Special Event Invitation & More

Women’s History Month Zoom Presentation on Edna Odell

Edna Odell

We’ve all become too familiar with images of overworked doctors and nurses struggling to care for COVID-19 patients. Looking back a century, nurses in the World War I theatre dealt with similar circumstances. They treated victims of Spanish flu, tended to wounded soldiers, and ministered to sick and hungry children, many of whom were orphaned by the devastating war.

This was the experience of Edna Odell, who grew up on the Odell Farm. Edna became a nurse who worked in Westchester and New York City, and served as an American Red Cross nurse in France in 1918 and 1919. Her history has been unraveled through documents recently found in the Odell House—personal letters, financial records, luggage tags, passports, artifacts, photographs, and more—and the story is published on our website here. Through this story we can begin to understand how a woman born in 1874 made the decision to set sail for France in the midst of war. It’s a story of an independent and persevering woman who came of age in a world on the precipice of change. It’s a story that could be told of women today.

Presented by Tessa Payer, Susan Seal and Susan Werbe

Greenburgh Public Library
March 8, 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. on Zoom
Registration is required for this free event. Click here.

Washington, Rochambeau & the Grand Reconnaissance

Please join us for a special presentation by Dr. Iris de Rode on Washington, Rochambeau and the Grand Reconnaissance, July 21-23, 1781. This event will take place on March 16 from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Seminary & College in Yonkers and will also be broadcast live on Zoom. Registration details are below.

The Grand Reconnaissance was the joint French American military operation in Westchester County and the Bronx, conducted in July 1781. It is an often overlooked moment in the history of the American Revolution, but it was a pivotal moment for the fate of the young United States.

From their joint encampment in Greenburgh at Odell House in Hartsdale and at Appleby Farm in Ardsley, the French and Americans troops moved to southern Westchester and spent three days surveying the British strength in upper Manhattan to determine if a successful attack there was possible. It soon became clear that it was not, and the two generals made the fateful decision at Odell House to march together to Yorktown, Virginia, where they were victorious, and the British General Lord Cornwallis surrendered to them. Without this reconnaissance, U.S. history could have had a much different outcome.
 
Dr. Iris de Rode, author and lecturer, earned her doctoral degree in France in 2019 and has done extensive research on the French participation in the American Revolution, based on unpublished French sources. During her lecture, she will share her findings on the Grand Reconnaissance, based on a report of one of its participants, the Major General Chastellux (1734-1788).
 
Forum Participants: Dr. Erik Weiselberg, Nick Dembowski, Constance Kehoe

Sponsored by Revolutionary Westchester 250
Co-sponsors: Friends of Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters, Yonkers Historical Society, Kingsbridge Historical Society
 
ATTEND IN PERSON
Seating is limited for this free event, so you must sign up on Eventbrite by clicking here.

The presentation will take place in the Main Building auditorium at St. Joseph’s Seminary & College, 201 Seminary Ave., Yonkers, N.Y.
March 16, 2022, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
 
WATCH ON ZOOM
The Zoom meeting will be hosted by St. Joseph’s in their online room called Prayer Hall. Click the link below to watch on Zoom. The presentation is on March 16 at 4 p.m. The Zoom meeting will open at 3:30 p.m. and there is a capacity of 300 participants.
 
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6791057191
Meeting ID: 679 105 7191
 
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Meeting ID: 679 105 7191
Participant ID: 459701
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kjrF6LyPY

Cooking at Odell House

The Odell House archives are full of interesting documents—including recipes dating from the late 1700s and into the 1800s. The handwriting is full of swirls and flourishes, and they are remarkably easy to read. Most are related to food but there are a number of interesting “medicinal” concoctions as well. From Peach Cordial and Plum Cake to “Cure for Cancer” and Washington Pie, learn more about this fascinating collection here.

If you would like to make a donation to support our work, go to the donations page here. You will see a button to donate either by PayPal or credit card, along with our mailing address to donate by check.

Cooking at Odell House

By Kathy Evers

The Odell House archives are full of interesting documents—including recipes, or “receipts” as they were called once upon a time. Seems the term “receipt” was still used well into the 1900s. Maybe you had a grandmother or aunt who insisted on using that word instead of recipe?

