Most know Yorktown as rich in history, but not everyone knows some of the details. Here's a chronological list of significant historical events that occurred in the Town of Yorktown from 1683- 2002, courtesy of the Town of Yorktown and the Yorktown Museum. It was also published in Yorktown in 2003.
1683- Stephanus Van Cortlandt buys lands, including Yorktown, from Pewemind and Oskewan sachems.
1697- King William III grants the patent for the Manor of Cortland.
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1712- Colonial census lists 91 residents of the Manor of Cortlandt (Yorktown).
1730- Lots in the Manor of Cortlandt are divided and sold to settlers from lower Westchester County and Connecticut.
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July 18, 1776- George Washington and Alexander Hamilton spend the night at the Delavan house.
October 23, 1776- Revolutionary War entrenchments are constructed on Crow Hill to defend Pines Bridge.
September 2 and 3, 1780- British spy Maj. John Andre breakfasts at the Underhill house, on Hanover Road.
May 14, 1781- Colonel Delancy's loyalties attack the command post at the Davenport House, killing Col. Christopher Greene, Maj. Ebenezer Flagg, and others.
August 1781 and September 1782- Rochambeau and French regiments establish campsites in Yorktown.
March 7, 1788- The New York Legislature changed the town's name from Hanover to York Town.
1788- Town elects Joseph Strang as the first supervisor.
1790- The first census lists 1,609 residents of Yorktown.
1837- The Croton Dam and the Old Croton Aqueduct are begun (completed in 1842).
1881- The railroad comes to Yorktown.
1897- Mohegan Granite Company begins operations.
1898- The Yorktown Grange is established.
1905- Crotonville, Huntersville, and the 1842 dam are inundated by water held by the New Croton Dam.
1908- The St. Nicholas Hotel, in Mohegan Lake, burns.
1909-The Yorktown Volunteer Fire District organizes.
1919- The John C. Hart Memorial Library forms in Shrub Oak.
1922- The Lake Mohegan Fire District is established.
1922- Mohansic Reservation is conveyed to Westchester County for $1, giving Yorktown the first county park.
1923- The first Play Day is held at Mohansic Park.
1923- The Mohegan Colony is established.
1923- A new brick school is built on Commerce Street.
1924- A northward extension of the Bronx River Parkway through the Mohansic Reservation is approved.
1925- The first 18-hole golf course in Westchester is completed at the Mohansic Reservation.
1927- The first full-time police officer in hired.
1933- The Colonial Hotel, in Kitchawan, burns down.
1935- A new wing is added to Yorktown Central School on Commerce street due to overcrowding.
1938- John Downing begins 25-year service as town supervisor.
1938- Ted Hill begins 22-year service as state assemblyman.
1940- The census lists 3,571 residents in Yorktown.
1955- The first Yorktown master plan is drawn up.
1958- The last passenger train runs on the upper Putnam line.
1960- The census lists 16,453 residents in Yorktown.
1960- A bone excavation from Jefferson's mammoth is unearthed during excavation for the Route 134 parkway exit.
1963- Teatown Lake Reservation is established.
1963- Yorktown Volunteer Ambulance is established.
1965- Yorktown begins operating under Suburban Town Law.
1966- The Yorktown Museum is established.
1966- The Loch Lodge Inn, on Turkey Mountain, burns.
1967- Landmarks Reservation Committee organizes.
1968- The Urban Renewal Agency is created.
1969- The Turkey Mountain Park Reserve is established.
1970- Upper Putnam line discontinues freight service.
1972- The new police building is dedicated.
1973- Town elects first woman, Anne Janak, to board.
1975- Pines Bridge Inn, a local landmark, burns.
1975- Conservation campaign is sparked by multifamily development on Lake Mohegan.
1976- Yorktown Historical Society is established.
1976- Yorktown Bicentennial Committee buries a time capsule at Railroad Park (to be opened on July 4, 2076).
1980- The census lists 31,988 residents in Yorktown.
1980- Town elects first woman supervisor, Nancy Elliot.
1980- Town purchases Commerce Street school for use as Yorktown Community and Cultural Center.
1982- State renames Mohansic Park as Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park.
1983- New master plan is adopted.
1983- The Jefferson Valley Mall is built.
1988- The John C. Hart Memorial Library, in Shrub Oak, is expanded.
1990- The Yorktown Justice Court is built.
1997- The Yorktown Archives and Record Center is built.
1999- Sylvan Glen Park Reserve is created and included Mohegan Quarry.
2000- The census lists 36,318 residents in Yorktown.
2002- French regimental artifacts are recovered from Rochambeau's 1781 and 1782 campsites.
2002- A building moratorium is declared until a new comprehensive plan for development is completed.
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