Huguenot Park Ward Acres
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VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2: SUMMER 2008 THE City of New Rochelle PRSRT-STD HISTORICAL & U.S. Postage LANDMARKS PAID NRESERVERewsletter Highlighting New Rochelle’s History REVIEW BOARD P New Rochelle, NY City of New Rochelle • 515 North Avenue • New Rochelle, NY 10801 Permit No .17 HLRB HLRB Continued from page 1 New Rochelle’s Not-So-Secret Gardens Hudson Park Pavilion and Bandshell in New Rochelle to be constructed of The old Hudson Park Cottage was for- brick. Three generations of Mahlstedts Ward Acres merly located at the crest of the park’s lived in the house when they operated Ward Acres is 62 acres of woods and meadows knoll. Although no longer standing, a the ice making business here. that was once Hillanddale Farm, a nationally pavilion built at the same time, in the late When the City purchased the land in known horse farm for the breeding of Amer- 1800s, continues to provide a shaded area 1923, the house became the Huguenot ican trotters. Beginning in 1884 when he for viewing the beach and Echo Bay. Branch of the New Rochelle Public first settled near today’s Quaker Ridge Guernsey Cattle, Ward home, c.1930s According to City records, the bandshell Library. After being abandoned in the Road, Watson B. Dickerman amassed a was built in 1929, and has been rehabili- 1990s due to fiscal constraints, it was total of 500 acres that stretched into tated a number of times over the years. It restored by a grassroots effort of the Mamaroneck for his renowned enterprise. continues to showcase entertainment that Partnership for the Huguenot Children’s After his death in 1923, his widow sold a fills the park on summer evenings with Library and today serves as the only large portion to the Ward family of “Tip Top music and vivacity. Westchester public library devoted to Bread” fame and financial success. “Home- Wildcliff and Wildcliff Greenhouses materials and programs for children. wood” was the residence of patriarch Commanding the best view of all, Japanese Cherry Trees Robert Ward until his death in 1915, when it Wildcliff sits beyond the bandshell. The In 1932, in honor of George Washington’s became the home of the new president of impressive stone villa was designed by 200th birthday, the Garden Club of New Ward Baking Corporation, his son William. the renowned Alexander Jackson Davis, Rochelle purchased 100 Japanese Cherry After William’s untimely death in 1929 at and completed in 1855 for the Davenport Trees that were planted around the lake. the age of 44, his widow Ethel continued to Ward Acres barn today family. The stone “gothic villa” was Several still bloom each April and May. live in Homewood and manage the Ward enlarged in 1865 and again in 1919. Owner WWII Marines Memorial Dairy. Her son, Jack, founded the American Clara Prince donated her home and its A white marble monument with a Saddle Breeding Company on the property one and a half acres of land to the City of plaque, located near the causeway lead- and raised racehorses as well, including New Rochelle in 1940. After having been ing to the High School, was dedicated on “Hickory Mistress” who won over 21 blue utilized for city offices the building has June 3, 1949 to the 15 New Rochelle men ribbons in 1947. (The current Hudson housed a variety of not-for-profit groups who died while fighting in the U. S. Marine County Montessori School was the stable and functions, including Wildcliff Natural Corps during World War II. and garage for Homewood, which no Science Center and East Coast Performing longer stands.) Arts. This building was listed on the Ethel and Jack Ward sold off most of the Ward Acres stone wall and trail today National Register of Historic Places in 2002. estate in the 1950s to developers of hous- Against all odds and more than a century ing subdivisions. Ethel donated land to Trails, Stone Walls and Bridge; Forge after they were built, the nearby green- the City of New Rochelle for the construc- Most of the numerous and fairly houses are still flora-filled. From World War tion of the William B. Ward Elementary extensive trails that run through the 62 I until the early 1970s, a city-employed School, and in 1962 the City purchased the acres were first created for the horses team grew multitudes of flowers for New remaining 62 acres for Ward Park. raised here. Another trail is the former rail Rochelle’s numerous parks, public build- Historically Significant Elements bed of the New York-Westchester-Boston ings and street islands in the greenhouses. Barn Complex Railway. Throughout the property, rubble The Friends of Wildcliff have maintained Huguenot Park aerial, 1926 Built by Dickerman in 1906 as a state-of- masonry stone walls built in the 19th and them for the past three decades. the-art horse facility, the 