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 http://www.archive.org/details/palisadesofhudso01mack 
 
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Copyright, 1906, by The Century Co. 
 
 "The Palisades" 
 
 FROM A PAINTrNG BY VAN DEARING PERRINE, THE PAINTER OF THE 
 PALISADES, OWNED BY THE WHITE HOUSE 
 
 "Amid thy forest solitudes one climbs 
 O'er crags, that proudly tower above the deep. 
 And knows that sense of danger which sublimes 
 The breathless moment, when his daring step 
 Is on the verge of the cliff, and he can hear 
 The low dash of the wave with startled ear." 
 
 — Fitz-Greene Halleck. 
 
THE PALISADES 
 
 OF 
 
 THE HUDSON 
 
 THEIR FORMATION, TRADITION, 
 ROMANCE, HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS, 
 NATURAL WONDERS AND PRESERVATION 
 
 ARTHUR C. MACK 
 
 PTTBLISHED BY 
 
 THE PALISADE PRESS 
 
 Edgewatee, New Jerset 
 

 COPYRIGHT NOTICE. 
 
 The title, text matter, illustrations, maps and cover 
 design of this book have been duly copyrighted, accord- 
 ing to law, and their unauthorized use will be vigorously 
 prosecuted. 
 
 Copyright, 1909, by The Palisade Press. 
 
 ^ . 24J521 
 sip 2 1909 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Alpine 23-23 
 
 Altitude of the Palisades 2 
 
 Area of the Palisades Interstate Park 47, 48 
 
 Bergen, Ancient Town of 9 
 
 Birds of the Palisades 53 
 
 Block House Point 10 
 
 Burdett's Ferry 13, 14 
 
 Burr-Hamilton Duel 10 
 
 Bull's Ferry 1 1 
 
 Boundaries of Palisades Interstate Park 48 
 
 Campers Along the Palisades 48-49 
 
 Castle Point 9 
 
 Closter Landing 28 
 
 Cornwallis' Headquarters 27-28 
 
 Commissioners Palisades Interstate Park 50 
 
 Chevaux-de-Frise 15 
 
 Desecration of the Palisades 39 
 
 Englewood 26-27 
 
 Englewood Cliffs 35 
 
 Englewood Creek 26 
 
 Elysian Fields 10 
 
 Fort Lee, Historic Old 15-23 
 
 Fort Washington, Battle of 18-21 
 
 Flowers of the Palisades 52-53 
 
 Ferry Routes to Palisades Interstate Park 56 
 
 Geology of the Palisades 3-5 
 
 Gifts to the Palisades Reservation 44 
 
 Hamilton-Burr Duel and Monument 10-11 
 
 Half-Moon 7-9 
 
 History, Palisades in 7 
 
 Hudson, Henry 8 
 
 Henry Hudson Drive 55 
 
 Huyler's Landing 27-28 
 
 Hoboken 9 
 
 Indians of the Palisades 7 
 
 Jeffrey's Hook 17, 18 
 
 Lee, Gen. Charles 26 
 
 Lee, Fort -. 1 3-23 
 
 Map of Sneden's Landing 32 
 
 Map of the Forts 15 
 
 Path Through Palisades Interstate Park 48 
 
 Park, Palisades Interstate 47 
 
 Palisades, Town of 31-32 
 
 Police Patrol of Palisades Interstate Park 49 
 
 Roads of the Palisades 35 
 
 Springs of the Palisades 49 
 
 Saving the Palisades 39 
 
 Sneden's Landing 29-33 
 
 Sneden, Mollie 32 
 
 Trees of the Palisades 52 
 
 Undercliff Settlement 27 
 
 Washington, Fort 15-23 
 
 Washington, Gen. George 15-23 
 
 Washington, Lady Martha 33 
 
 Washington, Battle of Fort 18-21 
 
 Weehawken 10 
 
 Women's Work for the Palisades 40, 48 
 
WHERE CREDIT IS DUE. 
 
 Acknowledgments are hereby made to the following 
 persons for assistance in the preparation of this book: 
 Charles P. Berkey, B. S. Ph. D., Instructor in Geology, 
 Columbia University, New York; Winthrop S. Gillman, 
 author of "The Story of the Ferry" (A History of 
 Palisades and Sneden's Landing) ; Francis E. Halsey, 
 late editor New York Times Saturday Book Revieio; 
 Edward Hagaman Hall, Secretary American Scenic and 
 Historic Preservation Society; J. Du Pratt White, Sec- 
 retary, and Leonard Hull Smith, Assistant Secretary, 
 Commissioners Palisades Interstate Park; J. Howard 
 Wilson, Van Dearing Perrine, the painter of the Pali- 
 sades; and for some of the historical facts to the works 
 of Asher, Bancroft, Broadhead, Cooper, Fiske, Green, 
 Irving, Lossing, O'Callaghan, Yates and Moulton, Paine, 
 Schoolcraft, etc. 
 
 Most of the photographs and initials, not credited 
 specifically, were made by John P. Fritts. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 THE PALISADES OF THE HUDSON 
 
 "I see the beetling Palisades 
 
 Whose wrinkled brows forever 
 In calms, in storms, in lights and shades 
 Keep watch along the river. 
 
 "Such watch, of old, the Magi kept 
 Along the sad Euphrates; 
 Our eyeless ones have never slept 
 
 And this their solemn fate is." — Stoddard. 
 
 O those who have not explored the long ridge of 
 towering basalt that rims the northeastern edge 
 of New Jersey, and become in tune with the spirit 
 of its huge gray rocks, the Palisades of the Hud- 
 son remain a closed book. Travelers by the 
 railway on the opposite shore, or by the river 
 ■ steamers, following the main channel, see only a 
 nearly perpendicular wall, fringed with vegetation at its base 
 and top. To them and to writers whose viewpoint is similar 
 to theirs, "the great chip rocks," as the Dutch pioneers named 
 them, are little more than natural curiosities of monotonous 
 formation. A closer intimacy with the unspoiled portion of the 
 ridge extending from Edgewater to Piermont unfolds unex- 
 pected charms. 
 
 Let him who would discover the wonders and beauties of 
 these ancient cliffs paddle close to their winding base, landing 
 here and there in the shady glades that tempt the river wanderer 
 at frequent intervals. Near one of the cool and crystal springs 
 that gush from crevices in the rocks, the explorer's tent should 
 be pitched. There are a few points where the dizzy heights may 
 be ascended, and a ramble through the wild woodland that sur- 
 mounts the cliffs and a sight of the picturesque near and dis- 
 tant views will richly reward the climber. 
 
 As the edge of the precipice is reached, instead of a flat- 
 faced wall the Palisades will be found in reality to consist of a 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 A Restful Retreat in the Wonderful Palisades Region. 
 
 series of bold and majestic headlands, diversified by innumerable 
 rocky battlements, often separated by tiny valleys down which 
 dash silvery cascades. Instead of the apparently even fringe 
 of verdure surmounting the heights, a wild and pristine forest 
 will be found which nature has richly stocked with an endless 
 variety of tree, shrub and flower. Here will the explorers who 
 can read them find graven upon the stones in spite of the ravages 
 of time, records of the earth's creation full of significance and 
 interest. Here, too, will he who cherishes Revolutionary asso- 
 ciations be able to visit localities made famous by the armies of 
 Washington and Cornwallis. 
 
 Standing between the Hudson and the broad sweep of low- 
 lands now known as the Hackensack Valley, the Palisades Ridge 
 proper extends almost due north and south (from Bergen Point, 
 New Jersey, to Piermont, New York), for a distance of thirty 
 miles. It varies in width from two miles to less than a mile, the 
 average being one and one-half miles. Its altitude varies from a 
 maximum of 550 feet near the northern end to the minimum of 
 but a few feet at sea level at the southern termination, the mean 
 elevation over most of the ridge being 269 feet. Its eastern 
 face is abrupt, either vertical or slanting back slightly ; its 
 western face much less steep, usually forming a gradual slope 
 down to a broad and fertile valley. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 THE STORY OF THE ROCKS 
 
 ROM geological standpoints this entire formation 
 is rich in meaning. Records of great processes 
 in the formation of the earth's crust can be clear- 
 ly traced by even the tyro in geology. The main 
 body of the ridge consists of igneous rock of 
 trappean variety, which was forced up in a semi- 
 molten state, through a long fissure in the earth's 
 crust during what geologists term the Jurassic Period. This 
 process, which scientists calculate to have occurred upwards of 
 30,000,000 years ago, although similar to that which produced 
 the fantastic formations of the Giant's Causeway in Ireland, 
 the Cliffs of Kawaddy in India and Fingal's Cave in Scotland, 
 has resulted in a configuration unlike any of those wonders and 
 not resembling closely any other in the world. There are fewer 
 columns than are found in other formations of the same origin 
 and there is more rugged picturesqueness. 
 
 To comprehend that vast cataclysm of nature which re- 
 sulted in the upheaval of the Palisades centuries upon centuries 
 ago, it is necessary to understand the character of the earth's 
 crust over their area at that time. This crust consisted of a 
 layer of triassic sandstone, enormously thick. Beneath this 
 sandstone the volcanic forces opened a long crevice and forced 
 
 Diagram Showing Geological Formation of the Palisades Ridge. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 Grooves in the Palisades Rocks, Showing Glacial Action and Movement of the Ice. 
 
 upwards the igneous formation. It must not be imagined that 
 the ridge then assumed its present appearance. Indeed, the 
 intrusion did not even reach the surface of the surrounding 
 crust. For centuries it lay buried far beneath. It remained 
 for processes working through following centuries to disclose 
 the Palisades to outward view. When unexposed to outward air 
 igneous rock in cooling shrinks and breaks off in sharp, perpen- 
 dicular or columnar formation. This occurred along the en- 
 tire Palisades Ridge. Then began the transformation which 
 gave us the majestic cliffs of to-day. The deposits above and 
 beside the ridge were worn away by erosion. North and south 
 along the present bed of the Hudson occurred an immense 
 "fault" or slip in the earth's crust. This caused the Hudson 
 to flow in a veritable canyon, which recent borings opposite 
 Thirty-second Street, New York, show to have been 300 feet 
 deep. This gorge extended far out beyond Sandy Hook, the 
 coast at that time being many miles southeastward of its present 
 location. 
 
 The next transformation of the ridge came with the huge 
 ice fields of the glacial period, moving across the cliffs obliquely 
 from the northwest. When the ice melted, millions of tons of 
 boulders and debris borne hither by the glacial movement were 
 deposited here and there along the sides and over the top of the 
 ridge, forming what geologists term an intra-morianic drift. 
 This crunching over the flat rocks of the top, ground well-de- 
 fined grooves in the igneous rock, marking the direction from 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 5 
 
 which the ice came and leaving the imprints of its passage 
 clearly discernible even to this day. The drift resulted also in 
 many rocky curiosities, conspicuous among them an isolated 
 block of triassic sandstone, called Sampson's Rock, perched 
 upon the flat trap directly east of Englewood. This huge 
 boulder, measuring nearly twelve feet in diameter and weighing 
 many tons, was lifted 160 feet up the western slope of the ridge 
 by the ice (it is calculated), and finally dropped in its present 
 resting place. Its under surface still retains the polish it re- 
 ceived through the attrition of that movement. Many other 
 isolated boulders stand in the woods, grim reminders of the ice 
 age. Others passed over the cliffs, breaking off segments of the 
 eastern crest, and filling up the ends of ravines. The deep 
 gorge north of Hoboken and other depressions were choked in 
 this way and extended originally much farther northward than 
 at present. 
 
