Welcome to Briarcliff Manor! Like our regular episodes, this is the story of the incorporation of one of New York City's suburbs. It is a bonus ep because it's shorter and has less music than a regular episode (which you may recognize from previous episodes!). We are working on more full-length episodes in the same style as the first four. In the meantime, we found this story and wanted to share it with you. 

Briarcliff Manor was incorporated by Walter Law, a millionaire who purchased the land to start a dairy farm. After he retired from the carpet industry, Law decided to start a more socially-conscious business: providing pure milk to the babies of well-to-do families around New York City. Although Law owned thousands of acres, he couldn't incorporate his farm into a village...because he was the only one who actually lived there. So he sold parcels of land to his employees, creating a company town that would allow him to make his farm an official municipality. 

An Eyesore and a Plague is a podcast about the creation of the New York City suburbs, which were mostly incorporated by millionaires to dodge local taxes and exclude outsiders. 

Let us know your thoughts about the episode! Get in touch: https://www.aneyesoreandaplague.com/contact