Westchester County announces official purchase of Tuckahoe's historic Ward House
On Thursday, Westchester County officials announced the official purchase and plan for the future of the historic Ward House in Tuckahoe.
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After five years of uncertainty, Westchester County has officially taken ownership of the Ward House in Tuckahoe.
The house was first purchased in 1700 by Edmund Ward Senior.
Throughout its history, it served as a colonial post office commissioned by Benjamin Franklin in 1762, served as a pivotal strategic site during and after the American Revolution, and even hosted President Martin Van Buren in 1839.
Prior to that, the land was owned by the Lenape indigenous people.
"The Lenape people today are a part of three federally recognized nations: Delaware Tribe in Oklahoma, Delaware Nation in Oklahoma, and Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation. These three nations are not here. This is the consequence of this very difficult history of forced removal, forced relocation," said Hadrien Coumans, the co-founder and deputy director of the Lenape Center.
The house will now be restored to "honor every chapter of our past," as County Executive Ken Jenkins put it, and will serve as a cultural and gathering space for the Lenape people.
"Westchester County is proud to become the first government in the United States to create a permanent home and a gathering space for the Lenape people, the original stewards of this land," said Jenkins.
The property is now considered the county's 54th park.
