Exploring an era when Riverdale was on a war footing

Taking in the view from the Henry Hudson Bridge as the sun set over the Palisades on the evening of June 5, the verdant prospect of Inwood Hill to the south and the high bluffs of Spuyten Duyvil to the north could not have been more peaceful.

But Peter Ostrander, president of the Kingsbridge Historical Society (KHS) — with the help of two other society officers, Nick Dembowski and Tom Casey — explained to a group of about 30 that it was not always thus. 

The fate of a fledgling nation hung in the balance in 1776 after a series of disastrous setbacks for the Continental Army. British forces were rapidly driving the Americans from Manhattan and both sides turned the area around Spuyten Duyvil Creek into a battleground dotted with fortifications.

With society leaders pointing out the sites of long-vanished forts, the group was able to envision the tense scene as it hiked back and forth across the bridge. 

Mike Gabert and Macelo Aguayo, two participants who had been involved in previous KHS events, were both lured by the opportunity to learn about the forts. Neither had realized the sites were there.

“When people think of George Washington, they think of Valley Forge, not New York,” said Mr. Ostrander, who has long been fascinated by the American Revolution. “The Bronx is often ignored by history enthusiasts.”

Although KHS designed the walk to educate and excite the community about local history, Mr. Ostrander said he also organized the event with a more leisurely motive.

“Most people haven’t walked the Henry Hudson Bridge at night,” explained Mr. Ostrander, who was thankful such an enthusiastic group showed up in the middle of the week. KHS events are often on weekends. 

“Knowing that the sun set later in the spring, I thought it would be a nice evening walk,” he said.  

The Forts: 

Mr. Ostrander explained that “Kingsbridge” denoted a much larger region than what we know today. Its historical boundaries included much of modern-day Riverdale and parts of Inwood.  

In 1776, American militia members established a series of forts across Spuyten Duyvil Hill and the rest of Kingsbridge to protect the King’s Bridge, which was the only land route from Manhattan to the mainland for many decades.  The English built another fort (Fort 8) after taking control of the city from American forces later that year. 

The Henry Hudson Monument, within Henry Hudson Park, marks the approximate location of Fort 1. Two more forts existed in Spuyten Duyvil between Henry Hudson’s Monument and Ewen Park, and another series of forts extended south starting from Fort Independence Playground (named after a Revolutionary War fort) down to University Heights at Bronx Community College. 

Although the landscape has obviously been altered since the Revolutionary War, Ostrander pointed out how the forts were positioned to most effectively monitor and control Spuyten Duyvil Creek and the King’s Bridge. The forts were small — each only about 500 square feet with walls about 10 or 12 feet tall — but each was placed on top of a hill giving those inside the fort a good view of the surrounding land and bridge. 

At the fort site on Inwood Hill Park’s Cox Hill, where the group stopped after crossing the Henry Hudson Bridge, the surrounding trees were cut down to ensure a clear line of sight to the bridge for sentries. 

During the American Revolution, patriot forces originally controlled the forts, but the structures were captured early in the war by British forces including Hessian mercenary units.  They held the forts until just before the end of the war, when the three forts in Spuyten Duyvil were returned to American hands.

Henry Hudson Park: 

After discussing the history of the Kingsbridge forts, the three historical society officers gave a brief history of the Henry Hudson Monument.  

The structure was erected to commemorate the anniversary of Henry Hudson’s landing in New York.  However, budget shortages led to delays until Robert Moses finished it in the late 1930’s by commissioning the statue, sculpted by Karl Bitter and Karl Gruppe, and adding it to the existing column. The hill is about 200 feet above sea level and the column is another 100 feet, to commemorate the 300th anniversary, which would have taken place in 1909.

“Kids pitched in pennies to pay for the column,” said Mr. Casey, secretary of the KHS, while discussing the budget shortages.  “There was a lot of fund-raising.” 

Moses completed the project after finishing construction of the Henry Hudson Bridge and Parkway, partially as a way to help the community accept their new bridge and highway.

Across the street near the baseball fields of Henry Hudson Park was once the site of the Berrian house (also known as the Berrien–Johnson house), for many years the oldest structure in Spuyten Duyvil. Built prior to the American Revolution, the landmark was demolished in March of 1952 in order to extend Henry Hudson Park.

Inwood Hill Park: 

After leaving Cox Hill, the group repaired to a spot closer to the water, where it had a clear view of the Broadway Bridge and the Spuyten Duyvil train station. The discussion became centered on a 19th-century foundry that used to exist on what is now water just south of the Columbia University “C.”  At the time, the foundry was located on a peninsula on the Bronx side of Spuyten Duyvil Creek.

The Johnson foundry, named after the family that founded it, provided work for many local residents, and produced munitions during the American Civil War, the Spanish-American War and World War I.  The foundry produced so much ammunition and weaponry that a Civil War ironclad war vessel, the U.S.S. Stromboli, was renamed the U.S.S. Spuyten Duyvil to honor the neighborhood’s contribution to the war effort.  

The foundry continued to produce various metal goods until the 1923, when the New York State Legislature’s decision to deepen the waterway for ship traffic forced it to close. 

For maps identifying the location of these forts and the King’s Bridge, other historical images, and information on the next Kingsbridge Historical Society event, visit www.kingsbridgehistoricalsociety.org/