From manor to village
Scarsdale began its shift from farmland to residential suburb in 1891, when a 150-acre farm was subdivided to create Arthur Manor. By 1900 the population was 885. In 1915, residents voted 142–39 to incorporate as a village — chiefly so White Plains could not annex the Greenacres section, since a village’s borders can only change by a vote of its own residents. In 1930 the coterminous Town and Village merged under a single elected board.
A town organized around its schools
Scarsdale High School and Greenacres Elementary were built in 1917, Edgewood in 1918 and Fox Meadow in 1928. In 1922 the Village adopted a village-wide zoning plan — described by the Scarsdale Historical Society as the first zoning law passed in New York State by a suburban community — and Scarsdale has remained primarily a community of single-family homes organized around its elementary schools.
The Tudor Revival Village Center
In the 1920s local business leaders built the Village Center in the Tudor Revival style. The same decade’s building boom tripled the population to 9,690 and produced many of the Tudor-style houses still in use today. The Bronx River Parkway — the first parkway in the country — opened in 1924.
A nonpartisan civic tradition
Scarsdale’s village government has been nonpartisan in character since incorporation. Since the early 1930s, a citizens’ Non-Partisan Committee process has nominated candidates for village office, part of a tradition of high civic engagement that continues today.
Everyday life
After World War II the Village invested heavily in public recreation — tennis and paddle courts and a community swimming pool. Today buyers come for the schools, the walkable Village Center around the Harlem Line station, and the community’s strong civic life.
Explore by neighborhood: Fox Meadow · Greenacres · Quaker Ridge · Edgewood · Heathcote
FAQ
When did Scarsdale become a village?
Residents voted 142 to 39 on May 24, 1915 to incorporate as a village, largely to prevent White Plains from annexing Greenacres. The Town and Village governments merged into a single coterminous board in 1930.
How big is Scarsdale?
The Village of Scarsdale covers about six and a half square miles.