Tales from Croton Point: A Brief History of Croton-on-Hudson — Brick Manufacturing

Source: https://brickcollecting.com/croton.htm

Pre-colonial: Kitchawank Indians inhabited the area. 1609: Henry Hudson's expedition. 1682-1697: Van Cortlandt land acquisitions and King William III grant. 1804: Robert Underhill purchased 250 acres of Croton Point. Robert Underhill cultivated vineyards, watermelons, apples, and grapes. During the War of 1812, Underhill planted 80 acres of watermelons for the NYC market. He also attempted silk worm culture and castor bean cultivation. Dr. Richard T. Underhill became the leading agriculturalist and wine producer. He built the Italianate villa "Interwasser" (1846) with a tower room. He developed the Croton Grape (yellowish-green variety). He constructed vaulted brick wine cellars into the hillside. "Croton Point wine" was described in an 1865 Times article as "the ideal ladies' beverage."

William A. Underhill concentrated on brick production. He produced marked bricks: "W.A.U." and "IXL" (an excellence claim). St. Augustine's Episcopal Church (cornerstone 1857) was built from Croton Point bricks.