Bill Raynor Jr. was ‘icon of old Warwick'

To the editor: The community was saddened on Tuesday, May 29, by the passing of one of Warwick’s most well-known sons, Wilfred L. Raynor Jr. “Bill” was known to many as an icon of old Warwick. He had extensive knowledge of local history and lore, and always had an interesting spin on the old stories. He often told people that the name of this place is not really pronounced “War-Wick,” but that the old-timers called it something closer to “Warrick.” Many became acquainted with him as the owner of the historic Hathorn House. What most don’t realize is that the home Bill lived in, just north on Hathorn Road, predates the Hathorn House and is also on the National Register of Historic Places. Bill sometimes would sometimes be a bit frustrated that although the Hathorn House got more publicity, his own home was actually older. The Jeremiah Morehouse homestead was founded in the 1760s, when Adonijah Morehouse of Fairfield, Conn. came to Warwick. He arrived in 1764 and purchased this land from Thomas Welling in 1767. Adonijah married Sarah Brower on June 10, 1768. It has been passed down through the generations that Sarah rode her horse here alone to Warwick to meet him, and her saddle bags are in the collection of the Historical Society of the Town of Warwick. Adonijah’s son Jeremiah inherited the land and farmed it from around 1800 to the 1830s, and his grandson, George Morehouse, also resided here and was a prominent citizen. He was one of 10 men who bought the old Dolson mill pond when it was creating a habitat for mosquitoes and the sickness they brought and drained it so that the Village of Warwick could flourish. In 1871 Pierson Ezra Sanford bought the farm, after having been in the Morehouse family for more than 100 years. Sanford was a leading citizen of the growing community and his family consolidated various parcels to create a large farm complex that included both the Hathorn and the Morehouse farms. Charles Walling later acquired the property and then it was bought by Wilfred L. Raynor Sr., who passed the property to his son Bill. Over the years additions and changes were made to the house so that the only way to see the original structure is from the inside of the home. Another notable feature is a “Chinese Chippendale” banister, one of the few known examples of this in the area. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, at Bill’s request, because he wanted to preserve the heritage of this homestead. The Raynor family predates the Revolution in this area; Bill’s grandfather, Fred Cary Raynor, wrote memoirs of his lifetime, having grown up on the mountain in a homestead now encompassed by the Warwick reservoirs. His memoirs of his time as a “mountaineer” are online on the Warwick Valley History Web site. F.C. Raynor later purchased what is commonly called the “Miller Farm” further down Route 94. The Raynors had stores in both Warwick and Greenwood Lake. Bill was a unique and interesting man and there are probably as many memories and stories about his as there are stories he passed on to others; we hope that those who remember him will pass on their remembrances of him, too. Sue Gardner Local History Librarian Albert Wisner Public Library and the Historical Society of the Town of Warwick