History of Larchmont

Early History[Summarized from “Larchmont the Beautiful” – Illustrated Supplement of The Larchmonter Times (September 28, 1922)]

The earliest known settlers were the Siwanoy Indians, an Algonquin tribe. They harvested the rich marshlands for clams and hunted inland for bear, deer, racoon and muskrat. In 1614, a Dutch sea captain discovered Long Island Sound after passing through Hell’s Gate. He reported seeing campfires in what is now known as Larchmont Manor Park. The indigenous population was not long for the area, once the British and Dutch began buying up the land. By 1720, only a handful of Siwanoys remained in what is now Larchmont.

The next century saw a steady increase in population, beginning in the early 1800s with Quaker refugees from New England. During the late 19th century, Larchmont was known as a summer playground for New York’s elite. Many of the large Victorian “cottages” of that era survive in Larchmont Manor. Larchmont was incorporated as a municipality in 1891.


Larchmont Today

Despite only being one square mile, the Village of Larchmont is geographically situated in a unique location within Westchester County. US Route 1 runs through Larchmont via the Boston Post Road, and the Village is bordered on its northwest by I-95, one of the busiest interstate corridors in the country. The Village is also located along the New Haven line of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Metro North commuter rail service, connecting Larchmont with other Long Island Sound Shore communities stretching up from New Haven, CT, through Bridgeport and Stamford, CT, other Westchester communities such as Port Chester, Rye, Harrison, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Pelham, and Mt. Vernon, and continuing through the Bronx and Manhattan down to Grand Central Terminal. The Village is bordered by the Long Island Sound along the east, a natural asset that is synonymous today with the name “Larchmont”. The rocky shore is home to Manor Park, an historic treasure that is privately owned by the Larchmont Manor Park Society, and whose shareholders are the residents themselves who live within the neighborhood known as Larchmont Manor. On the western side of Boston Post Road, Larchmont hosts two thriving downtown business districts that attract thousands of visitors each year from throughout the metropolitan tri-state area for its dining and shopping amenities. Larchmont has a proud history through the 19th and 20th centuries, seeing the developing of its Village Hall, Library, and Flint Park in the 1910s and 1920s. The Village is incorporated within the Town of Mamaroneck.