Traversed by picturesque ridges and romantic streams, with the blue expanse of Long Island Sound on the one side and the lordly Hudson on the other, the county is exceptionally favored by nature, and there is no strip of territory of equal extent in the whole country which combines in the same degree advantages of location and beauty of surface with the artificial adornments wrought in the lapse of many generations by intelligent direction and skill.

While the bolder beauties of the Hudson are not comprised within its limits, its territory adjacent to the borders of that classic stream has long been a favorite theme for song and story. Cooper, Paulding and Irving have drawn a rich store of literary material from within its confines, and the bold, original genius of Poe found much of its inspiration while the poet was roaming along the banks of the river or gazing from the windows of his little cottage at Fordham.

The development along the shore of the Hudson is a striking indication of what may be anticipated for the whole of Westchester County. " The whole region of country bordering the Hudson River, north of Spuyten Duyvel," says a writer,- " was, until within a very recent period, occupied by isolated residences and grand estates, some of them embracing several thousand acres. Notable examples were the Philipse and Livingston Manors, the titles to which came directly from the crown. Gradually these extensive tracts were sub-divided, leaving still, however, large areas in the possession of single individuals. Many of these smaller estates have undergone a process of improvement and embellishment, until the lordly mansions on the Hudson have become famed on both sides of the Atlantic for their beauty and picturesque surroundings. . . . Art has done its share to add to the charms of the landscape.