PETER
PRATT'S INN, an old converted colonial home with 200 year
old sugar maple trees lining the front of the property, is
located in the oldest section of Yorktown and is situated at
the battle site of the demise of General George Washington's
Northern Continental Command Post to the British Tories in
1781. Across the street is one of the oldest structures in
Westchester, the Davenport House, which served as General
Washington's command post during the Revolutionary War.
The restaurant area was originally the foundation of a barn
built in 1780. The dining room remains authentic in its
colonial design and construction. Overhead, thick, petrified
chestnut beams rest on granite boulders, the foundation for
75% of the building.
The Inn was a part of the Carpenter-Davenport homestead which
encompassed 250 acres including the land of Loch Ledge Country
Club (off Route 118). In 1823, the center section of
the building was constructed in colonial design, the wings
added in Victorian shape years afterwards to make room for the
new Daniel Griffen ownership, and his children's children.
(Daniel Griffen married Amy Carpenter who inherited this land
from her great grandmother, Rachel Davenport). Finally, in
1861, Daniel Griffen completed the house as you see it today.
Between 1915 and 1924, the old farmhouse was used by
the Bowery Mission to house men from New York City who worked
at a nearby sawmill cutting wood. |
At the turn of the century, the building was purchased
by Halsey Wilson, a renown New York City publisher turned
land developer. He sold lots to his literary friends and
invited them to stay at the Inn while they built homes and
created the first housing development in Yorktown. Today,
the area is known as Croton Heights.
On July 3, 1926, the Wilson's officially opened the
building as an "Inn", known as Croton Heights
Inn; catering to local residents and their guests.
During the 1940's, a Russian Count by the name of Kotschoubey,
purchased the Inn and was granted a liquor license and continued
the quiet elegance of this secluded northern Westchester
country hostel. The count catered to his wealthy friends
such as the McCormicks, Vanderbilts, Gettys, Duncan Hines,
all of whom have signed the guest register located in the
Inn's center hallway.
During the 1950's Monsieur Charles Biles of New York
City leased the Inn and opened the Beaujolais Restaurant
on a seasonal basis from May through September. Mr. Biles
was successful and wanted to remain open all year, however,
the owners refused, so he returned to New York City. His
head waiter took over the lease and proceeded to make the
Croton Heights Inn Northern Westchester's finest bordello.
Click
here
for more on the history of Peter Pratt's Inn. |
In November 1965, Peter and Janet Pratt became the
fifth owners of the property and have operated the Inn as a
family business with Janet in the dining room and son,
Jonathan creating tasteful culinary delights in the kitchen.
Operated as a restaurant, Peter Pratt's Inn serves American
Regional cuisine nightly. Porch dining overlooking the 200
year old pine forest is available during warm summer months
and cozy fireplace dining during chilly winter nights.
In November of 2002, Janet Pratt retired and Craig
Purdy became Jonathan Pratt's partner at the restaurant. The
very first job that Craig held in a restaurant was as a
dishwasher at Peter Pratt's 31 years ago. This sparked Craig's
interest in food, wine, restaurants and travel. Craig
continued in the field, earning a Master's Degree in Hotel
Management from Cornell, and holding varied management
positions in New York, Hong Kong, Germany and Kuwait. This
completes the circle for Craig to come back to his first
restaurant job as a proprietor.
Together Jonathan and Craig also own and operate the
ümami
café
in Croton-on-Hudson. |