15,000 square foot early 20th century also continue to mark New Rochelle Rowing Club (see New barn complex was last used for the race boundaries once important to the horse Rochelle Heritage Awards article on page 3) horses of Jack Ward, who renovated it in farm operations. A small and elegant 1945 and 1953. Of shingle style design, stone bridge of mortared, rubble masonry which was popular for New England and fieldstone provides a crossing over a Huguenot Park estates of the period, the buildings formed stream near the horse cemetery. On the a U-shaped complex that included East Broadfield side of the park, the rectangular The forty-three acres of land that comprise concrete building served as a forge, or Huguenot Park, including what is now and West Stables and a North Stable alongside a large barn. Two “apartment” blacksmith shop, for Dickerman and, later, “Twin Lakes”, were acquired by the City in for Ward. 1923 as a site for the community’s new high wings were built on the northwest and school and a park. At the time, the twin southeast sides. A stone wall running from New York-Westchester-Boston Railway lakes were one large lake, formerly a part Huguenot Children’s Library today East to West Stables created a courtyard Remnants of the Mount Vernon water supply, and that may have served as a paddock with a Between 1912 and 1938 the New York- had been used for a major ice manufactur- central watering basin. Westchester-Boston Railway had two lines ing business by the Mahlstedt family. The Horse Cemetery and Stone Marker crossing through New Rochelle. One cut Mahlstedt Ice Company was one of three A number of tombstones marking the through the northern section of Ward major ice enterprises in New Rochelle, and graves of some of Dickerman’s famous race Acres and included a rail spur, called a thrived from the mid-1800s until the inven- horses are located along a path that parallels siding, which allowed for the loading and tion of mechanical refrigeration. Pinebrook Boulevard, as it approaches the unloading of the farms’ horses and equip- northeast ramp onto Quaker Ridge Road: ment. Maps show that the siding was Historically Significant Elements adjacent to the forge. Along the former Mahlstedt House – Huguenot Children’s “Ethelberta”, Grand Dam of Bellini (1875); “Merry Clay”, Dam of Bellini (1881); and rail bed of the NYWB, concrete founda- Library tions and other remnants of the erstwhile “The brick house up in the woods,” as “Bellini” (1887). Nearby, a stone marker Huguenot Park Lake and New Rochelle reads “Hillandale Farm”. railway can also be seen. locals called it, was built in 1869, the first High School VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2: SUMMER 2008 City of New Rochelle THE HISTORICAL & LANDMARKS REVIEW BOARD NRESERVERewsletter Highlighting New Rochelle’s Rich Past Melvin Beacher, A.I.A. P Chairman Belkys Reyes-Cuni Gerard Ragone Donald Richards Message from the Chairman What is the HLRB? Rosemary Speight Samuel Spady, Jr. The HLRB is a seven member City Theodore Wilson ew Rochelle looks particularly good in spring and summer, Board, first appointed by City Council when the foliage is rich and gardens are in full bloom. It is no N in 1985 to preserve New Rochelle’s Jean Friedman, Preservation Consultant wonder the French Huguenots chose this fertile land for their new past and raise awareness of the City’s home in the 1680s! These seasons provide an ideal time for rich history. The members are all local Funding touring the Queen City – on foot or by bike or car. This issue of residents, volunteers, and knowledge- New York State Department of Parks, The Preserver can serve as a mini-guide to your travels around town able in local history. The HLRB Recreation, and Historic Preservation and into New Rochelle’s illustrious past, as it contains descriptions recommends the designation of Certified Local Government Program of various built and natural properties with historical significance. districts and landmarks to City Council, Whether a cultural landscape, a Heritage Award property, or a and reviews all exterior renovations Editor and new construction in the local his- winning restoration in downtown New Rochelle, all the properties Barbara Davis are well worth visiting, or revisiting. toric district. The Board receives grants periodically for various historic preser- Please send comments and All too often, we think of historic preservation in relation to built vation projects. The HLRB is committed suggestions to: structures. This issue will begin with a concept gaining great to identifying, maintaining, and Historical and Landmarks Review Board momentum on a national level–protecting historic landscapes. perpetuating the historic elements c/o Mrs. Sheila Beacher We hope it will help provide a new perspective on our venerable that make New Rochelle unique.