• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

  • Home
  • Advertise
    • Advertise in One or All of our Magazines
    • Advertising Payment Form
  • Print Subscription
  • Digital Subscription
    • Subscribe
    • Subscriber Login
  • Contact Us

Who Knew? Surprising Facts About Chappaqua

March 9, 2011 by Inside Press

By Lindsay Hand

Think you know everything there is to know about Chappaqua? Think again! Ever wonder about that old building on Quaker Street or where you can download music for free? There are countless things about Chappaqua and its resources, past and present, which many people don’t know. Here’s a list of ten things about Chappaqua that even the Quakers would find interesting.

10. Download free music using Freegal. There is a library of thousands of songs available through Sony. Just visit chappaqualibrary.org, click on “Freegal,” and then the link to sign in with your library card number. You are limited to three downloads per week, but can add songs to a wish list to download the following week. The music can be put on an MP3 player or an iPod. It’s a quick and easy way to download free music!

9. Find 58,000 free online video tutorials for computer programs. Flustered by the complications of today’s technology? Visit the library website and click on the link to Lynda.com for instruction on programs such as Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, Microsoft Office, Dreamweaver and more.

8. New Castle’s worst disaster occurred on Quaker Street
On July 16, 1904, a tornado zoomed down Quaker Street, stopping in front of the Quaker Meeting House. There were a few fatalities and five houses and three barns were completely destroyed. The damages totaled $100,000, which is the equivalent of approximately $2.4 million today.

7. A liberty ship was named “Chappaqua” During World War II, a liberty ship was name “Chappaqua” because of the large number of war bonds sold here. Liberty ships were slow cargo ships that were fast to construct and very reliable.

6. The original Horace Greeley School was in the Current Robert E. Bell School building.
The Horace Greeley School was built in 1928 after a fire devastated the Chappaqua Mountain Institute on Quaker Street in 1908. It was renamed the Robert E. Bell School when the new Horace Greeley High School was built in 1957. The three elementary schools were built in a 20-year period around this time as well.

5. You can borrow museum passes to visit many area museums for free. These passes include the following: the American Museum of Natural History, the Frick Collection, the Guggenheim Museum, the Intrepid Air and Space Museum, The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, the Bruce Museum, the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, the Katonah Art Museum, the Neuberger Museum of Art, the New York Historical Society and the Stepping Stones Museum for Children.

Follow the same steps used to get to Freegal and you’ll find “Museum Passes.” As with the other online resources, you need to be a library cardholder in order to borrow
a pass.
4. The Library site has a special link for birding enthusiasts.
The link, through Cornell University, is called the Birds of North America. Click “Online Resources” (the first option) on the library website to get started.

3. The Quaker Meeting House was an important asset during the American Revolution.
The Quaker Meeting House was used as a hospital for some of Washington’s wounded soldiers after the Battle of White Plains on October 28, 1776.

2. The Library has 100 Reference Books online. At the library website, click “CREDO REFERENCE.” This site helps you search through many reliable sources and databases all at once. Just follow the steps to the login page, and type in your card number.

1. A major town Industry in the 19th century was pickle production. A large number of local orchards produced vinegar. In 1848, when the railroad first came to Chappaqua, farms began to grow and ship “cash crops.” The abundance of vinegar and other products led to the creation of cider mills, a pickle factory and a barrel factory.

So, next time you’re sitting around somewhere, you can pop out a random “Did you know?” and wow them with your knowledge of the Town of Chappaqua, known to the original Native American inhabitants as “Shapiqua.” Who knew?

Thank you to the Chappaqua Library, www.chappaqualibrary.org, and the New Castle Historical Society, www.newcastlehs.org. for providing such interesting background and resources about Chappaqua.

Lindsay Hand is a freshman at Horace Greeley High School. This is her second article for Inside Chappaqua.

Filed Under: Top Ten

About Inside Press

Inside Press Magazines is celebrating its 20th year anniversary of publishing in 2023.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Saint Joseph’s Medical Center and Saint Pio Foundation Announce A Margherita for a Smile Community Initiative
  • Sustainable Westchester Names Noah Bramson as its New Executive Director
  • NY Ketamine Infusions Opens Third Location In Westchester County to Serve Community’s Mental Health Needs
  • Celebrate Friday Night Pride on June 2 in Hastings-on Hudson
  • Westchester County Office of Economic Development and Sustainable Westchester Team Up to Launch Clean Energy Accelerator Program
  • World Cup Gymnastics Athletes Sawyer Robertson and Victor Dyakin Take Home Bronze Medals at the 2023 Eastern DP National Championship

Please Visit

White Plains Hospital
Compass: Generic
Compass: Suzette Kraus
Compass: Miller-Goldenberg Team
Caramoor
William Raveis – Armonk
William Raveis – Chappaqua
Repose
Houlihan Lawrence – Chappaqua
Houlihan Lawrence – Armonk
Houlihan Lawrence – Briarcliff
Rocks by Jolie B. Ray
Douglas Elliman: Chappaqua
Club Fit
Tanya Tochner Interiors by ROCKS
Compass: Natalia Wixom
Pleasantville Children’s Center
NYOMIS – Dr. Andrew Horowitz
Play Nice Together
World Cup Gymnastics
Houlihan: Alicja Bohmrich
March Boutique
Wags & Whiskers Dog Grooming
Houlihan: Tara Siegel

Follow our Social Media

The Inside Press

Our Latest Issues

For a full reading of our current edition, or to obtain a copy or subscription, please contact us.

Inside Chappaqua Inside Armonk Inside Pleasantville

Join Our Mailing List


Search Inside Press

Links

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Digital Subscription
  • Print Subscription

Footer

Support The Inside Press

Advertising

Print Subscription

Digital Subscription

Categories

Archives

Subscribe

Did you know you can subscribe anytime to our print editions?

Voluntary subscriptions are most welcome, if you've moved outside the area, or a subscription is a great present idea for an elderly parent, for a neighbor who is moving or for your graduating high school student or any college student who may enjoy keeping up with hometown stories.

Subscribe Today

Copyright © 2023 The Inside Press, Inc. · Log in