Be advised that the NPS has issued alerts for this park.
Avoid area around the church & under trees in high wind conditions
In high wind conditions (sustained winds of 25 mph and above) visitors are advised to avoid the area around the church, with the possibility of falling clay tiles from the roof, and the cemetery, possibility of falling tree branches or limbs. Thank you.
Since 1665, Saint Paul's Church played a vital role in the colonial life of Eastchester, 20 miles north of New York City. Townspeople voted at the nearby Village Green; local militia drilled outside its doors. But the American Revolution changed ...
Established in 1763, this fieldstone and brick church served both the American and British armies as a Revolutionary War field hospital. It has facilitated the spiritual lives of generations of local residents as an Episcopal house of worship until 1980.
St. Paul's Church Exterior and Cemetery947 Words; Length: 4:17Second of three descriptions at this siteIntroduction St. Paul's Church National Historic Site is an eighteenth century stone building with brick trim. The stones are roughly hewn, irregularly shaped rectangles laid horizontally in colors ranging from light grey to dark grey to brown. There is a tall steeple and bell tower at the western end. The main entrance is on the south side of the church through wide, white double doors under a brick arch with a multi-paned fanlight above the door. The door is flanked on either side with two tall, arched windows. The windows, framed in brick, start about four feet off the ground and extend to within inches of the roofline. There is a shorter arched window above the door transom. A twelve-foot tall, black lamp stands to the right of the stairs, and large evergreen shrubbery is planted beneath the windows.A black metal fence with spiked, stylized fleur-de-lis finials runs across the front of the churchyard along the drive. A walkway of irregularly shaped gray stones leads to the front doors through a gate in the fence. The walkway is approximately 20 feet long. There are three short, stone steps up to the entrance, with no handrails on the sides. The white double doors have long black hinges stretching the full width of each door at the top and the bottom. 12- inch black, vertical pull handles are centered at the edge of the doors, which open outward. OverviewAs you walk west along the slate path that flanks the church towards the bell tower, there is a four-foot-by-three-foot arched bronze plaque attached to the stone wall. Over a cross at the top of the plaque are the words: "Saint Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church". Below, the text reads: "This Church stands on the Ancient Village Green of Eastchester, a General Training Ground and Election Place in Colonial Days and Enlisting Headquarters for Revolutionary Soldiers. The first Meeting House, erected on the Green North of this Church, 1692-1699, adopted the worship of the Church of England 1702. This Church, erected 1761-1765, was used as a Military Hospital during the American Revolution; converted into a Court House 1787; Incorporated 1787; Reopened as a Church 1788; Re-incorporated 1795 with the name of "Saint Paul's Church in the Town of Eastchester" and Consecrated 1805. This Tablet was erected by the Empire State Society Sons of the American Revolution 1911. " End of TextThere is a white wooden double door centered beneath the steeple and bell tower with a fanlight above. Above the arched, brick framework surrounding the door, there is a rectangular stone carved with the date 1765. The tower continues upwards to the height of 60 feet, but about thirty feet above ground, there is a very skinny vertical window. The stones change color from light to slightly darker at this point as construction was halted for several years during the Revolutionary War. The six-sided bell-house sits atop the steeple at _ feet above ground. It has open brick arches on all six sides and a conical roof with a copper cross, verdigris green, at the pointed apex.To the left of the door and about four feet from ground level, there is a brass plaque attached to the stone wall of the steeple. The plaque is three feet by two feet with an arched top over an American Eagle. In the bottom right corner there is an older, round National Park Service logo with a bison in the center. The text reads: Main Description "St. Paul's Church, Eastchester/National Historic Site/St. Paul's Church was founded in the new settlement of Eastchester in 1665. The present building begun in 1763, served for a time as Hessian troop quarters during the Revolutionary War. Completed about 1790. It has been restored to its appearance at that date. It is one of the fine surviving architectural monuments of the Renaissance Revival in our country. On the town green was held the election of October 29, 1733. Famous for its connection with the patriot printer, John Peter Zenger, and the establishment of an American free press./National Park Service/United States Department of the Interior"End of TextTo the to the right of the door, a smaller, rectangular brass plaque is attached to the steeple wall about five feet from ground level. The plaque is two feet by three feet with rosettes at the corners. It reads: "In memory of the Underhills/who lived, worshipped, and died near here. They were the descendants of Nathania/Son of Captain John Underhill/who arrived at Boston in 1630./Erected by/The Underhill Westchester Burying Ground Association/and the Underhill Society of America/1950"End of TextJust north of the bell tower, there is one more brass plaque attached to the wall of the church five feet from ground level. The rectangular plaque is two feet by three feet. A rounded raised logo for the Daughter's of the American Revolution is in the lower left corner. The text reads:
