Ardsley Middle School Students Explore Village History on Walking Tour

Ardsley Middle School History Club members took a step back in time during a recent walking tour of the village, guided by the Ardsley Historical Society.

AHS President Peter Marcus and Village Historian Rob Pellegrino led students through key historic sites, detailing how the landscape has evolved. At Addyman Square, they learned that Ashford Avenue once extended across what is now the New York State Thruway and the Saw Mill River Parkway. The students marveled at maps of Ardsley’s former downtown, demolished for highway construction, and included photos of homes and buildings that were relocated rather than torn down.

Students also visited the former site of the Ardsley Lyceum, a community gathering space that hosted meetings, weddings, dances, and an 1880s debate on women’s suffrage—where the pro-suffrage side won. At the old Ardsley School Building, students recreated a class photo taken exactly 100 years ago in 1925!

The tour concluded with a look at Ardsley’s pickle industry, which played a key role in the town’s economy. The students learned that almost all of the land east of American Legion Drive along Ashford Avenue was once farmland dedicated exclusively to growing cucumbers for the three pickle factories located in the town.  The students enjoyed a great afternoon filled with fresh air, exercise and some history!