By Richard Forliano, Eastchester Town Historian

Sep. 23, 2015:  Frieda Riggs and Carmela Vaccaro may not have known one another, although they both resided contemporaneously in the Town of Eastchester for most of their adult lives, Frieda in the Village of Bronxville and Carmela in the northern end of Eastchester. But these different women shared a common bond: each made a substantial gift of historic property benefitting the entire town. 

In 1950, Carmela donated a substantial plot to the school district that is now devoted to playing fields and known as Vaccaro Park. In 2000, Frieda made a testamentary gift of the oldest house in Bronxville, the Abijah Morgan house, to The Bronxville Historical Conservancy. The house was subsequently sold subject to a restrictive easement that preserves the historic aspects of the building, and the proceeds of the sale and income thereon are continuously applied to the Conservancy's mission.

Frieda Wildy Riggs was born in Nebraska in 1907, the third of four daughters. Her father, Calvin Wildy, started out as a homesteader, then turned banker. When her father realized he was losing his sight, he moved his family to Colorado so that his four daughters would attend the University of Colorado at Boulder. Upon graduation, Frieda came East and received a master's degree in social work from Bryn Mawr College. For Frieda and her family, quality education was always a priority.

Before obtaining her degree, she worked one summer at Yellowstone National Park, where she met a young man named Arad Riggs. In 1932, they would be married. Both came East and, after marriage, lived in the Fleetwood section of Mount Vernon. Arad, a promising attorney, took the train to Manhattan and Frieda took a bus up Route 22 to White Plains, where she had a job with the Westchester County Department of Social Services.

At this time, the country was in the midst of the Great Depression. Up to half of the homes in Bronxville were in foreclosure and available for sale. Frieda, as she rode the bus, took special notice of the Abijah Morgan house, the oldest home in Bronxville, at the northeast corner of White Plains Road and Pondfield Road. In 1937, the asking price of the home from the bank was $12,000, and with help from her family, Frieda and Arad were able to purchase the house.

Upon moving into Bronxville, Frieda became involved in community activities even though she continued to work for the Westchester County Department of Social Services until the end of World War II. Her special interest was education, which was satisfied in part by service on the boards of The Bronxville School, the Bronxville Adult School, and the Bronxville Public Library. She was one of the founders of The Bronxville School Foundation, and she delighted each year in showing elementary school children the early American idiosyncrasies of the house, including the hidden staircase that leads up to a bedroom. We know now that the house was built in 1812, more than 35 years after the Battle of White Plains, but Frieda was happy to imagine that General Washington might have used the house as he retreated from advancing British forces.

Frieda was deeply committed to quality education, the cultural life of the Bronxville community, and the preservation of Bronxville's architectural and historic heritage. In her will, she gave her Bronxville home at 339 Pondfield Road to the newly formed Bronxville Historical Conservancy.

The mission of the Conservancy, established in 1998, is to further the understanding and appreciation of the history and current life of the Village of Bronxville. The Conservancy presents programs, publications, lectures, and special events that foster an awareness of the village's architectural, artistic, and cultural heritage, and it lends its support to projects designed to strengthen and preserve those legacies.

Pictured here:  Abijah Morgan house, purchased by Frieda and Arad Riggs in 1937 and later given in her will to The Bronxville Historical Conservancy.

Photo by A. Warner