At the first city election, held in the succeeding May, Dr. Edward P. Brush was chosen mayor.1 By the organization of the city the old Town of Eastchester was dismembered-- in fact, divided into two remotely separated parts, with Mount Vernon lying betwixt them. The lower part of Eastchester Town lias since been annexed to New York City. The development of Mount Vernon in all municipal regards has been extremely rapid and most creditable during the eight years of its existence as a city. There is no doubt that its population has more than doubled since its incorporation. 1 Mayor Brush served for one term. He was succeeded by Edson Lewis, who served from 1S94 to 1S96. The present mayor (August, 1900)

is Edwin W. Fiske, who was first elected 189G, and re-elected in 1S9S and 1900.

in

from

1842 to

Iu 1802 the City of Yonkers still retained the primitive system of had been constructed to furnish iu early times which milldanis These dams, forming stagnant industries. water-power to the local ponds in the Nepperhan River, which in the summer season were quite pestilential, had come to be regarded by the general public as a nuisance; yet the city officials had been loath to assume the responTo the administration of sibility of summarily removing them. the honor of instituting belongs (1892-94) Weller H. James Mayor the necessary proceedings and accomplishing the wholesome work. Mayor Weller, finding it impossible to deal otherwise with the problem than summarily, and believing the dams to be a public nuisance which should be abated by arbitrary methods in the absence of other It was a courageous act, remedy, caused them to be torn down. similar to the one of the citizens of Westchester in Macomb's In the legal processes that resulted the mayor and city governiiiciii were fulh sustained ^ ~ by the courts.