 It is known that, with the melting of the glacial masses, 
 water surrounded the ridge to a depth of about 200 feet. The 
 higher portion of the Palisades thus formed a long, rocky 
 island. When this sea subsided, the Hudson began filling up 
 its gorge with silt. This process is still going on, so that the 
 present depth of the stream is comparatively shallow and geol- 
 ogists term it a "drowned river." 
 
 Until recently the theory was advanced by some authorities 
 that the main channel of the Hudson in pre-glacial times de- 
 flected at Piermont, flowed through the Piermont valley and 
 down the western side of the Palisades, joining the ocean by way 
 of Newark Bay. Recent comparison of the depth of the Pier- 
 mont Valley with the depth of the Hudson's original bed oppo- 
 site this point completely disproves this belief. 
 
 The Palisades rock is dark gray and blue-black in color, 
 exceedingly hard and heavy. It is remarkably impervious to 
 the action of the elements. Under the microscope it discloses 
 myriads of geometrical crystals, the feldspars, pyroxine, and 
 magnetite predominating. Chemically the rock consists of 
 50 per cent, to 60 per cent, silica. It is estimated the ridge has 
 a perpendicular thickness of 800 feet at Fort Lee Bluffs and 
 1,000 feet at Alpine. 
 
Photograph by Brown Bros. 
 A Palisades Promontory Standing Boldly Forth Like a Sentinel Guarding His Treasure. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 THE PALISADES IN HISTORY 
 
 iHROUGHOUT their course the Palisades are rich 
 in historical associations of either local or Na- 
 tional interest and importance. 
 
 Of the pre-historic dwellers upon the ridge 
 we have no trace, but of the Indians and the first 
 white men to visit them there are clear records. 
 The Sanhikan, Hackensack, Raritan and Tappan 
 Indians, belonging to the great Delaware Nation, found here 
 excellent hunting, fishing and dwelling places. Those whose 
 wigwams nestled under the Palisades cliffs looked southward 
 through the blue haze that hung over the Hudson on the after- 
 noon of September 12th, 1609, and beheld a strange vessel in 
 the river. Slowly she drifted in upon the flood tide, a thing of 
 wonder to the savages. Squaws and braves gazed in silent 
 amazement upon the ship of the white man. From her lofty 
 deck a sturdy Englishman scanned for the first time the bold 
 rocks of the Palisades, and the green, wooded island opposite, 
 daring to hope he had found the long-sought gateway to the 
 Northeast Passage, wondering 
 whether the dream of his life was 
 about to be realized. 
 
 There was little or no wind on 
 the river that day, and the last rays 
 of the setting sun, sinking behind the 
 Palisades, left the "Half-Moon" 
 abreast of Indian Head, the highest 
 elevation of the ridge, and almost di- 
 rectly opposite the present village of 
 Hastings. Here was lowered the first 
 anchor in the waters of the Ma-hi- 
 can-ittuck River, as the local In- 
 dians called the Hudson. Peace- 
 fully the little ship rested that 
 night under the shelter of Wee-awk- 
 e n , "rocks that look like trees" a jutting Headland. 
 
8 
 
 The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 as the Indians termed the PaHsades. At daybreak tiny columns 
 of blue smoke arose from the camps of the Red Men. Scores 
 of black eyes peered riverward from behind the thick forest. 
 Canoes made of "single hollowed trees" began to glide out from 
 the bank. 
 
 TEST OF NEW WORLD HOSPITALITY. 
 
 "This morning," wrote Master Robert Juet, who kept 
 Hudson's journal, "at our first rode in the river there came 
 eight and twentie canoes full of men, women and children to be- 
 tray us, but we saw their intent and suffered none of them to 
 come aboard of us." 
 
 Juet was evidently mistaken in his first impression of the 
 visitors' intentions for he goes on to add : "They brought with 
 them oysters and beans whereof we bought some. They have 
 great tobacco pipes of yellow copper and pots of earth to dresse 
 their meate in." 
 
 In this connection it may be of interest to the present gen- 
 eration to remark here that for nearly two centuries after this 
 historic transaction, the river flats bordering the Palisades pro- 
 duced the largest and most delicious oysters found near New 
 York. 
 
 Later in that September 
 day, the breeze freshening 
 from the southeast, the 
 "Half Moon" weighed an- 
 chor, and passing the north- 
 ern end of the Palisades stood 
 out across the broad waters 
 of the Tappan Zee. Henry 
 Hudson little imagined how 
 soon fate would bring him 
 again to these waters. On 
 the 2nd day of October the 
 "Half Moon," sailing south- 
 ward after a futile search for 
 the Northeast Passage, was 
 attacked by the Indians near 
 what is now Fort Washing- 
 ton Point. Her commander, 
 after dispersing the warriors 
 
 of "Manna-hata" with a fal- a Palisades Brook in Winter. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 9 
 
 con shot, sought the shelter of the great rocks on the western 
 shore, and the protection of the Sanhikans, "deadly enemies of 
 the Manhattans and a much superior people." All of the next 
 day the vessel lay at anchor in the cove north of what is now 
 Castle Point, Hoboken. From her decks Hudson pointed out 
 a huge rock upon the Palisades of "white-green" hue, which he 
 took for silver ore, but his ship sailed away without giving him 
 an opportunity for discovering his error. This peculiar rock, 
 long a point of interest, has been since obliterated by dynamite. 
 
 THE WHITE man's ONWARD MARCH. 
 
 As the years passed on the ship of the white man became 
 less and less a curiosity to the Indians of the Palisades. Dutch 
 farmhouses replaced leathern tents, and settlements clustered on 
 both sides of the ridge. Many of these original homesteads 
 still stand, thick of wall, huge of beam, their broad gambrel 
 roofs and quaint gables still forming picturesque monuments of 
 those pioneer days. 
 
 Peace rewarded the early settlers for over a century save 
 for occasional outbreaks from hostile Indians. Then came the 
 dark daj'^s of the Revolution. The shades and glades of the 
 Palisades became the scenes of war. From one of their rocky 
 promontories the Commander-in-Chief of the American Army 
 saw his force defeated in one of the most tragic hours of his 
 career. Up their precipitous sides two of England's great 
 generals took their armies. 
 
 The ancient town of Bergen was located on the southern 
 end of the ridge upon the present site of Jersey City Heights. 
 It was laid out in 1660 by Jacques Cortelyou, a surveyor of 
 Manhattan, under direction of Governor Peter Stuyvesant. Im- 
 portant fortifications were maintained here during the Revolu- 
 tion. On October 5, 1776, the Americans abandoned the Ber- 
 gen defenses and the British occupied and held them until the 
 close of the war. 
 
 On the present site of Hoboken was an Indian village called 
 "Hobock." At Hoboken, Castle Point projects into the river. 
 Here the original Stevens' homestead stood, built by John 
 Stevens, member of the Continental Congress, inventor of the 
 screw propeller and associate of Robert Fulton. The present 
 house, or "castle," a conspicuous landmark, was built in 1835 
 and is still occupied by members of the Stevens family. 
 
10 
 
 The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 SOME TRAGEDIES OF THE PALISADES. 
 
 Just above Hoboken were the Elysian Fields, New York's 
 great play-ground three-score 
 years ago. Here was committed 
 the murder of the beautiful Mary 
 Rogers, upon which Edgar Allan 
 Poe based his famous story "The 
 Murder of Marie Roget." 
 
 In the year 1804 the natural 
 beauties of Weehawken had not 
 been despoiled by the upward 
 march of population, and Fitz 
 Greene Halleck, who loved to 
 walk down to this spot from a 
 friend's home at Fort Lee, where 
 he was a frequent visitor, wrote: 
 
 Hamilton Monument at Weehawken. 
 
 "Weehawken ! In thy mountain scenery yet 
 All we adore of Nature and her wild 
 And frolic hour of infancy is met." 
 
 Here upon a grassy shelf of the Palisades there met on the 
 morning of July 11th, 1804, two of the most prominent men 
 in American history — Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. 
 In this secluded retreat, a favorite dueling ground, the two 
 men raised their pistols and here Hamilton fell mortally wound- 
 ed. When the seconds picked up the stricken man they rested 
 his head against a sandstone boulder. A monument was after- 
 ward erected on this spot, but it was almost entirely chipped 
 away by relic hunters, and the remnants were finally removed. 
 A railway now obliterates this historic place, but the boulder 
 upon which the statesman's head rested, has been taken to the 
 top of the cliff, surmounted with a bronze bust and provided 
 with a memorial tablet. It is interesting to note that one of 
 Hamilton's own sons fell in a duel at the same place prior to 
 his father's death. 
 
 THE OLD BLOCK HOUSE POINT. 
 
 At a point almost directly opposite Seventy-second Street, 
 New York, is Block House Point, scene of one of the lighter 
 events of the Revolution. 
 
 In 1780 the British had fortified a block house here for the 
 protection of a large herd of cattle and other supplies. "Light 
 
2%e Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 11 
 
 Horse" Harry Lee and General Anthony Wayne were de- 
 spatched from the north to capture these necessities. Their 
 force was insignificant in numbers, but rich in bravery. There 
 was a sharp attack, a stiff defense, and a somewhat hasty re- 
 treat, the incident prompting Andre's satirical poem, "The Cow 
 Chase," among the many cantos of which may be quoted these 
 typical lines : 
 
 "Sublime upon his stirrups rose 
 The mighty Lee behind, 
 And drove the terror-smitten cows 
 Like chaff before the wind." 
 
 On the river bank a short distance north of Block House 
 Point is Bull's Ferry, called after a family named Bull. This 
 was an important landing place during the Revolution. 
 
 
 A Winter's Twilight Along the Palisades. 
 
Drawn by E. Hagamau Hall, L.H.D , for the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society. 
 
