Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park

Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park
View of the Bayard Cutting Arboretum
Location of Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park within New York State
Type State park, arboretum
Location 440 Montauk Highway
Great River, New York[1]
Nearest city Great River, New York
Coordinates 40°44′49″N 73°10′4″W / 40.74694°N 73.16778°W / 40.74694; -73.16778Coordinates: 40°44′49″N 73°10′4″W / 40.74694°N 73.16778°W / 40.74694; -73.16778
Area 691 acres (2.80 km2)[2]
Created 1936 (1936)[3]
Operated by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Visitors 225,456 (in 2014)[4]
Open All year
Website Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park
Bayard Cutting Estate
Area 750 acres (300 ha)
Architect Charles Haight, Frederick Law Olmsted
Architectural style Tudor
NRHP reference # 73001271[5]
Added to NRHP October 2, 1973

Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park is a 691-acre (2.80 km2) state park located in the hamlet of Great River, New York, on Long Island.[2] The park includes an arboretum designed by Frederick Law Olmsted for William Bayard Cutting in 1886,[6] as well as a mansion designed by Charles C. Haight.[3][7] Cutting purchased the property in 1881.[6]

The house at the heart of the park, Westbrook, is modeled on a Tudor-style English country house.[8] The interior of the 60-room mansion features large pieces of oak furniture, stained-glass windows, and imported fireplaces. Views of the Connetquot River can be seen from across the open lawn.[6]

On June 18, 1936, the Long Island State Park Commission was gifted 200 acres of the Cutting estate for use as an arboretum by Mrs. Bayard James, daughter of William Cutting, with the stipulation that she and her mother keep full use of the property as long as either is living.[9] Both the house and property were given to the people of Long Island "to provide an oasis of beauty and quiet for the pleasure, rest, and refreshment of those who delight in outdoor beauty; and to bring about a greater appreciation and understanding of the value and importance of informal planting".[2][10]

William Bayard Cutting, a prominent New York City lawyer, died on March 1, 1912 due to complications from heart disease.[11] He was 62 years old.[12]

Cutting is buried in the family vault at Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn.[13] His widow, Mrs. Olivia Cutting, inherited over $9 million from his estate when it was probated in 1913.[14]

The Long Island State Park Commission took over control of the park on Dec. 1, 1952. An endowment fund of $1,000,000 was set up by Mrs. Cutting. She died November 15, 1949 [15] Alterations were made to the property including the addition of bathrooms and parking lots and adding a tearoom to the main house.[10][15] Improvements were also made to roads and paths.[16]

It officially opened to the public on May 15, 1954.[17] In keeping with the purpose of the gift, the commission decided that there would be no picniciking, bathing, horseback riding or playgrounds allowed on the property.[16]

The first tree specimens came from England.[6] Other trees in the park included: firs, spruces, pines, hemlock, cedar and yews originating from Europe, Spain, Greece, Japan, China and Africa.[7]

More parking spaces were added the following year to accommodate more visitors. Extensions were also made to trails and walks[18]

The park has a variety of nature trails including: the Woodland Garden Walk, the Perennial Garden Walk, the River Walk, the New Pinetum Walk, the Old Pinetum Walk, the Holly Walk, the Paradise Island Walk and the Royce Rhododendron Walk.[19]

The park has recreational programs, and there is a food and a gift shop at Westbrook.

Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park is one of the last remaining estates on the South Shore of Long Island. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973 as a historic district.[5]

The Bayard Cutting Arboretum Horticultural Society, founded in 1974, donates profits of its activities to help support the Westbrook Manor. As part of its fundraising activities, the organization operates Granny's Attic located in the lower carriage house and hosts two plant sales a year.[20]

Recent Westbrook Manor projects funded in part by the Horticultural Society include: porch restoration, porch pillars restoration, new carpeting, Tiffany windows restoration and floor sanding.[21]

The Bayard Cutting Arboretum farm was established in 2012.[22] It was the first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in the New York State park system.[23] The farm produces over 150 varieties of vegetables and berries and also grows culinary herbs and flowers. There are 150 hens providing eggs to members of the CSA program.[24]

The park winter hours (November-March) are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Summer hours (April-October) are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.[25]

History

Charles Sprague Sargent, director of the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, advised in developing the extensive conifer collection north of the carriage house.[26] Cutting also was in touch with Ernest Wilson, who was sponsored by Harvard University to bring back tree specimens from China.[26]

Two hurricanes effected the state park. In 1954, Hurricane Carol destroyed over 70 trees[6] but much more damage was done when over 1,000 of some of the most mature trees were lost in Hurricane Gloria in 1985.[26]

William Bayard Cutting's grandfather, Robert Cutting, had been Robert Fulton's partner in the ferry from Brooklyn to New York; they married sisters who were daughters of Walter Livingston. Cutting developed railroad interests in West India; his son was a pioneer in refining sugar from sugar beets.

