From the Rockefeller Preserve to Rockwood Hall
I recently went on a, for me, quite a long walk. I got a ride to the visitor center at the Rockefeller Preserve. From there I walked down the Sleepy Hollow Trail, crossed Sleepy Hollow Road and continued down to the Pocantico River. I didn’t take any pictures here because I’d already covered this part of the walk in a “story” on my website (actually the very first one): “A Long Walk Home“. I crossed the Pocantico River and then turned right along the Pocantico River trail so I could take some pictures of Pocantico Falls. After taking a few pictures, I turned around and walked along the Pocantico River trail to the intersection with the Thirteen Bridges loop where I turned right and followed the loop to the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail. At a certain point the trail divides and I was faced with a decision. Should I turn left and go to Rockwood Hall, or should I go straight on and consider walking all the way back home. I chose the former i.e. Rockwood Hall and after spending some time there I got a ride back home. All told I walked for about four hours.
Along the Pocantico River Trail
“The Pocantico River is a nine-mile-long (14 km) tributary of the Hudson River in western central Westchester County, New York, United States. It rises from Echo Lake, in the town of New Castle south of the hamlet of Millwood, and flows generally southwest past Briarcliff Manor to its outlet at Sleepy Hollow. Portions of the towns of Mount Pleasant and Ossining are within its 16-square-mile (41 km2) watershed.
Writer Washington Irving, who lived in the area for most of his life, was inspired by the undeveloped area above the river’s mouth to write his classic “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. Later in the 19th century much of the land was purchased by the Rockefeller family as part of their Kykuit estate; today much of that land has become Rockefeller State Park Preserve. A former reservoir used by the city of New Rochelle has likewise been converted into county-run Pocantico Lake Park. While the river runs predominantly through those parks and suburban land, it is still one of the most polluted tributaries of the Hudson. The Weckquaesgeek Native American tribe, who established their primary settlement around the mouth of a river in present-day Dobbs Ferry, also had a village at the mouth of the Pocantico River called Alipconck, meaning “place of elms”. The river historically set the dividing line between Mount Pleasant and Ossining.
The river was once called by the English as “the Mill River”, while the Native Americans called it Pocanteco, a derivative of the Algonquin term Pockóhantès, meaning a “run between two hills”. The Dutch called it the Sleepy haven kill. Dutch colonist Adriaen van der Donck’s Beschrijvinge van Nieu Nederlandt, published in Amsterdam in 1655, referred to the Pocantico River as “Slapershaven” (Sleepers’ Haven). The anglicized term “Sleepy Hollow” grew to apply to the Pocantico’s river valley and later to the village of North Tarrytown in particular; the village changed its official name to Sleepy Hollow in 1996.
Frederick Philipse moved to the area and started purchasing land in the late 1600s, his properties would become known as Philipsburg Manor. He established his country seat at what was then known as North Tarrytown, at the mouth of the Pocantico River. A small community had already been established there when he arrived in 1683.
A ship called the Roebuck, which transported cargo to and from New York City, ended up in the river, where its keel was scavenged by the miller at the mill of the Philipsburg Manor House site.
Around the late 1890s, Walter W. Law and Briarcliff Farms deepened the river for a length of 2 miles (3 km), taking out the rifts so the stream would flow and the swamps adjacent to the river would drain. The workers also cut rock and took out trees that lined the swamps to reclaim land for farming.
The North Tarrytown Assembly, a large automobile factory in Sleepy Hollow, was owned and operated by General Motors for much of its history; a 1923 expansion of the facility involved land-filling the river; two-thirds of the factory site was land formerly occupied by the river. The river was rerouted south of the site.
During 1999’s Hurricane Floyd, the Pocantico was blocked by fallen trees and almost washed away the Philipsburg Manor historic site; about 70 employees of the parent organization Historic Hudson Valley assisted in its protection, along with the site’s curators and security guards, and other village residents.” (Adapted from Wikipedia, which contains additional information.)
Pocantico Falls
By far the largest waterfall in the Preserve, these falls can go from mighty to meager depending on the season. They’re also quite striking in mid-Winter with its many ice formations.
When I took these pictures, we’d had a lot of rain, and they were quite “mighty”.
Although quite picturesque the World Waterfall Database refers to them as follows: “This is a small set of rapids or minor cascades along the Pocantico River. Lidar data shows a drop of no more than 5 feet, if that. This entry does not meet the requirements for classification.”
Along the Pocantico River Trail
The Thirteen Bridges Loop
The Thirteen Bridges hike is a beautiful 2-mile horseshoe-shaped trail that brings hikers over thirteen old carriage road bridges that pass above Gory Brook. I approached it from the Pocantico River trail, where, after a short walk the trail descends from the ridge that parallels the lower part of the trail.
The bridges are nothing special, so much so in fact that I realized that I had never actually taken a picture of them (you can find a picture of one of them here). They are nowhere near as impressive as the stone bridges on the preserve.
Along the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail
I eventually got to the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail. According to New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation site:
During the 1830s New York City was in dire need of a fresh water supply to combat the steady rise of disease and to fight numerous fires that often engulfed large tracts of businesses and homes. After numerous proposals and an abandoned plan two years into its production, construction of an unprecedented magnitude began in 1837 under the expertise of John Bloomfield Jervis. The proposed plan called for a 41-mile aqueduct and dam to be built in order to run water from the Croton River to New York City. Three to four thousand workers, mostly Irish immigrants earning up to $1.00 per day, completed the masonry marvel in just five years. In 1842 water flowed into above-ground reservoirs located at the present sites of the New York Public Library and the Great Lawn of Central Park. Throngs of people attended the formal celebration held on October 14th and celebrated with “Croton cocktails” – a mix of Croton water and lemonade.
