Although often ignored today, the Saw Mill River was for centuries the main hub of life in Yonkers, NY.
Now it’s the subject of a new industrial history walking tour hosted by Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site.
The 2.5 mile 2.5 hour urban hike explores the Saw Mill River’s over 400 years of history, from its days as a Lenape fishing tributary called Nepperhan, through its earliest uses for water power, to its industrial heyday, burial, and day-lighting.
The 23.5-mile Saw Mill River in Westchester County, NY, flows from an unnamed pond north of Chappaqua to Getty Square in Yonkers, where it empties into the Hudson as that river’s southernmost tributary.
It is the only major stream in southern Westchester County to drain into the Hudson instead of Long Island Sound. For 16 miles it flows parallel to the Saw Mill River Parkway.
Discussed on the tour will be the historic mills, from Adriaen Van Der Donck’s saw mill to the Alexander Smith Carpet Mills, why it’s called Chicken Island, the influence of the Old Croton Aqueduct, and how the river shaped Yonkers’ working life.
This urban hike takes a circular route of approximately 2.5 miles and departs from Philipse Manor Hall and includes inclines, hills, and some unpaved trails.
The hike lasts approximately 2.5 hours. Participants are encouraged to dress for the weather and wear comfortable shoes and sunscreen or a hat.
The tour will depart promptly from Philipse Manor Hall, 29 Warburton Avenue in Yonkers, NY, on Saturday, November 8, 2025 at 10:30 am and return at 1 pm. The museum opens at 10 am.
Museum accessible via Hudson line train, car, or bus. If heavy rain, storms, or road closures occur, this hike will be cancelled.
Pre-registration is recommended, but not required. To register, call 914-965-4027 or email philipsemanorhall@parks.ny.gov.
Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site, dating back to the 1680s, sits near the confluence of the Nepperhan (Saw Mill) and Hudson Rivers, the site of a Munsee Lunaape (Lenape) village.
Used by four generations of the Philipse family and worked by the people they enslaved as well as European tenant farmers, the Philipse Manor was once over 200,000 acres and helped make the Philipse family the richest in New York.
Loyalists during the American Revolution, they fled to England and the Hall was owned by several individuals before becoming the Yonkers Village Hall and later Yonkers City Hall.
When a new City Hall was built in the early 20th century, the house was preserved through the generosity of Eva Smith Cochran and donated to New York State to serve as a historic site.
Learn more at Philipse Manor Hall’s Virtual Wing.
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