Sherwood House Museum Map & Building Histories
The above map is part of a larger historic atlas page, dated 1889. It is part of our collection. If you focus on the central blue area you will notice it is listed as belonging to Frederick Weed. As a retired businessman, he purchased the farmland from Joshua Huestis in 1834. The Weed-Hicks family would go on to own the land for nearly 90 years, longer than any other owner. At the time this map was created, there were a total of 7 buildings shown on the property. They are listed below.
At the top of the map you can see what is now the Cottage Gift Shop at Sherwood House Museum, directly under the address of 340 Tuckahoe Road. It is estimated the Weed family built this cottage around 1850. It become home to Isabella Weed and her husband, Henry Hicks. Since then, it has been the home of several individuals residing on the property. When the property was converted into a museum, it became popularly known as the Caretaker's House. It has also been referred to as the Weed Cottage. More recently, it is home to the museum's gift shop. Within you will also find galleries, more exhibits, an unfinished kitchen, and a unisex restroom. A well that was added in front of it remains today housed in a small wooden structure.
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Beneath the cottage on the map is the main house of Sherwood House Museum. Built by Thomas Sherwood in 1740, it is currently the second oldest house in Yonkers. When Dr. John I. Ingersoll purchased the property in 1801, he added an addition that made this the very first doctor's office in Yonkers. During the mid-1940s, the Magnaldi family, who were the owners at that time, used the house as a restaurant called the Royal Farms International House. Their Italian cuisine made this the very first Italian restaurant in Yonkers. The house opened as a museum on July 15, 1962. In all the years of its existence, the house has consistently been occupied. It never had the misfortune of being abandoned and neglected. Today it continues to serve as a museum operated by the Yonkers Historical Society.
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Below is a floor plan of the main house from the time when the museum first opened in 1962.
Next on the map, below the main house are two wooden structures on opposite sides of each other along the dirt road. Each is marked by squares with Xs, indicating they are wooden buildings. Those were the barns. It is possible the one to the left might have been used as a hen house. It still existed up until the property was being converted into a museum at around 1959. For some reason, this barn was demolished. Only the barn to the right remains today. Once used as a garage, it is currently used for storage by the Yonkers Historical Society, although it has been used to host events on occasion.
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The remaining barn as it used to look and how it looks today.
Further south along the dirt road was another rectangular building on the west side of the map. It is unknown when this structure was built and when it was demolished. We also do not know what purpose it served for the farm. For decades its foundation lay forgotten, until recently. Sadly, not much remains of this mysterious structure. These days, the foundation is largely covered in dense brush making it difficult to see. This area is private property owned by the Consolidated Edison Company (Con Ed).
Across from the previous structure were what appears to be two adjoining structures based on the map. There was a small square-shaped building attached to a much larger wooden structure, which most likely served as another barn. This one was probably used for horses or livestock due to its size. Note that the combined size of these two structures was much larger than the main house. Today, you can only find a stone wall hidden behind the trees along the entrance ramp to the Sprain Parkway heading south. This wall might have been a foundation for one of these two long forgotten buildings.
Above is the map showing the structures, again, for reference. Below is the current property line with the existing buildings. The dimensions of the property and each building has also been included.