The recipes in the archives date from the late 1700s and into the 1800s. The handwriting is full of swirls and flourishes, and they are remarkably easy to read. Most are related to food but there are a number of interesting “medicinal” concoctions as well. Of the latter, the “Cure for Cancer” caught our attention. It involved making lye from the ashes of red oak bark and applying it to the cancer, then applying a “plaister of tar” for multiple days, and lastly covering the wound with “any common salve.” That does not sound like much of a cure to us.

A recipe for Peach Cordial sounds simply delicious and promises to be ready by Christmas—hooray! But wait, where did they get the peaches? It turns out that peaches were brought to St. Augustine, Florida, by the Spanish in the 1500s. They were so delicious and easy to grow that eventually they made their way across the southeast and up into the northeast. From other documents we’ve found, we know that the Odell farm had multiple peach trees and even won some prizes at agricultural fairs for their excellent quality. The recipe calls for a peck of peaches—no problem, just go out the backdoor and pick them! The peaches would be picked at their ripest in the early autumn and prepared as described. As they sat in the tightly covered crock until Christmas their flavor infused the brandy and created the cordial.

We are greatly intrigued by this recipe for Plumb Cake, which has no plums in it and looks like it will feed a small army given the huge amount of ingredients involved. Thanks to Google, we discovered that this cake recipe likely originated in England in the 1700s, and would have currants rather than plums. This particular recipe would make many cakes and we are left wondering how on earth they would mix all the ingredients! That would be one enormous bowl.

And how about the recipe for “Pickled Walnuts?” Apparently they were (and possibly still are?) considered a delicacy in England dating back to the early 1700s. So that recipe probably came over with the colonists. We’re not sure about origins of the recipe for “Hog’s Liver Hash,” but we can’t be too surprised that the Odells and their neighbors would eat every last edible bit of a hog. Today folks who specialize in barbecue say you can make some good hash from a hog’s liver. Will this be the next gourmet treat in a local restaurant?

Several recipes were named after our founding father: Washington Cake and Washington Pie. No, neither one featured cherries, although some of the later versions of these recipes did include either cherries or apples. The cake is similar to a pound cake, whereas the pie was made from two layers of cake with custard in the middle.

Making a cake or pie in colonial times was quite a challenge. The cooking facilities could be quite rudimentary; some made do with only a small hearth, an open flame, and a wooden, clay-lined chimney. Baking was done in so-called “Dutch ovens,” which were heavy iron pots with legs and a tightly fitting lid. The entire pot was set in the coals, and more coals were heaped on the lid. A family of greater means would have a much larger hearth, possibly with a bricked, built-in oven, and a brick chimney.

More to follow as we explore the history of cooking at Odell House!

News for the New Year

Archeological study dig at the Bradt-Oliver stone house in Bethlehem, New York

Consultant chosen for first phase of landscape planning
After discussions with NY State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Board of OHRH decided that we should begin our landscaping plan with an archeological study of the grounds. To design outdoor spaces, we need to know more about the early days of the property. From John Tompkins’ days in 1732—“surrounded by friendly Indians”—to 1781 when the house served as General Rochambeau’s residence to the period of John Odell’s ownership, there are many things we could learn. We may find Native American artifacts, French regimental buttons, or even French wine bottles. From 1800 to 1820 the census listed enslaved people on the Odell farm. Where did they live? Are there remnants of their living quarters and daily lives? The contract for this study is now being prepared by Town of Greenburgh attorneys and, thanks to your donations, the Friends will provide the funding. Work will begin as soon as the weather allows.

Our vision for a 21st century museum
The firm of Steve Tilly and Associates is working on the final plan for the physical restoration of the building. The first step is a new roof and the restoration or replacement of windows and doors. But how will each of the 10 rooms be used after the house is restored? What stories will each be able to tell? What infrastructure is needed for modern audio-visual exhibits? The Boards of OHRH and the Town of Greenburgh recently held a joint meeting to discuss our vision for creating a state-of-the-art museum. The Friends are reaching out to museum planning firms to discuss a master plan for the OHRH site.