 A LANDMARK MAP OF FORT LEE, N. J. 
 (See key at foot of opposite page.) 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson IS 
 
 HISTORIC OLD FORT LEE 
 
 ^E come now to the Fort Lee region of the Palisades, 
 which played an important part in the Revolu- 
 tion. Long before the outbreak of the great 
 struggle Etienne Burdett, a Manhattan merchant 
 of Huguenot parentage, built his home in a forest 
 clearing at the foot of the gorge Intersecting the 
 Palisades below Fort Lee Bluff. The precise site 
 of his house was directly east of the River Road, Edgewater, at a 
 point where it turns sharply at the base of the Fort Lee Hill. 
 Etienne's holdings included several hundred acres of the adja- 
 cent country. The Hackensack turnpike wound down the valley 
 to a landing almost opposite the Burdett home, known as Bur- 
 dett's Ferry. Periougas, the small sailing vessels then much 
 in use, carried passengers and freight from here to Blooming- 
 dale, on the Manhattan shore. During the Revolution Bur- 
 dett's Ferry offered the only communication between Forts 
 Washington and Lee. Troops, ammunition and supplies were 
 brought and sent from here, Etienne Burdett's brother, Peter, 
 having at that time inherited the place. Peter ■vfas an ardent 
 patriot and the present T. Fletcher Burdett, a resident of Fort 
 Lee, is proud to narrate how his great grandmother, who was 
 Peter's wife, cooked flapjacks for General Washington and other 
 
 KEY TO LANDMARK MAP OF FORT LEE 
 
 Reference: 1. Site of the Redoubt which commanded the sunken obstructions between 
 Fort Lee and Fort Washington. 2. Site oi the abattis enclosing the worlcs on Bluff 
 Point. 2 and 3. Site of works on Bluff Point. 4. Site of the main fortification of Fort 
 Lee. 5. House here stands on site of old butcher shop. Just south of house a few 
 years ago, there was about twenty-five feet of the embankment of the fort. 6. Here 
 George Beucler dug up a dozen cannon balls. 7. George Hook dug up nine bullets in a 
 cluster in June, 1901. 8. C. W. Dubois dug up bullets and bullet moulds when he exca- 
 vated a cellar and well about 1898. 9. JVlrs. JVlary Federspiel dug up part of exploded 
 shell. 10. iVlrs. Federspiel dug up cannon ball in 1861. 11. James Sullivan dug up thres 
 ■cannon balls in 1885. 12. Site of army oven. 13. Washington's well. 14. Michael Tier- 
 ney dug up three cannon balls in 1875. 15. Site of old pine tree which sheltered the 
 platform for the celebration July 4, 1873. The late James F. Tracey said that four or 
 five soldiers' graves were once pointed out to him in that vicinity. 16. Site of old pond, 
 Icnown as Parker's Pond Lot. The Fort Lee Monument was erected here in 1908. 17. 
 When Hook's Ice Pond was widened in 1898, the workmen dug up along the east sid; 
 quantities of lead, bullets, bullet moulds, cannon balls, a sabre, bayonets, bombshells, 
 shoebuckles, a saddle pommel and stirrups, shovels, a pickaxe and other tools. 18. On 
 west side of Ice Pond, there were formerly heaps of stone, the remains of the fireplaces 
 of the soldiers' huts. Here in 1875-6, George Hook dug up bars of lead, bullet moulds, 
 cannon balls, bayonets, etc. In the remains of a camp fire he found guns with their 
 stocks burned. 19. Traces of breastworks visible as late as 1901. They probably ex- 
 tended north of Whiteman Street. 20. Heaps of stone, the remains of the fireplaces in the 
 .soldiers' huts, some still recognizable. 
 
14 
 
 The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 of the Continental officers. 
 The original Burdett home- 
 stead, a picturesque gambrel- 
 roofed structure, was stand- 
 ing up to a decade ago. 
 
 Burdett's Ferry has the 
 distinction of having two 
 miniature engagements of its 
 own. Early on the morning 
 of August 18, 1776, the 
 British ships Phoenix and 
 Rose, which had previously 
 passed up the river, stood 
 down stream. When abreast 
 of the ferry the Rose was 
 hulled by a shot from Gen- 
 eral Mercer's Battery locat- 
 ed there, firing grape shot in 
 return. Again on October 
 27, at seven o'clock in the 
 morning, two British frigates moved up the river and anchored 
 off Burdett's Ferry, apparently to cut off communication be- 
 tween the forts. The barbette battery on Fort Lee Bluff opened 
 fire and two 18-pounders brought down to the ferry landing 
 from Fort Lee and planted opposite the ships repeatedly hulled 
 and partially disabled one of the vessels (Irving). "Had the 
 tide been flood one-half hour longer," wrote General Greene, 
 "we should have sunk her." 
 
 A Rocky Chaos on the Surnmit. 
 
 THE DARK DAYS OF '76. 
 
 In order to appreciate the dramatic events that occurred in 
 and about Fort Lee while the struggle for Independence was at 
 its height, it is necessary to bear in mind the status of the oppos- 
 ing forces in early November, 1776. The Colonial cause was in 
 a critical condition. 
 
 Forced to retire from Long Island and Westchester, and 
 driven northward from southern Manhattan Island, that portion 
 of the Continental forces east of the Hudson now found itself 
 on the heights between the Harlem and the Hudson, hemmed in 
 on all sides by the great army of Sir William Howe The 
 troops were battered, ragged and discouraged, and discontent 
 had begun to develop in their ranks. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 15 
 
 THE KEY TO THE HUDSON 
 
 t' ONGRESS had already instructed Washington to 
 "by every art and whatever expense obstruct ef- 
 fectually the navigation between Fort Washing- 
 ton (on the east bank of the river) and Mount 
 Constitution (on the Palisades whereon Fort Lee 
 stood) as well to prevent the enemy's frigates 
 lately gone up, as to hinder them from receiving 
 succor." In accordance with these plans General Nathaniel 
 Greene had fortified the two defenses that thus held the key to 
 the Hudson Valley, Fort Washington and Fort Lee. Colonel 
 Rufus Putnam had constructed an elaborate chevaux-de-frise, 
 across the river between the forts. This obstruction consisted 
 of two sunken sloops, two sunken brigs, two large ships mounted 
 with heavy guns and swivels, "two hundred iron fraise of 400 
 weight each," besides sundry logs and other impedimenta. 
 
 Fort Lee must be connected inseparably with its sister for- 
 tification, Fort Washington 
 on the opposite shore. In- 
 deed, as Greene wrote Wash- 
 ington, "it was of no conse- 
 quence except in conjunction 
 with Fort Washington." 
 Fort Lee was constructed by 
 General Hugh Mercer and 
 was originally called Fort 
 Constitution, but on October 
 18, 1776, was rechristened in 
 honor of General Charles Lee. 
 Its main works were lo- 
 cated on the crest of a precipitous bluff of the Palisades, 250 
 feet above the river, on the left-hand side of the present road 
 that ascends to the little village named in honor of the fort. 
 Immediately below the fort is the deep gorge through which this 
 road winds and a stream named Dead Brook. To the northeast 
 on Fort Lee Bluff, directly overlooking the river, there were 
 constructed outworks for the purpose of guarding the river 
 and commanding the chevaux-de-frise. 
 
 
 Diagram of Forts Lee and Washington. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 17 
 
 MILITARY VALUE OF FORT LEE. 
 
 The strategic value of Fort Lee lay in its ability to bom- 
 bard any hostile fleet in the river beneath, and to supply re- 
 inforcements to the opposite shore. Fort Washington lay on 
 the heights of Manhattan Island almost directly opposite, with 
 long outworks running down to Jeffrey's Hook, as Fort Wash- 
 ington Point was then named. 
 
 With his keen foresight Washington saw the futility of en- 
 deavoring to hold the fortification named in his honor, writing 
 Governor William Livingston, of New Jersey : "That they will 
 invest Fort Washington is a matter of which there can be no 
 doubt." The Americans holding Fort Washington were out- 
 numbered by the enemy almost three 
 to one. General Charles Lee had in- 
 solently disregarded the Commander's 
 orders to bring the 7,000 men under 
 him at North Castle to reinforce the 
 forts. Colonel Putnam's elaborate 
 obstruction had been proved vulner- 
 able, for on the morning of October 
 9th the British men-of-war Roebuck, 
 Phoenix and Tartar, with all sail set 
 to a fresh south wind, got under way 
 from their anchorage in the lower 
 river, and swept through the obstruc- 
 tions in gallant style, notwithstand- 
 ing bombardment from the two shore 
 defenses. Later, on the night of 
 November 14th, a fleet of the enemy's 
 flat boats passed In spite of the 
 obstructions, and proceeded into the Harlem River. 
 
 The Commander-in-Chief, therefore, ordered General 
 Greene to evacuate Fort Washington, and withdraw from Fort 
 Lee. The orders were of a somewhat discretionary nature, how- 
 ever. Greene and Putnam were both sanguine of their ability 
 to hold the forts successfully and decided to remain. Congress, 
 then sitting at Fishkill, and fearful of an invasion of the Hud- 
 son Valley, further complicated matters by transmitting in- 
 structions not to evacuate the forts except in case of "direst 
 necessity-" 
 
 Picturesque Foreground of Dense 
 Foliage and High Rocks. 
 
18 
 
 The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 WASHINGTON AT FORT LEE. 
 
 The Ice Floes' Silent Course. 
 
 On the 13th of November Washington, anxious concerning 
 the forts, arrived at Fort Lee from Stony Point, traveling by 
 the road that follows the 
 western slope of the Pali- 
 sades. Here he found Greene 
 reinforcing Fort Washing- 
 ton. After a brief visit the 
 Commander left for the 
 headquarters at Hackensack. 
 
 Stirring events now fol- 
 lowed in rapid succession. On 
 the 15th Colonel Robert Ma- 
 g a w , commanding Fort I 
 Washington, received an im- 
 perative order to surrender 
 from General Howe. The 
 order threatened severe 
 measures should it be refused. In ringing terms Magaw threw 
 down the gauntlet in his stirring message containing the memo- 
 rable words, "actuated by the most glorious cause that mankind 
 ever fought in, I am determined to hold this fort until the last 
 extremity." At four o'clock in the afternoon of the same day 
 Greene sent a hurried message requesting the presence of Wash- 
 ington at Fort Lee. The General galloped over the Hacken- 
 sack turnpike and reached the fort at nine o'clock in the even- 
 ing. Greene had already crossed the river. Down the gorge 
 road Washington hurried, and, boarding a boat, was rowed 
 across toward Jeffrey's Hook. When half-way across, as 
 Washington himself puts it in his journal, "I met Generals Put- 
 nam and Greene, who were just returning from thence (Fort 
 Washington) and they informed me that the troops were in 
 high spirits and would make a good defense, and it being late 
 at night, I returned." That night Washington slept at the 
 Burdett house, of which we have already heard. 
 
 THE FAIiL OF THE FORTS. 
 
 Early on the next day, after the morning mists had cleared 
 away, the boom of cannon and crack of musketry announced the 
 opening of hostilities. From the lofty eminence of Fort Lee 
 the entire scene of battle was visible. Beneath the anxious 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 19 
 
 A Wind-Swept Crag. 
 
 watchers at that point, flowed 
 the Hudson, the foreground 
 of a vast panorama stretch- 
 ing far to the north among 
 the Westchester hills, to the 
 blue hills of Long Island be- 
 yond the Sound and to the 
 south as far as Staten Island. 
 Across on the heights 
 of the opposite island these 
 watchers could now clearly 
 see the beginning of the 
 greatest battle ever fought 
 upon Manhattan Island; a 
 battle in which love, patriotism, daring and even treason, were 
 all strangely intermixed. Brave Robert Magaw, with scarce 
 3,000 men, faced over 8,900 British pressing him on three sides 
 and with the man-of-war Pearl threatening his riverward earth- 
 works. 
 
