Glenclyffe
immediately south of Arden Point State Park on Rt. 9D in Garrison, Philipstown Town, Putnam County, NY
93acres

History:

A carriage road on the property (now known as Beverly Dock Road) was the escape route used by Benedict Arnold after his attempted surrender of West Point during the Revolution.

1861 -- Hamilton Fish, Governor of New York (elected 1848) and later to become Secretary of State under the Grant administration, buys the property and builds a home there. His wife was Julia Kean, a daughter of the Hon. John Kean of New Jersey. They had three sons, Hamilton, Nicholas, and Stuyvesant, as well as four daughters.

1887  -- his wife dies.

1893  --  Fish dies and the Glenclyffe property passes to his son Hamilton Fish, a Wall Street Broker. The Fish estate becomes a Hudson Highlands showplace.

c. 1923  --  Glenclyffe  acquired by Capuchin Franciscans.  The estate became a place in which lay people and Capuchin Franciscans became acquainted with the tradition of St. Francis of Assisi.

The Open Space Institute (OSI) purchased the land.  OSI’s land acquisition affiliate, the Open Space Conservancy (formerly Beaverkill Conservancy), bought the former monastery property from the Capuchin Franciscan Friars for over $7 million dollars. (The property was scheduled to be developed.)  Funding came from the Lila Acheson and DeWitt Wallace Endowment Fund.
On the property are a 72,000-square foot Friary, a 37,000-square foot convent (formerly the Hamilton Fish House), the 34,000-square foot St. Ann’s dormitory, and a 1,600-square foot guesthouse.

OSI intends to sell 12 acres of the Glenclyffe property, including the Friary, to the not-for-profit Garrison Institute, founded by  noted philanthropists Diana and Jonathan Rose. Jonathan Rose currently serves as a board member of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Real Estate Advisory Board of the Trust for Public Land, among others.

The Capuchin Friary will continue to occupy the St. Ann’s Dormitory for its Youth and Ministry programs for the foreseeable future.  The open space portion of the property will eventually be opened to the public as parkland that will have access to Arden Point State Park.

(Source: Putnam County News and Recorder http://www.pcnr.com/News/2001/1219/Front_Page/045.html) 12/19/2001

Habitats:

A mixture of woodland and open lawns with beautiful views of the Hudson River and West Point.

Trails:

Nothing seems to be in place as of 4/27/2003. 

Picea abies (Norway spruce)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Ranunculus ficaria (lesser celandine) 4/27/03