Below are two views of a Willow Ware commemorative plate that came to the Webmaster via a friend, who purchased it at a flea market somewhere north of Peekskill. The plate was made in England but there is no date or inscription of any kind on the back of the plate. The centerpiece is a view is entitled "Guardian Building". On the left rim is "St. Mary's Convent". On the right rim is "View of Hudson River". It is actually the Annsville Draw Bridge, where many of us used to go skinny dipping as youngsters. Directly above the "Views of Peekskill, N.Y." is the "Elks Clubhouse Building". Last but not least, on the bottom rim there is a picture entitled "New High School". Close inspection reveals that it is Drum Hill! So how old can the plate be if Drum Hill High School was "new".
An antique dealer examined the piece and said that the black cobalt indicates is is fairly old and can be considered to be of high quality. Can anyone shed some light on the event in Peekskill which would have called for this/these plates to be made in England. It probably has something to do with the featured Guardian Building.
A reply has been received via John Curran at the Peekskill Museum as follows.
The Museum also has the plate, a Souvenir or Commemorative Plate, dated 1923, and made in England. The Guardian Building was built in 1905. The Elks Clubhouse opened in 1903. The firstDrum Hill School was built on the site in 1860. This was replaced in 1909 by the current building and was the high school at that time. There used to be two high schools in two separate school districts: Oakside School District and an independent Drum Hill District with its own high school. These two came together as the Peekskill School District with the construction of the new high school building on Ringgold Street which is now Middle School, in 1928.
The Drum Hill building is now being seriously renovated by a company for senior residential housing, and a kind of group living space.