 Through the woods from the north came the first column 
 under Von Knyphausen, 3,000 strong; from the south charged 
 two brigades under Percy together with Maxwell's forces, over 
 5,000 men all told ; from the east moved Sterling with over 900 
 men in line. It was a bewildering attack for the little garrison 
 to meet. 
 
 Nearer and nearer came the crack of the muskets. Again 
 and again an opening was made in the defenses. Again and 
 again it was resolutely closed. The little force of Americans 
 fought shoulder to shoulder, as men only fight when desperately 
 pressed. For an hour and a half Cadwallader's 800 Pennsyl- 
 vanians held back 5,000 British. Among these 800 stood Cor- 
 bin, a Pennsylvania gunner. Behind him crouched his wife, 
 Margaret. A shot mortally wounded him. His wife instantly 
 took his place at the gun and fired it steadily till a grape-shot 
 prostrated her. She was the first woman to fight in the cause of 
 American liberty, and the first woman to receive a pension from 
 the Government in recognition of her services. 
 
 WASHINGTON VIEWS THE DISASTER. 
 
 While the din was at its height a silent and Impressive 
 scene was being enacted at Fort Lee on the opposite side of the 
 river. Upon the crest of the Palisades stood Washington and 
 his officers gravely watching the tide of battle. As the attack- 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 21 
 
 Ing columns worked nearer and nearer to the defenders a look 
 of anguish overspread the Commander's strong face. Taking 
 paper and pencil he hastily wrote a message to Magaw. Wash- 
 ington had already seen that the defense was hopeless, but he 
 believed that the little army might still be rescued. He im- 
 plored Magaw to hold on till night when a rescuing force from 
 Fort Lee would attempt to bring his men across the river. 
 
 Captain Gooch, of Boston, took the message from the Gen- 
 eral's hand, and dashed down to the river bank with it. Here he 
 leaped into a boat and rowed across to Jeffrey's Hook. He 
 landed, leaped up the rocky bank, rushed into the fort and in 
 person handed the message to Magaw. Then the messenger ran 
 out from the fort, reached his boat and rowed across to the 
 western shore, which he regained in safety. 
 
 Washington's urgent instructions reached Magaw too late. 
 He had found his position untenable before they had reached 
 his hands. He had fought a battle against odds of three to one, 
 but he had a still more serious handicap, William Demont, one 
 of his own adjutants, the first traitor in the American Army, 
 having supplied the enemy with the complete plans of Fort 
 Washington. 
 
 In despair the Commander-in-Chief watched the last act in 
 the tragedy being enacted before his ej^es. Finally the firing 
 ceased, and he saw the white flag flutter from the flagpole of 
 Fort Washington. He dropped his field glass, and in the agony 
 of his soul "wept with the tenderness of a child." But in this, 
 the hour of grief and discouragement, Washington never lost 
 sight of the immediate danger to the force about him. He saw 
 that further holding of Fort 
 Lee was hopeless, that at any 
 hour the British might cross 
 and capture it. 
 
 The British losses were 
 500, the American losses 150. 
 The British captured 3,000 
 men, besides valuable stores 
 and ammunition. 
 
 "The fall of Fort Wash- 
 ington," sa3'-s Fiske, "was the 
 greatest disaster of the war, 
 and came within an ace of 
 overwhelming the American 
 cause in irretrievable ruin." Along an Ancient Road. 
 
22 
 
 The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 GENERAL GREENE S HASTY FLIGHT. 
 
 The evacuation of Fort Lee, which now followed, was ac- 
 complished with desperate haste. "Greene took flight," says 
 Bancroft, "leaA'ing blankets and baggage, except what his few 
 wagons could bear away, more than three months' provisions for 
 3,000 men, camp kettles on the fires, above 400 tents standing 
 and all his cannon except two twelve-pounders." An interesting 
 account of the evacuation Avas written by Thomas Paine, the 
 celebrated author, who as aide-de-camp to Greene, was an eye- 
 witness. He says: 
 
 "As I was with the troops at Fort Lee, and marched with 
 them to the edge of Pennsylvania, I am well acquainted with 
 many circumstances which those who lived at a distance knew 
 little of. Our situation there was exceedingly cramped, the 
 place being on a narrow neck of land, between the Hackensack 
 
 Where Grim Winter Rules in Solitary Grandeur. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 23 
 
 and North Rivers. Our force was inconsiderable, being not one- 
 fourth as great as Howe could bring against us. We had no 
 army at hand to have relieved the garrison, had we shut ourselves 
 up and stood on the defense. Our ammunition, light artillery 
 and the best part of our stores had been removed upon the ap- 
 prehension that Howe would endeavor to penetrate the Jerseys, 
 in which case Fort Lee could be of no use to us. * * * 
 Such was our situation and condition at Fort Lee on the morn- 
 ing of the 20th of November, when an officer arrived with in- 
 formation that the enemy with 200 boats had landed seven or 
 eight miles above. Major-General Greene, who commanded the 
 garrison, immediately ordered them under arms, and sent an ex- 
 press to his Excellency, General Washington, at Hackensack, 
 distant six miles. Our first object was to secure the bridge 
 across the Hackensack. General Washington arrived in about 
 three-quarters of an hour and marched at the head of his troops. 
 * « « "\Yg brought off as much baggage as the wagons 
 could contain. The rest was lost. * * * The simple ob- 
 ject was to bring off the garrison and march them on till they 
 could be strengthened by the Pennsylvania or Jersey militia." 
 
 The Palisades Fort was soon to fall into the hands of the 
 British. On the evening of November 19th Lord Cornwallis 
 crossed the Hudson from the east bank with a force of 6,000 
 men, including the first and second battalions of light infantry ; 
 two companies of chasseurs, two battalions of guards and the 
 83rd and 42nd regiments of the line. This formidable army 
 was landed at Closter Landing, now known as Alpine. The dif- 
 ficult task of getting men and arms up to the crest of the Pali- 
 sades over the rough and steep road was at once begun. On 
 the following morning the British army and its gear of war 
 had gained the crest, and after a two hours' march, it was se- 
 curely ensconced within the works of Fort Lee. 
 
 Two years after Cornwallis had taken his men up the road 
 from Closter Landing (Alpine) General Earl Grey, of Lord 
 Howe's Army, disembarked his forces at the same point and 
 marched across to Hackensack, where he fell upon Colonel Bay- 
 lor's patriots. 
 
 The key to the Hudson was thus completely in the hands of 
 the British, but it did not prove so valuable from a strategic 
 point of view as had been supposed. 
 
The Sloping Crest of the Palisades. 
 
 Photograph by John P. Fritts. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 25 
 
 Ruins of the Old Mountain House at Englewood Cliffs. 
 
 MARKING HISTORIC LOCALITIES 
 
 HE remains of Fort Washington can still be seen, 
 and on the 125th anniversary of the battle, Oc- 
 tober 16, 1901, a bronze tablet was placed on the 
 site by the American Scenic and Historic Preser- 
 vation Society, 
 
 Until 1908 no monument or tablet marked 
 the site of Fort Lee. On September 26 of that 
 year, however, through the efforts of the Fort Lee Revolutionary 
 Monument Association, the Palisades Interstate Park Commis- 
 sion, acting as custodians of the funds, an appropriate monu- 
 ment was erected. This monument is the work of Carl E. 
 Tefft, whose design was 
 selected in a competitive con- 
 test. The base of the mon- 
 ument consists of an im- 
 mense boulder of Palisade 
 rock, climbing up one side of 
 'which heroic bronze figures 
 of two Continental soldiers 
 are represented. The artist's 
 and sculptor's idea is to show 
 the soldiers scaling the crest 
 of the Palisades. 
 
 Few traces of the de- 
 fenses themselves now remain. 
 Traces of the south bastion 
 of the fort west of the quaint 
 little stone Episcopal Church 
 may still be seen, also the 
 soldiers' ovens cut out of the rock. Almost opposite the church 
 is the "Washington Spring," which supplied water to the 
 troops. All traces of the redoubt on Fort Lee Bluff have now 
 
 Revolutionary Monument at Fort Lee. 
 
26 The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 disappeared, although J. Fletcher Burdett, of Fort Lee, told 
 the writer that a few years ago, in constructing a building there, 
 the stone wall thrown up by the Continental soldiers was clearly 
 disclosed. 
 
 A TUAITOU'S NAME PERPETUATED. 
 
 It is unfortunate that the name of the Palisades fort was 
 changed from Fort Constitution to Fort Lee. It now perpetu- 
 ates the memory of one whose disloyalty and treachery to the 
 American cause were manifested on many occasions. The career 
 of Charles Lee was repugnant alike to the Continental and Brit- 
 ish armies. We have seen his supreme disregard of Washing- 
 ton's orders. After tardily bringing his forces across the 
 Hudson, he was captured by the British and taken to New York 
 for confinement. He immediately set about to purchase his 
 liberty by treachery. In prison he elaborated a plan to his 
 captors for conquering the American Army. But his perfidy 
 was not well received by Sir William Howe. Instructions were 
 received from the King to send Lee to England for trial. 
 Washington held six Hessian officers as hostages for Lee's 
 safety, however, and Howe fearing to send his prisoner 
 home, in May, 1778, exchanged him for Major General Pres- 
 cott. Lee was reappointed to Second in Command, but further 
 treachery at Monmouth and subsequent disloyalty led to his per- 
 manent dismissal from the army. His later days were given 
 to venomous attacks upon Washington. Finally, despised by 
 all decent men, he died in a public house at Philadelphia, his re- 
 mains being interred in Christ Church Cemetery. 
 
 A few miles above Fort Lee Bluff a white edifice surmounts 
 the cliffs. This is St. Michael's Villa, a prominent Roman 
 Catholic Convent. Just beyond this point are the remains of 
 the old Englewood 
 pier, long since dis- 
 used. North of the 
 pier Englewood 
 Creek winds through 
 a narrow meadow of 
 salt grass to the base 
 of the Palisades. To 
 the north of St. 
 Michael's are the 
 vine-covered ruins of 
 
 the Palisades Moun- Old Undercliff Settlement. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 27 
 
 tain House, burned in 1884*. Opposite here, on the western 
 slope of the Palisades, lies the city of Englewood. The little set- 
 tlement from which the present city had its origin was called 
 Liberty Pole. During the 
 Revolution it stood in the 
 thick of military activities. 
 
 A PICTURESQUE HAMLET. 
 
 A mile north of the 
 old Englewood pier a pic- 
 turesque hamlet of scarce 
 half a dozen houses nestles 
 under the brow of the 
 great rocks. This is known 
 as UnderclilF Settlement. 
 
 F. . J , • Old Burying Ground at Undercliff Settlement. 
 
 o r generations, datmg 
 
 back to Revolutionary days, members of the Van Wagoner fam- 
 ily have dwelt here. In two of the houses still live venerable 
 members of this family. Back of the settlement from a tangled 
 undergrowth rise the headstones of an ancient burying ground. 
 Here lie the remains of the Van Wagoners, all the gravestones 
 bearing dates at the beginning of the nineteenth century. 
 
