Village Historian: Women's History Month in Tarrytown

Thank you to Sara Mascia, Village Historian and Executive Director of the Sleepy Hollow Tarrytown Historical Society, for submitting this reflection for Women's History Month.

There are so many women who have been a vital part of the history of Tarrytown and the surrounding community.  When looking through local history books and the files at the Historical Society, two stories truly represent the community minded nature of our past residents.  Although many of their names have been lost to time, their deeds still reverberate in the Village today.

Tarrytown did not have a hospital to care for the ill and injured in the community prior to 1889.  That year, a group of concerned women called for a meeting where they established the Provident Association of Tarrytown to address the problem.  The Association rented a small room in the Martin Smith House, an inn located on the northwest corner of Main Street and Broadway.  A total of 39 patients were cared for over the course of almost a year before the group disbanded due to lack of funds and the need for a proper facility.   In 1892, the same women redoubled their efforts and reorganized as the Tarrytown Hospital Association.  This revitalized Association was able to raise $4,000 to purchase a small house on Wood Court in Tarrytown for a new hospital. The Tarrytown Hospital had 11 beds and the Association was able to hire Dr. Richard Coutant as chief of staff and Miss Catharine Halliday as matron.  When it opened the hospital served an average of three patients a day!  As the population in the Village grew, the hospital eventually needed a new and larger home.  After serving the community until 1956, the facility closed when the Tarrytown and Ossining Hospitals combined to form Phelps Memorial Hospital.

Another group of energetic women formed the Women’s Civic League in Tarrytown.  This group of women saw other needs in the community.  They wanted to create a place that could provide a “helping hand” and a safe space for the needy and the elderly.  In 1912 they purchased a small building and opened the Neighborhood House.  In 1920 Mrs. Cornelia Warner gave the Women’s Civic League a larger building at 43 Wildey Street and the Neighborhood House moved there that year.  In the 1960s a new brick building, the current home of the Neighborhood House, was constructed.  Over the years, the Neighborhood house has provided programs for seniors, occupational training activities, and at one time a home for the Volunteer Ambulance Corps, the Red Cross, the USO, and the County Health Department.  

This month we honor the women who brought the first hospital to the community and established the Neighborhood House.  These individuals saw specific needs in the Village and banded together to volunteer their time and effort toward making a better community.