Saint John’s Church
Yonkers’ oldest church was given its first building in 1752 by Frederick Philipse II. In 1872 St. John's was enlarged by the noted ecclesiastical architect Edward T. Potter, who incorporated the old south wall and door of the original building in his design, one of the first Colonial Revival style buildings in America.
Serving as a hospital during the Revolution, St. John’s together with the Manor Hall, and a few other buildings would become the center around which Yonkers would grow.
The Nepperhan Valley’s easy accessibility to the Hudson and the interior of the County as well as the presence of Broadway (the Post Road) made it the focal point of development.
The construction of a long wharf in 1831 on the Hudson River assured Yonkers’ prominence as a port from which farmers shipped local produce to New York City and other markets.
The vestry’s insistence on saving parts of the historic church when it was enlarged in 1872 is an early example of historic preservation in the United States.