 Easily distinguishable from the river by its two long, white 
 houses is Huyler's Landing, a short distance north of this ham- 
 let. Its former name was Lower Closter Landing. The two 
 houses, with a tiny cottage almost hidden behind the trees, are of 
 
 The Cornwallis Headquarters at Alpine. This House, Which Is Over 150 Years Old, Is 
 Being Carefully Preserved by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. 
 
28:. 
 
 The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 great age. An old road, now dis- 
 used, winds down from the cliffs. 
 Decades ago Huyler's Landing was 
 a shipping point for the back coun- 
 try. 
 
 Directly opposite the city of 
 Yonkers is Alpine Landing, which in 
 Revolutionary days was called Clos- 
 ter Landing. We have already seen 
 its historical importance as the point 
 at wliich Lord Cornwallis, and later. 
 General Earl Grey, landed their re- 
 spective forces. Among all the an- 
 cient houses of the Palisades still pre- 
 served none is more interesting than 
 one which stands here. It was built 
 over 150 years ago of Palisade stone 
 and timber rough hewn from the 
 Palisades forest. In this house Lord 
 Cornwallis made his headquarters. Just to the south is the 
 beginning of the old road up which the British armies made 
 their laborious ways. Its remains may be traced clearly through 
 the woods. Until a few years ago an old brick grist mill was 
 still standing at the landing. Here the farmers of the western 
 valley were wont to bring their grain and obtain provisions 
 brought hither by the river packets. Almost in front of the 
 Cornwallis house rests a gigantic boulder which came crashing 
 down the face of the Palisades only a decade ago. It narrowly 
 missed striking and annihilating the old structure. 
 
 From Alpine Landing to Sneden's Landing, a distance of 
 five miles, the Palisades assume their most imposing formation. 
 Opposite Hastings the cliffs rise almost perpendicularly from 
 the water, presenting a sheer face of rock 550 feet in height. 
 This is the highest portion of the ridge. 
 
 Remains of Old Military Road 
 at Alpine. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 29 
 
 Revolutionary Pistol Found in Old Block House at Sneden's Landing. 
 
 STORY OF SNEDEN'S LANDING 
 
 NEDEN'S LANDING is rich In Its historical as- 
 sociations. In this quaint little settlement cen- 
 tered some of the most spirited minor events of 
 the Revolution. Directly In front of it, on the 
 noble river whose waves wash its ancient dock, 
 was stationed the British fleet during the period 
 from 1776 to 1783; and It was here that, by 
 direct order of Parliament, the American flag was first saluted 
 by the English navy. 
 
 During the Revolution Sneden's Landing was known simply 
 as "Dobb's Ferry on the west side of the Hudson." The old 
 house at the landing, where lived the intrepid ferry mistress, 
 "MoUie" Sneden, Is a landmark to- 
 day for patriotic Americans to visit 
 and enjoy. In Revolutionary days 
 it was known far and wide as "Sneed- 
 ing's old house at the Fferry." As 
 far back as the year 1719, according 
 to historical records. It was known as 
 "Corbet's old house," and It was here 
 that James Alexander took observa- 
 tions for the establishment of the 
 point where the 41st degree of longi- 
 tude crosses the Hudson River, 
 marking the boundary line between 
 New York and New Jersey. 
 
 On the sharply rising ground 
 above the landing are the ruins of the 
 old redoubts. Here were posted 500 
 Continental troops under Maj or John At oid Huyier's Landing. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 31 
 
 Photograph by W. S. Gillman. 
 
 Grave of Mollie Sneden at Palisades, N. Y. 
 
 Clark, immediately after the 
 battle of White Plains, in 
 November, 1776. The Amer- 
 i c a n commanders believed 
 that it was Lord Howe's in- 
 tention to invade the state of 
 New Jersey by way of Sne- 
 den's Landing and Major 
 Clark was ordered to dispute 
 the British general's passage. 
 The Continental officer was 
 not compelled to fight the 
 British at Sneden's Landing, 
 however, as the invading 
 army under Lord Comwallis 
 crossed over at Alpine, five 
 miles below. 
 
 There are many other points of historical interest at 
 Sneden's Landing. Nearby, on the Closter Road, stands the 
 Nagle, or Naugle, homestead built about 1710, where in Revo- 
 lutionary days lived John D. Nagle, "the honest miller." The 
 old Nagle grist mill was a landmark for many years, but was 
 finally torn down. After the execution of the British spy. 
 Major Andre, at Tappan, a few miles away, the unfortunate 
 officer's effects were brought to the Nagle house. 
 
 On the hill above the redoubts stood the old Block House 
 built in 1776, a conspicuous mark for the British ships. The 
 tops of two large cedar trees, which stood near the Block House, 
 were blown off under the bombardment of the British frigate 
 Asia in 1776. Ruins of the' 
 old defense may be still seen 
 in the woods surrounding its 
 site. In these ruins more 
 than a century ago was 
 found an old Revolutionary 
 pistol, now in possession of 
 the Mann family. Between 
 the Block House and the 
 redoubt is located the Wash- 
 ington Spring, where, tradi- 
 
 .. 1 ', nr ' /-Ml J A Glimpse of the Italian Garden on the 
 
 T;i0n has it, Major Clark and Lawrence Estate. 
 
32 
 
 The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 his men obtained their water. In the little hamlet of Palisades^ 
 just on top of the hill west of Sneden's Landing, stands one of 
 the oldest structures in America, antedating by nearly a cen- 
 tury the Revolution. It is known as "the Big House." The 
 foundation of its kitchen is said to date back to 1685. In this 
 house General Washington is said to have sat at table. At 
 present an extensive circulating library is maintained there. 
 
 Nearby is located the old Palisades Cemetery. Here lie the 
 remains of man}^ old settlers, among them, those of Mollie 
 Sneden, the ferry mistress of the Revolution. 
 
 
 
 "t V/ 
 
 
 
 
 ■ ^/ 
 
 r>/' 
 
 Alap of the Lockhart Tract at Sneden's Landing Made in 1746. The Original of This Map 
 Is Now in Possession of the Palisades Library at Palisades, New York, 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 33 
 
 Sneden's Landing played its part in the mournful Revolu- 
 tionary episode of 1778 when Colonel George Baylor and more 
 than a hundred of his troops were slaughtered while asleep by the 
 British General Grey at Paramus, a few miles west. Coincident 
 with Grey's attack upon the defenseless Continentals Lieutenant 
 Colonel Campbell crossed to Sneden's Landing and moved west 
 to surprise General Wayne at Tappan. But the wily American 
 officer had been warned and with his force, inferior in numbers 
 only, had retreated northward to safety. 
 
 It is said that Lady Martha Washington, In journeying to 
 join her husband at Cambridge, in the autumn of 1775, crossed 
 the ferry at Sneden's Landing. 
 
 Just south of the landing, upon a plateau, is "ClifFside," 
 the magnificent estate of Mrs. Lydia G. Lawrence. Of all the 
 imposing homes of the Hudson Valley few command a grander 
 view than this, overlooking the broad expanse of the Tappan Zee, 
 and the lower river. A woodland path leads southward from the 
 house to a pergola standing on the river's edge, modeled after 
 a similar structure at Amalfi, Italy. Behind this pergola a 
 cascade falls down the perpendicular side of the Palisades into a 
 beautiful grotto with pools, fountains and statuary. The owner 
 of "ClifFside" has recently given a large and valuable tract of 
 her estate to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. 
 
 In the old days Sneden's Landing was an important ship- 
 building point, many vessels being constructed here. Only 
 twenty-five years after the launching of Fulton's Clermont, 
 the steam ferryboat Union was built and put in operation at 
 the landing. The only ferry at present is a motor boat accom- 
 modating foot passengers only. 
 
Night on the Palisades. 
 
 Photograph by John P. Frittg. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 35 
 
 ROADS OF THE PALISADES 
 
 ' ^i;]]!^ ALISADES roads are among the interesting fea- 
 
 tures of the ridge. This is especially true of 
 several old roads. One of the most picturesque 
 of these zig-zags down the precipitous cliffs from 
 the end of Palisade Avenue, Englewood Cliffs. 
 There are few wilder mountain roads than this — 
 known for many years as the old Englewood 
 turnpike. It crosses and recrosses a stream which leaps in 
 cascades to the river. On one side is a sheer wall of rock; the 
 other overlooks an almost perpendicular declivity. At a point 
 near the river the road forks, one branch extending southward 
 to the old Englewood pier, the other, called UnderclifF Avenue, 
 running northward to UnderclifF settlement. Another old road, 
 now disused, winds down the cliffs at Huyler's Landing, while 
 farther northward are the remains of the ancient road which 
 led from Closter (now 
 Alpine) Landing t o 
 the cliffs, and over 
 "which the British ar- 
 mies were transported. 
 The present road at 
 Alpine accomplishes 
 the ascent by far eas- 
 ier grades. At Sne- 
 den's Landing the old 
 Rockland Road led 
 down to the river. 
 Its course was to the 
 north and down a 
 much steeper hill than 
 the present highway. 
 An almost continuous 
 trip by road along the 
 
 top of the ridge can 5^ „ 
 
 1)8 made from Wee- '^'^-l-j* "^ \., 
 
 liawken to Piermont. ^^^/^''^r^aft^* "'v ;,&iM 
 
 Prom Weehawken to a Picturesque Old Highway of the Palisades. 
 
Photograph by John P. Fritts^ 
 This Cool, Shady Path Invites the Tired City Dweller to Rest and Reflection. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 37 
 
 Hudson Pleights, just below ClifFside, the magnificent Hudson 
 County Boulevard follows the edge of the cliffs. From Cliffside 
 to Fort Lee an excellent road runs some distance back of the 
 crest. From Fort Lee to Alpine a macadam highway traverses 
 the woodland a short distance from the cliff line, continuing 
 from Alpine to Piermont, as an ordinary country road. 
 
 In Revolutionary times a military road was constructed be- 
 tween Sneden's Landing and Fort Lee, running for a few miles 
 close to the cliffs. Traces of this road can yet be seen, espe- 
 cially along the northern portion of its course. 
 
 Summer and Winter Along the Old Englewood Turnpike. 
 
Photograph by John P. Fritts. 
 Depth and Distance Are Typified in This View, from a Jutting Point Above Englewood Creek. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 39 
 
 HOW THE PALISADES WERE SAVED 
 
 ^ELOW Fort Lee Point there is but little left of the 
 wild beauty of former years. Here the band of 
 man has reached out and scarred and destroyed 
 the picturesqueness of the cHfFs. Huge factory 
 chimneys rise against jagged quarries. Wretched 
 Italian settlements are crowding out the old es- 
 tates, and soon nothing of the old-time charms 
 will remain. North of Fort Lee Bluff the ruthless dynamiter 
 began to destroy the grandest portion of the ridge. The 
 greater portion of old Indian Head was blown asunder to be 
 metamorphosed into flats and skyscrapers in the neighboring 
 city. The old trees were torn from their roots and the hacking 
 and slashing threatened the entire ridge. Well might the old 
 trees have exclaimed with Kipling as this work went on : 
 
 "Children we are of the great god Pan 
 
 Who marvel much by the river; 
 
 How ruthless man can mar the plan 
 
 Of the wise and bounteous giver. 
 