This 19th-century architectural achievement cost New York City approximately 13 million dollars and was believed able to provide New Yorkers with fresh water for centuries to come. The population spiraled upward at a dizzying rate, however, and the Croton Aqueduct, which was capable of carrying 100 million gallons per day, could no longer meet New York City’s needs by the early 1880s. Construction of the New Croton Aqueduct began in 1885 and water began to flow by 1890. Although no longer the sole supplier of fresh water, the Old Croton Aqueduct continued to provide water to New York City until 1965.
In 1968, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation purchased 26.2 miles of the original 41-mile aqueduct from New York City. Presently, Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park is a linear park which runs from Van Cortlandt Park at the Bronx County/City of Yonkers border to the Croton Dam in Cortlandt. In 1987 a section was reopened to supply the Town of Ossining and in 1992 the Old Croton Aqueduct was awarded National Historic Landmark Status. The scenic path over the underground aqueduct winds through urban centers and small communities. It passes near numerous historic sites, preserves, a museum highlighting the construction of the Aqueduct, and many homes. The Aqueduct’s grassy ceiling provides abundant recreational opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts. While primarily for walking and running, parts of the trail are suitable for horseback riding, biking (except during “mud season”), bird watching, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing.
Archville Bridge. The community of Archville received its first name, Arch Hill, after an arched bridge was built over the present-day U.S. Route 9 in 1839. The bridge carried the Old Croton Aqueduct over the highway until 1924, when the bridge was deemed to be a traffic hazard and was demolished. The aqueduct was then rerouted to flow beneath the highway. In November 1998, long after the aqueduct was shut down, this bridge was replaced older stone structure as a crossing for aqueduct walkers, bikers, and equestrians over the particularly dangerous section of the highway. The new bridge connects the Rockefeller State Park Preserve with Rockwood Hall and was built to resemble the two bridges over Route 117 which the Rockefellers had built.
To Rockwood Hall
Now I had a decision to make. I could either go straight on and try to walk home, or I could turn left and walk down to Rockwood Hall and try to get a ride home from there. Since I had been walking for some time, and my legs ached and my feet hurt, I chose the Rockwood Hall option.
At first you continue walking through woodland, but after a short walk you emerge from the woods to see some impressive views of the River Hudson.
There’s an interesting article on Rockwood Hall here.
All that remains of Rockwood Hall
I First went to Rockwood Hall in 2011, and I’ve been back many times.
According to Wikipedia:
Rockwood Hall was a Gilded Age mansion in Mount Pleasant, New York, on the Hudson River. It was best known as the home of William Rockefeller, brother of John D. Rockefeller. Both brothers were co-founders of the Standard Oil Company. Other owners of the house or property included Alexander Slidell MacKenzie, William Henry Aspinwall, and Lloyd Aspinwall. The property was once up to 1,000 acres (400 ha) in size; the mansion at its height had 204 rooms, making it the second-largest private house in the U.S. at the time, only behind the Biltmore mansion in North Carolina. The estate is currently an 88-acre (36 ha) section of the Rockefeller State Park Preserve.
Among the first people to live on the property was Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, who lived there from 1840 to 1848. Edwin Bartlett, a wealthy merchant, subsequently purchased the site and hired Gervase Wheeler to design a house on the property, which was constructed in 1849. By 1860, Bartlett sold the house to William Henry Aspinwall, who lived there until 1875; his son Lloyd lived at the house until 1886. William Rockefeller purchased the estate and likely extensively renovated the house and property, hiring the firm Carrère and Hastings for interior renovations. Rockefeller died there in 1922, and his heirs sold it to investors, who turned the house and property into Rockwood Hall Country Club. The club became bankrupt in 1936, after which it became the Washington Irving Country Club. By 1940, the property lay empty again, so its owner John D. Rockefeller Jr. had most of the property’s buildings razed, including the mansion. In late 1946, the Rockwood Hall property was proposed for the location of the United Nations headquarters. John Jr.’s son Laurance Rockefeller sold some of the property to IBM in 1970. IBM’s property was later bought by New York Life, followed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, the current owner. The remaining property was sold to New York State at a significantly reduced price to become parkland within Rockefeller State Park.
Once described as “The most magnificent residence on the Hudson” all that remains are a number of walking trails, some beautiful old trees, spectacular views of the Hudson River, and the impressive, but somehow sad stone foundations.
An Ominous Sign
Earlier I wrote that “all that remains [of Rockwood Hall] are a number of walking trails, some beautiful old trees, spectacular views of the Hudson River, and the impressive, but somehow sad stone foundations.” When I came across the sign in the first picture above, I immediately remembered that there was something else: goats! I remembered immediately because I’d seen them during one of my earlier visits.
So why are they there? The sign in the last photograph explains explains.
Woman with red hair
By now I was ready to take an Uber home. I figured that my best option to find one was to go to nearby Kendal-on-Hudson and call from there. I was tired and wanted to sit while I waited and I figured that there would be somewhere to sit by the entrance. I was correct.
While waiting I noticed this woman with her spectacular red hair.