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the " Clay " being slightly in advance. As she passed Yonkers, moving at a high speed, smoke was seen issuing from her sides. She was at once headed for the dock at Riverdale, but meantime the flames had burst forth and it was necessary to beach her with all the haste possible. " Mr. Edwin Forrest, the actor, who lived near, was there, and soon others came. It was an awful sight. The steamer struck the shore and ran up so far that the bow lay across the western railroad track. The passengers were either pitched into the river by the sudden stopping of the boat as it struck the river bank, or they jumped overboard. The bodies were laid along the shore. Eighty or more were drowned or burned. All the bodies were not recovered on the day of the fire. They washed ashore at irregular intervals. This necessitated holding inquests through a period of two weeks. The coroner was Mr. William II. Lawrence. The inquests were held at the Yonkers railroad station. The captain of the boat and other officers escaped from the burning steamer." x Many of the bodies were buried in a plot in Saint John's Cemetery, Yonkers, and over their graves a marble column was erected, which still stands, although in a state of decay. The year 1857 witnessed the completion and occupation of the The commispresent court house of the county at White Plains. ktand jail were sioners in charge of the construction of the court house Supervisors Abraham Hatfield, of Westchester; States Barton, of New Kochelle; Daniel Hunt, of Lewisboro; William Marshall, Jr., of Somers; and George C. Finch, of North Salem. R. G. Hatfield was architect and D. I. Stagg assistant and superintendent; Theodore Hunt, builder of the court house; Seth Bird, of Tarrytown, builder of tie- jail.