What the tradition may ha\^e been that associated such a name with the little brook that enters the river here, and afterwards applied it to quite an extensive territory, no antiquary has discovered. Dobbs had a shanty on Willow Point and eked out his modest living by ferrying chance passengers over the river in his ]:)eriauger, or dugout. His name was easier to pronounce than Weeckquaesguck, and being, moreover, associated with a ferry, it was perpetuated as a place name, while that of the bark kettle fell into disuse. But Dobbs is a thorn-in-the-side to the residents near his ferry, who have made several very serious

In the Land of Ir\ing- 227 efforts to have the Legislature authorise the use of a more euphonious name. Several public meetings ha\'e been held at different times to agitate the question and not a few have been the alternatives suggested. Mr. Van Brugh Livingston, who owned much land thereabouts and was a prominent citizen, tried to have his own name applied to the village ; not a few persons were in favour of adopting that of Paulding, one of the captors of Andre, and some one suggested Van Wart. The last ]}ro])osition was met by a gravely advanced argument in favour of dro]^ping the Van from the last name and sim])ly calling the place " Warton-the-Hudson." For a short time, Greenburgh was accepted as a compromise, and Dol:)bs Ferry became Greenburgh to the ])Ost-office authorities, but as a cjuiet after-thought the old name was finally restored. There are at this place numerous shell-heaps, and other indications that at one time the Indian population was a large one, but there is no record of any particular event connected with its history till the dark days of 1776, when its situation in relation to the Palisades brought it for a time into prominence.