The Scarsdale Historical Society has discovered two drawings of Scarsdale by American master, James McNeil Whistler. They depict a private home and St. James the Less Church, both dated 1852 or 1853. Both works reinforce the Whistler family’s ties to early Scarsdale and St. James. The discovery coincides with the Church’s 175th Anniversary, which is being celebrated with many events all year.
We’re gonna need a bigger cake.
This year, the Church of St. James the Less—Scarsdale’s oldest— turns 175, and plans to mark the occasion in style. The kickoff starts with a gala on Saturday, September 28, and continues with a robust lineup of community events. The first of these is a Silver Dime ceremony: “It’s a stipulation of our lease, which was drawn up with William H. Popham in 1849, that any time a Popham descendant over our one-thousand-year lease asks for a silver dime, we furnish the dime and our lease continues,” said Mother Storm, the Church’s rector.