What’s Cooking in Yorktown, the Fall 1957 Edition is the name of the Cook Book prepared by the Women’s Asssociation of the First Presbyterian Church on Rt 202 and Crompond Street. I received the book from my mother, Betty, before she died and it is one of my greatest treasures.
The once white, now faded brown with age, tattered and well used, cookbook contains the history of the church, local ads which is the Who’s Who of Business in 1957 and, of course, recipes provided by the members and friends of the church. Most of the recipes were written by hand and some were typed.
Yorktown Heights, located about 45 miles North of New York City, was often a resting place for our weary Revolutionary War Patriots. There are a number of historical Markers in Yorktown but, the Church marker is the most famous. The introduction to the book includes the early history of the Church; the story below. I have added recipes from a few of the people that my dearest friends might know. Whether you grew up in Yorktown Heights or anyway around the world, both the church and the recipes share the flavor of our little town.
I was baptized in the First Presbyterian Church in 1951and I went to Kindergarten at the church in 1952 which was part of the over-crowded public school system in those days. When in Yorktown, I often stop by the church and the cemetery to visit old friends and familiar names in Yorktown history.
Click on the link to Recipes of Yorktown Heights
Now read the history of one of our most famous places in American history.
First Presbyterian Church of Yorktown by a.e.t. (May be a Tompkins)
“The Town of Yorktown was named in honor of the American Victory at Yorktown, Virginia, following General Cornwallis’s surrender. Although no major Revolutionary War battles were fought here, Yorktown has a rich historical heritage.
During the revolution, cowboys and skinners led raids throughout the town. The French army camped in Yorktown and General Rochambeau had his headquarters here. Major Andre ate his last meal, before his capture in Tarrytown, on the back porch of a house on Hanover Road. George Washington, Benedict Arnold and many other well known names of the Revolutionary War days passed through Yorktown.
Yorktowners can point proudly to many historical landmarks: The Lee Homestead; French Hill; the Whitney House; Hallock’s Mill. But, perhaps the one site that best tells of the struggles of the times is the First Presbyterian Church.
Founded in 1730, the first building was erected in 1738 and the first pastor, Reverend Samuel Sacket, was retained in 1761 for 65 pounds sterling, a parsonage and 25 cords of wood. The British burned the church building June 13, 1779. Prior to that they burned the original parsonage located on the east side Crompond Street. The parsonage had been used by the committee of safety and also as a distribution center for mars for the Continental troops.
Caleb Morgan, an American spy for the British, led Colonel Robinson to Crompond so he could carry out his threat to “burn up the committee house.” The Continental troops then moved their supplies into the church, which was also burned by the angry British troops.
The present building, a replica of the original, was built in 1784 when an official church seal, designed by Thomas Biganey, was adopted and used until 1914.
Occemun, the celebrated Indian preacher, occasionally spoke at the church.
In the church yard is a memorial to Colonel Christopher Green and his aide, Major Ebenezer Flagg. It was erected by the State in 1800, 19 years after the two men died with 30 of their soldiers while defending an outpost near Old Pines Bridge at Oblenus Ford, a point where the Croton River was fordable. Both men are buried in the south east corner of the church cemetery.York
The history of the Church and the Town have unfolded together from the Revolution until the present as the town and church continue to grow.”
