, plus museum theater with Drama From the Past, live music, and more.

10/22/2026

, October 22, 1776, George Washington responded to a letter written to him by Elizabeth Williams Philipse, wife of Frederick Philipse III. Her letter strongly requested that he stop his army’s pillaging and seizing her cattle. (It had been the practice of the Patriot army to destroy the houses and crops leaving nothing for the British army that followed them.) She complained that she was left alone with her sister Mary Philipse Morris and their children since her husband had been arrested and sent to prison.

In his letter, Washington told her, in his most gentlemanly way, that he could do nothing! He blamed the situation on the “Misfortunes of War” – the army must eat – and the orders of NY State Legislature.

Mrs. Philipse then turned to the British army who had also been raiding her supplies. British Lieutenant Stephen Kemble’s diary confirms this: “The Country all this time unmercifully pillaged by our troops, Hessians, in particular, it is no wonder the Country People refuse to join us.” He notes in a November 9th entry that “Mrs. Philipse and other friends of the government complained heavily of the depreciations of our troops: [ I ] believe our Commander in Chief very sorry, but in the present situation of affairs, cannot prevent it.” Elizabeth was rejected on both sides.

The troops moved north from Yonkers past Dobbs Ferry and on to White Plains, so perhaps her situation may have improved, but only for a while. Frederick Philipse III was paroled from prison in December, but by the spring of 1777, the Philipses left Philipse Manor Hall for British-controlled Manhattan, never to return.

Image: George Washington at the Valentine homestead (today's St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers) where he may have written the letter to Elizabeth. Illustration from "Old Yonkers, 1646-1922: A Page of History" by Henry Collins Brown (1922).

10/21/2026

Join us for our last lecture of the season, Thursday, October 22nd. Today is the last day to register.

Bitter Farewell: The Esopus Indians & The American Revolution

The American Revolution was a time of major upheaval for Native communities in the Hudson Valley. The destruction of war would ultimately force them out of their ancestral homelands. This presentation by ethnoecologist Justin Wexler will tell the dramatic story of the Catskill Mountains' Esopus Indian residents and their neighbors during this turbulent period by weaving together an array of archival sources and little-known oral histories.

PLEASE NOTE: The Thursday Night Speaker Series is Proudly Sponsored by the Fort Montgomery Battle Site Association. Seating is by reservation only.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED: Call (845) 446-2134 to Register. Suggested Donation: $5, FMBSA Members $3

10/21/2026

Washington and the King’s Bridge. This Thursday at 6:30 at RNH.
This presentation at the Riverdale Neighborhood House by KHS member Gerry Bogacz explores the details of Washington’s departure from Manhattan and the near destruction of the Continental Army as it moves north over the King’s Bridge from Manhattan to the mainland. It includes the critical roles of two Continental Army units in obstructing British troops, which included free Black and indigenous soldiers fighting among their white counterparts.

10/21/2026

, October 21, 1776, this political cartoon appeared in London, published by J. Lockington.

Entitled, "I am a Patriot d-- me Sir and I will be a Patriot," it shows noted British Whig politician and supporter of the American cause, Charles James Fox ready for a fight, looking rather worse for wear.

Next to him a woman looking suspiciously like William Pitt, another noted Whig politician, says "Brother Patriot, you'll choak yourself with passion."

Behind her, a man of African descent, likely enslaved, says, "Mother shan't I be a Patriot when I'm a man?"

A shoe-shiner says "Have 'em blacked your Honor Twig the Patriot your Honor."

A little boy pulls on Fox's coat and says, "Daddy I wish you'd let the Patriots alone and give my Mammy some money to buy a Calfs Head for Dinner for I am sure the Patriots wont."

Fox replies, "I am a Patriot d- me Sir and I will be a Patriot & what of that & pray G- D- me Sir what do you mean by asking my Reasons did you ever know a Patriot that could give a Reason - only D- me I hate every thing that's done by any body that could or would do good to their Country and so d- me Sir thats what we call Patriotism."

The cartoon (with all the swear words redacted) is mocking Fox and Whig support for American Patriots.

The woman is accusing them of uncontrolled passion.

The enslaved man is pointing out the irony of enslaving people while crying for liberty.

The shoe-shiner is accusing Fox of blackening his or Britain's honor ("twig" is slang for realizing or suddenly understanding), playing on the aristocratic honorific of "Your Honor."

The little boy is implying the war is sending Britain into a recession, with a reference to the Calves' Head Club, (an anti-monarchy group organized to ridicule the decapitation of King Charles I).

And finally, Fox's rant reveals that the Patriots have no actual ideas and are only against the Crown.

Clearly the artist was not a fan of Charles Fox, the Whigs, or Patriots.

Image: "I am a Patriot D- Me Sir and I will be a Patriot" by J. Huntington, 1776. Library of Congress.

10/20/2026

, October 20, 1776, the first of several British prison ships, the "Whitby," anchored in the Wallabout Bay, a small inlet in the area of today’s Brooklyn Yard. Many more of these repurposed obsolete battleships would soon follow, including the infamous "Jersey".

History provides countless stories of the dreadful conditions abord these vessels. Christopher Hawkins, who escaped after just two days’ confinement, described the food: “Drink was brackish water taken from the sides of the ship, where all the filth and refuse were thrown. Biscuits, eaten by weavels, through and through; bread sour, and often covered with mould; meat, discolored and putrified by age, and through which myriads of maggots leaped about in play."

Lack of nourishment led to the rampant spread of diseases such as typhus, smallpox, and dysentery. Living conditions were just as dismal: the portholes were blocked to prevent escape. The lucky prisoners slept in hammocks while the others slept on the floor. Those who became ill or died were often not removed for several days.

Concerned over these conditions, Washington wrote to Gen. Howe that he had heard “the most shocking Accounts of their barbarous Usage, which their miserable emaciated Countenances confirm…I would beg that some certain Rule of Conduct towards prisoners may be settled….” The British argued that the Rules of Conduct did not apply since the prisoners were not part of a legitimate army or navy. Washington then threatened like treatment of America’s prisoners if these conditions did not improve. The appointment of a Commissary of Prisoners was largely unsuccessful.

The British did offer a means of release. Prisoners who joined the British ranks were given their freedom, and this practice became a means of recruitment. Prisoner Ebenezer Fox revealed that “Many were actually starved to death in hope of making them enroll themselves in the British Army.” This effort failed, however, since it is estimated that only about 8 % of the 11,500 prisoners defected.

Images:
1. Prison ship Jersey, undated. New York Public Library.
2. Interior of the old Jersey prison ship, engraving by Edward Brookhout, 1855. Library of Congress.
3. Painting of prison hulks and other ships, River Thames, England, circa 1814, National Library of Australia.

10/19/2026

This weekend! Philipse Manor Hall will be at RevFest 250: The Battle of White Plains at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation this Saturday & Sunday, October 24 & 25, 2026. Visit the Philipse Manor Hall booth for historical games and our traveling exhibit on the American Revolution in New York.

UPDATE: Mary Philipse Morris' one-day-only performance has been moved to 11:00 AM on Sunday, October 25th!

Portrayed by Philipse Manor Hall Education and Programs Manager Sarah Wassberg Johnson, Mary Philipse Morris will recount the history of her life and the trials and tribulations the Philipse family experienced during the American Revolution in this special one-woman museum theater show.

Learn from other women of Revolutionary Westchester all weekend with special performances by Mrs. Margaret Arnold (Peggy Shippen), Deborah Sampson, Hannah Archer Till, and many more, plus museum theater with Drama From the Past, live music, and more.