ONGOING PROJECTS

Ann Kilbourne, Vaneska Pasqua and Sandy Morrisey setting up exhibit at Greenville School

1781 Exhibit
The 1781 committee continues to work on an audio-visual exhibit about the French encampment and life in Westchester during the Revolutionary War. In the meantime, our “pop-up museum” of informational posters and artifacts has been moved from the Greenburgh Public Library, where many patrons enjoyed it, to the Greenville Elementary School. The teachers and librarians will incorporate it into their curriculum for the next 6 weeks. If you’d like to have it moved to a space near you, send us an email.

Study of slavery and the Odell Farm
Thanks to County Legislator MaryJane Shimsky we have been awarded funding from Westchester County to hire a professional researcher. Luckily for us, Emily Yankowitz, the PhD candidate at Yale who created the finding aids for Odell family documents now at the Westchester County Historical Society, has agreed to work with us. Through her affiliation with Yale, she has access to many historical resources that our volunteers could not utilize. Other volunteers are studying census data from 1790 to 1850 as well as the effect of the Manumission Laws on enslaved people and their descendants. We hope to have this important report completed by the end of the year.

François Jean de Beauvoir, Marquis de Chastellux, major general in the French expeditionary forces

The French connection
Work continues on all things Rochambeau-related. Historian Norm Desmaris has identified the names and regiment (the Royal Deux Pont) of the four French soldiers who died while camped in Greenburgh. The American Society of Le Souvenir Francais, USA has pledged funding to erect a memorial to these soldiers at OHRH when the grounds are ready. Noted Chastellux scholar Iris De Rode will be visiting New York in March and is eager to see OHRH. She is translating some never-before-seen Chastellux’s letters that might tell us more about the Grand Reconnaissance of New York City from July 21-23, 1781. We will share information when it is available.

Native Americans near OHRH
We are beginning to research the Native American presence in Greenburgh, particularly in the area around OHRH. It is possibile that a large Native American settlement once existed near the Hillard Day Camp, roughly half a mile southeast of OHRH. Still in one of the storage containers on the OHRH property are wooden bowls and other items supposedly originating with the Lenape indigenous people.

This will be a very busy year! We will continue to report on these projects in the coming months.

If you would like to make a donation to support our work, go to the donations page here. You will see a button to donate either by PayPal or credit card, along with our mailing address to donate by check.

A Wonderful Visit to Boscobel

The Board of OHRH had a wonderful candlelight tour at our “cousin” museum, Boscobel, yesterday. The director of Boscobel, Jenifer Carlquist (far left, first row), led our group through this magnificent mansion in Garrison NY. We not only learned extraordinary amounts of information about the late 18th and early 19th century life of States Dyckman, the wealthy Hudson River Valley merchant who built Boscobel, but also about his relationship to the Odells. States Dyckman was Margaret Dyckman Odell’s nephew. Although States was a loyalist who fled to London for 10 years while Margaret's husband and sons fought for the Patriot cause, after the war the two parts of the family reunited and supported each other. A story to be told in more detail as both historic sites research the families.

Happy Holidays from Odell House to Your House

It’s been a very busy year here in Hartsdale with so much to be grateful for.
 
We’re grateful for all the volunteers who helped sort, pack and move the contents of the house to safe keeping.
 
We’re grateful to the Town of Greenburgh officials who have successfully guided the stabilization of the house.
 
And we are so grateful for our many supporters and donors! Because of you, 2022 will be an exciting year of progress for Odell!
 
There is still time to donate or volunteer this year.

Please email us at odellrochambeau@gmail.com if you do not want your name listed on the donor roll of honor in this year’s annual report.

OHRH on the Radio This Friday!

OHRH President Susan Seal will be the main guest on The Greenburgh Report, hosted by Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner, this Friday at 10 a.m. They will discuss the ongoing efforts by the Town and OHRH to preserve and restore Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters.

The show airs on WVOX 1460 AM or you can stream it live here: https://www.lightningstream.com/Player.aspx?call=WVOX

Wonderful Donations to OHRH!

