The Veteran Memorials Circle
The History of a Yorktown Park
Putnam Division locomotive engine, New York Central Train System, being manually turned around on the train turntable in Yorktown Heights, NY.
How an Old Train Turntable Became a Park
In the days of the steam engine locomotive, a common mechanism used to turn engines around when they came to the end of the line was known as a train turntable. Such a device existed in Yorktown Heights, NY, which was both a stop and a terminus on the New York Central Railroad’s Putnam Division, nicknamed, “Old Put.” Some northbound trains continued on to Brewster, while others were turned around in Yorktown Heights to return to the Bronx, where they originated.
The Yorktown Heights train turntable featured a cement circular curb, which had a single rail attached to it. This rail would guide a wheel, attached to a central span (turntable bridge), that allowed the span to rotate along a fixed circumference. The train engine would then be aligned with a different track, which would allow it to be pointed in the appropriate direction.
Activated by muscle alone, the turntable required the strength of two or three people to push long arms or bars to rotate it to the desired outbound track. As a result, the device was dubbed an “Armstrong” system.
The original circular curb from the turntable still stands today and has become a sitting wall and a foundation for, what is now, a public memorial garden.
A Metamorphosis Into a Park Garden
The tragedy of 9/11 spurred towns across the country to develop ways to honor the memory of their citizens who were killed on that dark day. Yorktown, NY was one of those towns and decided to use the old turntable to create the foundation for a new memorial garden. Public funds had been made available to help towns, like Yorktown, create commemorative parks in honor of the memory of those who had died. As the funding for these parks was limited, Yorktown needed additional funds to renovate the area around the turntable and build the infrastructure that we see in the park today.
By 2008, the town had acquired a grant that supplied the needed funding to construct a proper garden using the original curb wall of the old train turntable. The circular garden featured raised beds, accessible paths around the garden, and access from the nearby bike path. The area around the old curb wall was graded to a specific height so that it could be used as a place for people to sit and enjoy the new Patriot Garden.
Evolution of a Garden
Through the years, Patriot Garden became a memorial park that honored more of those who had fallen. In 2014, there were Arbor Day events where trees were planted and plaques placed at their bases, showing the names of veterans who we have lost. Soon other honorary plaques and stones followed, and Patriot Garden became a gathering place to honor, remember and reflect.
In 2014, when Yorktown replaced a flagpole and garden in front of its Town Hall with handicapped parking spots, a decision was made to move the flagpole and memorial stones to Patriot Park. The flag was put in the center circle and the stones were placed nearby. Additionally, other flags representing various U.S. Service branches were installed near the circle. As people became increasingly aware of the flags and the memorials in Patriot Park , it became more of a destination than ever before.
The garden itself also evolved over time; boxwoods and spring-blooming bulbs replaced the earlier, more abundant and varied plantings. The center circle garden was replaced with stone mulch when the flagpole was installed. Now, very little grows there.
In April 2024, Patriot Park was officially renamed The Veteran Memorials Circle. With the new name, there is a new garden plan to honor veterans with all-American, native plants.
Patriot Garden before 2014.
The park in 2024.