250 Years Ago (August 1875)

Gen. George Washington wrote to the New York Legislature expressing concern about New York vessels providing the British with provisions at Boston harbor, especially since the redcoats were expected to move next to New York City. "It must give great concern to any considerate mind … that there are men among us so basely sordid as to counteract all our exertions for the sake of a little gain."

Patriots in New York City plan to remove 21 cannon from the battery at the foot of Manhattan under fire of the British man-of-war, HMS Asia, from the harbor. The New York Provincial Congress resolves that the guns be dismantled and taken to a secure location. Capt. John Lamb and 60 men begins the work while Capt. George Vandeput sends a barge of men to investigate. After a brief firefight, some residents nearby flee across the Hudson River to New Jersey.

In Albany the Northern Indian Department meets with the Iroquois, in which the Native Americans agree to remain neutral.

Patriots in New York City, organized into units, attack a force of loyalists and British troops.

The New York Provincial Congress contracts with Joseph Hallett to import 15 tons of gunpowder and 1,400 muskets.

150 Years Ago (August 1875)

The Cold Spring Recorder noted that, soon after Mr. O'Brian's dog was shot dead at the foot of Fair Street, a dog belonging to Mr. Groundwater was stabbed in the neck on Furnace Street and dogs owned by J.E. Dore and James Balley were poisoned. A pig on Kemble Avenue also died, probably after eating poison set out for dogs and cats.

A dozen "well-fed aboriginees" camped overnight in the grove north of Secor Street in Nelsonville, according to The Recorder. When a performance scheduled for the next day was postponed due to rain, the Native Americans earned pennies (the equivalent of quarters today) by shooting them off posts with arrows.

Three merchants installed hand pumps and hoses to bring water to their elevated Main Street buildings.

A group of older West Point cadets who attacked a plebe at his guard post as what they said was a prank were surprised when he clubbed two over the head with his musket and stabbed another in the thigh with his bayonet.

All labor was suspended for a day at West Point so guns could be fired at intervals to honor former President Andrew Johnson, who died July 31.

A "nightwalker" was arrested late on a Tuesday and jailed but released in the morning without charges. The Recorder praised the action, saying that "if no one is allowed to prowl around after midnight, we shall surely have no burglaries."

The Recorder noted that a dog carcass had been lying on Main Street at Kemble Avenue for a week, perhaps because the village ordinance did not specify who should remove it.

A street vendor selling peaches was stopped by the constable and asked for his license. Although he carried a peddling permit from Peekskill, he pleaded ignorance of the Cold Spring law. The officer escorted him to the village limits.

He Said, She Said

After an accusation in August 1875 by Constable Travis, prosecutors charged Robert Cronk and his wife, Elizabeth, with keeping a "disorderly house" and a "resort of thieves" at their home near Cold Spring known as The Willows.

Justice William Clark heard testimony. Constable Travis said that he knew The Willows "to be a home of bad repute. I know Eliza McClean [a boarder] has a bad character, and Mary Ida [a daughter] is bad, too."

A.R. Newcomb told the judge that he had visited The Willows and seen "a good many names, obscene pictures, half-nude women and various names written and drawn on the walls." He added: "The general reputation among officers" is that it was "a house of prostitution and for thieves."

Elizabeth Cronk said the names and drawings were on the walls when they moved in two years earlier. She said there was "never any noise or disturbance" and that she "never kept anything but water to drink." Her father backed her up, saying the house was alway...