Bill Ketchum

The Ketchum Collection
Back in 2000, I joined the Board of the Westchester County Historical Society. I met another Board member, Bill Ketchum, who was the leading expert on Early American Pottery. He wrote 40 books on the subject and was THE source for all information about salt glazed pottery.

Flash forward to 2020 and the first time the Friends group was allowed into Odell House. Scattered all over the house were dozens of beautiful examples of 18th and 19th century jugs, crocks of all sizes and pitchers.

I immediately reached out to Bill, now 90 years of age, and he sent back careful annotations of what each piece was. Soon after that, Erica Stoller, Bill’s wife, contacted me to say that Bill had decided that many of the pieces in his collection would be donated to Odell house! After Bill passed away in March of 2021, several of our Board members went to his home and chose many beautiful antiques that will complement the Odell Collection.

Several pieces from the collection are now part of our display on the second floor of the Greenburgh Public Library on the French American Encampment in 1781.

A group of four volunteers have now photographed, catalogued and packed away the over 100 items in the collection. Our website will soon have a longer article about Bill and the collection but for now, we are sending much gratitude to Erica and Bill for this wonderful donation to our museum.

A colorful set of clay marbles in the Howard Collection

The Howard Collection
This Fall Alice and Ed Howard of Scarsdale called to ask if we might like some of the antiques in their home. They gave us a lovely grouping of 20 items, including a colorful set of clay marbles made in 1870! We think one of Colonel John Odell’s seven grandchildren might have played with such a set! Thank you, Alice and Ed!

And… $25,000 Grant from a Private Family Foundation for Landscape Design
On November 4th, we received word that the Friends have been awarded a grant that will allow us to commission a landscape designer to create a plan for wonderful gardens and event spaces around the house! Combined with the generous donations from individual donors during our fundraising campaign this year, we are now beginning to interview designers and to formulate a plan. There will also be funds for archeological studies of the grounds.

Thank you to all who contributed. If you haven’t yet donated, you can do it now by going to the donations page of our website here. You will see a button to donate by PayPal or credit card and our mailing address to donate by check.

We can’t wait to open the doors to the museum and share these marvelous contributions with the community.

History Came Alive!

It was a wonderful, shining day for Colonial Day at Ridge Road Park. Washington and Rochambeau shared an office, the First Rhode Island and the Fifth New York Regiments marched, all the colonial reenactors had many admirers! We were honored to have Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the majority leader of the NY State Senate, attend as well as Mary Jane Shimsky from Westchester County legislature, Paul Feiner, Greenburgh Supervisor and many other elected officials.

“It was an honor to be with you because I think what you do is a great deed for your community, country and France by remembering what took place here in the U.S. in the 18th century. It is important to educate the new generations. And to keep the partnership between France and the U.S. alive”

— Yves de Ternay, portrayer of General Rochambeau and descendant of Rochambeau

“You should be commended. History came alive. You and your committee did a fantastic job of making history meaningful!”

— Paul Feiner, Town Supervisor

“Colonial Day was great! The exhibits gave a great taste of what it was like to live in Colonial times.”

— Mary Jane Shimsky, Westchester County Legislator

“It was remarkable. I especially enjoyed the focus on educating the children present about the period.”

— Francis Sheehan, Greenburgh Town Board member

“Thank you everyone for making this event in my hometown so great! I could not be happier.”

— Matthew David Wynn, Fifth NY Regiment

“Awesome!”

— Greenburgh Parks Commissioner, Gerry Byrne

Odell House Colonial Day

Come see what life was like in Greenburgh during Colonial times at this family-friendly celebration of our colonial history!

• Meet George Washington, Le Comte de Rochambeau, and Ben Franklin.

• See military marching and drills by re-enactors of the 5th New York Regiment and the 1st Rhode Island Regiment.

• Watch demonstrations of Colonial cooking, wool spinning, blacksmithing, children’s toys and more!

