Ardsley Historical Society Presents- Historical Marker Event
The Ardsley Historical Society partnered with the Ardsley Department of Public Works to install a historical marker at the site of the old Ardsley Train Station. The Village of Ardsley is planning a commemoration ceremony on April 30th at 10 AM. The marker is located off Elm Street at the entrance to the South County Trailway right across from the DPW storage shed (about half-way in between The House of Sports and the Giampiccolo Auto Body shop). The rain date for the event is May 7th at 10 AM.
The Ardsley Historical Society secured a Historic Marker Grant from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation to fund the installation of this historic marker. One of the William G. Pomeroy Foundation’s core initiatives is to help people celebrate their community’s history. The New York State Historic Marker Grant Program commemorates historic people, places, things or events within the time frame of 1740-1921. Since 2006, the Foundation has funded more than 700 markers in 58 New York State counties. To apply for this program, the Ardsley Historical Society was required to provide multiple primary source documentation such as photos, newspaper articles, train schedules to verify the historical accuracy of the site in question.
This information is possible do to the hard work and dedication of the Ardsley Historical Society. 140 years ago the area that is now known as the Village of Ardsley looked very different from how it looks today. Back then it was known as the hamlet of Ashford and it was predominantly farmland. The population in 1800 was less than 400 people while the 2020 census is above 5,000.
The most significant event that helped transform the Village of Ardsley from a farming community to a residential community was the arrival of passenger railroad service in December, 1880. Now people could live in Ardsley and commute to their jobs in New York City. The first train station was known as Ashford. In 1883 the station name was changed to Ardsley after Cyrus Field (of transatlantic cable fame) helped the residents obtain their own post office in exchange for renaming the hamlet Ardsley, Field’s ancestral town in England. Originally the train line was part of the New York City and Northern Railroad. In 1894 it was absorbed by the Putnam Division of the New York Central Railroad and was thereafter affectionately known as “the Put.” Passenger service on the Put ended with the last passenger train on May 29, 1958 although freight service continued until 1982.
The Ardsley train station was originally located immediately west of the entrance to the South County Trailway on Elm Street. The trailway, of course, is the old railbed of the Put. On November 7, 1949 the station was relocated northward to the east side of the tracks to make way for the Ashford Avenue Bridge piers and the Saw Mill River Parkway ramp. The station was later demolished with the completion of construction of the NY State Thruway.