Sherwood House

Sherwood House Historic Timeline and Images
(Last Updated on August 2, 2022)

1740 - Thomas Sherwood built the farmhouse against a hill to make the best of the available farmland, along an old Native American trail, as a tenant farmer of the Philipsburgh Manor in the same year his son, Stephen, was born.

1756 - Thomas Sherwood was elected to the position of Constable and Collector of Philipsburgh, a position he maintained until 1779.

1776 - On October of this year, the old Native American trail that would someday become Tuckahoe Road was widened by order of General George Washington for the passage of the Continental Army. It is likely Thomas and Stephen Sherwood assisted with the process, since it went right past their farm and would be beneficial to them. Washington inspected the road the next day on the 17th passing by the Sherwood Farm. In addition, Thomas Sherwood served as an ensign for the New York Militia during the American Revolutionary War.

1779 - British General Sir Banastre Tarleton passed by the Sherwood farm with 300 troops on their way to raid Bedford at around midnight on July 1st during a rainstorm.

1785 - Stephen Sherwood purchased the land at an auction, after it was confiscated from Frederick Philipse III by the State of New York due to his status as a loyalist during the American Revolutionary War.

1787 - Stephen Sherwood sold the land and Jabez Fowler became the new owner of the Sherwood Farm.

1801 - Dr. John I. Ingersoll of Connecticut purchased the old Sherwood farm from Jabez Fowler and became Yonkers’ first medical doctor, attending to patients throughout all of Lower Westchester County.

1810 - A ground floor annex was added by Dr. Ingersoll to serve as his office.

1827 - Dr. Ingersoll died of delirium tremens.

1828 - Abraham Lynt became the next owner of the house.

1829 – The piano in the parlor was built in Philadelphia at around this year.

1831 - Joshua Huestio was next to take over ownership of the property.

1834 - Frederick Weed, a retired businessman, purchased the farm and it would remain with his family for 89 years, which is longer than any other owner.

1841 - Frederick Weed died and the house passed on to his son, Isaac.

1850 - Isaac Weed added a second floor to the south annex originally built by Dr. Ingersoll. The former caretaker’s cottage, now known as the Weed Cottage, and the red barn were both built around this time. It is possible the stone wall might have been added, as well.

1857 - Isaac Weed died at an early age.

1858 - According to a painting, by this time, there were two barns south of the main house and the well shed already existed over the well. There was also an additional shed near the entrance at Tuckahoe Road.

1863 - Isaac's daughter, Isabelle, married Henry R. Hicks and they moved into the cottage.

1880 - Henry Hicks expanded the south wing annex of the house by another room on both the ground floor and the first floor. The property was popularly known by locals as the Red Barn Farm.

1901 - Angeline Weed died.

1902 - Henry and Isabelle move into the main house and Hicks makes improvements, which include adding electricity and a lean-to at the rear of the house containing a bathroom.

1923 - Henry and Isabelle’s granddaughter, Elsa Hicks Kroeber, sold the house to a realty company, after their deaths. Sherwood House became the Royal Farms Tavern, and sometime later as the Royal Farms Inn.

1940 - Pietro Magnaldi and his wife bought the property and converted it into the first Italian restaurant in Yonkers named the Royal Farms Restaurant International House.

1954 - The Consolidated Edison Company of New York acquired the property from the Magnaldi family and the restaurant was closed.

1955 - The Yonkers Historical Society was allowed to lease the property from Con Ed with the agreement that they would restore it to its original condition and reopen it as a museum. The Magnaldis moved into the cottage and became its caretakers.

1957 – By this time, the outdoor staircase leading up to the porch has been removed.

1958 – The lean-to at the rear was removed this year.

1959 – Many restorations are done during the Spring of this year. The front vestibule and additional barn on the hill are demolished by this time. The exterior of the main house is repainted in some areas, mainly the white portions. The front door is painted completely white. Some of the interior is painted, as well. The red barn’s garage doors are replaced with barn doors. A thin dead tree that had been utilized as a flagpole was removed and replaced by a tall white flagpole near the entrance of the main house. Boy scouts assist with some of this work, while also cleaning up the grounds. On June 14, a new flag is dedicated and placed onto the new pole.

