The Meads of Waccabuc

Yesterday's mail brought the Spring 2008 issue of the Westchester Historian, the journal of the Westchester County Historical Society, and we were excited to see that the issue bore the title, "Stewards of the Land: The Meads of Waccabuc."

Susan Henry, a seventh generation member of the Meads of Waccabuc family, was a founder of Westchester Land Trust and is still the secretary of our Board of Directors and chair of the Lewisboro Land Trust, one of our chapters.

The piece, written by Field Horne, a historian who lives in upstate Washington County, is long and we've just started reading it, but it's filled with great details. Horne was hired by the county historical society to organize and catalogue the Mead family papers, and then write about what he learned. In particular we were struck by this, from the introduction:

"And what a story it is! Contained within the 171 boxes and 281 bound volumes are tales of agriculture's development and decline, men's roles and women's growing independence, suburbanization and environmentalism, politics and war. During the long task of cataloguing, in which every item was examined, it became evident that the Meads' love of the beautiful landscape that is Waccabuc is the most thoroughly documented aspect of their history...."

Here's the historical society's website: Westchesterhistory.com. You can contact them to get a copy of "The Meads of Waccabuc" issue.

Coincidentally, the Lewisboro Land Trust is holding a fundraiser at the Mead Chapel in Waccabuc, on Saturday, July 13, featuring the gospel choir of the Antioch Baptist Church in Bedford Hills.

Tickets are $60 per person. Send checks payable to Lewisboro Land Trust to PO Box 496, South Salem, NY 10590. Tickets will be held at the door.

For more information, click here or contact Susan Henry, chair of the Lewisboro Land Trust, at 763-5767 or at sushenry@optonline.net.