One of the few remaining pre-Revolutionary War houses in the New York metropolitan area, the historic Sherwood House was built in 1740 by Thomas Sherwood, who was a farmer, constable, and a tax collector of the Town of Yonkers. The farmhouse was built on land leased from British loyalist Frederick Philipse III, whose vast manor extended from Spuyten Duyvil at what is now the northern tip of Manhat
tan Island all the way up north to the Croton River. After the Revolutionary War, the Philipse family lost all claim to their land when it was confiscated by the State of New York. Thomas Sherwood’s son, Stephen, purchased his father’s farm in 1785 at an auction of seized properties. In 1801 Yonkers’ first physician, Dr. John Ingersoll, purchased the Sherwood House, where he resided and practiced medicine until his death in 1827. He was known for using remedies from the herbs grown in his garden. Afterwards, for close to a century Frederick Weed and his descendants owned the homestead. The last private owners established Yonkers’ first Italian restaurant, which was in business through the early 1950’s. The property eventually came into the possession of the Consolidated Edison Company of New York. They leased the land and gave ownership of Sherwood House and the two outer buildings to the Yonkers Historical Society in 1955 on the condition that Sherwood House be preserved as a museum. Since then the restoration and preservation of this landmark has been carried on by the Yonkers Historic Society through gifts of funds, furniture, artifacts, and the countless hours of work put in by many public-spirited citizens that have dedicated their personal time to keeping this priceless landmark a living lesson in Yonkers history. Sherwood House is the oldest farmhouse in Yonkers and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