 We hear afar the sounds of war 
 
 As rocks they rend and shiver; 
 They blast and mine and rudely scar 
 
 The pleasant banks of the river." 
 
 With increasing desecration of the cliffs public indignation 
 grew stronger. Protests against the vandalism became more 
 and more persistent. Various measures for halting the destruc- 
 tion were proposed. Every movement and every public body 
 that joined in an effort to save the Palisades helped to pave the 
 wa}'^ for the actual accomplishment which has been achieved by 
 the present Palisades Interstate Park Commission. The early 
 attempts at preservation, the steps that led up to this efficient 
 body, its organization, its methods and its future aims, all con- 
 stitute a chapter in the history of scenic preservation of vital 
 interest and significance. 
 
 The first tangible plan toward protecting the Palisades was 
 a proposal to induce the National Government to secure them 
 for military purposes. Supporters of this idea induced the 
 state Legislatures of New Jersey and New York to pass bills 
 
"40 
 
 The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 authorizing the appointment of a commission to confer "for the 
 acquisition of the Palisades by the United States." This com- 
 mission consisted of three members from each state. The New 
 Jersey commissioners were Henry D. Winton, Edward P. Meany 
 and Charles B. Thurston. The New York representatives were 
 Enoch C. Bell, Waldo G. Morse and J. James R. Croes. Ac- 
 cordingly in 1895, under recommendation of the joint commis- 
 sioners, legislation was introduced in each state ceding the face 
 a,nd water frontage of the ridge to the United States for a "mili- 
 tary fortification and reservation." The respective measures 
 were signed by Governor George T. Werts, of New Jersey, and 
 Governor Levi P. Morton, of New York, and submitted to the 
 House Committee on military affairs in the Fifty-fourth Con- 
 gress. The Palisades were obviously of little value for military 
 purposes and the proposal was not accepted. Resubmitted in 
 the Fifty-fifth Congress it met with similar fate. 
 
 NEW JERSEY WOMEN TAKE A HAND. 
 
 The outlook for preservation following these failures was 
 discouraging. There seemed to be no plan or hope for future 
 action. At this junc- 
 ture the women of | 1 
 New Jersey took up 
 the work. With per- 
 sistence and zeal the 
 New Jersey State 
 Federation of Wo- * 
 men's Clubs began an 
 active campaign. The 
 first fruits of this 
 movement were real- 
 ized in the passage 
 of a bill in 1899 by 
 the New Jersey State 
 Legislature empow- 
 ering the Governor 
 to appoint a commit- ! 
 tee of five to "report 
 upon the present con- 
 dition of the Pali- 
 sades and to suggest . 
 
 some remedy or rem- Palisades at Coytesville. Ruthless Quarrymen Were 
 ^rli'oc fr. Tivoironf +>ifw Gouging Away the Face of the Cliff When Stopped 
 
 edies to prevent tne Through the Efforts of Patriotic Citizens. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 41 
 
 Bare and Ghostly Trees Overlooking an Ice. 
 Locked River. 
 
 Palisades from defacement and depredation." Governor Foster 
 M. Voorhees signed the enactment and named as members of the 
 commission Miss Ehzabeth B. Vermilye, Cecilia Gaines Holland, 
 Franklin W. Hopkins, William A. Linn and S. Wood McClave. 
 
 In New York state interest in halting the vandalism was 
 keen. Among the prominent 
 friends of the Palisades in 
 New York were Andrew H. 
 Green, "Father of Greater 
 New York," President of the 
 American Scenic and His- 
 t o r i c Preservation Society 
 and Governor Theodore 
 Roosevelt. The New York 
 Legislature passed a bill sim- 
 ilar to that enacted in New 
 Jersey and Governor Roose- 
 velt appointed as the New 
 York committee at the sug- 
 gestion of Mr. Green, Fred- 
 erick W. Devoe, Frederick S. Lamb, George F. Kunz, Abraham 
 G. Mills and Edward Payson Cone. 
 
 Conferences covering nearly a year were held by both com- 
 missions. A definite solution of the Palisades problem was de- 
 cided upon. The committees recommended in their report to the 
 respective state Legislatures that the first important step should 
 be the passage of acts "constituting a permanent Interstate 
 Palisades Park Commission with power to acquire and hold for 
 each state whatever territory was necessary along the Palisades 
 for an interstate park and thereby preserve the scenery of the 
 Palisades — the intention being to form a continuous park along 
 the entire front of the Palisades from Fort Lee, N. J., to Pier- 
 mont, N. Y." Five members were to be appointed from each 
 state. 
 
 Legislation to this end was passed by the New York Legis- 
 lature and approved by Governor Roosevelt March 22nd, 1900. 
 A bill of similar purport was introduced in the New Jersey 
 Legislature. It met with hostility. Within and without the 
 Legislature influences were set in motion to kill the measure. 
 Powerful opposition was exerted by the quarrying interests. A 
 
42 
 
 The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 This Charming Footpath Runs Practically the Whole Length of (he Palisades Interstate Park. 
 
 portion of the press gave evidence of being subsidized. Legis- 
 lators themselves worked for its defeat. The friends of the 
 proposed enactment maintained an unremitting fight, however, 
 and finally by dint of tremendous effort and by yielding to un- 
 important compromise in certain points, they carried the day. 
 The bill was passed and approved by Governor Foster M. 
 Voorhees. 
 
 Thus was created the present Interstate Park Commission 
 which has solved one by one the problems of saving the Palisades 
 from destruction and converting them into a great pleasure 
 ground of priceless value and transcending natural beauty. 
 New Jersey's commissioners as appointed by Governor Voorhees 
 were : Abram S. Hewitt, Edwin A. Stevens, Franklin W. Hop- 
 kins, William A. Linn and Abram De Ronde. New York's ap- 
 pointees were: George W. Perkins, J. DuPratt White, Ralph 
 Trautmann, D. McNeely Stauffer and Nathan F. Barrett. 
 
 The wise judgment shown in these appointments has been 
 demonstrated, not only by the efficiency of the members, but also 
 by the notable fact that their personnel has remained unchanged 
 for upwards of a decade except that the death of two commis- 
 sioners, Abram S. Hewitt and Ralph Trautmann have given 
 place to William B. Dana and William H. Porter. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 43 
 
 Palisades Interstate Park Patrol Boat. 
 
 WORK OF INTERSTATE PARK 
 COMMISSION 
 
 HEN the Commission of the Palisades Interstate 
 Park began its labors it had on hand appropria- 
 tions of $5,000 from New Jersey and $10,000 
 from New York. A complete and systematic sur- 
 vey of the territory under jurisdiction was at once 
 instituted as a foundation for their future work. 
 New Jersey's entire appropriation was devoted to 
 this undertaking. In the New Jersey frontage there were 147 
 parcels held by 112 different owners. The survey was attended 
 by unusual difficulties. Nothing better illustrates the wilder- 
 ness character of this region than the difficulty which was ex- 
 perienced in determining some of the property lines and the 
 ownership of certain areas. There was much confusion in 
 boundary lines and in some instances no transfer of titles had 
 been made for generations. It was a work requiring a vast 
 amount of patient investigation. In one instance, that of a 
 parcel of an acre in size, it was necessary to send a deed convey- 
 ing an undivided 1/240 interest twice to the state of Washing- 
 ton before the document was properly executed. 
 
 Once the commission's survey had been completed the vital 
 work of preservation was taken up. At intervals along the 
 Palisades quarrymen were cleaving huge masses from the cliffs. 
 Probably the worst offender was a concern that was tearing an 
 enormous gash in the rocks near Fort Lee Bluff. According to 
 a statement published at that time 12,000 cubic yards of the 
 Palisades were being blasted away each day at this quarry alone. 
 To stop this and other blasting was the commission's task. It 
 succeeded in securing an option on the property of this leading 
 offender. The price asked for the property was $132,500, and 
 
44 
 
 The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 $10,000 was required to secure the option. The commissioners 
 still had New York's $10,000 appropriation, and they decided 
 to use it in securing this option. The amount was paid in De- 
 cember, 1900, and on Christmas Eve of that year blasting was 
 stopped at this quarrj'^ — a memorable event in the history of 
 Palisades preservation. 
 
 The problem of raising the balance of $122,500 necessary 
 to secure ownership of the property was then faced. The pros- 
 pect was not encouraging. Further state aid was out of the 
 question for the time being. Public .^ 
 
 contributions formed the only other ^ 
 alternative. The commission set 
 about this laborious process of rais- 
 ing the money. The commission's 
 president, Mr. George W. Perkins, 
 Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan's business 
 partner, was one of the most ener- 
 getic workers for funds. Mr. Per- 
 kins presented the needs of the com- 
 mission to Mr. Morgan and Mr. Mor- 
 gan responded by contributing the 
 entire amount needed, $122,500, thus 
 enabling the commission to close title 
 with the quarrymen. Other public 
 men have contributed both money 
 and property. Mr. Cleveland H. 
 Dodge has given the commission 12 
 acres, while Mr. George W. Perkins 
 only recently has donated $12,000 towards the purchase of the 
 remaining properties. 
 
 No tablet has been placed upon the Palisades recording 
 Mr. Morgan's magnificent gift, bestowed at the most critical 
 of all periods in Palisades preservation, or commemorating gifts 
 which have been made by others, of both land and money, but 
 Mr. Morgan and the other men who have come to the aid of 
 this vast scenic enterprise could crave no grander monument to 
 their munificence than the great cliffs, that will tower above the 
 river unmarred, for generations after the lives of these donors 
 are but distant memories. 
 
 A Bit of Shore Line. 
 
 COMMISSION IN FULI, CONTROL. 
 
 From this auspicious beginning the commission progressed 
 steadily, securing quarry after quarry, until all were in its con- 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 45 
 
 trol. State aid became more generous. In 1901 New Jersey 
 appropriated $50,000 for the purchase of land and New York 
 $400,000. By the end of 1903 at least 50% of the land had 
 been acquired. The following table shows at a glance the yearly 
 
 progress made 
 
 by the 
 
 commission in 
 
 purchasing Palis£ 
 
 frontage : 
 
 
 
 
 
 Feet 
 
 
 Cost of Land 
 
 Year 
 
 Frontage 
 
 Acres 
 
 and Improvements 
 
 1901 
 
 11,832 
 
 122 
 
 $178,210.62 
 
 1902 
 
 10,214 
 
 131 
 
 63,750.98 
 
 1903 
 
 10,377 
 
 72 
 
 38,352.90 
 
 1904 
 
 9,500 
 
 112 
 
 46,489.80 
 
 1905 
 
 4,605 
 
 58 
 
 43,530.33 
 
 1906 
 
 2,010 
 
 25 
 
 41,250.00 
 
 1907 
 
 343 
 
 2 (homesteads) 17,500.00 
 
 1908 
 
 1,740 
 
 29 
 
 4,047.30 
 
 1909 acquisition practically completed. 
 