• Learn about the role the house played in the encampment and its restoration progress

September 18th, 12:00 to 5:00
Ridge Road Park, 287 Ridge Road, Hartsdale
Advance registration is required due to Covid. The event is free, though a donation is greatly appreciated. Register through Eventbrite at the link below. There are two sessions:

• Noon to 2:30 p.m., with a performance at 1:30 p.m.

• 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a performance at 3:15 p.m.

Click here to register!
 
This event is brought to you by Friends of Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters with the support of the Town of Greenburgh and the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area. It is part of the Hudson River Valley Ramble, an event series that celebrates the history, culture, and natural resources of the Hudson River Valley.

Washington Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Bike Tour Arrives at Odell House

On Tuesday, August 17, members of the Board of the Friends of Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters greeted Sal Lilienthal as he arrived in Greenburgh on the fourth day of his journey. Sal, the owner of the Bicycle Tour company, is biking and kayaking the entire route from Newport, Rhode Island to Yorktown, Virginia taken by the French and Continental Armies during the summer of 1781. He began his trip on August 14, kayaking from Newport to Providence, RI and will continue his journey all the way to Yorktown, VA. On August 28 a ceremony will be held at the Yorktown Victory Monument celebrating his arrival and the victory of the Continental and French Armies over Lord Cornwallis. To follow the progress and see photos of the events along the route, go to www.w3r-us.org.

Photo by Fred Charles

We Need Your Support!

Dear Friends,
We are happy to report that after a very professional job of shoring by Abbott and Price Construction, the Odell House is now safely stabilized. On to the next level of our campaign!

The next step is the creation of the architect’s plan to restore the structure, bringing it back to life. We are envisioning Odell House as a 21st Century interactive museum, educating and entertaining visitors and preserving our proud history. The architect chosen for this important mission is Stephen Tilly, a well-known historic architect who has worked on many other historic projects in Westchester and also created the plans for the shoring work. His work is in progress.

While the design stage is underway, the Friends have many other projects in the works. All the documents moved to the Westchester County Historical Society are now being cataloged by two wonderful graduate students. This winter we moved hundreds of pieces of furniture, fabrics and artifacts into secure, climate-controlled storage units. They will be inventoried soon. And now, we have two major research studies in their beginning stages. One will tell the story of slavery and Odell and the other will create an exhibit for elementary school teachers to tell the story of the 1781 Encampment. Whew!

The next major need is to commission a full site plan for the grounds of the museum as soon as possible. 

Here is where we really need your help.
The funding that the Town has been given by NY State covers only the physical restoration of the house. Along with the other work we are coordinating, the Town has asked us to raise the money to pay for a landscape architect specializing in historic museums to execute a plan for the grounds of the house. Think Colonial garden, outdoor classrooms and more!

That’s why your support is more important than ever. Your generous donations and support have been wonderful and allowed us to continue this important work of keeping our history alive—now and for our future generations. 

Donate today
We ask that you make a donation now by going to the donations page here. You will see a button to donate by PayPal or credit card and our mailing address to donate by check.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Susan Seal, President
Friends of Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters 

It’s Official! Colonial Day at Odell House will happen September 18th!

Save the date for our first annual Colonial Day at Odell House on September 18, 2021. After three Covid delays we are ready for the big event at Ridge Rd. Park, Hartsdale, NY from 12-5PM. The 5th militia is coming and so are George Washington and Le Comte de Rochambeau. Spinning wheels, children’s games, a blacksmith and more. Great day for the family to learn about all that happened here in 1781 and what life was like in Colonial times in Westchester. Sign up instructions will be ready soon so watch this site!

Recent News & Events

The Friends rented a second storage unit at Westy’s and with the help of Greenburgh DPW completed another move of contents on April 23rd. The first floor of the house is now empty of all antiques and artifacts and the second floor contents are boxed and organized. The second floor cannot be accessed until the shoring of the first floor is completed, but all items are safe. Here is a photo of a mid-19th century clock found on the floor of the 1785 section of the house and now moved to safety!

The Friends voted to hire a professional grant writer at our March Board meeting. Janet Lee Burnet is assisting us already to seek new opportunities for funds going forward. Two applications have already been submitted that could pay for the completion of a landscape design plan for the grounds and a second for the creation of an exhibit, virtual and physical, on the events of 1781. This exhibit will be used for grades 4-12 and be made available to all school districts in Westchester.

