In 1685 Frederick Philipse purchased land from the Native American Sint Sincks. The area constituted part of the Manor of Philipsburg. Because the Philipses were Loyalists during the Revolutionary War, their lands were confiscated by New York State in 1779. Many of the former tenants of the land bought their farms from the state.

The Town of Ossining was carved out of the Town of Mount Pleasant in 1845. The name comes from the Indian word for “a place of stones.” The town is comprised of the villages of Ossining and Briarcliff Manor, as well as an unincorporated area.

Visit the Town of Ossining online

Map of the Croton Turnpike
& Old Sing Sing Road, 1814

Robert Havell Oil Painting,
ca. 1841

New York State
Woman Suffrage Party
Petitions, 1917

Oral Histories and Photograph
of Residents of Sparta, 1977

Haight Ledger of Freight on a Hudson River Sloop, 1827

Military Roll of the
Town of Ossining, 1865

The Crawbucky Tales, ca. 1920