STREET NAMES AND THEIR HISTORY

ARCHER STREET

John Archer was one of the early settlers of the Town of Westchester, who later purchased the Manor of Fordham. This street was once part of Mapes Farm, which was auctioned off to become Park Versailles. It is said that the auctioneer, John S. Mapes named this avenue after his mother whose maiden name was Archer. There is an Archer/Mapes/Hunt family plot in Woodlawn Cemetery. This Stratton Park street was also listed as Archer Place on an old map.

BEACH AVENUE 

Named for a Dr. Wooster Beach who was a landowner on Clason Point in Civil War times. His estate measured 35 acres and stayed in the family until around 1922 when a descendant named Cox sold out. This street was also called Clason Point Road.

COMMONWEALTH AVENUE 

Noted Bronx Historian John McNamara theorizes that this street may be connected to nearby avenues Stratford and Virginia. Stratford is a town in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and might have to do with the birthplace of the surveyor, or one of the early landlords.

GUERLAIN STREET 

This street was once part of the extensive Underhill lands of the 1600’s. Around Revolutionary times a Lewis Guerlain purchased 174 acres from Nathan Underhill. He built an attractive chateau on the property. He sold out to a Richard Fowler in 1805.

GUION PLACE 

This street is the shortest in Stratton Park as it stretches one block. The Guion name is connected with many Revolutionary War and Colonial era events in the Old Town of Westchester. The Guions were originally French Huguenots from New Rochelle. An old map lists this street as TACOMA STREET.

LELAND AVENUE 

Aaron and Submit Leland were early settlers of the area. When the street was cut through Stratton Park, this street was called SAXE AVENUE after Simon P. Saxe who owned land there.

MANSION STREET 

This street probably received its name from the fact that the Mapes mansion was located on it. The Mapes mansion may have been built on the foundation of the Underhill chateau of earlier times. Today’s St Anthony’s Church was built on the same site, and at least part of the mansion’s foundation was incorporated into the church.

MERRILL STREET 

This street more than likely honors one of the electors of the Town of Westchester, Thomas Merrill, as nearby Odell and Guion Streets honor these other early settlers.

NOBLE AVENUE 

In the early 1700’s Robert Noble owned land in the vicinity of E 174^th Street which he sold to Nathaniel Underhill in 1724. The property was later passed to the Hunt , Pugsley and finally Mapes who sold it as building lots. There is a possibility that the street is named after a city surveyor Alfred Noble.

ROSEDALE AVE 

Named for the proprietor of the Rosedale Estate, Hudson P Rose. His home was in the vicinity of Stratton Park.  

ST. LAWRENCE AVENUE

 This street may have been named for one of the financial backers of the Park Versailles real estate venture Cyrus Jay Lawrence. It may also have been named after a Lawrence family in Westchester Town. The street was to be named Lawrence Avenue but a street of that name already existed so the SAINT was added.

TAYLOR AVE 

This street was named for the 12^th President of the United States, Zachary Taylor as other streets in nearby Van Nest honor Presidents. At first, it was called HARRISON STREET. The street was extended across the tract where an old wood plank road existed called DEVINE’S LANE. On the Westchester Turnpike (today’s Westchester Avenue) a tavern keeper named Devine catered to the thirsty travelers along the Turnpike.

THIERIOT AVENUE 

The spelling of this street is often debated. Some signs on the street were spelled THERIOT. When Park Versailles was begun as a real estate venture, John S. Mapes sold to Albert Thierot several lots on April 8, 1893. Albert Thierot was the executor of the Delmonico’s restaurant estate. He later became the manager for the world famous Ft. William Henry Hotel in Lake George, NY.  He also may have been related to one of the three financiers behind the Park Versailles development: James Boorman Colgate, Cyrus Jay Lawrence and Ferdinand M. Theiriot.

EAST TREMONT AVENUE 

The name of Tremont Avenue comes from the early Town of Tremont which was once part of Upper Morrisania. Hiriam Tarbox, early postmaster suggested the name as the hills or mounts were in the limits of the Upper Morrisania- Mt Hope, Mt Eden & Fairmount. In Stratton Park this street was known as WEST FARMS ROAD, WALKER AVENUE and BEAR SWAMP ROAD. In an old picture taken of Tremont Avenue from the corner of Rosedale and Mansion, Tremont Avenue was 20 feet above the surface of Rosedale Avenue.

WHITE PLAINS ROAD 

This is not the original White Plains Road from Revolutionary times but a new road laid out in 1863 and widened between 1902 – 1908. The first White Plains Road was a winding thoroughfare and today’s road hits part of it. It was known at one time as COTTAGE AVENUE. In Van Nest, it was WASHINGTON AVENUE.

WOOD AVE  

The earlier name of the street was CORNELL AVENUE. It may have received the name as it was the old wood road to the McGraw Farm. It may be named for a former Mayor of New York, Fernando Wood as nearby Hugh Grant Circle was also named for a former Mayor.

EAST 177^th STREET 

This street still exists in other parts of the borough, but in Stratton Park, it was obliterated by the Cross Bronx Expressway in the 1950’s. The proper name of the Parkchester train station is E 177^th Street.