468 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



December, 19 lo 



later, endeavoring to return 

 to England, was drowned. 



This is rather a sad tale 

 for a stroll through a 

 charming country village, 

 and it is better to go out 

 and look about on the 

 peace of the fields and 

 hills. There is Truesdale 

 Hill, named for the first 

 white settler, William 

 Truesdale, who according 

 to tradition was killed on 

 that spot and scalped by 

 the Indians — more gory 

 reminiscence, but it cannot 

 well be helped. Beyond 

 lies Truesdale Lake, also 

 named in his honor. 



Of course Washington 

 and his staff were dined in 

 the vicinity of South Salem. 

 Unfortunately the house 

 was pulled down three- 

 quarters of a century ago. 

 But happily many of the 

 old houses still remain, 

 with their large stone chim- 

 neys and fireplaces, charm- 

 ing woodwork, and simple 

 but pretty porches. A 

 number of these have in 



The Episcopal Church 



recent years been bought by newcomers, who make their 

 summer homes here, or keep them open throughout the 

 year. 



One of the most attractive and interesting of these now 

 belongs to Mr. William Temple Emmet, on whose front 

 door hangs the knocker of the founder of the village, one 

 mile distant. Another is the house of Mr. Charles Roswell 

 Bacon, the artist. And others belong to Mr. William H. 

 Boardman, Mr. Richard S. Chislen, Dr. Ramsom S. 

 Hooker, Mr. T. Ludlow Chrystie, Capt. Piper, Senator 

 Agnew, and Mr. Walter Wyckoff. 



Among those that have built upon the hills about the 

 village are Prof. James M. Crafts, Dr. Ramsford, and Mr. 

 Richard H. Lawrence. And Mr. Frederick Winant has 

 enlarged one of the old houses. But many of the old 

 families that have inherited their farms for generations 

 still keep their homesteads, and their lives still give the 

 village and its neighborhood their character, and the 

 intercourse between these old families and the newer 



residents is pleasantly 

 cordial. 



Until very recently South 

 Salem contained many in- 

 habitants who had reached 

 mature years before the 

 building of any railway 

 made their village a retired 

 spot. In their early years 

 a post rider came from 

 Sing Sing once each week. 

 Then the stage from New 

 York to Hartford passed 

 through the village twice 

 weekly. And an old in- 

 habitant could remember 

 how all the farmers turned 

 out after a snow storm to 

 open the roads, or to take 

 down the fences, so that the 

 mail might be carried on, 

 and any passengers to or 

 from the city. 



The old people could re- 

 member, too, the days of 

 almost impassable roads 

 and chaises, when the 

 farmers commonly at- 

 tended to their business at 

 any distance on horseback. 

 One anecdote of that 

 period is of a rich but 

 penurious farmer, whose daughter wanted a new chaise. 

 Upon her father's refusal, she threatened to tell the as- 

 sessors of the amount of money her father kept from the 

 tax list, and the chaise was bought! 



In 1830 a carriage maker started his business in the 

 village. A number of his sleighs are still in existence, 

 originally painted bright red with a green vine border, 

 inside bright yellow, and a yellow carved dash attached 

 to the runners. And about 1835 the first two-horse car- 

 riage attracted the admiration of the village children. 

 But one old lady would never drive, and always walked 

 to church with her two servants. 



South Salem had its witch in the past, one "Granny 

 Brown," of whom tales still survive. She used the belief 

 in her witchcraft to impose upon some of her neighbors. 

 If she were refused buttermilk by any one, it was said 

 that his cream would not ripen until a red hot horseshoe 

 were dropped into it. One neighbor would not give the 

 witch some yeast, and her bread did not rise during the 



School house on Naarden Farm 



The blacksmith shop 



