Twentieth Century

By: Doris Finch Watson
Town of North Castle Historian

In early 1900 North Castle became a bustling place as it welcomed gentlemen from New York City who wanted to create their "country estates".  This location meant they could commute by car or train to their businesses in the City, and great estates such as Wenga Farm, Red Brooke Farm and North Castle Farm were developed.  Local people found employment on these estates.  Farm products were shipped to New York City.  Roads were improved and new homes and schools sprang up.

More change was on the way.  The little thriving village of Kensico stood in the way of the great Kensico Reservoir which was needed for water for New York City.  The entire village was destroyed.  Some residents moved away or to Quarry Heights, Valhalla or North White Plains.  Many European immigrant stonemasons worked on the dam (1909-1917) and lived in a campsite near Clove Road in North White Plains.

The 1900s brought World War I and then World War II, with local men and women going off to foreign lands.  In between the two wars came the days of the "Roaring Twenties" and in the 1930s Armonk had a reputation for its many "Gin Mills".  In the 1940s and 1950s new homes sprang up across North Castle.

By 1946 the United Nations Organization was seeking land, and a large area comprised of portions of North Castle, Bedford and northern Greenwich and Stamford was chosen as an ideal site.  Officials and residents in all four communities gathered in protest to the establishment of the United Nations facility and the objections were constant headline news.  Finally the outcry was so enormous that the UNO gave up and accepted a location in New York City.

Today, as in the past, North Castle residents participate in town affairs and volunteer their time to help maintain the best aspects of our community.  Primary concerns are preservation of historic buildings, saving open space, protecting groundwater and controlling development.  Citizen participation has had a major impact on the character of the community and will continue to make North Castle an exceptional town to live in.