Neglect

I know I have been failing to update this blog. Honestly, there is no excuse. True, I haven't been adventuring into the woods as often as I'd like, but I have been sitting on pictures for quite some time now. Granted, these pictures are really low quality. I thought I might be able to make it back with my camera. Yet somehow a month has already passed.

 I had gone for a long drive one day to Devil's Tower in Alpine (NJ) and came across this neat little park in the woods across 9W and the PIP. By the way, if you are unfamiliar with Devil's Tower it's a supposedly haunted site. After following a simultaneously rocky and muddy path with several nice vantage points of the Hudson, we came across the remnants of what looked like a road and a few other structures. The most impressive one was this old manor.

 

Mysterious 

 The story goes that this place was once called Cliffdale Manor. The mansion was built in 1911 by a very prominent and wealthy family from Bergen County -- the Zabriskies.

  

   

In its glory days 

 Approximately 20 years later, John D. Rockefeller Jr swept in and purchased the estate in an attempt to protect the cliffs and surrounding land from over development. This was largely reactionary to the building of the George Washington Bridge. He then donated the land the the Park Commission.(Who says all rich people are scumbags?)

 

I couldn't resist climbing up to the second floor.

The land has since been left to return to a "naturalized state" with the remnants of the previous estate still visible. Besides the structures that stood, I thought it was really interesting to see hints at old plantings-- yucca, rhododenron, vinca, yews, and more are all found clustered around the remains. It is clear some have spread further than others (notably the yucca and vinca.)

 

The same area 

Some locals in the area are convinced that the remains of the manor are now used in satanic rituals. One person I know said she's seen the remains of burnt candles on the pillars with satanic notes found folded up underneath them. 

 For more information about Cliffdale Manor, visit Scouting NY's page. He took some really great pictures and has bit more back story to it.