Waccabuc Historic District

The Waccabuc Historic District is located in the picturesque hamlet of Waccabuc, within the Town of Lewisboro, in northern Westchester County, New York. The historic district encompasses most of the hamlet and includes many residential buildings, the oldest of which, “Elmdon,” dates to 1780. Also included are a number of structures and facilities once used by the Meads, one of the earliest families to settle in the area: their original homestead (ca.1820; National Register listing 2001), the Mead Memorial Chapel (built 1905-1907; National Register listing 1999), and the Mead Street Cemetery (ca.1790). Also within the district are a post office from 1880 and the Waccabuc Country Club , the former Lake Waccabuc Inn and Hoe Estate, which opened in 1912. The district also includes preserved nature areas: the Old Field Preserve, 110 acres held by the Town of Lewisboro; Long Pond Preserve,39 acres acquired by the Nature Conservancy from the Mead family and Waccabuc residents in 1970; and Pine Croft Meadow Preserve, nine-acre meadow held by the Westchester County Land Trust. The Waccabuc Historic District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

The land that the Waccabuc Historic District is located on in the Town of Lewisboro was once part of the enormous manor of Stephanus Van Cortlandt (1643-1700) that covered over 86,000 acres in northern Westchester County, NY. Upon Van Cortlandt’s death in 1700, the land was divided first among his children and then, in 1730, into Great Lots, which were numbered and divided into farms of 240 acres on average. These lots were rented out on 99-year leases. Among the settlers who came to live and farm on this land were members of the Mead family originally from the Greenwich, Connecticut area.

Enoch Mead (1756-1807) acquired land on what became Mead Street around 1776, probably from his parents. Enoch and Jemima (1756–1837.) He gradually acquired additional land, and in 1780 they built “Elmdon,” their 1780s Colonial home, where they raised their family. One of their sons, Alphred (1781-1855) and his wife, Polly (1791-1877), built their home, “The Homestead,” on the other side of Mead Street around 1820. Elmdon is included in the Waccabuc Historic District and The Homestead has its own listing on the National Register of Historic Places. 

The Mead Memorial Chapel, built during the years 1905-1907, is a Gothic Revival style church designed by Hobart B. Upjohn, the grandson of notable ecclesiastical architect Richard Upjohn. The chapel, which has maintained its original architectural integrity, is one of a few surviving churches in the area that is still privately owned. The Mead Memorial Chapel is responsible for the care and upkeep of the Mead Cemetery, which is located about a mile down Mead Street. The oldest headstone in the Mead Cemetery is that of Sally Mead, daughter of Enoch Mead and Jemima Mead, who died at age 14 in 1794. The majority of the other interments at the Mead Cemetery are also Mead family members. The Mead Memorial Chapel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in November of 1999. 

The Waccabuc Post Office at 2 Post Office Road was constructed in 1880, with later additions. It is a one-story wood-frame, two-bay by three-bay cross-gabled building. It features a substantial roof overhang on the north elevation with decorative rafter tails all supported by large, decoratively detailed, curved brackets. The remainder of the building is clad in wood clapboard siding with four-over-four and two-over two wood sash windows. 

The Waccabuc Country Club was established in 1912. The clubhouse building was originally part of the Hoe Estate before it was converted into the Lake Waccabuc Inn. The Lake Waccabuc Inn was open to members of the public from 1912 to 1927, and then used exclusively by members of the country club. The Waccabuc Country Club also includes an eighteen-hole golf course, tennis facilities, and a converted carriage house. 

In the 1970s, members of the Mead family and the Waccabuc community joined forces to help preserve Waccabuc’s natural environment and rural-like setting. Together they purchased and donated land west of Lake Waccabuc to form the Long Pond Preserve of the Nature Conservancy. In 2015, ownership and management of the Preserve was transferred to the Three Lakes Council of Lewisboro, which leads and coordinates the environmental efforts concerning the local watershed. Two additional parcels of preserved land are also located in the Waccabuc Historic District: the substantial Old Field Preserve, owned by Westchester County and the Town of Lewisboro, and the Pine Croft Meadow Preserve, owned by the Westchester Land Trust.

The Waccabuc Historic District, including its contributing buildings, structures, land preserves, and gardens, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

1. Mead, William, ed. Meads of Mead Street Family Histories. Mead Memorial Chapel, Inc. 2004.
2. “Mead Memorial Chapel #99001443. National Register of Historic Places. United States Department of the Interior/National Park Service. 1999. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75323105 
3. “Reflections of Mead Street; Waccabuc 1780-2003.” The Westchester Historian. Vol 79, No.2. Spring 2003.
4. “The Homestead #01000294.” National Register of Historic Places. United States Department of the Interior/National Park Service. 2001. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75323061 
5. Three Lakes Council website. https://threelakescouncil.org/. Accessed Nov. 2, 2022.
6. Waccabuc Country Club website. https://www.waccabuccc.com/history.html. Accessed Oct. 4, 2022.
7. “Waccabuc Historic District #15000236.” National Register of Historic Places. United States Department of the Interior/National Park Service. 2015.
8. Waccabuc Landowners Council. https://www.waccabuc.org/. Accessed Nov. 3, 2022.