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Page 24 text:
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[ T wenty] Battle of Harlem Heights was fought here on the sixteenth of September in 1776. Accounts of the battle tell us that Washington’s troops were camped on the heights at Manhattanville, while the British lines were drawn up on the other side of the Hollow Way (about 125th Street). For the first time in the course of the war the patriots met the British on equal footing and showed their spirit and strength. The American victory not only frustrated the British plan of campaign in the Northeast, but it gave our men that confidence which they had hitherto lacked and which enabled them to carry the war to a successful end. This battle is usually called the Battle of Harlem Heights and it is rightly named, since Manhattanville, where the colonial army was en¬ camped, was a part of New Haarlem. James Riker’s “History of Harlem’’ (New York City) tells us that early in the 17th century Peter Van Oblenis, a member of one of the Dutch families which had come to New Haarlem in 1658, bought the 100 acres lying at Manhattanville for his own use. At the time of the Great Division of the Common Lands in 1712 he was certainly the recognized owner of them. These acres com¬ prised the meadows in the Hollow Way and the land north as far as Joachim Peter’s Hills (134th Street). In 1712 seven plots were laid off along the more rugged southern hills. These sloping fields were first used as pasture lots. Later, when more people had crossed over from New Haarlem, they built dwellings and barns on these little farms. Thus this section of New York gained its first settled population. The year 1658 is a relatively ancient date in America, but Manhat¬ tanville can look back into a yet more distant past—even into a legendary era. The story has it that when Henry Hudson came to America in 1609, he had some trouble with the Indians and, in order to let the disturbance blow over, he sailed a short distance up the Manahatta River and anchored for a few days in the quiet cove, which eventually came to be known as Manhattanville, or Harlem, Cove. Thus the old world is still part of the new. Though Manhattanville to-day seems very remote from colonial struggles and pioneer civilization, historic tradition is fittingly preserved on the Campus of the College of the Sacred Heart, with its age-old rocks and stately trees. Genevieve Brislin, ’30.
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Page 23 text:
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[Nineteen] OLD MANHATTANVILLE O N the heights of old Harlem, overlooking the Hudson River, stands the College of the Sacred Heart. Its rocky hillside, characteristic of the landscape of early New York, remains unchanged in the midst of the ever-changing city. Wrapped in the traditions of three hundred years, this spot, once consecrated by the blood of heroes in our Revolutionary War, is now rendered yet more holy in its consecration to God’s service. As we go back in memory through the decades of Manhattanville’s history we recognize the vast gulf which separates the Manhattanville of the present from that of olden days, and yet this journey through the years will only confirm our belief that the college has captured and admir¬ ably retained within its grounds a bit of old New York. The building which the college now occupies was erected in 1888. In August of that year fire had destroyed the old convent and the nuns and their pupils took shelter at Manhattan College, which we see in the picture at 131st Street and Old Broadway. This picture, taken sometime before the fire, shows the building and property which had been purchased from Jacob Lorillard in 1846. The grounds extended from 126th to 135th Street. It was a beautiful, verdant tract of land. Smooth green meadows merged into the ragged slopes of the hillsides. The little carriage path, which is now Convent Avenue, wound gracefully up to the portal of the imposing building, which towered above the surrounding groves and was easily discernible for miles across the country. Besides Mr. Lorillard there had been many other landowners in the vicinity of Manhattanville. The Blue Book of 1815 mentions Thomas Buckley, John Lawrence, Jacob Schieffelin and also the Messrs. Barrow, Byrd, Hamersly, Hogan and Moleneor. Many of the wealthy people of New York had built their homes along the river road, Claremont, now the restaurant near Grant’s Tomb, was the property of Mr. Hogan and later became for a time the residence of Joseph Bonaparte. The country house of Jacob Schieffelin was at 144th Street. Hamilton’s residence, “The Grange,” is still preserved at 141st Street and Convent Avenue. The name Manhattanville was first given to this district on a map of Harlem dated 1814, but Manhattanville’s history has a much earlier origin. During the War of 1812 a line of defense was built just south of this village. It extended from McGowan’s Pass (in Central Park) to the Barrier Gate on the Bloomingdale Road. The rocky base of Fort Haight may still be seen at Broadway and 123rd Street. Going still further back in our history we find that Manhattanville was a very important place during the American Revolution, because the
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Page 25 text:
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[ Twenty-one COLLEGE SONG On the heights so proudly standing, Strong against the blue, High her tower gleams commanding. Loyal hearts be true, For Manhattanville sing loudly, Swell the mighty song Till the echoes ring out proudly, All the ages long! Loretta Bremner, ’29. I A i t A I 4 A i
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