Elijah Hunter led an eventful life, especially during the Revolutionary War, when 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. His most important service was as a double agent who pretended to spy for the British while working for the fledgling United States, and General George Washington certified that Hunter performed his secret service with integrity and to his satisfaction. After the war, Hunter became the first supervisor of Mount Pleasant township, which included Sing Sing (Ossining) until 1845. He bought 196 acres on the banks of the Hudson River, comprising much of today's downtown Ossining, built a pier on the riverfront, and before the incorporation of Sing Sing the village was also known as Hunter's Landing. Hunter was a founder of the First Baptist Church and held church meetings in his home beginning in 1786. After his death in 1815, a considerable part of his land passed to the Baptist congregation. He was buried in the Hunter family cemetery near his home on State Street and St. Paul's Place, later reinterred at Dale Cemetery in the 1850s, and Hunter Street still bears his name.