Items
-
Grist mill Foundations
These foundations are probably those of the grist mill, but they may also have been those of the factory -
Remains of new Dam
Black Creek crosses Black Creek Road at right angles, but there is a smaller feeder creek which follows the road. This creek was dammed to form two lakes, one for a grist mill, the other for a factory which manufactured a combination knife and fork for the Union Troops during the Civil War. There is constant reference to the 'factory lot' in deeds dating the second half of the 19th century -
Beaver Sign
This is the sign on the retaining wall of Beaver Cemetery adjoining Black Creek Road. The sign is visible from Black Creek Road. -
Beaver Family Cemetery
The Beaver family cemetery, located along Black Creek Road. The Payne property extended a little past this cemetery. The Beaver family were early settlers who worked farms and industries to the north and west of the Payne properties. -
Another view of Julian Burroughs' bridge
Another view of Julian Burroughs' bridge -
Burroughs Bridge New
This bridge designed and built by Julian Burroughs, the superintendent of the Payne estate, sometime around 1915. It is located on Black Creek Road, which was the main Newburgh to Kingston route until the road was straightened by passing through Colonel Payne's property around 1915 -
Abandon Road Bridge
These are the abutments for a bridge which carried an abandoned road over Black Creek. The road led from what is now the Black Creek Forest Preserve to Black Creek Road, and was abandoned when route 9-W was re-routed. It probably ran through the parking lot for the employee housing. -
Pump house across Black Creek
This old pump house across Black Creek Road from the cottages was included in the land transfer, as it supplied water to the complex. It was condemned in 1981. John McClelland had two wells drilled north of the wood frame building when he built the apartments. There is plenty of water for the complex -
Additional Cottage to enlarge the number of apartments.
After the failure of the McLaren School, the property was sold to Fred Lafko, a Wappingers Falls builder, who sold it 9 Sept 1982 to JAF Partners, who constructed this wood frame building to enlarge the number of apartments. The building was designed by John S. McClelland, one of the JAF partners -
Cottage 2
Wiltwyck School for Boys added this brick building which served as the kitchen and dining room. The room was also used for boxing, as PAL or Golden Gloves type activities were encouraged for the young men. Floyd Patterson, a Brooklyn boy, began his ascent to the heavyweight throne in this building. The small garage building and the wood frame addition was designed and constructed by John McClelland when he purchased the site in 1982. -
Employee Housing New
Colonel Payne built housing for some of his employees, using stone quarried on the property. The original roofs have been broken through to provide another story. They are rented as apartments. They face Black Creek Road. Originally employees could get to the mansion and English Village without crossing route 9-W, as the state road followed Black Creek Road to the village of Esopus -
Wiltwyck Dormitories
This was how the cottages looked when they were occupied by the Wiltwyck School for Boys. -
Employee Cottages
This early photo shows the cottages as they were originally designed for employee housing. -
Mr. Houghton stands in front of one of the entrances to the barns.
Here Mr. Houghton stands in front of one of the entrances to the barns. Note the excellent workmanship in the stonework. The wooden doors may have been added by the Wiltwyck school when it was converted to recreational use -
Charles Houghton
Charles Houghton, of Highland NY considered using the dairy and horse barn for his Electric Boat Company. However, he relocated the company to a riverside site further north. Here he stands before the wooden house which may have be used by the dairyman's family -
Shed Area
The enclosure in front of the shed is covered with saplings. The enclosure may have been simply a shed to store wood or hay, but more likely provided a holding or pasture field for the cows or horses. -
Shed Perspective
Between the barns and the Ascension Cemetery stand the ruins of a lean-to. The side walls indicate saltbox construction, but no wood pillars or roofing remains on the site -
Blowup Farm Blue Print
This diagram shows the footprint of the horse barn and the dairy barn. -
Dairy Barn and Horse Barn
This photo shows the relationship between the horse barn and the dairy barn. The ramp in between gave carriage access to the upper floor. Another large door to that floor existed on the west facade -
Payne Horse Barn
The horse barn seems to have built in stages, with construction to the right of the clock tower slightly different from that at the left. Heilriegal hoped to open a series of shops in the building and named the complex "Wildwycke Village." Colonel Payne loved horses. It is thought that he intended to run horse fairs and meets on the property, but no record exists of any such fair. Colonel Payne loved horses. It is thought that he intended to run horse fairs and meets on the property, but no record exists of any such fair. -
Creamery 2
Around 1973, Philip Heilriegel opened a restaurant called "The Creamery" in the dairy barn. The operation was unsuccessful after a few years. -
Creamery Symbol
The elegant ornament in front of the dairy barn contains the letters I, C and B intertwined. -
Caretaker's cottage
The caretaker's cottage must have been an afterthought to the original construction. It served as the farmer's home. -
Operational Farm
This photo was taken when the farm was operational. White house at left was the caretaker's cottage. The creamery or dairy barn is seen behind the caretaker's cottage. The horse barn stands to the right of the picture. I have been told that Colonel Payne wanted to have horse shows on the property, as he loved horses. I can find no record of a horse show being held there. -
