Mamaroneck High School’s Original Civil Research and Action (OCRA) program has produced countless projects over the years. These have been focused on bettering the community, taking on initiatives including involving more students in voting to reforming club leadership. Caitlin Solis (’25) and Zoe Stahl (’25) just launched their project which aims to inform the local community about Larchmont and Mamaroneck’s history.
Upon first entering the program in Freshman year, Solis and Stahl were taught the basics of local history at the Richbell Memorial on the request of their OCRA teacher, Joseph Liberti.
“This fascinated us, especially because we had never been taught anything about local history in the school curriculum,” remembers Stahl. Thus, the two then decided to investigate more about Mamaroneck’s history. They found that despite the idea of the North as a more free place, Mamaroneck and Larchmont’s histories are tied to slavery in several ways.
One complex story in local history is that of Lucretia and James Mott, two abolitionists that, despite their anti-slavery ideology, owned two slaves. Their stories, along with that of other important figures in the towns, are documented along the new walking trail that the two seniors have worked to establish over the past three years.
Stahl and Solis gathered information using census data, information from the Mamaroneck Historical Society, REALM (Remembering Enslaved African Americans in Larchmont/Mamaroneck), other walking trails around the country, and from books written by local authors for information. Although the research was challenging due to repetitive names and historical disagreements, Stahl described it as a “very enjoyable process.”
There are two different trails, one in Mamaroneck and one in Larchmont, both of which have information on each site on the trail on the Mamaroneck Historical Society website. In addition, all sites will soon feature QR codes to show information along the trail. Important sites along the way include the Delancey House, Heathcote Manor, Mott House, and Budd Farm.
Solis and Stahl have been featured on several local podcast episodes and have presented to the Mamaroneck Historical Society. They hope this trail will help people learn about their local history and have a better appreciation for their town. “Although this is a hard, uncomfortable topic, it’s also the foundation of our lives here in Mamaroneck and needs to be acknowledged” says Stahl.
