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Arden (estate)
Encyclopedia
Arden was the estate owned by railroad magnate Edward Henry Harriman
and Mary Averell Harriman
outside Harriman, New York
. By the early nineteen hundreds the family owned 40000 acres (16,187.4 ha) in the area, half of it comprising the Arden Estate. The main house is located at the top of a mountain east of the village, reachable by Arden House Road from NY 17
.
On September 17, 1886 Harriman bought at auction the 7863 acres (3,182 ha) Peter Parrott family estate for $52,500, which was named Arden by the Parrott family after Mrs. Parrott's maiden name. Over the next several years he purchased an additional 20000 acres (8,093.7 ha), almost forty different parcels of land, and built forty miles of bridle paths. Harriman hired Carrère and Hastings
to design a home, which was begun in 1905. Harriman had planned it for many years, but lived in it for only a few months before his death.
It was from this estate that his widow would donate 10000 acres (4,046.9 ha) and one million dollars to New York State to start Harriman State Park in 1910. In 1950, his son W. Averell Harriman deeded the property to Columbia University
, as "home of The American Assembly
," a public policy institution founded by Dwight D. Eisenhower
the same year. It became primarily used as a center for executive management programs. The house was identified as America's first conference center, and became a National Historic Landmark
in 1966 but is not open to the public.
In 2007, the Open Space Institute bought Arden House and its surrounding 450 acres (182.1 ha). The house commands extensive views of the Ramapo River Valley. The property brings the total of preserved lands that were once owned by the Harriman family in New York State to nearly 70000 acres (28,328 ha), including Bear Mountain
, Harriman and Sterling Forest
State Parks.
E. H. Harriman
Edward Henry Harriman was an American railroad executive.-Early years:Harriman was born in Hempstead, New York, the son of Orlando Harriman, an Episcopal clergyman, and Cornelia Neilson...
and Mary Averell Harriman
Mary Williamson Averell
Mary Williamson Averell was born in New York City into a prominent New York family. The only daughter, she was tutored at home and completed her education at a finishing school with the “…expectation that one day she would become a fine wife and mother for some young man of equal or greater social...
outside Harriman, New York
Harriman, New York
Harriman is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 2,252 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined...
. By the early nineteen hundreds the family owned 40000 acres (16,187.4 ha) in the area, half of it comprising the Arden Estate. The main house is located at the top of a mountain east of the village, reachable by Arden House Road from NY 17
New York State Route 17
New York State Route 17 is a state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate regions of New York in the United States...
.
On September 17, 1886 Harriman bought at auction the 7863 acres (3,182 ha) Peter Parrott family estate for $52,500, which was named Arden by the Parrott family after Mrs. Parrott's maiden name. Over the next several years he purchased an additional 20000 acres (8,093.7 ha), almost forty different parcels of land, and built forty miles of bridle paths. Harriman hired Carrère and Hastings
Carrère and Hastings
Carrère and Hastings, the firm of John Merven Carrère and Thomas Hastings , located in New York City, was one of the outstanding Beaux-Arts architecture firms in the United States. The partnership operated from 1885 until 1911, when Carrère was killed in an automobile accident...
to design a home, which was begun in 1905. Harriman had planned it for many years, but lived in it for only a few months before his death.
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, as "home of The American Assembly
The American Assembly
The American Assembly, a non-partisan public policy forum, was founded in 1950 by Dwight D. Eisenhower and has become his most enduring achievement and legacy as Columbia University president...
," a public policy institution founded by Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
the same year. It became primarily used as a center for executive management programs. The house was identified as America's first conference center, and became a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1966 but is not open to the public.
In 2007, the Open Space Institute bought Arden House and its surrounding 450 acres (182.1 ha). The house commands extensive views of the Ramapo River Valley. The property brings the total of preserved lands that were once owned by the Harriman family in New York State to nearly 70000 acres (28,328 ha), including Bear Mountain
Bear Mountain State Park
Bear Mountain State Park is located on the west side of the Hudson River in Orange and Rockland counties of New York. The park offers biking, hiking, boating, picnicking, swimming, cross-country skiing, cross-country running, sledding and ice skating...
, Harriman and Sterling Forest
Sterling Forest State Park
Sterling Forest State Park is a 17,953 acre park located in the Ramapo Mountains in Orange County, New York established in 1998; it is among the larger additions to the New York state park system in the last 50 years...
State Parks.
See also
- List of National Historic Landmarks in New York
- National Register of Historic Places in Orange County, New York