View of the entrance to the farm area
View of the entrance to the farm area west of 9-W as it looked around 1915 -
Back of the Wiltwyck frame house
This is the back of the Wiltwyck frame house attached to the original second chicken coop, both of which are now used as artists studios. -
Coop renovated
The extension of the living area of the original house into the coop includes a large living room with a balcony and a guest bedroom. This extends to the skylights visible in the center of the picture. Medrex used the back of the building. Later Andr� Dionne converted this space into an apartment, and the white extension to provide a balcony -
Chicken Yard
The stairway at the far end of the chicken house became the employee entrance for Medrix Ltd. Employee parking used space developed by Wiltwyck southeast of the site -
The chicken house as viewed from the chicken yard
The chicken house as viewed from the chicken yard. Chickens entered via small windows accessed by wooden ramps from the outdoor yard. These were blocked; they are visible on the lower part of the house. The Zabiks built a partition near the pictured entrance to separate their home from the Medrex operation. -
Wiltwyck Frame house
Around 1936, Wiltwyck School for Boys constructed a frame house in line with the farm superintendent's home, that served as a dormitory. Like the home, the frame house is attached to the second chicken coop. This addition prevents the pedestrian from visualizing the original home and coops. -
Exterior of the farm superintendent's home
The exterior of the farm superintendent's home remains the same today as in 1916, with the exception of a lush growth of ivy. Andr� Dionne and his wife Kathy are retouching the interior, careful to preserve the essentials of the original. -
Farm Superintendent House
When Alex Zabik purchased the site from Wiltwyck School,, the house became his residence. He broke into the coop area and created a living room and visitors bedroom. His company Medrex Ltd occupied the back half of the renovated chicken coop -
Farm superintendent's house and chicken houses
Farm superintendent's house and chicken houses in a photo circa 1916.. One coop was attached to the house. A second was separate, and a third (at right angles to the first two coops) was a brooder for young chicks. -
Payne farm area
The Payne farm area west of route 9W. The superintendent's house and chicken farm is at left. The large stone building at right was a horse barn. The dairy house (with attached silo) was converted to a restaurant by Philip Hellriegel in the early 1970s A wood frame house built during the Wiltwyck era is not visible in this early picture -
Mystery House
The woods at lower right seem to indicate a mystery house. Photo was taken after mansion was constructed and with yacht Aphrodite moored in the Hudson -
Greenhouse
This photo taken shortly after 1910 shows the buildings which sandwich the greenhouse as well as the glass cylinders and the central glass dome of the original greenhouse. -
Beavers House
The photos at right and left are of ruins of a house which probably belonged to the Beavers, who occupied the northern half of the property before the Pratts. They may have been 'squatters' until the land was definitively taken over by the Pells. Brother Stephen Kappes remembers that fifteen years ago he could see the outlines of at least two rooms, with walls projecting at right angles. Time has filled in the spaces. The site had a magnificent view of the Hudson River -
Jungle Gym
A child's jungle gym is symbolic of the changing mission of the Brothers on the Esopus property. -
Hay Rake
This lonely, rusty, abandoned hayrake is a reminder of the days of hardscrabble farming on the premises in the 18th and 19th centuries. -
Swimming Pool
The swimming pool was built on a field used in 1942-1948 as a potato field. Before that the students swam in the Hudson River, but this was deemed too dangerous for young swimmers -
Basketball Courts
The basketball courts were built on the site of six wooden handball courts constructed by Brother Francis Xavier and student Brothers in summer 1944. They are a sign of changing times, as interest in handball waned -
Headstone for Hilda Mason
Headstone for Hilda Mason, the youngest daughter of the Masons, buried in the same plot as her parents in Woodlawn Cemetery -
Headstones for Andrew and Annie Mason
Headstones for Andrew and Annie Mason at the foot of the Celtic Cross in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, NY -
Celtic Cross
Andrew and Annie Smith Mason, their daughter Hilda Edith Mason Harper (1893 - 1943) and grandson James Harper (1926 - 1987) are buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx NY -
Tombstone of George Watson Pratt
Tombstone of George Watson Pratt located in a cemetery in Albany, New York -
Tombstone of George Seymour Pratt
Tombstone of George Seymour Pratt, the only son of George and Anna Pratt. He died in 1867. -
Pratt Anna Tibbets
In 1855, George married Anna Tibbets of Albany. This is a portrait of their daughter Elizabeth Bleeker Tibbets Pratt, who married the Comte de Gasquet-James of Dinard, France. After George's death in 1862, Anna remained on the Esopus property until after the turn of the century, when she moved to be with her daughter.. -
Pratt Civil War Uniform
George Watson Pratt in either his Civil War uniform or his New York State militia uniform (which may have been the same uniform). -
Colonel brady Potrait
From the captions below the photograph, we can presume this photo was taken in Washington by either Matthew Brady or at least in the Matthew Brady studio. -
George Pratt 20th New York State Militia
Composite of George Pratt photo against a background of the 20th New York State Militia. George was named a Colonel and led the regiment to Washington DC in 1862