Pelham Manor, a village in Westchester County, New York, was part of a purchase made by Thomas Pell, in which he acquired about 50,000 acres from Chief Wampage of the Siwanoy Indians.  The area purchased included all of what is the Bronx today, as well as everything east of the Hutchinson River up to Mamaroneck.  Pell called his area of land Pelham, after his tutor, Pelham Burton.

Of course, the Dutch decided that this was a case of the British trespassing on their territory and took it to court.  For several years, the Dutch tried unsuccessfully to force Pell out of the area, and after nine years, English war ships and a militia unit led by Pell himself sailed into the New Amsterdam Harbor and accepted the surrender of Governor Stuyvesant.

The village was not incorporated until July 6, 1891, one month after the deciding vote took place.  This option was deemed necessary due to residents’ demands for better services such as police and fire department protection, as well as gas, water, and electricity.  An incorporated town or village has much better access to such standards of living than an unincorporated community.  Thus, Pelham Manor was born.

The village is inhabited by mainly upper-middle and upper class families, with a high per-capita median income level and luxurious homes.