Susan Seal (left) and Mary Jane Shimsky

On May 23rd, Susan Seal was presented with the Sy Schulman Award by the Westchester County Historical Society. This award is given annually to an individual or organization that has demonstrated a strong commitment to historical research, historic preservation, and/or the teaching of local history and has, as a result, elevated the public’s appreciation of the history of Westchester County. In addition to the award, the County Executive, George Latimer, and our County Legislator, Mary Jane Shimsky, gave our President a proclamation designating May 26th Susan Seal Day in Westchester County. If you drive by the County Center in White Plains on the 26th, you will see the day announced on the Jumbotron!

The shoring work continues at OHRH. After consultation with Steve Tilly, Architect, the shoring company, Abbott and Price, decided to create cement piers underneath the floor of the 1855 section of the house. This will support horizontal beams that will, in turn, support the flooring. All finished flooring will be appropriate to the era, but this hidden work will ensure the structure’s safety as a public building.

Finally, the Friends have formed a committee to begin researching the history of African and Native Americans in Greenburgh from the pre-Revolutionary War to the Civil War. County Legislator Mary Jane Shimsky, Town Board member Ken Jones, and Town Clerk Judith Beville have agreed to participate already. They will be joined by historians already working with the Friends to assure that the story of Odell includes all members of our community. We hope to publish a preliminary report by the end of 2021.

OHRH Receives Scarsdale Historical Society Grant

The Scarsdale Historical Society (SHS) has awarded us a $7,500 grant, as part of SHS’s mission to discover, preserve and disseminate the rich history of Scarsdale and its neighboring communities in Central Westchester.

“We are grateful for the continued support of the Scarsdale Historical Society,” stated Susan Seal, President of the Friends of Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters (OHRH). “This grant will help defray the cost of storing the vast contents of the house representing over 230 years of the life of the house. These antiques and artifacts have been safely removed from the house by the Friends to allow the restoration work to progress. The grant also continues to provide us with an expert to assist us in maintaining our website.”

“With this grant, we are pleased to play a role in making sure the history and legacy of OHRH lives on,” stated Randy Guggenheimer, President of the Scarsdale Historical Society. “OHRH is a community treasure that will educate and inspire the public for generations to come.”

In 1781, OHRH served as the headquarters for the Comte de Rochambeau and his French Forces during the French American Encampment in Greenburgh, N.Y. It was here that Rochambeau and George Washington made the important decision to march their troops to Yorktown, Virginia, where they jointly defeated the British army and won America’s Independence. Not only is OHRH one of the most important sites of revolutionary history in Westchester County, but it is also a rare example of an 18th-century farmhouse, with its original details intact, that was occupied by one family from 1785 to 1990.

Susan Seal to Receive the Sy Schulman Award

Susan Seal, the President and founder of OHRH, will be given the Sy Schulman award on Sunday, May 23rd at the annual meeting of the Westchester County Historical Society. The award is given annually by WCHS to an individual or organization that has demonstrated a strong commitment to historical research, historic preservation, and/or the teaching of local history, and has, as a result, elevated the public’s appreciation of the history of Westchester County. Susan is receiving the award for her 20-year advocacy to preserve the Odell-Rochambeau house—culminating in the 2019 transfer of ownership to the town of Greenburgh—and for her efforts to continue to fundraise and to organize the many volunteers working with her to create a museum at OHRH.

The Sy Schulman award was inaugurated in 2014 to honor the life and work of WCHS trustee Sy Schulman, who died in 2012. Schulman had a significant role in shaping Westchester County as we know it today in his role as the county’s chief planner and planning commissioner in the 1960s. Throughout his life he championed the cause of preserving and promoting the history of the county. During Susan’s tenure as President of the Board of Trustees of WCHS, 2003-2007, Sy served as a trustee and shared his knowledge and expertise with her.

