LOCAL HISTORY

Pound Ridge unveils Revolutionary War memorial

A new bronze plaque with more than 100 names of local Revolutionary War soldiers is being installed in front of Pound Ridge's historic Conant Hall on July 3.

Photo courtesy of Pound Ridge Historical Society

An army of volunteers have cleaned up old stones, some of them dating back to the 1700s at Burial Hill in Pound Ridge.

Photo courtesy of Pound Ridge Historical Society

Posted Thursday, July 2, 2026 10:21 am

Homegrown Patriots

The names on the plaque include:

Abraham Ambler, John Ambler, James Armstrong, Holmes Austin, Ebenezer Avery, Elisha Avery, Enoch Avery, John Avery, Reuben Ayres, Epenetus Bishop, John Bishop, John Bostwick, Samuel Bostwick, Daniel Bouton, Ebenezer Bouton, Jehiel Bouton, Nathaniel Bouton, Noah Bouton, Benijah Brown, Ebenezer Brown, Elephalet Brown, John Brown, Joseph Clark, Robert Crawford, Ebenezer DeForest, Daniel Dibble, Jonathan Dibble, Amos Dixon, Daniel Dixon, Abraham Fansher, David Fansher, John Fansher, William Fansher, Gould Ferris, James Ferris, John Ferris, Samuel Ferris, William Garnsey, Andrew Green, Benjamin Green, Benjamin Hait, Enoch Hait, Gideon Hait, John Hait, Parson Hait, Peter Harford, Joseph Holmes, Jonathan Ingersoll, Maston Johnson, Amos Jump, Samuel Lewis, David Lockwood, Ebenezer Lockwood, Hezekia Lockwood, Jacob Lockwood, Joseph Lockwood, Joseph Lockwood Jr., Moses Lockwood, Nathan Lockwood, Reuben Lockwood, Amon Marshall, Anthony Marshall, Joseph Marshall, Joseph Mills, Zephaniah Mills, Ebenezer Miller III, Daniel Miller, Jacob Miller Jr., Robert Murphy, Nathan Olmsted, David Palmer, Thomas Peck, John Peatt, Samuel Pelham, David Purdy, James Raymond, Gilbert Reynolds, Timothy Reynolds, John Saunders, Amos Scofield, Asahel Scofield, Ebenezer Scofield, Gideon Scofield, Michael Scofield, Peter Scofield, Smith Scofield, Eli Seely, Nathaniel Seely, Nathaniel Seely Jr., Darling Selleck, Nathan Selleck, Peter Selleck, Jesse Seymour, Abraham Slason, Stephen Slason, Ebenezer Slasson, Henry Slasson, Nathan Slauson, Jesse Slawson, Jacob Travis, Jesse Truesdale, Daniel Waterbury, Gilbert Weed, Jehiel Weed, Jonathan Weeks, Nathaniel Weeks, Hezekiah Wood, and Jacob Wood

Only definite proofreading issue visible in the list is the missing space after the comma in “John Ambler,James Armstrong” and the missing period in “Joseph Lockwood Jr.” if you’re using the same style as “Jacob Miller Jr.” The rest are proper names, which would need to be checked against the plaque or source records rather than corrected editorially.

By CAROL REIF

It’s a sign of the times.

Pound Ridge folks who fought or participated in the American Revolution finally have a monument to call their own.

While gearing up to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it occurred to local historians that this would be a good time to permanently honor those patriots.

After extensive research, they came up with more than 100 names that are now on a bronze plaque mounted on a boulder in front of Conant Hall, the historic landmark and community hub located at 257 Westchester Ave.

The new memorial will join those dedicated to those who served in WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, according to Joanne Mineo, president of the Pound Ridge Historical Society.

The Town Board gave the plan the green light last January and the dedication ceremony was scheduled to take place at 4 p.m. on Friday, July 3.

Because there was no “magic list” of Pound Ridge residents who served in the Continental Army, the researchers had to cast a wide net, Mineo explained.

That included combing through original Revolutionary War records that had been compiled by the New York State Comptroller’s Office documenting the service, payrolls, and audited accounts of soldiers.

Multiple sources and archives were also consulted and when all else failed, they trekked to cemeteries.

Everyone listed on the plaque was an actual soldier. Besides honoring those patriots, the plaque acknowledges the importance of others whose names were lost to history.

“Just because you didn’t hold a rifle, doesn’t mean you didn’t contribute” to the fight for independence, Mineo said.

The war lasted for more than eight years.

Officially, the men who fought it ranged from 15 — the lowest legal age for enlistment — to 60, but in actuality thousands of underage boys and much older men were serving as soldiers, scouts, and camp musicians.

Sons fought alongside their fathers and grandfathers.

Women played vital roles as well by running households and farms, organizing boycotts, and raising funds. They also served as spies, marched along with troops to provide medical and logistical support, and, on occasion, disguised themselves as men so they could fight on the front lines.

“These are people that need to be recognized. They fought for our county,” Mineo said of the impetus behind the new memorial.

According to the Historical Society, Pound Ridge was the scene of a “dramatic” raid led by the British Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton on July 2, 1779.

Tarleton “overwhelmed” the local militia commanded by Major Ebenezer Lockwood and the regiment of Continental Light Dragoons led by Lt. Col. Elisha Shelton who were stationed in the hamlet area.

Luckily, Tarleton, aka “The Butcher,” had gotten lost while trying to reach Pound Ridge, thus giving the Americans more time to prepare.

However, with better than a 2-to-1 advantage, he still “conquered, plundered, and burned much of the town,” the Historical Society said.

American reinforcements arrived and forced Tarleton to retreat.

Casualties in the skirmish were relatively light and the exact death toll hasn’t been definitively recorded.

“We have so much history in our little town, I can’t believe it,” said Mineo, adding that she and town historian Johanna O’Keeffe hope the plaque conveys that.

The Lockwoods’ original claim to fame is that patriarch Joseph Lockwood settled the area in 1743 and at one point the family owned nearly all of the land that currently makes up the 50-acre historic hamlet along Routes 124 and 137.

Major Ebenezer Lockwood, commander of the local militia, had had a bounty placed on his head by Tarleton. He managed to evade capture during the infamous raid, although the British did torch his farmhouse. His rebuilt home is now a recognized historical landmark.

He was a delegate to the New York Provincial Congress, served on the Committee of Correspondence and Committee of Safety, and was a town supervisor and justice of the peace.

According to Mineo, his name is “right up there” with that of founding father John Jay, who was an American statesman, diplomat, and signatory of the Treaty of Paris.

Jay retired to a huge farmstead in Bedford.

“He did a lot for the cause,” she said of Lockwood.

Related Efforts

The memorial builds upon broader local efforts to preserve history, which include ongoing gravestone cleaning in the landmarked Burial Hill Cemetery and living history events such as the 250th anniversary Battle of White Plains commemoration at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Cross River.

Thousands of reenactors are expected to take part on the weekend of Oct. 24-25.

This spring, volunteers gathered at the cemetery, where some graves date back to the 1700s and the Revolutionary War, including those of Gould Ferris and Jacob Lockwood.

Using lots of clean water, a special biological solution, buckets, soft-bristled brushes, and wooden craft sticks, the little army carefully exorcised the grime, lichen, moss, and pollutants from selected stones, ensuring that their lettering could once again be read.