 The total cost of land, riparian rights and improvements 
 up to June, 1909, has been $543,000. It is doubtful whether 
 any public work has been ever conducted with more economy 
 and efficiency. With its personnel representing men of large 
 interests having exacting demands upon their time the members 
 of the commission have devoted their energies to its business for 
 a period of eight years. They have served without financial 
 recompense. It is a fact notable in the annals of public service 
 that the commission's actual running expenses during these 
 eight years have not exceeded 3 per cent, of the total amount ex- 
 pended in its undertakings. The territory under its jurisdic- 
 tion, the probable cost of which had been freely estimated as high 
 as $2,000,000, has been secured for about one-quarter of this 
 amount. 
 
 In fixing land values the commission divided the area into 
 three sections. The first section, nearest New York City, was 
 placed at $500 per acre; the second at $350 per acre and the 
 third, farthest north, at $200 per acre. The commission ad- 
 liered to these prices in buying the land and virtually the whole 
 jurisdiction was acquired under this schedule of prices. 
 
 A POLICY OF CONCILIATION. 
 
 The commission's policy has been one of tact and concilia- 
 tion. It has gone about its work quietly and skilfully. It has 
 avoided disputes and made friends of enemies. Its power of 
 
Photograph by John P. Fritts» 
 
 Where Cliffs Struggle Upward to Meet the Sky. The Great City Is Outlined in the 
 Distance on the Opposite Shore. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 47 
 
 condemnation has been invoked in only a few instances. It lias 
 devoted nearly a decade to overcoming the innumerable diffi- 
 culties connected with securing the property, but it has made 
 sure and solid progress each year. 
 
 The commission's work has been conducted so quietly, the 
 contributions of its members and friends made so unostenta- 
 tiously that the general public has had no idea of the magni- 
 tude of its achievements. It is well, however, that the people 
 of not only New Jersey and New York, but of the whole nation, 
 should realize and appreciate the accomplishment of these 
 earnest, self-sacrificing men. "Had these cliffs," said the 
 Evening Post, "been left in the possession of private owners to 
 be torn to pieces by blasts, divested of their covering of trees 
 and lined by smoke-belching factories, this 'priceless possession* 
 — the natural enhancement of our grandest river — would at no 
 Tery distant period have been transformed into ragged stone 
 heaps, offensive to the eye, with a value governed solely by the 
 cubic foot price of trap rock." With preservation insured and 
 the property under its control the commission will now concen- 
 trate its energies upon the care and development of facilities 
 for making it more accessible. 
 
 A TOO- ACRE NATURAL PARK. 
 
 The Palisades Interstate Park thus formed is one of the 
 world's most remarkable territories set aside for natural preser- 
 vation and public enjoyment. With its southern portion op- 
 posite New York City it has fourteen miles of rocky shore 
 
 A Typical Camp Colony Along ihe Palisades. 
 
48 
 
 The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 frontage and fourteen miles of towering crags and cliff -topped 
 woodland. The park begins at Fort Lee Bluff and extends 
 northward along the Hudson River to Piermont Creek. It in- 
 cludes the water rights, shore and face to the crest of the 
 Palisades. Eleven and two hundredths miles, or 58,185 feet 
 are in New Jersey; two and eighty-four hundredths miles, or 
 14,995 feet are in New York. Seven hundred acres are in-^ 
 eluded within its area. No long or tiresome journey is neces- 
 sary to reach this matchless recreation region. No admission 
 fees are exacted. All classes are welcome and the wealthy and 
 the humble are represented among its visitors. 
 
 In commemoration of the work for Palisades preservation 
 accomplished by the Federation of Women's Clubs, of New Jer- 
 se}!-, the commission has set aside a reservation upon a command- 
 ing bluff upon which a suitable monument will be erected with 
 funds contributed by their friends. 
 
 Until a short time ago it was well-nigh impossible for a 
 pedestrian to walk along the entire shore line of Palisades owing 
 to the great masses of rocks here and 
 there, and also because of the precipit- 
 ous formations of the cliffs themselves, 
 especially along the northern stretches. 
 The commission has now completed a 
 picturesque and continuous pathway 
 along the shore. This path descends 
 and scales the many gulches which 
 notch the river bank. It twists be- 
 tween huge boulders and skirts preci- 
 pices. It penetrates the shadows of 
 the virgin forest and traverses the 
 beach. Its diversity and wildness will 
 reward the nature lover who enjoys a 
 long and vigorous walk. 
 
 THE MECCA OF CAMPERS. 
 
 One of Several Public Springs in 
 the Palisades Interstate Park. 
 
 The love of out-door life and the 
 appreciation of nature which are de- 
 veloping so rapidly into national traits have caused thousands 
 of city dwellers, residents of both states, to seek the wilderness 
 and beauty of the Palisades shore for camping purposes. Dur- 
 ing the summer months little villages of tents dot the river's 
 edge. The popularity of the Palisades as a camping resort is 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 49 
 
 Numerous Canoe Clubs Make Their Outing Headquarters in the Interstate Park. 
 
 shown by the rapid increase in the number of permits sought. 
 Twenty-five were granted the first year, 221 the second year and 
 395 the third year. Nearly 4,000 campers availed themselves 
 of the advantages of the park last year, over Saturdays, Sun- 
 days and holidays. 
 
 The Palisades Park section is admirably situated for use 
 as a military camping ground. The commission has recently 
 granted permission to one company of the Seventy-first Regi- 
 ment, N. G. N. Y. to erect its tents for a summer instruction 
 camp. This illustrates but one of the many public uses to which 
 the park area is being adapted. 
 
 The commission has entire jurisdiction over the park lands. 
 Since 1905 it has maintained a corps of marshals and a police 
 patrol boat during the summer months. 
 
 All campers are required to secure permits from the com- 
 mission and the government of the tent colonies is placed to a 
 certain extent directly in the hands of the campers themselves 
 under an ingenious and successful code of regulations. It is a 
 notable fact that it has not been necessary to make a single 
 arrest among any of these campers, y The commission guards 
 carefully from contamination the many springs whose waters 
 gush from the rocks, an illustration of this watchfulness being 
 shown in the accompanying pictures. 
 
50 
 
 The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 PERSONNEL OF THE COMMISSION. 
 
 The present personnel of the Commission of the Palisades 
 Interstate Park of New York are: George W. Perkins, Presi- 
 dent, Riverdale, New York City ; Franklin W. Hopkins, Vice- 
 President, Alpine, N. J. ; J. Du Pratt White, Secretary, Nyack, 
 N. Y. ; D. McNeely StaufFer, Treasurer, Yonkers, N. Y. ; Edwin 
 A. Stevens, Hoboken, N. J. ; Nathan F. Barrett, New Rochelle, 
 N. Y. ; Wilham A. Linn, Hackensack, N. J. ; Abram De Ronde, 
 Englewood, N. J. ; William B. Dana, Englewood ChfFs, N. J. ; 
 William H. Porter, New York City. 
 
 The New Jersey commission is composed of the same ten 
 members, and the officers of that commission are: Edwin A. 
 Stevens, President ; D. McNeely Stauffer, Vice-President ; J. 
 Du Pratt White, Secretary, and Abram De Ronde, Treasurer. 
 
 The commission maintains an office at No. 31 Nassau 
 Street, Borough of Manhattan, New York City, in charge of its 
 Assistant Secretary, Leonard Hull Smith, where its maps,, 
 records and reports are open to inspection. As will be seen, the 
 two commissions are composed of the same ten members, five of 
 whom are residents of New York, appointed by the Governor 
 of that state, and five of whom are residents of New Jersey, ap- 
 pointed by the Governor of that state. Each Governor ap- 
 points his resident members and accepts the nominees of the 
 other Governor. This custom of interstate appointment makes 
 possible the scheme and intention of the statutes creating the 
 Interstate Park, to establish one harmonious commission rep- 
 resenting both states. 
 
 A Wild Fern Field on the Palisades, Near Fort Lee 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 51 
 
 A PRISTINE WILDERNESS 
 
 LMOST without interruption from Fort Lee Bluff 
 to its northern end at the Piermont Valley, the 
 eastern side, and much of the northern end of 
 the Palisades Interstate Park remains a pristine 
 wilderness. Here within actual sight of the north- 
 ward-pushing city on the opposite island, is a 
 little world of almost virgin nature, many parts 
 of which have never been trodden by the foot of man owing to 
 their inaccessibility. Over the fourteen miles from the old dock 
 at Fort Lee to the northern end of the rocks, there are hardly 
 more than a score of human habitations, not counting the colony 
 of campers whose tents dot the river shore line at frequent in- 
 tervals during the summer months. Of the folk living in the 
 few permanent houses nearly all are a quaint fishing people, and 
 old residents. 
 
 IN nature's realm. 
 
 At each season of the year the Palisades Interstate Park 
 will "reward the nature lover with some particular charm. In 
 the dreamy summer's afternoons with the distant headlands fad- 
 ing gradually away in the blue haze, their lights and shadows 
 are seen to greatest perfection. On a crisp winter's morning 
 with every rocky pinnacle sparkling with frosty diamonds under 
 the rays of the eastern sun, the towering cliifs present a spec- 
 tacle of dazzling beauty. As each season brings a new mood, 
 so each time of day changes the atmosphere of the scene. In 
 the early summer's mornings the woods ring with many joyous 
 bird voices and one is reminded of Bryant's lines in "A Scene 
 on the Banks of the Hudson," written by the way, on the shore 
 beneath the Palisades : 
 
 "'Mid the dark rocks that watch his bed 
 Glitters the mighty Hudson spread 
 Unrippled, save by drops that fall 
 From shrubs that fringe his mountain wall." 
 
 Twilight settles early under the tall rocks, enshrouding 
 with mystery each glen and rocky retreat. Night, especially 
 if it be a winter's night, with ghostly patches of snow resting 
 
52 
 
 The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 here and there in the niches of the dark crags, ice floes passing 
 silently upon the tide below, and the only lights those twinkling 
 from the opposite shore, presents a scene of unusual impres- 
 siveness. 
 
 Verdure, more or less dense, now climbs and clings to the 
 rugged face of the Palisades from the river shore to varying 
 heights toward the crest, in some cases even rising to the crest 
 itself. Forming this vegetation, and in the midst of the state- 
 ly forest that crowns the table-like top of the ridge are many 
 varieties of trees. In May the dogwood and chestnut blossoms 
 
 dot the delicate emerald 
 leaves with white, in June the 
 tulip trees unfold their 
 snowy flowers, and in au- 
 tumn all the trees join in a 
 symphony of splendor, the 
 red and yellow maples, crim- 
 son sour gums, garnet sweet 
 gums, bronze oaks and 
 orange hickories, stretching 
 in a broad band of color be- 
 tween the blue river and the 
 fleecy clouds. A little north 
 of Englewood Creek is the 
 "evergreen section," i n 
 which spruce and pines pre- 
 dominate. 
 