March Will Always Have a Special Place in Our Hearts

The month of March will always have a special place in our hearts. We celebrated the first anniversary of the Town of Greenburgh closing title to Odell House on March 4. When it happened last year, we were so excited for the work ahead and then everything shut down in New York with Covid-19’s arrival on March 12.
One year later, after countless hours on zoom meetings and email exchanges, we are starting to see the days of isolation end and can now celebrate another important milestone: the shoring of the house.

On March 15, the shoring process started at Odell House. The work will create an interior framing structure to protect and support the building during the full restoration. During the process to write the full RFP for this work, some good news came to light. The stone section, built in 1855, has a solid foundation. As part of the shoring, the firm awarded the contract, Abbott & Price, will remove the floorboards, put a moisture barrier over the dirt underfloor, replace the support beams with new beams and then install a temporary plywood floor. That means that this section of Odell may be useable sooner than expected! Our next newsletter will give you a full update. During all of this process, Garrett Duquesne and the Greenburgh Town Board have shown their constant support for the Restoration of Odell and we give them our heartfelt thanks!!

To allow the shoring crew to start their work inside the house, our board members and a few dear volunteers helped remove the contents from the basement and the first floor. Among the items removed there were furniture, books, china, glass, fabrics and framed objects. Thanks to the joint efforts of the Department of Public Works under the direction of Mike Broder and the Friends’ volunteers, these items are now safely kept in a storage facility being paid for by the Friends. The Friends will begin to catalog and photograph everything in April. This will be a long term project and we will need trained volunteers to help. All these artifacts will stay in storage and wait for their special spot in the museum. Our special thank you to Andrew Bordwin and Fred Charles for documenting this important step; Marc Cheshire, Thomas Hay, Adam Hutter, Vaneska Pasqua, Sandy Morrissey, David Seal, Susan Seal and Susan Werbe for sorting, packing and moving the contents and their crates.

Edna, the great-granddaughter of Colonel John Odell, was born in Odell House in 1874. She followed her family’s path of service to her country and went to France during WWI as an American Red Cross nurse. Her life tells the story of women in the late 19th and early 20th century seeking their independence and a fulfilling life.

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Water Trails of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route in the Hudson River Valley in 1781-1782.

Dr. Robert Selig has written another excellent report about the events along the Washington Rochambeau Revolutionary Route. Sponsored by the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area in cooperation with W3R, it explains the pivotal role the Hudson River played as a corridor of transportation for troops and materials during the American Revolutionary War. The historical research closely examines strategies and initiatives developed during the Revolution, including

• the anticipation of an allied siege of New York City,

• the crossing of the Hudson in August, 1781by over 6,000 Franco-American troops from Peekskill/King’s Ferry to Stony Point as a key part of the march to Yorktown, (after they left Greenburgh)

• the celebratory encampment of the allied armies in Peekskill following the second crossing of the Hudson River upon the return of the comte de Rochambeau’s forces from Virginia in September 1782, and

• the failed waterborne attempt by Continental Army forces sailing down the Hudson from Teller’s Point to surprise Loyalists at Fort Independence. 

The Fort Independence excursion will be utilized for future inclusion in the Boater’s Guide to the Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail Water Routes.

The report compiles an inventory of current-day historical, cultural, and natural sites and resources in the Hudson River Valley that were significant in the Revolution in 1781 and 1782. 

To read the report, click here.

Edna Odell, Heroic Hartsdale Nurse

We are excited and proud to announce the publication of our first primary research article, Edna Odell, A Story of Perseverance. The article is based on just a small portion of the many letters, photographs and artifacts that were moved into the Westchester County Historical Society Archive last October. Over the winter, the authors spent time deciphering the letters, coordinating them with photographs and researching the story of nursing in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Edna was the great granddaughter of Colonial John Odell and was born in Odell House in 1874. As you will learn, she followed the path of her family’s service to country and went to France during WWI as an American Red Cross nurse. But, her story is more than that. It is the story of women in the late 19th century, seeking their independence and a fulfilling life.

In honor of March, National Women’s History Month, here is Edna’s story.

A preview of things to come in 2021!

