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Timeline of Croton History
Major events from the earliest human settlement to the present day, sourced from the archive's primary documents.
Pre-Contact
~5000 BC
Earliest shell middens at Croton Point
Virginia oyster shell deposits begin accumulating at Kettle Rock on Croton Point, the oldest on the North Atlantic coast. Radiocarbon dating by Louis Brennan (1962) established these as among the earliest evidence of sustained human habitation in the Northeast.
Source: Brennan, NYSAA Bulletin No. 26 (1962)
~3000 BC
Vinette I pottery appears at Croton Point
The earliest pottery type in the Northeast is found in stratigraphic position in the Croton Point middens — a key discovery for establishing the regional chronological sequence.
Source: Brennan, NYSAA Bulletin No. 26 (1962)
~1600
Kitchawank village of Navish at Croton Point
The Kitchawank, a band of the Wappinger Confederacy, maintain a fortified village at the neck of Croton Point. Their territory extends from the Croton River north to Anthony's Nose.
Source: Ruttenber (1872), Scharf (1886)
European Contact & Colonial Era
1609
Henry Hudson sails past Croton Point
Hudson's Half Moon passes the peninsula. Officer Robert Juet documents encounters with indigenous peoples who traded tobacco for knives and beads.
Source: Wikipedia (Wappinger)
1626
Weckquaesgeek elder murdered near Fort Amsterdam
Three laborers rob and kill a Weckquaesgeek man carrying furs to trade. His young nephew escapes and vows revenge — a vow he will fulfill fifteen years later.
Source: Ruttenber (1872), Shonnard (1900)
Feb 25, 1643
Pavonia Massacre
Dutch soldiers kill ~120 sleeping Wappinger refugees at Pavonia (Jersey City), including women and children. The massacre unifies all Algonquian peoples against the Dutch.
Source: Wikipedia (Kieft's War)
Aug 1645
Peace treaty signed at Croton Point
After two years of war costing ~1,600 indigenous lives, the Kitchawank and other tribes sign peace with the Dutch at Croton Point. A plaque marks the site today.
Source: Ruttenber (1872), Wikipedia
1682
Cornelius Van Bursum purchases Croton Point
Van Bursum buys the peninsula from the Kitchawank. The deed names the land 'Navish' and the meadow 'Senasqua' — indigenous names that survive today.
Source: Scharf (1886)
1697
Van Cortlandt Manor chartered — 86,000 acres
Stephanus Van Cortlandt receives a royal charter for 200 square miles of land assembled through purchases from indigenous peoples since the 1670s.
Source: Bolton (1848), Wikipedia
Revolution & Early Republic
1765
Daniel Nimham sues over the Philipse land fraud
The last Wappinger sachem challenges a fraudulently expanded land patent in court. He loses and his attorney is imprisoned.
Source: Cutul (2025), Bolton (1848)
1766
Nimham travels to London to petition the Crown
Nimham and three Mohican chiefs sail to England to argue their land case before Parliament. The Lords of Trade acknowledge 'frauds and abuses' but restore nothing.
Source: Cutul (2025), Wikipedia
~1776
Thirty women on horseback seize tea stocks
According to local tradition, women led by Madam Orser ride to grocer John Arthur's home to demand tea. The incident may have given Teatown its name.
Source: Croton Friends of History (oral history via Macdonald)
Sep 21, 1780
Cannon shot from Teller's Point forces HMS Vulture downstream
Croton militia fire on the British warship, stranding Major Andre behind enemy lines and exposing Benedict Arnold's treason.
Source: Bolton (1848), Shonnard (1900)
Aug 31, 1778
Daniel Nimham killed at Battle of Kingsbridge
The last Wappinger sachem and ~40 warriors die fighting for the Continental Army in the Bronx. 'He himself was old, and would die there.'
Source: Bolton (1848)
The Aqueduct Era
1827
Underhill plants America's first commercial vineyard
Richard T. Underhill begins planting grapes at Croton Point, eventually cultivating 75 acres. He breeds the 'Senasqua' variety, named after the Kitchawank place-name.
Source: crotonhistory.org
1837-1842
Old Croton Aqueduct built
NYC's first major water supply system. A 41-mile gravity-fed aqueduct from the Croton Dam to Manhattan. Irish workers strike for wages in 1838.
Source: King (1843), Old Croton Aqueduct source
Oct 14, 1842
Croton water reaches New York City
The greatest jubilee New York had ever seen celebrates fresh water from the Croton. John Quincy Adams was invited but sent his regrets.
Source: crotonhistory.org
Modern Croton
1892-1906
New Croton Dam constructed
1,500 Italian immigrants build the 297-foot dam under the padrone system. A settlement called 'Little Italy' emerges along the river.
Source: Croton Friends of History
1907
Harmon development begins
Clifford Harmon builds 'the most important and extensive suburban development in the history of New York' around the railroad stop. The Nikko Inn opens as a Japanese tea house.
Source: crotonhistory.org
May 15, 1922
Rum plane crashes near Croton
A Curtis biplane carrying 250 quarts of Canadian whiskey crashes on a hillside near the Tumble Inn. A navigation chart reveals an aerial smuggling route from Montreal.
Source: crotonhistory.org, NYT (1922)
1927-1986
Croton Point operated as county landfill
The peninsula that held a 7,000-year-old archaeological site becomes a waste dump. Later capped and restored as a 508-acre county park.
Source: Croton Point Landfill Review (2019)
1960-1963
Brennan excavates Croton Point shell middens
Louis Brennan's excavations at Kettle Rock discover Vinette I pottery in stratigraphic position and establish the middens as among the oldest on the Atlantic coast.
Source: NYSAA Bulletin No. 26 (1962)