Native American Life
Originally, Peekskill was home to the Kitchawanks, a Native American nation of the loosely organized Wappingers Confederacy, part of the greater Algonquin cultural group. The Kitchawanks were primarily a fishing and hunting community and lived along the Kitchewan, “Great Tributary” now known as the Croton River, but also around Peekskill Bay and the Annsville creek, an area which they referred to as “the Sacchoes.” (“Where Water Flows Out”)
Colonialization· The first European interaction with the Kitchawanks was in the 1650s, when a Dutch trader named Jan Peeck entered into a trade based relationship with their tribe.
· In 1685 Jan Peeck and his colleagues signed an agreement with the leader of the Kitchawanks which traded 1800 acres of their land for a large quantity of European weapons and tools The Sacchoes become known as “Peeck’s Kill” (Kill meaning creek), which later evolved into “Peekskill”. |
Revolutionary War
· During the Revolutionary war, Peekskill became the military headquarters for the Hudson Valley, a role which it would serve on and off from 1776 to 1782.
· Throughout the war Peekskill contained within its boundaries five barracks, two redoubts and multiple river fortifications, consistently housing 1000 American troops.
· Throughout the war Peekskill contained within its boundaries five barracks, two redoubts and multiple river fortifications, consistently housing 1000 American troops.
· In 1816 Peekskill officially became a
village in the Town of Cortlandt and industry started to grow rapidly.
· Brick making, iron casting and wire production thrived and Peekskill began to specialize in the production of stoves and farm equipment, even producing and selling off over 200,000 stoves each year in the 1890s. · Major fire Companies were organized during this period along with several large businesses, including the Columbian Engine Company in 1826 and the Peekskill Hook and Ladder. · In 1833, Westchester County’s first bank was founded and in 1849 Peekskill became part of the Hudson River Railroad. |
Underground Railroad· Several historical safe houses that were used during the Underground Railroad have been discovered in Peekskill, including the African American Methodist Episcopal Zion church, the homes of Hawley and Harriet Green.
· At the mansion of Henry Ward Beecher, there has been discovered the tunnel that was used during Underground Railroad, which currenly is the oonly surviving tunnel ever found in the North East of America. · The MacGregory brook was used as a passage for runaway slaves to move secretly between safehouses, before heading further north towards freedom. |
Current
· Peekskill officially became a city on July 29, 1940.
· In 1984 Peekskill became the first City in New York to elect an African American mayor, Richard E. Jackson and ten years later in 1994 elected their first female mayor, Frances Gibbs. · Relevant organizations within the town include the National Maritime Historical Society the Lincoln Depot Museum, the downtown Business Improvement District, the Paramount Center for the Arts and the High Tech Art Loft Complex. · Currently there are 23,988 citizens living within Peekskill’s borders |