1962 - On April 26, the dogwood tree was planted on the north side of the main house. The museum had its opening day ceremony on July 15 at 3 pm. Yonkers Mayor John E. Flynn has the honor of cutting the ribbon on the front door.

1963 – The barrel churn in the barn is donated from a farm in Ontario, Canada.

1964 – By this time, the wooden shed over the well has been painted white. There are still no wooden safety rails leading to the cottage, which means it was added later. The five Federated Garden Clubs of Yonkers donated the Colonial Garden. Sadly, Pietro Magnaldi also died in this year, but his wife remained as caretaker, until the early 1980s when she passed away.

1965 – The piano, which had all original parts, was donated and placed in the parlor by fall of this year. It is likely it was not in the house in 1964, otherwise it most likely would have been proudly featured in the Mrs. Alvah Leeds tour photos that appeared in a magazine.

1973 – The wire fence leading to the barn was removed and replaced with the current wooden rustic fence.

1978 – By this time, the brown drainage pipe coming down the south side of the front porch was painted white.

1984 - Sherwood House was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

1995 – During this year the Children’s room was relocated down from the top floor to the main floor of the house in the rear room formerly occupied by the YHS gift shop.

1999 – In December, the front porch was removed in preparation for a replacement due to wood rot and deterioration.

2000 – Work on a replacement front porch was done in January. In October, work began to repair the roof of the barn.

2001 – The interior of the house was painted. Various sections of wall and ceiling were plastered first, including the area under the parlor window facing the north side of the house. The paint on the exterior of the main house was stripped the exterior was also painted. The first flagpole was still standing as of this year.

2013 – By this year, there was a new flagpole closer to the cottage. The original is gone, by this time.

2014 - The fir porch beams were refurbished at the ground floor level and the interior of the barn was reorganized making room for events to be held within.

2015 - An inventory project begins with the help of Yonkers high school students, while plans for installing handicap access start to take shape. The house celebrates its 275th year with an anniversary gala event held at Zuppa’s restaurant.

2016 – The front porch was replaced, again.

2017 - New minor repair projects begin to improve the condition of the main house and its surrounding structures. During the fall, the wooden safety rails leading to the cottage were replaced.

2019 - The cottage gets a makeover thanks to the Scarsdale Eagle Scouts of Troop 2 and our historic sign is reset on Tuckahoe Road. Major reconstructive repairs begin on the north wall of the main house.

2020 - In an unprecedented event Sherwood House Museum remains closed throughout the entire year due to the COVID-19 virus, although it is still maintained by its dedicated volunteers.

2021 - Extensive repairs were made to the north face of the house early in the year. The rustic wood fencing was replaced during the spring. In May, the cottage and barn were used for an online auction to benefit the main house. The wooden fence along the hill leading to the main house and behind the cottage were replaced. The idea of making the museum more accessible to the handicapped has been put on hold due to the extensive changes to the landscape that would be required, as well as the cost of undertaking such a project.

2022 – Sherwood House celebrated its 60th year as a museum at the Yonkers Historical Society’s Diamond Jubilee Annual Dinner, held at the Dunwoodie Golf Course, where it was honored with a proclamation. Mayor Mike Spano was in attendance and was also honored. In August, the dollhouse room in the cottage was repainted and the floor was sanded. A new shop sign was created by Richard Mangini to hang in front of the cottage. Both a souvenir book and Halloween book were created this year for Sherwood House by local author and volunteer, Jason Medina.

A rare postcard of Sherwood House.

Sherwood House Medal sculpted by Jacqueline Lorieo (2015).

DATING OLD SHERWOOD HOUSE SLIDES

The following photos were scanned from old slides stored at the house from the early-1960s. The house had fewer exhibits during this time, which included not having the piano, yet. Back then, the top floor was open to the public, although it is no longer allowed due to fire safety codes. The flagpole was still at its original location and the wire fence had not been replaced, yet, since that would not happen until 1973.