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Rockland Lake group preserves icehouse heritage
By Laura Incalcaterra • October 2, 2008

ROCKLAND LAKE - Hard work and heritage will be honored Saturday when a historical marker is dedicated at Rockland Lake State Park.

By celebrating the lake's past, supporters hope to highlight the significance of the community that grew up around it, one that helped supply the ice that kept food fresh in New York City before the invention of refrigeration.

"People who come here today don't realize there was something here before," said Rob Maher, whose family settled in the hamlet more than 150 years ago. Today's visitors think the woods were always here and that the area was simply a serene spot, he said.

But Friends of Rockland Lake and Hook Mountain want people to know how important the community was in the country's history, said Maher, who is president of the group. He and Regina Rodwell-Bell co-founded the nonprofit organization, which is dedicated to preserving local history, as well as the Rockland Lake and Hook Mountain state parks.

Rockland Lake is among the most visited of New York's state parks, attracting walkers, runners, cyclists, hikers and those who go to enjoy the swimming pools and picnic grounds or go fishing and boating. The freshwater lake and surrounding property were purchased by the state and made into a park in 1964.

But Rockland Lake's roots stretch much deeper. It was home first to Native Americans and later to a thriving ice industry that earned the community the nickname "Icehouse of New York City." Knickerbocker Ice Co. was established at Rockland Lake in 1831. By 1884, the company employed nearly 3,000 men, owned a dozen steamboats and about 75 ice barges, shipping the ice harvested from the lake across the country. Knickerbocker's Ice House No. 3 could store more than 40,000 tons of harvested ice. The walls of the wood storehouse were insulated with sawdust to keep the ice blocks frozen until they were shipped to buyers in the summer.

When workers weren't cutting ice in winter, they were pounding rocks in warmer months, heading to nearby quarries and the brickyards of northern Rockland, Maher said. Many of the workers brought or started their families in the county and Rockland Lake soon was home to a thriving community, he said.

Rockland Lake's ice business began to collapse in the early 20th century. In 1926, Knickerbocker burned down, and in the ensuing years, advances in refrigeration eventually brought an end to the ice industry. Over the decades, casinos and hotels, even an amusement park, were located at Rockland Lake, Maher said.

That history and the heritage of those who toiled at Rockland Lake and the nearby quarries at Hook Mountain, will be honored with the placement of the marker. In addition to the marker dedication this weekend, Maher plans to lead a walking tour of the community Oct. 18. Some ruins from the former icehouses still can be seen.

Friends of Rockland Lake and Hook Mountain will dedicate a historical marker at 11 a.m. Saturday on Landing Road, opposite the Knickerbocker Firehouse, at Rockland Lake State Park. Go to www.RocklandLakeandHookMt.org for more information.



In response to The Journal News Opinion “Down the Drain, New York state parks deserve better budget treatment”

We could not agree more. Rockland Lake State Park with miles of trails, scenic Palisades and Hudson River views is one of the most visited state parks in the State, and in need of some of the greatest work and improvements. Rockland Lake also has important history: from Treason Point, where Benedict Arnold and John Andre plotted the over throw of West Point to the world recognized Knickerbocker Ice Company, one of the largest natural ice producers in the country.

Carol Ash, New York State Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, noted that Friends of the Rockefeller State Park provided stellar stewardship of Pocantico Hills, working on beautification and appealing projects. Rocklanders should know that we now have our own Friends group, which was recently endorsed by the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. We include Rockland Lake, Hook Mountain and Nyack Beach State Parks in our mission because of natural and historic connections.

Palisades Park management provided our Friends group a substantial wish list, including the preservation of the Victorian era home of Josephine Hudson, a remarkable woman who once worked as an ice cutter on the Lake. Our members will be traveling to Albany to lobby for approval of Governor Pataki's $100 million budget proposal for urgent and critical repairs for our declining State Parks.

If you are a walker, runner, hiker, dog walker, baby-strolling mom or dad, bird watcher, or leaf peeper, you are aware of our corner of paradise that increases quality of life for county residents. The Friends of Rockland Lake and Hook Mountain ask that you support efforts to bring positive change.

February 2008
Robert Maher, Congers
Regina Rodwell-Bell, Valley Cottage
Co-founders, The Friends of Rockland Lake and Hook Mountain


Hudson's quadricentennial is a great opportunity to boost tourism
By Martin Ginsburg • August 15, 2008

The Hudson River is one of the most majestic waterways in the world. So why doesn't New York state promote it as a prime tourism attraction?

By failing to harness the river's awesome potential, the state is squandering a golden opportunity to bring people from around the world to the Hudson River Valley to rediscover the river's grandeur and its diverse waterfront communities.

July 2009 will mark the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial - the 400th anniversary celebrations of the voyages of discovery made by Henry Hudson and Samuel de Champlain in 1609, and the 200th anniversary of the launching of Robert Fulton's steamboat on the Hudson River in 1807. The timing for revitalizing tourism in this region could not be better. With the impending quadricentennial casting a well-deserved spotlight on the river, we must seize the moment to promote the Hudson's unique role in our state's history and in its future.

Flowing from Lake Tear of the Clouds in the Adirondacks to the Upper New York Bay in New York City, the 315-mile waterway - nicknamed "America's Rhine" - practically begs to be activated. Tourism is the second-largest industry in the state, but New York tourism should not be limited to New York City. City residents would venture north to the Hudson Valley if vibrant destinations beckoned to attract them.

That is where the Hudson River could prove invaluable. Smart development of its shorefront communities could create a string of pearls radiating from the Hudson Valley through upstate New York, reinvigorating river towns and generating tourism throughout the entire region.

