Welcome to the City of Rye, NY

Rye Historical Fact

• Benjamin Franklin developed the system of milestones for the Boston Post Road marking the distance from lower Manhattan. Three milestones, #24, 25 and 26, still exist in Rye.
• The first Rye settlers came from Greenwich in 1660. They bought Manursing Island from the Siwanoy for 8 coats, 7 shirts and 15 fathom of wampum.
• Rye was part of Connecticut in the late 1600s. The New York/Connecticut boarder dispute wasn’t settled until 1731.
• George Washington stayed at the Square House (known as “Widow Haviland’s”) twice in 1789. He called it “a very neat and decent inn”.
• John Adams and his cousin Samuel stopped at the Square House in 1774 on their way to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
• The first village square was located across from the Square House and was where the local militia trained. Criminals were punished there in stockades and a whipping post.
• Purchase St. wasn’t paved until 1912. To keep the dust down, the Village Improvement Association used sprinkling carts to spray water on the street.
• When the Square House became the Village Hall in 1904, Rye’s population was 3,500. The Square House remained the Village Hall until 1964 when City Hall was built.
• The railroad came to Rye in 1849. Before that, the most efficient mode of transportation was on the water.
• The Rye Arts Center building at 51 Milton Road was built in 1788 as the second Episcopal Church, replacing the original church that burned during the Revolution.