Seton Falls Park
35.771 acres
Seton Falls Park is a beautiful wetland, woodland,
and bird sanctuary. It derives its name from the prominent waterfalls
built in the park by the Seton family. In the 19th century, these
landowners were instrumental in the political and social affairs
of what was then the town of Eastchester. The best known member
of the family was Elizabeth Seton (1774-1821), the first American
to be canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. After the
death of her husband in 1803, she converted to Catholicism and moved
with her five children to Baltimore. After taking her vows, she
established the American Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg in 1809.
It was the first Roman Catholic religious order in the United States.
Another family member, Robert Seton, was the first American Catholic
priest to become a Monsignor. The surrounding area was formerly inhabited by Siwanoy
Indians, who hunted and fished. In 1654 English colonist Thomas
Pell purchased a large parcel of land from the Siwanoys. Pell invited
farmers from Fairfield County, Connecticut to settle here, and they
incorporated the area into the town of Eastchester in 1666. The
Bronx and lower Westchester were the scene for much military action
during the Revolutionary War. One battle occurred in what is now
Seton Falls Park in 1781, as the British retreated under fire by
the patriots. Ownership of the area changed after the war, because
many who were loyal to Britain lost their property. James Roosevelt, a relative of two U.S. Presidents,
was the first owner after the Revolutionary War. Nathaniel Prime,
a wealthy New York banker, later acquired the area and called his
estate "The Cedars" for the many red cedars on his land. Upon his
death, the property was transferred to Prime's daughter Emily, who
married William Seton, the eldest son of Saint Elizabeth Seton.
It was he who renamed the fifty-one-acre estate "Cragdon" and transformed
it into a working farm with two ponds. Rattlesnake Creek was dammed
inside the estate and formed a waterfall that gives its name to
the present-day park. The creek was named after the abundant rattlesnakes
that were once found in the area. The site was widely used for recreation in the early
1900s, although it was not officially a park. On June 10, 1914 the
city acquired thirty-two acres of the former Seton estate for the
Department of Health to build a hospital for contagious diseases.
Twenty-nine acres of this parcel were assigned to Parks on June
11, 1930, following fifteen years of community resistance to the
hospital plan. The remaining three acres were annexed in 1932. Additional
lands were assigned to Parks in 1983 and 1985. The eastern portion of the park was improved by 1936
with a baseball field, two outhouses, water fountain, and maintenance
shack. The western portion of the park was preserved as mature forest,
mostly undisturbed since the time of the American Revolution. In
1981 the city spent $250,000 to build a pumping station to drain
Rattlesnake Creek and solve flooding problems. In 1997 the Seton
Falls Park Preservation Coalition received a $5500 grant from the
New York City Environmental Fund for the implementation of a school-based
program for education about the restoration of the park's wetlands
and woodlands. Today local residents, along with students from neighboring
MS 142 and PS 111 can enjoy the park's natural beauty.
Wednesday, May 05, 1999