Uniontown: The American Dream in Hastings

By Keith Doherty

First conceived in the 1830s, Uniontown is the oldest neighborhood in Hastings outside of the original downtown. Developed on land owned by one Sidney Blackwell, it was the village’s first planned residential neighborhood, which had to that point (and for a long time afterward) consisted entirely of farms and estates of wealthy Manhattanites.

Historical Society records suggest that, that from an early date, Uniontown’s population was made up largely of immigrants employed by waterfront industries who came fleeing the often harsh living conditions closer to the river. These mostly Irish homeowners lived in humble structures along the lower portion of High Street and the streets immediately surrounding (Rose, Prince, James, and Green), and further up on Cedar and Hudson Streets.

The need for such a place would have been increasingly profound in mid- to late 19th century Hastings. The immigrant population was growing exponentially at this time, in tandem with the growth of the village’s waterfront industries, to the point that some 70% of the population was foreign born by 1920 (a truly extraordinary statistic for a small Hudson River community in these years). Cramped boarding houses and tenements in what eventually became known as the “foreign section” of town – mainly Southside and Washington Avenues, and Warburton Avenue south of the Ravine – often lacked heat, hot water and private indoor toilets.

A home in Uniontown would have represented the final stage in what is believed to have been a common housing trajectory for immigrant laborers in Hastings. Arriving initially as single men or without their families, foreign workers typically lived first in cheap boarding houses such as Cotlet’s Hotel in the Ravine and similar establishments on lower Washington Avenue. 

Then, after they made a little money and were able to send for their families (or married locally and began having children in the US), these working families moved into the tenements until finally they could afford a house in Uniontown or at a few other locations closer to town.

It isn’t clear whether Blackwell and his associates actively courted immigrant families from the start or if they came around to the idea only after immigrants started inquiring (or perhaps because they were having trouble finding other buyers). On an 1851 lots map, the lots are 50’ x 100’ feet in size, but in a subsequent map from 1860 they are only 25’ x 100’, suggesting a new desire to accommodate less affluent buyers. 

By 1874 working-class buyers are certainly targeted, when Blackwell’s successors held an auction to sell off the lots remaining at this time. The event is trumpeted on the reverse of an auction map as follows:

The Stonecutters

Many of Blackwell’s very first buyers may have been stonecutters that, after coming to the area initially to help build the Old Croton Aqueduct, stayed in Hastings to work for a large marble quarrying concern just south of Washington Avenue, the town’s first major industry (a site that is currently being redeveloped as a park). This together with a few other quarries in the village that opened in the 19th century – including at least one in Uniontown itself on James Street – employed these men for many years, creating a tradition of stone working in the village.

The legacy of these individuals can be seen all over town in the form of beautifully built masonry walls, typically capped with rows of wedge-shaped “teeth” along the top. Great examples (possibly made from Uniontown granite) survive along High Street. These walls may have been built by Mr. Gorman, an Irish immigrant who lived with his family at 46 High Street, in the early 20^th century.

A well-worn path linking the Aqueduct marble quarry and the river to Uniontown was traversed by the stonecutters and later generations of waterfront workers for many years on their way to and from work. It was called “Harvey’s Lane” because it originated as a carriage path in the estate of George Harvey, who owned the marble quarry in the mid-1800s. It was recently rejuvenated and paved by the owners of the Hastings Landing development, through which it now runs.

Owning a home and a plot of land would have been especially significant for men in the stonecutting profession, which was notoriously unstable and required a willingness to pick up and move whenever work dried up. Quitting this itinerant lifestyle must have been a leap of faith and is no doubt a reflection of Hastings’ exceptional mineralogical resources. 

Uniontown Cottages

Though they probably represented relative luxury and the realization of the American Dream to their owners, the original Uniontown cottages were humble affairs indeed. Unfortunately, nearly all have been demolished or so enlarged that the original house is near impossible to discern. As a result, few outward signs of the neighborhood’s relatively deep history remain. This process of transforming the old neighborhood has increased dramatically in the last few years, with a number of early structures being replaced by much larger buildings that are well out of character with the original development. This is especially evident along High Street and in the vicinity of the Uniontown Firehouse and the playground. (Note that both of those entities have also been remodeled over the years.)

One early cottage that survived more or less unchanged until its demolition in 2000 stood at 35 High Street. Like many another early Uniontown house, it was a mere 25 by 30 or so square feet in plan, with large front porch and traditional American saltbox extension off the rear. Also common was the simple, 1½ story Cape Cod style elevation and the small “porthole” windows in the upper story under the eaves of the roof. Inside, ceilings were about 7 feet (to conserve heat). Water would probably have come from a well (at least until the water mains were installed under the street around 1930), and heat from a coal stove.

Elsewhere a few structures still stand that, though heavily modified, are not so changed that the original house is invisible. One is the Paquette House at 44 High Street, which dates to the mid-19th century. Despite the addition of a large rear wing and substantial alterations to the upper story, the original house is largely intact at the front.

There is also the mysterious 83 Prince Street, a little brick building known locally as “the Schoolhouse,” which stands very near where Green Street meets Farragut (i.e., Amjo’s). This was the original entrance to the neighborhood, before Farragut was extended and High Street connected to it in the 1930s. 

The original structure is quite easy to discern at the front of the house, despite a large addition to the rear from the 1970s. The use of brick and the lack of a large front porch make it unusual for early Uniontown, however, and there is no evidence that it was ever anything other than a private residence.

The Name

Just how and why the neighborhood came to be called Uniontown is an enduring mystery. We don’t know what Blackwell and his associates may have called it originally (if they called it anything), but the moniker “Uniontown” is used as early as 1851 on a map in the Society’s collection.

Many an interesting theory has circulated over the years. The most popular idea – that it came about because early residents were active in labor unions – can’t be true, unfortunately, because the neighborhood was founded some 70 years before any unions were established in Hastings. Somewhat more plausible is the theory that it was named for the Union Army, a regiment of which was briefly stationed in the area during the Civil War. This too is problematic, however, because the name is attested on the 1851 map, well before the war (1861-1865). 

The likeliest theory is that it was transplanted from Uniontown, Pennsylvania, because many of the stonecutters supposedly lived and worked there for a time before coming to Hastings to build the aqueduct. “Uniontown” is in any case a fairly common name for municipalities in early 19th century America.

This article is dedicated to the memory of Karolyn Wrightson, a former President of the Hastings Historical Society.

Keith Doherty is a lifelong resident of Hastings and a graduate of Hastings High School. He earned a doctorate in Art History from Boston University in 2009. He currently lives on Cedar Street in Uniontown.