On February 19, 1861, Abraham Lincoln stopped here during his train trip to his inauguration and gave a brief speech at the invitation of local congressman William Nelson, who introduced him. Contemporary newspaper accounts suggest that approximately 1500 people were present, equivalent to about half the population of Peekskill at that time, to hear his brief request for their support in the coming crisis – four states had already seceded from the Union by then. It was Lincoln's only recorded appearance in Westchester County.