In 1895 Cutting and his brother installed a golf course at Westbrook, which was the first private golf course in the United States.[3] The course was designed by Willie Dunn who had also created the Shinnecock Hills golf course in Southampton.[27] It was a nine-hole course and for many years hosted the Westbrook Cup tournament.[28]

When a fire in 1895 burned down many of the farm buildings, Stanford White was commissioned to draw the plans for a modern dairy, Westbrook Farms, with many innovative features.

In 1899, a hunting lodge, made only of cedar logs, was built on the property. There was an earthen floor and a stone fireplace complete with irons and spits. Wooden pegs were used as hangers. The cabin was modeled after those used by pioneers.[29]

The original rhododendrons at the arborteum came from nurseries in England in the early 1900s.[30]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park - Getting There". Parks.ny.gov. NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park". Parks.ny.gov. NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Lynn Beebe Weaver (September 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Bayard Cutting Estate". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2010-02-20. See also: "Accompanying six photos".
  4. ↑ "State Park Annual Attendance Figures by Facility: Beginning 2003". Data.ny.gov. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  5. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Green, Stan (October 14, 1954). "New State Sanctuary for Trees". Newsday. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  7. 1 2 "State Takes Over Cutting Arboretum". Suffolk County News. December 5, 1952. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  8. ↑ Clinton, Audrey (July 21, 1959). "Great Estates Now Earn Their Keep". Newsday. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Cutting Property Donated to State". The New York Times. June 19, 1936. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  10. 1 2 "New LI State Park is a Garden of Trees". Newsday. December 1, 1952. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Weak Heart Killed Cutting". The New York Times. March 3, 1912. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Death Notices". The New York Times. March 4, 1912. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Wm. B. Cutting's Funeral". The New York Times. March 7, 1912. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Wm. B. Cutting Left $10,906,480". The New York Times. August 20, 1913. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  15. 1 2 "Saturday Opening Day for Cutting Arborteum". The Leader. May 13, 1954. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  16. 1 2 "Shore Arboretum to Open Saturday". The New York Times. May 10, 1954. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  17. ↑ "New LI Public Park to Open Saturday". Newsday. May 10, 1954. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Arboretum to Open Saturday With More Parking, Trails". The Patchogue Advance. April 28, 1955. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Park Map". Bayard Cutting Arboretum. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Bayard Cutting Arboretum Horticultural Society Home Page". Bayard Cutting Arboretum Horticultural Society. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  21. ↑ "BCAHS Funded Projects". Bayard Cutting Arboretum Horticultural Society. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  22. ↑ "About the Farm". Bayard Cutting Arboretum. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Park-to-Table: A New Way to Connect to State Parks Takes Root". Park Connect - Issue 17. September 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  24. ↑ "CSA Program". Bayard Cutting Arboretum. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  25. ↑ "Hours and Fees". Bayard Cutting Arboretum. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  26. 1 2 3 Leuzzi, Linda (February 13, 1998). "Bayard Cutting Arboretum Bridges Beauty and Environment". Suffolk County News. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  27. ↑ Wittlock, Sr., Lavern A. (September 1986). "The Story of Westbrook". Long Island Forum. XLIX: 188.
  28. ↑ Carlucci, Phil (2015). Long Island Golf. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 9781467123594.
  29. ↑ "Mr. Cutting's Log Cabin". The New York Times. August 21, 1899. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Rhododendron Week at Cutting Arboretum". Northport Journal. June 10, 1954. Retrieved April 3, 2018.

Further reading

  • Roussos, George The Bayard Cutting Arboretum History: A History and Description of William Bayard Cutting and His Country House, Westbrook, Great River, L.I. Oakdale, New York: The Board of Trustees and the Long Island State Park and Recreation Commission, 1984.
    • Roussos took photographs of various Long Island estates, and his photographs at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park were collected in this book.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.