Black Rock Forest - History

History

The current forest began to grow about 14,000 years ago, with the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age. Originally, like many post-glacial forests, it consisted of evergreen conifers such as spruce and fir, but as the climate warmed they gave way to the deciduous species of oak and maple that now predominate.

Like much of the Highlands, the land now part of Black Rock had been heavily impacted by human usage. Native communities hunted the forest extensively, built large settlements and started forest fires to clear sections of the woods and prevent larger natural ones. After colonization of the Hudson Valley in 1690, the impact becomes more evident to the contemporary eye. During the last years of the Revolutionary War the Continental Army used the Continental Road that runs through the center of the property to get between West Point and its encampment at New Windsor. Spy Rock got its name from its use by Continental soldiers as a lookout point where they could monitor Newburgh Bay for any signs of British activity on the strategically important Hudson River.

Throughout the 19th century it saw extensive logging and mining, with some homesteads and farms established in its lower-lying portions. Only one building, the 1834 Chatsfield stone house, remains today. As the forest land began to decline in value with the depletion of its productive resources, various tracts were bought by the Stillman family in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1928, enough land had been acquired for Dr. Ernest Stillman to officially create Black Rock Forest for research and demonstration purposes. He hoped to restore it to productive use again through newly developed practical forestry techniques, as well as leaving plenty of undisturbed land available for use in silvicultural research.

To this end he hired a forester, Hal Tryon, and a small crew to cull unwanted species and poorly growing trees from wanted ones. The forest improved considerably, and upon his death in 1949 Stillman left the forest to his alma mater, Harvard University, for the continuation of its purposes. During Harvard's ownership of the forest, 75 scientific papers were published based on research in it. Hiking trails were also developed in the forest under the auspices of the New York - New Jersey Trail Conference. During the late 1960s and 1970s the Forest faced its biggest threat, as a massive power plant proposed for nearby Storm King Mountain by Consolidated Edison would have flooded most of it to build a large reservoir. That plan was eventually abandoned in 1982 after a landmark environmental lawsuit.

Since Harvard also owns the eponymous forest closer to campus in Petersham, Massachusetts, in 1981 it asked another alumnus, William Golden, what he thought should be done with Black Rock. He suggested that there were plenty of local organizations which might be able to derive the same benefit from it, and approached them about forming a consortium or similar group to take over from Harvard. Many were enthusiastic about the idea but lacked enough funds to contribute even a share of the purchase price. Golden decided to purchase the land himself in 1989 and give it to a newly created Black Rock Forest Preserve, which in turn leases it to the Black Rock Forest Consortium. Harvard donated the purchase price to the forest as the beginning of an endowment, and Golden added to that with more of his own money.