Revolutionary Times

As in all parts of the colonies in pre-revolutionary days, Harrison had its share of Loyalists and Patriots, and although the rural areas were not as much affected as the towns by the tax imposed by England, they did suffer embargoes on scarce goods as the war progressed. So in 1775, when the Continental Congress called for four regiments from New York, one company was raised from Harrison and two from Rye, as part of the Second Battalion of Westchester County, performing excellent service in the war.

Harrison also had its share of battles.

There is a little-known story of a two-day skirmish that took place between the Colonists and the Redcoats at the Horton Grist Mill, off Lake Street. It is recounted in a diary kept by a Colonial soldier, one Isaac Bates. The diary is stored in the Shaker Museum in North Chatham, New York and related to the engagement that took place when British soldiers attempted to raid George Washington's supplies stored in the Mill. Bates was a fifer in charge of ammunition and attached to the Flying Corps, and tells that during the battle, Mr. Horton, owner of the Mill, was felled by a cannon shot, but Mrs. Horton continued to fire cannon shots until her husband recovered sufficiently to help man the gun.

The hills and dales of historic West Harrison were covered with hiding places suitable for the storage of ammunition which Colonial soldiers ferried by boat up the Hudson River to Tarrytown and across the county by ox cart. People have found buttons, bullets and cannonballs on these sites. Some evidence of the Mill foundations may still be seen at the south end of St. Mary's Lake where Lake Street crosses over the White Plains City Line.

It was during October 1776 that one of the final engagements of the Battle of White Plains took place on Merritt's Hill bordering on Lake Street in West Harrison, re-enacted for many years by the Battle of White Plains Monument Committee, when charges and counter-charges are made between Colonial and British troops, authentically costumed and armed for combat. The blast of cannon, popping of muskets and acrid odor are often part of the scene.

Directly across Lake Street from the encounter is the site of the Field Tavern, an important stop for stagecoaches traveling between New York and Connecticut. Today, one can still follow the old stagecoach route from White Plains, through Harrison, Armonk, Bedford Village and eventually to Danbury Connecticut.

On Old Lake Street in West Harrison, there is a milestone which marked this old stagecoach route. At the base is a bronze marker which reads "Preserved by Benjamin I. Taylor, Supervisor, Town of Harrison, July 4th 1926." Unfortunately the marker is in a state of deterioration and should be covered and enclosed. There are only a few known such markers in the Country.