The Defenders of Dobbs Ferry’s History: The Mead House
By: Riley Wentzler & Felicia Barber
Introduction:
On July 24th 2021, we wrote an article on the historic Draper Observatory Cottage, the former observatory of the famous astronomer, Henry Draper, who took the clearest photos of the moon and current home to the Hastings Historical Society. We now turn our attention once more to Greenburgh’s Village of Dobbs Ferry, the burial ground for most of Greenburgh’s fallen heroes who fought for The Union during the Civil War. Given the importance of this village in our nation’s history, it is only fair to examine the building in which Dobbs Ferry’s Historical Society resides, The Mead House.
The Mead House:
The Mead House located at 12 Elm Street Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522, is home to The Dobbs Ferry Historical Society. The house was built c.1855 (Personal communication from Madeline Byrne-President of The Dobbs Ferry Historical Society), but the earliest record of residents is when it belonged to Matthew Couzens, a surveyor and builder. He sold it to Anthony Huebner, who then sold it, in 1864, to Catherine Willsea, wife of a merchant and sailor, Captain Abram Willsea (Personal communication from Madeline Byrne-President of The Dobbs Ferry Historical Society).
The first floor includes a: parlor, living room, and dining room, all equipped with period furniture (http://dobbsferryhistory.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/meadhouseforfilm-pages1.pdf).
Inside The Mead House: parlor, (top) living room, and dining room (bottom)
From 1917 until 1991 it was the Mead Family’s private residence. Herbert Mead bequeathed it to his daughter, Clara, who donated it to the Dobbs Ferry Historical Society upon her death. Accordingly, the house contains mostly Clara Mead’s possessions (Personal communication from Madeline Byrne-President of The Dobbs Ferry Historical Society). It also has several antique typewriters and candy molds (http://dobbsferryhistory.org/wordpress/about/rent-the-mead-house//).
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the Town of Greenburgh consists of the villages of: Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Elmsford, Edgemont, Hartsdale, Hastings, Irvington, and Tarrytown. Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, Irvington, and Tarrytown each have their own historical society. Given the considerable importance of the Village of Dobbs Ferry in our nation’s history, we decided to examine the building in which Dobbs Ferry’s Historical Society resides, The Mead House.
Previous Slices of History include:
About the Authors:
We are both Town Historians at Greenburgh Town Hall and we are engaged to be married and are currently looking for permanent employment.
Riley Wentzler:
I was born and raised in a small rural town in central Pennsylvania. In high school, I took every honors course available including four years of Spanish. I received A’s in all of them. I graduated third in my class of 146 students. This brought me to Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Once there, I continued my trend of academic excellence. I graduated summa cum laude in Political Science with a minor in Spanish and a Master’s in Communication Studies, with a G.P.A of 3.94. It was also there that I met my lovely fiancée, Felicia Barber. My Master’s in Communication has promoted public speaking, teamwork, and customer service. My Political Science degree has developed my research skills using computer-based tools and provided me with experience using the Microsoft Office products. My minor in Spanish has facilitated my bilingual capabilities. During my internship at Greenburgh, I created the petition for the State Roads project using website tools. My diverse education and areas of interest have provided me with a wide range of skills. I look forward to finding a career opportunity in business or government. To suggest a topic for next week’s article, you can contact me at historian@greenburghny.com, or to help me find employment, you can contact me at rjwentzler413@gmail.com.
Felicia Barber:
I was born in New York City and raised in Hartsdale, New York. I graduated from Ardsley High School. I recently earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. It was here that I met my fiancé, Riley Wentzler. As a result of my academic excellence, I won a scholarship every year. I learned and applied many graphic design skills to projects during my summer internships and at school. I am proficient in using Adobe graphic design applications including Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. For my Identity/branding course at Edinboro, I created logos to appear on the tee-shirts of Physical Education majors. For a veteran’s upcoming event, I used a typeface to focus the reader to the soldier in the poster. For the State Roads Legislative Campaign project, I created the embedded graphic-photo that accompanied the petition I am looking for a job to utilize my skills as a Graphic Designer in an agency, print shop, company or government To suggest a topic for next week’s article, you can contact me at historian@greenburghny.com. To learn more about my artwork or to help me find employment you can contact me at feliciadbarber@gmail.com.
Two Interviews with the authors:
https://riverjournalonline.com/around-town/a-love-of-history-and-each-other/13708/
https://wcbs880.radio.com/articles/news/stories-main-street-couple-cerebral-palsy-brings-manytalents-town-greenburgh
References:
Dobbs Ferry Historical Society. (2010, (NOT GIVEN) (NOT GIVEN)). Mead House. Dobbs Ferry, New York, United States of America.
Dobbs Ferry Historical Society. ((NOT GIVEN), (NOT GIVEN) (NOT GIVEN)). Use Our Place for Your Party! Retrieved from Dobbs Ferry History.org: http://dobbsferryhistory.org/wordpress/about/rent-the-mead-house/