Sandy's Written Creations
Writings by Sandra Harrison including poetry, essays, fiction, non-fiction; children's literatire.
Books on Bronx River and “The Hills” of West Harrison
History Books recently published that might be of interest to those drawn to this website are The Bronx River in History & Folklore by Stephen Paul Deville and The Freedom Journey by Edythe Ann Quinn.
The following two excerpts are from the back of the book The Bronx River in History & Folklore and Amazon.com:
The Bronx River flows for twenty-three miles through Westchester County and the heart of the Bronx. It is New York City’s only freshwater river, and it is exceptionally rich in history, folklore and environmental wonder. From Revolutionary War battlefields to native forests and lost villages, its lore and remarkable history are peopled with an array of legendary characters like Aaron Burr and the redoubtable Aunt Sarah Titus. Today, the once-polluted river is revitalized by decades of citizen activism, and it once again plays a unique role in the diverse communities along its length. Stephen DeVillo traces the river’s long and colorful story from the glaciers to the present day, combining human history, local legends and natural history into a detailed portrait of a special part of New York.
Stephen Paul DeVillo is the former development coordinator at the Bronx River Alliance, where he contributed a series of Bronx River stories for their newsletter. He develops walking tours for the Alliance’s Bronx River Rambles that explore the river’s history and environment, and has given historical walking tours for other organizations, including the Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct and NYC H2O. He is a longtime member of the Bronx County Historical Society and the East Bronx History Forum.
The following information comes from the White Plains Library website about Edythe Ann Quinn” and her book:
Through wonderfully detailed letters, recruit rosters, and pension records, Quinn tells the story of thirty-five African American Civil War soldiers and the United States Colored Troop (USCT) regiments with which they served. The men all came from The Hills, an African American community near present-day Silver Lake. Their ties to family, land, church, school, and occupational experiences at home buffered the brutal indifference of boredom and battle, the ravages of illness, the deprivations of unequal pay, and the hostility of some commissioned officers and white troops. At the same time, their service among kith and kin bolstered their determination and pride.
Dr. Quinn is a Professor of History at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY. She received a Gilder-Lehrman Institute Fellowship for African-American Research and is an experienced teacher, lecturer, and researcher. She used materials from the White Plains Collections and other local libraries, historical societies, and archives in her research for Freedom Journey.
Information about the Bronx River and “The Hills” can also be found in my book White Plains, New York: A City of Contrasts and this website.
Sandy's Written Creations 