While we work to build a physical museum, we are creating virtual exhibits to share. The objects we’ve found lead us to tell their stories and we’ve chosen these two for 2021:  The French American Encampment in 1781 and Edna Odell in World War I.

Several months ago, an amateur archeologist, John DiMaio of Valhalla, reached out to us to volunteer to search the areas of the 1781 French Encampment with his state of the art metal detector. He will be studying the Odell House site soon, but he has already given us a collection of French musket balls, uniform buckles and game pieces he found at Sunningdale Golf Course where the French artillery was camped. If you live in the area of the Encampment and would like him to search your property, let us know. He leaves the property in perfect condition and anything found is owned by the residents. We’d love to have more to display in the museum. So please let us know if you’d be willing to have him come for a treasure hunt! Your treasure could be part of the 1781 virtual exhibit.

Edna Odell, the great-granddaughter of Col. John Odell, was born in 1874. When we were able to go through the storage containers last month, we found the American Red Cross WWI Nursing uniform she wore in France rolled in a ball and in a sorry, dirty condition. To the rescue came Richard Bayliss of Nu-Way Cleaners in White Plains, NY. He carefully hand cleaned it and it will be the centerpiece of this exhibit. Thank you, Richard and thank you to everyone at Nu-Way! 

We wish all of our friends a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Approved Shoring Plan and More!

Great news! The Town has received approval of the shoring plan from NY State! The Request For Proposal will go out on Monday, 11/23/2020, to qualified construction firms to do the work. This RFP must be open for 3 weeks. Once the Town receives the bids, they will be reviewed by the Planning Department, a choice of firm will be made and then the Town Board will pass a resolution authorizing the work to begin. Weather permitting, the work could begin either at the end of December or the beginning of January!

At the same time as the shoring work RFP is issued, there will also be another RFP to hire the architect to design the full restoration of the house. The architectural firm chosen will work with museum consultants to create not only the physical, structural work to be completed but also to consider how each room will be used to exhibit and teach the wonderful history of this house!

Progress continues as the Friends work with the Town to raise money for the restoration of Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters. Our membership and donor numbers are growing as is interest in our project from throughout Westchester and the United States. As a prime location on the Washington Rochambeau Revolutionary Route, we are participating in the national, state and county plans to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War. As events are held, they are posted on our Facebook page and here on the website. We can’t wait to hold our first event in 2021!

Meanwhile, the Friends are preparing the house for the beginning of the physical work. With the agreement of the SAR, we moved 16 cartons of documents and numerous framed photographs from the storage containers on the property to safe keeping in the archives of the Westchester County Historical Society. This is a modern, climate controlled archive, protected from fire and other damage. We are very grateful to Susanne Pandich, director of WCHS and Pat Raftery, librarian, for allowing the collection to be there. Marc Cheshire of the Scarsdale Historical Society participated in the move and SHS paid for the new archival boxes to house the collection. Board members Susan and David Seal, Dan Weinfeld and Chris Rubeo have begun to sort the letters, legal documents and photos and to scan the most important ones. And Chris, who lives in California, while visiting in Hawthorne, scanned 1100 slides found in the container. These images are vintage photos of farm life in Westchester, the Odell family from the mid 19th century up to the end of the 20th and more. Thank you, Chris!

Last week, a crew from the Greenburgh Parks Department removed a series of models of Odell farm outbuildings to safe keeping. These are wooden models, made to scale of the cattle barn, hay barn, stable and more made by Roland Odell in the 1970’s and 80’s. We will be able to display them during events at the house and at Hartsbrook Park and use them to explain what it looked like before all the houses around it were built.

During the next few weeks, one of the old storage containers will be removed from the property. In its place will go a new container, funded by the Friends with the help of a generous grant from a small, local, family foundation. The contents of the house will be inventoried and photographed as they are moved from the house into the new container. They will be safely housed there while restoration work moves forward. This full, carefully created inventory of the furniture, the artifacts and the documents will be a key element for the planning of the Museum. The rich history of the house will be told in our new Museum with exhibits created from this wonderful treasure trove! 

There is more progress to come soon! If you haven't joined us yet, please come on board!