The most famous Chappaqua resident, until the Clintons moved in

Monday, October 4, 2010
by Nancy O’Neil

Who was Horace Greeley?  The Greeley name is everywhere: Greeley Avenue, Greeley Barber Shop, Greeley Taxi & Limousine Service, . . . and, of course, Horace Greeley High School. It is almost as generic as Kleenex (well, here in New Castle anyway.)  In an unusual confluence of events, two publications have recently been produced right here in Chappaqua that tell us more about this great man.  One is an introduction to Horace Greeley for high school and middle school students and the other an introduction for the post-toddler demographic.

Even though their school bears his name, a random sample of high school students would find few who know much about him.  And what they do know is often wrong.  For instance, Greeley was not a Quaker, despite the hat. And he didn’t say, “Go west, young man,” despite the fact that his saying it is engraved on the national memory.

The 2009-2010 Horace Greeley History Club, under the leadership of their president, Michael Klein, resolved to provide an appropriate source of information about the man who loved his home in Chappaqua, but played an important part in the exciting and defining national events of the nineteenth century. (Technically, the house in Chappaqua was his summer home; he and his family were in residence from May to October.  However, since at that time, they had no other established home, living in hotels, boarding houses, apartments and traveling, they truly did think of this place as home.)

Working together, club members Alex Besen, Todd Brenner, Michael Levine, Nina Kretzmer, Josh Miller and William Robbins have produced a comprehensive collection of essays all about him, titled “Who Was Horace Greeley?”  The students chose their individual essay subjects and did their own research with some oversight from the town historian, Gray Williams. 

The topics cover Greeley’s founding of the New York Tribune, his political activities, his home life and end with his ill-fated presidential campaign.  Spiral bound copies are available at the high school, the middle schools, the Chappaqua Library and at the New Castle Historical Society.

The second publication is a picture book, “The House Where Horace Greeley Lived.”  It is the work of Jackie McKinless, who came to volunteer at the Historical Society last year, and found that not much information exists for the youngest visitors.  The illustrations in the book are photographs of actual items on display in the house, and the text is based on the singsong rhythm of the “House that Jack Built.” The booklet was printed under the auspices of the Historical Society and copies can be purchased there for $8.00. It makes a perfect gift, because the intended recipient probably hasn’t already read it.

Nancy O’Neil is a former trustee of the New Castle Historical Society.