Episode 1 Hidden History NY - Split Rock

Split Rock, a large dome-shaped granite boulder measuring approximately 25 feet by 15 feet. It is located at the intersection of the New England Thruway and Hutchinson River Parkway, on a triangular parcel of land. The rock appears to be a glacial erratic possibly from as far north as Canada. Its most recognizable feature is a large crevice dividing the stone into two half domes. The huge rock broke in half about 10,000 years ago under the stress of glacial movements.

Split Rock
New England Thruway, Bronx, NY 10464
40.886464, -73.814940

Historically in 1643, Anne Hutchinson and members of her family were massacred by Native Americans of the Siwanoy Tribe. It is possible that Hutchinson's group was mistaken for Dutch colonists who had violent conflicts with the Siwanoy. The legend tells that Anne Hutchinson attempted to hide in this crevice during the attack. More realistically it is possible that her daughter, Susanna, the only member of the family to survive the massacre, was at the rock during the time of the attack, which took place at the house, a distance away. In 1911, the Colonial Dames of the State of New York placed a bronze tablet on Split Rock in honor of Anne Hutchinson. The plaque has disappeared.

ANNE HUTCHINSON

Banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638

Because of her Devotion to Religious Liberty This Courageous Woman

Sought Freedom from Persecution in New Netherland

Near this Rock in 1643 She and her Household

were Massacred by Indians

This Tablet is placed here by the Colonial Dames of the State of New York

ANNO DOMINI MCMXI Virtutes Majorum Filiae Conservant

Thanks to the Bronx Historic Society in the 1950s officials were persuaded to move the then planned Interstate 95 (New England Thruway) a few feet north to save Split Rock from being dynamited.

Information sourced via Wikipedia and Local Lore