calver

Where Cobwebs Thrive on Manhattan Isle

Libby Castle

When New York Tribune reporter Eleanor Booth Simmons explored the hills of Inwood and Washington Heights in 1921 she discovered a quaint country community rapidly being swallowed by the big city. In this article she gives us a guided tour of the still standing homes of once rich and powerful families including Nathan Straus, James [...]

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Old Post Road

Mile Marker on Old Post Road in Inwood, New York

Tucked away in a section of the stone wall near the 212th Street and Broadway entrance to Isham Park is an often overlooked survivor of Inwood’s past. The old Albany Post Road mile marker blends into its surroundings, but is hard to miss when you know what to look for. Curved at the top, this [...]

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Late 19th Century Inwood- Part III

William Calver

Much of what we know today about the history and pre-history of  Inwood and Washington Heights is due largely to the turn of the century work of amateur historians, self taught archaeologists and close friends William Calver  and Reginald Bolton. Starting in the 1880′s Bolton and Calver began exploring northern Manhattan with picks and shovels, [...]

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Moment of Zen

Cows grazing in Inwood, New York in 1883 photo

This 1883 photograph shows cows grazing on the site of the present day Baker Field along the Spuyten Duyvil.  In the far background (photo left) is Inwood Hill and the Palisades.  To the right of the cows is the foundry of the old Johnson Iron Works.  Construction on the  Henry Hudson Bridge was still decades [...]

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