Arthur Ketchum Memorial Sanctuary

Bedford, Westchester County, NY

26 acres

Directions:

I-684 to Exit 4; turn right onto Rt. 172, South Bedford Road; at the T-intersection turn left onto Route 22 heading north into Bedford Village; continue through the town and turn into St. Matthew's Episcopal Church; head to the very rear parking lot, preferably nearest the church cemetery.

History:

The farms here were abandoned in the early 20th century. The sanctuary donated by Mrs. Kerr Rainsford in 1971 in memory of the Reverend Arthur Ketchum, pastor of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church (1923-1957).

Habitats:

River, small streams, hemlock gorge, deciduous woods.

Trails:

From the rear parking lot of St. Matthews you walk along the path with the cemetery on your left heading north down to the river. Cross the river via the bridge and then walk parallel to the river upstream, crossing a small stream twice since it splits in two as it approaches the river; walk parallel to this small stream; then you turn left and recross the little stream; a short ways uphill from the crossing is the sign for the Nature Conservancy.

You can take a circular hike by turning left at each intersection you reach; it brings you back to the nature conservancy sign. This is mostly all woods and not that exciting compared to the stream and river areas.

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
Dates indicate when found in bloom.

Trees:
Acer platanoides (Norway maple) 4/25/01
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Carya spp. (hickory)
Cornus florida (flowering dogwood)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Ostrya virginiana (American hop hornbeam)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)

Shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry) -- way too much of it
Chimaphila maculata (spotted wintergreen)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush) 4/25/01
Lonicera morrowii? (Morrow's honeysuckle)
Pachysandra terminalis (pachysandra) 4/25/01
Rhododendron maximum (rosebay rhododendron) on church property
Ribes sp. (gooseberry)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Sambucus canadensis (common elderberry)
Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood viburnum) hairy leaves
Viburnum sieboldii (Siebold's viburnum)
Vinca minor (periwinkle) 4/25/01

Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Smilax sp. (greenbrier)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis sp. (grape)

Herbs:
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Allium tricoccum (wild leek)
Allium vineale (field garlic)
Anemonella thalictroides (rue anemone) 4/25/01
Arisaema triphyllum (jack in the pulpit)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Aster divaricatus (white wood aster)
Cardamine sp. (regular toothwort) 4/25/01 soon to bloom
Chelidonium majus (celandine)
Claytonia virginica (spring beauty) 4/25/01
Erythronium americanum (trout lily) 4/25/01
Geum canadense (white avens)
Impatiens capensis (orange jewelweed)
Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower)
Mitchella repens (partridgeberry)
Narcissus sp. (daffodil) 4/25/01
Polygonatum sp. (true Solomon's seal)
Polygonum virginiana (jumpseed)
Polypodium sp. (rock cap fern)
Potentilla simplex (common cinquefoil)
Ranunculus abortivus (kidney-leaf buttercup)
Ranunculus recurvatus (hooked butter cup)
Rumex obtusifolius (broad-leaved dock)
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Trillium erectum (red trillium) 4/25/01
Veratrum viride (false hellebore)
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)

Rushes and Sedges:
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge) 4/25/01
Luzula multiflora (wood rush) 4/25/01

Fern and Fern Allies:
Dryopteris marginalis (marginal woodfern)
Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)