The village of Valhalla

The original name for the area of Westchester County now known as Valhalla was Davis Brook. The coming of the railroad from New York City, the establishment of a stagecoach service to Mile Square (now Armonk), and the building of the first railway station building, all around 1850, gave the village new prominence. While the village was still called Davis Brook, the railroad station was called Kensico (for the nearby village which is now under the waters of the reservoir). In 1861, a post office was established in the station, and the postal department asked the postmaster to name the office. His wife, a student of literature and mythology, suggested Valhalla, the name for the resting place of Norse gods and warriors. The potential for confusion was obviously great, and by 1904, the village, railroad station, and post office were all known as Valhalla.

This view of Valhalla in 1886 was taken from Washington Avenue hill looking north. The present village is located approximately in the center of this photograph. The houses on the left are on what is now South Kensico Avenue.

Before the building of the parkway in the early 1920s, the business district was located on each side of the main street, as well as south of the railroad station. This view is looking south.

The other part of the business district which was replaced by the building of the parkway. Part of the railroad station building dating to 1890, and now the Valhalla Station restaurant, is visible.

South of the Legion Drive bridge (the site of which is the house in the center of the picture) where the parkway now runs, was a pond known both as Sherwood's Pond or Jelle's Pond.

This view is looking east across the railroad tracks by the station towards the village.

Main Street in Valhalla just before the street was paved, around the time of the parkway being built. Some of the buildings in this view are still standing and can be seen today. Traffic is certainly heavier today though!

The Methodist Church in Valhalla was an offshoot of the Methodist Church in Kensico. The original chapel on Cleveland Street was built in 1900 and enlarged in 1912. The building still stands, though the church has since built new quarters at the corner of West Lake Drive.

The Holy Name Parish was established by the Dominican Fathers in 1896, and their church on the hill above Valhalla was built in 1897. While this building still stands, the Catholic Church moved into new quarters just south of the village in 1959.