An area in the middle Hudson region often referred to as "Millionaires Row" contains several homes open to the public that should be part of anyone's visit to the Hudson Valley. The Vanderbilt Mansion Historical Site in Hyde Park was built in the late s in a Beaux-Arts style with an interior designed by turn-of-the-century decorators.
The mansion features furnishings, tapestries, rugs and porcelains from this period, as well as a coachhouse, formal garden and, of course, a magnificent view of the river. The most famous homes in Hyde Park are those of the Roosevelt family. Val-Kill , Eleanor Roosevelt's home from , contains her original and replacement furnishings.
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum contains the personal papers of the former president, as well as government records, photographs, movies, gifts from heads of states, campaign items and personal and family memorabilia. The home of Franklin D. Roosevelt is also open to the public, featuring its original furnishings, ancestral portraits, a rose garden and the gravesites of the former president and first lady.
Another stately mansion, Boscobel , is located in Cold Spring. The Georgian mansion was originally built further south along the river in Crugers in by Mr. States Morris Dyckman. But a group of concerned citizens had the house dismantled piece by piece and reconstructed on a acre site in Cold Spring.
The mansion now sits feet above the river opposite West Point and contains New York neo-classical furnishings, a spring house and period herb garden. By the turn of the century, as more industries and rail lines had been built and much of the Valley had been clear cut, a battle over the environment began to preserve the area's natural beauty and halt the destruction of river scenery.
Landmarks important to the nation's history, such as some of the Revolutionary War forts along the river, were crumbling and being vandalized. The federal government created a Division of Forestry and the first national parks were created. The Palisades Interstate Park Commission was one of the first cooperative efforts to protect and conserve an area along the Hudson.
The beautiful high cliffs running along the lower reaches of the western side of the river, called the Palisades, were being destroyed by quarries. The commission proceeded to buy up the land from Fort Lee, N. At the same time there were numerous efforts to make much of the Highlands a forest preserve, all of which were unsuccessful until the state tried to relocate Sing Sing Prison to Bear Mountain.
It was then that some of the wealthy businessmen who had made homes in the area went to work. Led by E. Harriman, he and other businessmen donated land as well as substantial sums of money for the purchase of other properties in the area.
Bear Mountain-Harriman State Park became a reality in By , estimates showed more than a million people a year coming to the park. Camping became popular here, with the average stay logged at eight days, and it was a favorite for Boy Scouts.
Bear Mountain remains popular today, welcoming more visitors every year than Yellowstone National Park. Hiking, boating, picnicking, swimming, camping, cross-country skiing, sledding, ice skating as well as a zoo and several buildings with historical and nature displays continue to draw families to the park.
The Bear Mountain Inn, built in , offers visitors all the comforts of home, for those who like the scenery but want to skip the camping. And various festivals and craft shows are held throughout the year. It opened on Oct. But while the movement for environmental preservation was taking place, the need for modernization also became apparent.
The Storm King highway, which met with major opposition, became one of the first highways built for automobile use. The Bear Mountain Bridge opened in , built on the same spot in the river where the Americans strung their first iron chain to keep the British from advancing. On the day the bridge was opened, cars followed the West Point band from Peekskill for the first public crossing. In the mid s the federal government, now led by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was embarking on its own plan to preserve the environment and the Depression-era public works programs began projects at Bear Mountain State Park.
Pumphouses, reservoirs, sewer systems, vacation lodges, bathrooms, homes for park staff, storage buildings and an administration building were all built. A scenic drive to the top of the mountain, called Perkins Memorial Drive, was also constructed -- almost totally by hand. And to keep these new buildings in the same design as the lodge, constructed in , workers used stone, boulders and timber to construct them, a process which took five years.
Although conservation efforts were now on a roll, the onset of World War II brought everything to a halt. Environmental groups began popping up again in the late '40s, but focused more on controlling water pollution. But in , a year legal battle began that launched modern-day environmental activism.
Con Edison proposed building a giant hydro-electric plant on the river at Storm King Mountain near Cornwall. Despite pressure from local residents, Con Ed went forward with its plan, applying to the Federal Power Commission for a license to operate such a facility.
Three years later, after hearings and appeals and more hearings, the U. Court of Appeals set a major precedent when it sent the case back to the FPC to start the process over again. Its reasoning was based on the commission's refusal to hear much of the environmental impact testimony the first time around. For the first time in U. It prompted Congress to pass the National Environmental Policy Act in , which requires an environmental impact study on all major projects needing an OK from the federal government.
The battle on the Con Ed plant wasn't over, however. The FPC scheduled new hearings in November of '66, which lasted four years. The issue had now gained national prominence and many well-known people had rallied behind the environmentalists' cause.
Singer Pete Seeger went to Scenic Hudson, the main group fighting the proposed plant, with the idea of building a sloop to sail up and down the river and promote cleaning up the water. But because the organization said the law suit had stretched its resources too thin, Seeger formed a new organization, Clearwater , which built the sloop while the FPC hearings were dragging on and launched it in The organization is still going strong, dedicated to the preservation of the Hudson River.
The decision was appealed, but upheld, and the Supreme Court refused to hear the case. Not ones to give up, conservationists began to attack the project by challenging the water quality permits Con Ed was required to get. And in July of '74, a new fishery study prompted the appeals court to order more hearings. But during that time, Con Edison came under new leadership willing to re-examine the plan. And in the company agreed to give up the fight and donated the land purchased for plant construction to be used as a park.
Today's environmental concerns have centered around the high level of PCBs found in the river's waters, discharged by General Electric at its two plants in Fort Edward and Hudson Falls. After more battles waged by environmentalists, GE was banned from dumping this chemical into the river and a clean-up began. The river is now closed to commercial striped bass fishing, but PCB levels are dropping and the fish populations are increasingly healthy.
The future of the Hudson Valley is in our hands. Environmental groups actively lobby on behalf of nature preservation and keeping industrial wastes from the waters. A Riverkeeper monitors the water's condition from a boat sailed up and down the river, reporting industries that are dumping illegally into the Hudson's waters. Fish populations are growing and many are now safe to eat, free of the chemicals that once filled them.
Riverfront festivals up and down the Hudson's length now celebrate the river's return to health, and an area originally explored by accident, is still one of the country's most beautiful, rich in history and scenery. Subscribe To Our eBlast.
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Upcoming Events. Jazz on the Park at The Paramount! Benedict Arnold, the Turncoat Benedict Arnold posed the last real threat to the security of West Point, attempting to pass the plans for the fort to the British in George Washington Sets Up Headquarters Washington moved his headquarters to Newburgh in , where he remained through the end of the Revolutionary War, setting up shop in the home of Jonathan Hasbrouck. Steamboat Travel After years of military, strategic and economic importance, the Hudson River gained another use after the invention of the steamboat in -- one of leisurely travel.
An Industrial Past Cold Spring, a small town on the east side of the river across from West Point, is known today for its quaint village atmosphere, its unique shops, its dozen or more antique shops and its magnificent scenery.
Finding Fresh Air in the Hudson Valley As tuberculosis and other dangerous diseases began to spread in New York City in the mids, the Hudson Valley took on another personality -- a health retreat. A Home for Grand Estates In the mids wealthy New York businessmen began to buy property in the Valley for summer and weekend retreats. Bear Mountain and the Appalachian Trail The Palisades Interstate Park Commission was one of the first cooperative efforts to protect and conserve an area along the Hudson.
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