564 HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER. 



To the West of Pleasantville, almost bordering the Bronx river, rises 

 Bear Ridge — so called from a venerable relict of the bruen race, that 

 in early provincial times resided in the stump of an ancient oak on its 

 summit. Upon the south-eastern extremity of this elevated portion of 

 the town, is situated the " Westchester Nursery," the property of the 

 late Edward Jessup Carpenter, whose father, David R. Carpenter, bought 

 the estate about twenty-five years ago of Underhill Quimby; it having 

 formerly belonged to the Baker family. Nothing can be finer than the 

 views from this beautiful spot, which commands a most extensive pros- 

 pect of eight counties, viz : Suffolk, Queens and Kings, Long Island ; 

 Fairfield, Conn.; Putnam, New York; Rockland, Orange and Bergen; 

 besides beautiful views of the North and East rivers, the Palisades and 

 the Hook on the west side of the former, the Dunderberg or Bread 

 Tray Mountain, (so called on account of its shape.) on which the line 

 runs between Orange and Rockland Counties. Bear Ridge, too, is 

 noted as being the water-shed of this section of Westchester County — 

 on the east the Bronx, which rises in the Dark valley, within only three- 

 quarters of a mile, flows into the East River ; while on the west, the 

 Nepera, which has its source from among the springs or little trout 

 streams of the neighborhood, rising from Prospect Ridge, Fox Hill, 

 Locust Hill and other high points. The neighboring estates belong to 

 the late James M. Bard — Fairview, to James V. Stoutenburg ; Valley- 

 view, to Edward Haight; Brook Dale, to David H. Lane; Prospect 

 Hill, to Stephen White; Casa Perdida, to E. C. F. Judson; Palmer 

 Homestead, to John W. Palmer; Fruit Farm, to G. M. Purdy; and 

 Prospect Ridge, to D. Hull, with many others. 



"There is in this town a great variety of timber and wood, being a 



good proportion of almost every kind which is known to grow in this 



part of the counrty." The surface of the town is mostly hilly, the soil 



productive and well cultivated. Mount Pleasant has the reputation of 



being rich in mineral productions ; an iron mine has recently been 



opened on the land of the late David Acker. Native iron ore also 



(probably of meteoric origin) is frequently found on the surface of the 



earth in various parts of the town. The following town officers were 



elected in pursuance of the act of 1845 : 



Isaac Coutant, Supervisor; 



Jacob T. Brower, Town Clerk; 



William Brown, Town Super intendant; 



Abraham Brouwer, Trustee of the Poor; 



Hervey Romek, Assessor; 



Henry Clark, Jr., Commissioner of Highways; 



Amos Clark, Overseer of the Poor; 



Hebby Brown, Sealer of Weights and Measures; 



Andrew Vincent, Constable. 



