A History of the County of Westchester, Vol. I
On Wednesday, 31st October, the late chief justice, but now representative, for the county of Westchester landed in this city about five o'clock in the evening, at the ferry stairs. On his landing he was saluted by a general fire of the guns from the merchant vessels lying in the road, and was received by great numbers of the most considerable merchants and inhabitants of this city, and by them, with loud acclamations of the people as
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he walked the streets, conducted to the Black Horse tavern, where a handsome entertainment was prepared for him at the charge of the gentlemen who received him, and in the middle of one side of the room was fixed a tablet with golden capitals, " King George, Liberty, and Law."*
The road which passes through the village green on the north side of the church, was formerly called the Kingsbridge turnpike. This road appears to have been first opened in 1G71, as we find in that year, "Mr. John Pell, and Mr. John Richbell appointed to lay out the new road to New England, through Eastchester."^ The Kingsbridge road was the first stage route estabhshed between New York and Boston in 1732. "The coach, which would at the present time be thought an extremely slow one, was fourteen days in the journey, carrying news to and fro once a month. "c
Beneath the shade of the venerable locusts (which still adorn the green,) stood the village stocks, erected in 1720. ^ Embedded in the bark of one of the trees may be seen the iron staple to which culprits were formerly attached and publicly whipped. Upon the green, between the locust trees and the present church yard, stood the old parish church, built by the Independents, about 1699. This edifice was destroyed by fire at an early period of the Revolution. e