Capt. Elijah Hunter (1749-1815)

Capt. Elijah Hunter (1749-1815). Religious Leader and Revolutionary War Spy. Long before there was a fictional spy code-named “007” there was a real one called “H.” Elijah Hunter led an eventful life, particularly during the Revolutionary War. He served as a 1st lieutenant and later as captain of a company of grenadiers in the Westchester militia at the Battle of White Plains. However, his most important service was as a double agent who pretended to spy for the British while in the employ of the fledgling United States. General George Washington certified Hunter's secret service, stating that he performed with integrity and to his satisfaction. , After the war, Hunter was the first supervisor of Mount Pleasant township, which included Sing Sing (Ossining) until 1845. He purchased 196 acres on the banks of the Hudson River, which comprised much of today's downtown Ossining. He constructed a pier on the riverfront, and prior to the incorporation of Sing Sing, the village was also known as Hunter's Landing. , Hunter was a founder of the First Baptist Church, holding church meetings in his home beginning in 1786. After he died in 1815, a considerable part of his land was turned over to the Baptist congregation. The first wooden church is pictured here at the top of Church Street. The present brick edifice was completed in 1874 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. One of its stained glass windows memorializes Hunter, and he was buried in the Hunter family cemetery near his home on State Street and St. Paul's Place. (His remains were reinterred at Dale Cemetery in the 1850s.) Hunter Street still bears his name.