The “Elms” estate was constructed around 1810 by Thomas Bailey of Ossining. It was at one time called the “Ancients” house because alumnae of Mrs. Dow’s School stayed there. It was purchased soon after 1810 by Mr. Jesse Bishop. Some of the Bishop family lived there until it was sold to Mr. Walter W. Law for a sale price of $25,000.00 including the adjoining 159 acres, part of which is the Briarcliff Junior College land (as of ca. 1952) in the 1890s, who gave the estate its name of “The Elms.”

As of 1902, “The Elms” was the oldest house standing in Village of Briarcliff Manor, but only because of a technicality. The other very old houses: “The Century Homestead” and the Joseph Washburn house, were not within the official limits of what became the Village of Briarcliff Manor. They are in the Town of Mt. Pleasant.

Taken with a Sony RX100 III