In Search of Teatown

In the 1970s, historian Lincoln Diamant investigated the origins of Teatown's distinctive name. Local tradition suggested it derived from an English village, since English tenant farmers originally settled the area. However, Diamant's research contradicted this theory when he obtained a letter from the British Museum. The librarian responded to a 1931 query from the New-York Historical Society, stating: "I have made a search of the various gazetteers, old and new, and have failed to discover any place in Britain bearing this name."

Instead, Diamant turned to the narratives of James M. Macdonald, a country chronicler who between 1844 and 1851 documented over 400 interviews with 241 descendants of early Westchester settlers.

Macdonald's account describes events during the American Revolution. In 1776, tea drinking was considered unpatriotic, yet many women longed for the forbidden beverage. When tea became scarce and expensive that summer, female insurrection erupted in counties bordering the Hudson River.

A grocer named John Arthur had relocated from New York to Westchester County with merchandise including Bohea tea. When word spread that Arthur possessed tea stocks, approximately thirty women on horseback assembled near present-day Croton-on-Hudson, led by Madam Orser, wife of Jonas Orser.

Arthur encountered the group and, displaying quick thinking, directed them along a circuitous route while he hurried home. He warned his household and barricaded the doors and windows. When the women arrived and demanded tea, Dame Arthur and her sisters armed themselves with household implements and refused entry.

After reconsidering their options, the women negotiated with Dame Arthur, who promised they would receive tea once Arthur returned. The besiegers accepted this agreement and withdrew. Subsequently, Arthur supplied them with substantial quantities of Bohea tea, delighting the women throughout the winter.

This legendary "Westchester Tea-Party" incident purportedly inspired the name "Teatown."