 Between the trees that 
 cleave to the battlements, 
 and the flinty rocks them- 
 selves, nature is encouraging 
 a grim battle. The preci- 
 pice stands unrelenting, re- 
 pelling, defying, the trees rise, grasping, pushing, twisting and 
 thrusting their tenuous roots into every crevice and ledge, ever 
 mounting higher and higher toward the top, the gnarled oaks, 
 sturdiest foemen of them all, gripping a foothold on the dizziest 
 of the heights, and leading all the others upon the attack. So 
 from year to year the warriors press upward covering more and 
 more of the gray rocks with their ranks. 
 
 Growing among the rocks and trees are many varieties of 
 wild flowers. Among the first of the spring blossoms are those 
 
 The Falls, Green's Brook, Near Alpine. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 53 
 
 of the dainty wild violets, while later come the bluebells, wake- 
 robins and the dandelions. With summer the Virginia creeper 
 begins to twine lovingly about the tree trunks, the creeping 
 wintergreen hides many boulders, the mountain laurel reaches 
 maturity, mint perfumes the air, pitcher plants, primroses and 
 "bright-eyed and bold" buttercups put on their gay attire. 
 When the crisp October breezes rustle through the leaves the 
 prim jacks in the pulpit put on their coats, the fringed gen- 
 tians make a brave showing and the golden rod raises his 
 "myriad glimmering plumes." 
 
 This wild vegetation is tenanted with throngs of birds at 
 all seasons. Now and then a bald eagle or a fish hawk can be 
 seen soaring gracefully over the highest cliffs. At night the 
 wild call of the hoot owl is often heard upon some lofty bough. 
 The voices of the bob-whites, bluebirds, blue jays, wrens and 
 woodpeckers are familiar among the trees. These are all 
 among the permanent residents but there are numerous migrants 
 who are drawn to the loveliness of the park's retreats. In No- 
 vember come the white-winged gulls from the lower harbor, to 
 remain until the warm spring sun tempts them seaward again. 
 Among the other winter visitors are the ruby-crowned knight, 
 the winter wren, the horning gull and the crow. Summer's 
 charms entice hither the wood thrush, scarlet tanager, Balti- 
 more oriole, hermit thrush and indigo bird, the mocking bird, 
 yellow warbler, purple martin, sandpiper and other wanderers 
 grave and gay. The ridge is the home of many foxes, their 
 depredations upon hen roosts having caused the borough of 
 Englewood Cliifs to offer a standing reward for their capture. 
 
 Among the most delightful attractions of the Palisades 
 Interstate Park are the crystal streams that bubble from the 
 flinty rocks, and the little cascades that here and there tumble 
 down mossy ravines. One of the most beautiful of these streams 
 is that known as Green's Brook, which falls over successive 
 rocky terraces under the dense foliage just below Alpine, en- 
 tirely hidden from the river so long as the leaves are on the 
 trees. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 55 
 
 THE HENRY HUDSON DRIVE 
 
 HE great development of the park lands towards 
 which the commissioners of the Palisades Inter- 
 state Park are now working is the construction 
 of a driveway along the park's rock-hewn shore. 
 Complete surveys for this road were made in 1903 
 by Charles W. Leavitt, Jr., the eminent landscape 
 engineer. Senator Edmund W. Wakelee, always 
 a consistent friend and worker in the cause of the preservation 
 of the Palisades, introduced a bill in the New Jersey Legisla- 
 ture in February, 1909, empowering the commission to con- 
 struct a driveway. Senator Howard R. Bayne introduced a 
 similar bill in the New York Legislature. The New Jersey bill 
 passed but without an appropriation, thus merely declaring the 
 state's policy in favor of a driveway. The New York bill did 
 not pass. While the result of this year's legislation is disap- 
 pointing, yet the friends of this plan to develop the park by 
 constructing a magnificent interstate driveway, are confident 
 that it is only a question of time be- 
 fore the states will realize the possi- 
 bilities and needs of such a drive and 
 appropriate the necessary funds to 
 that end. 
 
 For most of its distance the pro- 
 posed drive will be cut and filled from 
 the Palisades rock itself. It will 
 curve gracefully around the head- 
 lands and by easy grades it will dip 
 or rise in order to avoid the mon- 
 otony of conformity to the water 
 level. At one point it will tunnel 
 through solid rock two hundred feet 
 above the riA'^er. When it reaches a 
 point just south of Sneden's Land- 
 ing the drive will rise easily and 
 sweep westward through a depres- 
 
 A Glimpse of Military Camp Life 
 at Interstate Park. 
 
56 The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 sion at that point, connecting with the highway leading north- 
 ward to the magnificent State Road through the highlands. 
 The plans provide for a boulevard similar in construction to 
 the world-famous roads traversing the Swiss Alps and equaling 
 any other in picturesque location and beauty of view. 
 
 Except for this magnificent driveway, and necessary water 
 and land connections the commissioners will rigidly exclude arti- 
 ficialism from the park. Its wild growths, its picturesque 
 beauty will not be interfered with. The commissioners belong 
 to the school of Walpole and Kent. They believe that the un- 
 derlying principle of landscape art in the Park shall be a faith- 
 ful preservation of nature's handiwork exhibited in such mar- 
 velous diversity throughout the Palisades ridge. 
 
 HOW TO REACH THE PALISADES INTERSTATE PARK 
 
 The Palisades Interstate Park may be reached by several 
 approaches. From New York City access may be had by the 
 ferries of the West Shore Railroad from the foot of Franklin 
 or West Forty-second streets to Weehawken, New Jersey, there 
 connecting with direct trolley to Coytesville, a few moment's 
 walk from the crest of the Palisades, A more attractive route, 
 however, is provided by the West 130th Street Ferry (reached 
 by Subway to Manhattan Street or upper Broadway surface 
 cars and 125th Street crosstown cars) to Edgewater, New Jer- 
 sey, thence by trolley to Main Street, Fort Lee, a short distance 
 from the cliffs, or by foot from the Edgewater ferry house 
 northward along the River Road, one and one-quarter miles, to 
 the Park's southern boundary, thence by path the entire length 
 of the reservation. From the foot of Dyckman Street (Subway 
 to Dyckman Street Station), a motor-boat ferry is operated 
 during the summer months to the old Englewood pier. From 
 Yonkers a steam ferry yacht plies to Alpine and from Dobbs 
 Ferry a motor-boat ferry runs across the river to Sneden's 
 Landing. From New Jersey the Park may be reached by sev- 
 eral roads leading up the western slope, also by the wagon road 
 traversing the backbone of the ridge. 
 
The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 57 
 
 Reproduced from an Old Print, Now in Possession of the Palisades Interstate Park Com- 
 mission, After a Painting by W. G. Wall. 
 
 THE PALISADOES 
 
 The followingr quaint description accompanies the picture reproduced above : 
 
 The Palisadoes consist of a line of rugged and perpendicular bluffs, which at a few 
 miles distance from the city of New York, margin for a considerable distance and over- 
 look the bed of the Hudson river. To the eye of the traveller, rising in savage grandeur, 
 and stretching their tree-crowned summits far as the vision can compass, these rocks are 
 too prominent a feature in the scenery of the Hudson to be overlooked. The shore, 
 throughout the whole extent of these bluffs, is abrupt, and the water sufficiently deep to 
 allow vessels, even of considerable burthen, to approach within a short distance; and, 
 when sailing close along the shore, the view of these steep and peculiar acclivities is 
 peculiarly grand and imposing. Into every crevice of the rocks vegetation has insinuated 
 itself, and wreaths of verdure seem to hang from every jutting point and projecting ledge. 
 Oak, hickory, chestnut, butternut, and maple, are to be found among the trees which 
 adorn the summit of the Palisadoes, and grow to a magnitude which would scarcely be 
 credited by those who have no other opportunity of viewing them, except from the deck 
 of a vessel. Considerable quantities of wood are annually cut from this abundant source, 
 and being plunged down the precipice, are easily thrown into the vessels which lie close 
 under the shore, and conveyed to a ready and profitable market. 
 
 The height of these bluffs is various, rising from 400 to 800 feet, exhibiting, in every 
 interval of verdure, steep and solid masses of stupendous stone, and presenting here and 
 there deep cavities, where the eagle builds his nest among the cliffs, secure from the 
 reach of human enmity. From the quarries at the foot of these rocks, inexhaustible sup- 
 plies of stone are transported to the city; and the scanty cottages and other buildings 
 which are scattered along the shore, present a singular contrast to the stupendous edifices 
 of nature, which overtop them, and seem to threaten them with continual destruction. 
 
 Ranging along the west bank of the Hudson, this singular line of precipice forms a 
 striking contrast with the gradual, fertile, and cultivated scenery of the opposite shore. 
 On the eastern margin of the river, the eye is gratified by the appearance of villas and 
 seats, laid out with taste, and lifting themselves to the view, amidst a verdant and culti- 
 vated landscape; while on the west, the interval between the bluffs and the river is so 
 narrow, as scarcely in any instance to admit of tillage, except indeed where the industry 
 of the cottager has succeeded in extorting from the reluctant soil some pittance toward the 
 :supply of his daily wants. 
 
 The bold and rocky middleground of the picture is peculiarly characteristic of the 
 scene, and the thinness and liquid transparency of the water along the shore are 
 jnimitable. 
 
58 The Palisades of the Hudson 
 
 ®ij^ Palt0ah^0 — An Apprmattan 
 
 By Van" Deauing Perrixe^ "The Paixter of the Palisades/' 
 
 In the minds of the unimaginative the Palisades will always 
 suffer hy comparison. They are of not nearly so great a 
 height or bulk, neither are they composed of so great a variety 
 of forms, as any number of places familiar to the tourist of 
 today. Yet they have a character all their own — too subtle to 
 be grasped by the idle beholder of an hour. Their beauty must 
 be lived with before one may be elevated into a response to their 
 loftiest spell. And then what a playground they really become 
 for the imagination, and with what solemn fitness they frame 
 the stars! 
 
 One may sit at night and watch the lights come out on the 
 opposite shore, a tiny thread of gems. Plucking a leaf and 
 holding its stem at arm's length would blot from the eye a point 
 where exists a greater human activity than anywhere else upon 
 our planet today. Yet what a mere moment has been the ex- 
 istence of this new world metropolis when compared with these 
 time-scarred rocks. For countless ages storms have spent their 
 fury cutting and grinding hieroglyphics there. But even as 
 we contemplate their age our minds are drawn beyond their 
 blackened rim to where bygone abysmal fires, on another night, 
 dimly o'erflecked a duskier sky. Beyond that mask of smoky 
 fdament what suns unknown to us are lost! 
 
 We look again at the ledge and wonder that we should ever 
 have thought it great or old. Others perhaps will come and will 
 gaze upon these self-same rocks and stars, and though like our- 
 selves they should never have an answer for humanity, may not 
 the questioners have contributed richly, by the widening of their 
 own sense, to the Mystery? 
 
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Altitude and Location Map of the Palisades Region from Bergen Point to Piermont 
 
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