BRONX SCENE
West Farms, west of the Village of Westchester, established in 1664
Last week I wrote about the
history of West Farms. Continuing
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, M BT AY 22-28, 2015 57
with that topic, the Town of
West Farms was created out of
the Town of Westchester on May
13, 1846. Later the Town of Morrisania
would be carved out of
West Farms reducing the size of
the latter. The area which came
to be known as the Bronx was
being discovered and developed
and by 1874, that area of
our borough west of the Bronx
River was annexed to New York
City from Westchester County.
The early social center of
West Farms was Wray’s Hall
located at the northeast corner
of Boston Road and East Tremont
Avenue facing what became
known as West Farms Square.
It was the fi rst building in the
Bronx to be illuminated by gas
lamps. According to Bronx
historian William Tarbox, the
telephone was demonstrated at
Wray’s Hall in 1877. William’s
uncle, Charles Tarbox, had one
installed in his home at 1887
Washington Avenue that same
year becoming the fi rst Bronxite
to have such a device.
Twelve years later, in 1889,
a group of Catholics met at
Wray’s Hall to discuss organizing
St. Thomas Aquinas
Church. The church was established
the following year but in
the interim masses were held
in the hall. Among the priests
associated with the mission at
Wray’s Hall were Fathers Nolan,
Brady and McMahon. I
was looking at an old map from
1912 and the building was still
listed as a church although the
denomination was not noted
and there was a footnote indicating
that it was vacant at
that time.
The West Farms Presbyterian
Church also held their
fi rst meeting at Wray’s Hall but
much earlier. Stephen Hunt organized
the group in 1814 and
services were led by Reverend
Isaac Lewis, a missionary from
New Rochelle. The new church
was then established on 180th
Street west of Boston Road.
Beck’s Memorial Church
was built across the street at a
later date. Wray’s Hall as well
as many other old landmark
buildings, by the way, is long
gone.
The history of West Farms
would be severely lacking if
the West Farms Soldier’s Cemetery
was not mentioned. The
land for the cemetery was purchased
by John Butler in l813
and he hired Alfred Petit to lay
out the plots. It opened in 1814
and the fi rst burial was the following
year. I have a copy of
the Quitclaim deed which indicates
that the property was
turned over to the City of New
York by Florence T. Crooker,
Frank R. Butler and Roy E.
West Farms, like the rest of the borough, is continuously evolving. This
scene of Boston Road at West Farms dates from 1898 and shows a thriving
village even at that early date.
Butler on April 1, 1954 for one
dollar. The cemetery suffered
quite a bit of damage over the
years through both neglect and
vandalism but has since been
rehabilitated. I recall wandering
through it as a youngster
but now it is fenced in and well
cared for. It was declared a
landmark on August 2, 1967.
West Farms was also the
site of the Stardust Ballroom
and the very popular Starlight
Park which was located on the
east side of the Bronx River.
The latter was opened in 1916
and attracted thousands of
people to the area. Youngsters
took to diving into the Bronx
River to retrieve coins tossed
in by some of those visiting
Starlight Park. The park went
out of business in 1940 and
marked the end of an er
REPRINTED FROM 8-12-2010