william calver

Relic Hunting in Northern Manhattan

Reginald Pelham Bolton

“I chanced to visit an old inn near Fort George some years ago and I noticed a human skull that the proprietor kept among the bottles above his bar.  The man told me he had unearthed it, together with several swords and cannon balls, in his yard.  I offered to buy it, not caring much [...]

Read the full article →

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 [...]

Read the full article →

Late 19th Century Inwood- Part I

Photo of 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, [...]

Read the full article →

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 [...]

Read the full article →