To take full advantage of the river's potential, however, we need to look beyond a myopic, village-by-village perspective and seek creative initiatives that transcend municipal boundaries. The state needs a broad vision, a master plan for creating communities and attractions that will be catalysts in the renaissance of the Hudson River shorefront.

Such a vision requires Albany to establish a long-range redevelopment program with a new subsidiary - a Hudson River Redevelopment Corp. - that would help communities in planning and redeveloping their waterfronts, with tourism as a major component. The corporation should be charged with two principal tasks: creating a master tourism development plan for the communities along the river; and gaining consensus between developers and environmentalists through an advisory panel.

The vision for the Hudson should also extend beyond its immediate shoreline. The Hudson is the only major river in the world without cruise ships plying its waters. One hundred years ago, a million people a year took cruises from New York City to Albany. Before the advent of the modern highway and bridge system, ferries played a prominent role in transporting people and goods via the mighty Hudson.

Today the Hudson holds great potential as the linchpin for a major tourist industry that can help reinvigorate the old industrial towns along the river. The theme of promoting the river's recreational aspects, as well as its historic old towns, was the impetus for our Hudson River Ferry-Go-Round event, in which high-speed ferries take tourists to special events in towns such as Haverstraw, Peekskill, Ossining and Sleepy Hollow. This year's fifth annual Ferry-Go-Round is set for Sept. 14.

The Ferry-Go-Round notwithstanding, the Hudson continues to be underutilized as a venue for ferries and cruise ships. In Europe, spacious ferry boats cruise the continent's major rivers carrying passengers on sightseeing journeys of discovery. In a similar model, the Hudson could be traversed by scores of ferry boats and cruise ships carrying tourists from New York City and around the world through the scenic Hudson Valley.

Vision alone, however, will not bring the Hudson to the heights of grandeur. It also requires money, commitment and the political will to make riverfront development a chief priority. With increased attention focused on the Hudson River as its quadricentennial approaches, Albany should be prepared to earmark serious money for this historic event, with the lion's share dedicated to legacy projects. It would be a worthwhile investment that could bring back billions of dollars.

Now is the time to establish a vision tapping the majestic Hudson's vast potential as a tourism attraction and gateway to vibrant destination towns along its corridor. Now is the time to transform the shoreline into dynamic "front doors" for Hudson River communities and gild the grand old lady with that string of pearls.

The writer, who has been involved in development projects along both sides of the river in the Lower Hudson Valley, is founder and chief executive officer of Valhalla-based Ginsburg Development Companies. In March, he was appointed by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer to serve on the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Commission, formed to organize events to mark the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's journey up the river that bears his name.

A glimpse at Rockland's 'ice age'
By Hema Easley • August 15, 2008

Rockland Lake Museum and Nature Center offers a glimpse into the history, flora and fauna of Rockland Lake Park. The museum includes a permanent exhibit of wildlife in the area, a display of the rich ice harvesting history of Rockland Lake and of the history of the Davies family that owned a farm at the northern edge of the park. The museum also includes a half-mile of interpretative nature trail with signs, popular with student groups and visitors to the park.

For years, the modest single-story structure housed the live amphibian and reptile section of an animal zoo run by Rockland Lake. Snakes, turtles, fish and frogs were on display.

It closed 20 years ago and reopened in 2007. It is now managed by the Student Conservation Agency, a group of high school and college students, and is part of the Bear Mountain Trailside Museum.

"There are lots of bird species here, lots of animals," said Patricia Runge, 21, the museum's environmental interpreter and a member of the Student Conservation Agency. "Now we don't keep them in cages. They come and go. It's a refuge."

Exhibits at the museum include "Wild and Wonderful Rockland Lake," which offers images of animals around the nature trail: belted kingfishers, owls, hawks, white-tailed deer, gray tree frogs, ring-billed gulls, turkey vultures, blue herons, great egrets and solitary vireos. Visitors can borrow binoculars from the museum if they want to go bird-watching on the nature trail.

Rockland Lake's thriving ice industry in the 19th century is showcased through a display of ice-harvesting implements used by different companies that carved out blocks of ice during the winter, stored it, and then shipped it to New York City during the summer. At its height, the Knickerbocker Ice Co. employed 4,000 people during during the winter.

On Wednesday, a group of four girls, three siblings and a friend ages 6 to 10 years old, peered into the glass case at the tools, which included an ice plow, an ice drill that looked like a large corkscrew, an ice saw, ice tongs and an ice pick, a separating chisel, and a half-scale wooden replica of an icebox, the precursor to the modern refrigerator.

"I think it's cool," said Bridget Geyer, 10, of West Nyack, as she looked at the wicked-looking ice saw with 4-inch teeth.

"When I looked at it, I didn't know what it was. Now I know what it is," her sister, Molly Geyer, 6, said breathlessly.

The last section of the exhibit traces lives of Arthur and Lucy Virginia Meriwether Davies, an artist-doctor couple who owned a 38-acre farm at the northern edge of Rockland Lake in the 19th century. But here's the surprise: Arthur Davies was the artist, while his wife, Lucy, was the doctor.

Lucy, a physician, botanist, civil libertarian, suffragist - her accomplishments are many - delivered 6,000 babies from 1892 and 1949. She also was a doctor to ice industry workers, who suffered serious injuries while cutting and transporting ice during the winters.

That's a thought that made Al Oteri pause in front of the ice harvesting and Davies family display. Oteri, of Valley Cottage, works for the MTA in New York City and was on vacation this week.

"This whole story here is very interesting," said Oteri, 61, who came to museum after a walk through the nature trail. "You wonder the winters now haven't been as cold to have so much ice. Their business wouldn't be so good now."