Editing Larchmont, New York (section)

===Colonial period===
Originally inhabited by the [[Siwanoy]] (an [[Algonquian peoples|Algonquian]] tribe), Larchmont was explored by the [[Dutch Republic|Dutch]] in 1614. In 1661, John Richbell, a merchant from Hampshire, England, traded a minimal amount of goods and trinkets with the Siwanoy in exchange for land that is today known as the [[Mamaroneck, New York|Town of Mamaroneck]]. The purchase included three peninsulas of land that lay between the [[Mamaroneck River]] to the east and [[Pelham Manor]] to the west. The east neck is now known as [[Village of Mamaroneck|Orienta]] while the middle neck is what is now known as Larchmont Manor. The third neck was later sold and is now known as [[Davenport Neck, New Rochelle|Davenport Neck]] in [[New Rochelle, New York|New Rochelle]]. The purchase was contested by Thomas Revell who, one month following Richbell's purchase, bought the land from the Siwanoy at a higher price. Richbell petitioned Governor Stuyvesant, Director General of the Colonies of the New Netherland, and Richbell was issued the land patent in 1662. In 1664 Great Britain took control of the colonies and Richbell received an English title for his lands in 1668 whereupon he began to encourage settlement. In 1675 Richbell leased his "Middle Neck" to his brother however when he died in 1684 none of his original property remained in his name. In 1700, Samuel Palmer, who had been elected the Town's first supervisor in 1697, obtained the original leases on the "Middle Neck", and in 1722 the Palmer family obtained full title to the land which included what is now the Incorporated Village of Larchmont.<ref>English, Mary O'Connor. ''Early Town Records of Mamaroneck, 1697–1881''. Mamaroneck, 1979</ref>

Larchmont's oldest and most historic home, the "Manor House" on Elm Avenue, was built in 1797 by Peter Jay Munro.<ref>[http://www.larchmontgazette.com/2006/articles/20060420housetour.html Larchmont's Oldest Home on LHS 25th Anniversary Tour], by Susan Emery, ''The Larchmont Gazette'', April 20, 2006</ref> Munro was the nephew of [[John Jay]], the first [[Chief Justice]] of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]], and was later adopted by Jay. At the beginning of the 19th century, Munro was active in the [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]] movement, helping to found the New York State Manumission Society, along with his uncle and [[Alexander Hamilton]]. In 1795 Munro had purchased much of the land owned by Samuel Palmer and by 1828 he owned all of the "Middle Neck" south of the Post Road and much of the land north of the Post Road as well. Munro later became a lawyer with [[Aaron Burr]]'s law firm and built a home in Larchmont Manor known as the Manor House. Munro's house faced towards the [[Boston Post Road]] (the back is now used as the front), which tended to generate a lot of dust in summer months. To combat this, his gardener imported a Scottish species of [[larch]] trees that were known to be fast growing. These were planted along the front of the property, eventually giving the village its name.<ref>Fulcher, William Gershom. ''Mamaroneck from Colonial Times Through the First Century of the Republic''. Mamaroneck, The American Revolution Bicentennial Committee, 1976.</ref>