On and Off the Trail: An Appreciation of the Old Croton Aqueduct by Tim W. Brown

8/14/2019 On and Off the Trail: An Appreciation of the Old Croton Aqueduct by Tim W. Brown

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On and Off the Trail: An Appreciation of the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail

By Tim W. Brown

I was an old hand at walking and hiking when I arrived in Irvington, New York, inFebruary 2003 and first encountered the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail. The main physical activity

in which I engaged was walking (this continues to be true). Dating at least from my college

years, I had walked long distances to, as I put it, clear my head. I enjoyed day walks in and

around my rural college town as well as night hikes along blacktop roads and in forest preserves.

During the three or four years prior to moving to New York, I was working at a major

Chicago banks technical center near OHare International Airport. Across the road from my

place of employment was Catherine Chevalier Woods, part of the Cook County Forest Preserve

System, where I took daily walks at lunchtime. I didnt know it then, but this experience primed

me for the Aqueduct Trails attractions. Chevalier Woods was an oasis of nature improbably

located in the suburbs of a major city. Its trails were well-marked and heavily trod by nearby

residents. It boasted an interesting history

Upon moving into a house in Irvington that my family rented temporarily until we found

a permanent home in Dobbs Ferry, our landlady, a village booster listing the villages many

amenities, mentioned the Aqueduct Trail. Given my recent history and personal interests, my

ears perked up and, despite the winter weather, I climbed up Main Street on the very next day

after moving in to search for the trail. I quickly found it after negotiating the Middle Schools

parking lot and headed north toward Tarrytown. Even though I had just moved a thousand miles

from where I was born and raised, a few minutes on the trail immediately made me feel at home,

and to this day I credit its existence with acclimating me to my brand-new life in an unfamiliar

place.

During the first year and a half of living in New York, I worked at home, telecommuting.

This favorable situation freed me up to continue pursuing my passion in life, walking. With the

help of a book describing a number of hiking opportunities in the metropolitan area, I spent my

lunch hour (sometimes extending to two or more hours) exploring Rockefeller State Park, the

Palisades Trail, Van Cortlandt Park and even Staten Islands Green Belt. I always returned to the

Aqueduct, however, as my hometown trail, and I came to know it intimately.


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An hours time, give or take, forces one to divide his or her treks into digestible sections.

As time went on, I isolated my least favorite and most favorite stretches in the Rivertowns and

beyond.

My least favorite section is that between Cedar Street in Dobbs Ferry and where the trailcrosses Broadway in Hastings-on-Hudson. The trail essentially disappears along the spine above

Dobbs Ferrys Main Street. To the west is a parking lot and to the east are the Post Office, City

Hall and several blocks of commercial buildings. Beyond Walnut Street is a stretch broken up by

residential cross streets and two intersections with Broadway. There is very little to distinguish

this portion of the trail with the exception of [where were gathered today] the maintenance

barns, built in the 1880s, and the Keepers House, rebuilt using stone in 1857 to replace a wood-

framed 1845 structure. An air of history permeates this spot; its one of the few along the trail

where a human presence is felt. The stone ventilators situated along the trail obviously are man-

made, but one gets the impression that they were built and forgotten, mechanically fulfilling their

function minus any further human touch.

A close second on my short list of dislikes is the section between Shonnard Terrace and

Lamartine Avenue. Unlike the southern Dobbs Ferry portion, the trail itself remains intact. Trees

arch overhead, tall grasses grow on either side, wildflowers peek out here and there. However, a

decidedly urban character takes over. Litter, broken glass, even used condoms dot the trail. A

few weeks ago, my wife found a broken violin in the weeds. She took it home despite my

protestations that it wasnt worth salvaging. In the back yards of the run-down houses adjacent to

the trail pit bulls bark menacingly, straining against their chains. Shady-looking young people

either murmur plots or shout obscenities into their cell phones. I dont travel down this way very

often; it makes me depressed knowing that people living nearby dont treasure this resource;

instead, they treat it like a dumping ground akin to a back alley.

North of Shonnard Terrace marks the beginning point of my favorite trail sections. The

trail undergoes a complete transformation. The litter vanishes, and the urban feel disappears.

Even better, the vistas overlooking the mighty Hudson River open up. Indeed, the gaps in the

trees along this stretch provide the best views of the river and palisades anywhere in or near the

Rivertowns. Two notable landmarks here include the Lenoir Preserve and a limestone lion face

embedded in a hillside beside a set of overgrown stairs. My experiences off the trail began here.


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The Lenoir Preserve consists of forty acres of a rather steep, tree-covered slope leading to a

meadow with breath-taking views of the Hudson. Its here, perhaps, that Ive seen the most

wildlife along the trail: small herds of deer nibbling at the undergrowth (they always travel in

groups of two or more), hawks wheeling in the skies above and red-wing blackbirds clinging

precariously to tall blades of grass.

The lions face signals entry into Untermeyer Park, whose stately, but shabby, neo-classic

columns, arches and empty reflecting pools hint of the spots past grandeur. Although Ive never

visited Athens or Rome, I imagine these fixtures to be in the same state of decay as the classical

architecture of those ancient cities. Leave it to America and its disrespect for the past to allow

such comparable deterioration in so short a time, that is, within a hundred years. During the day,

in my experience at least, the park has always been deserted, making me feel every time Ive

stopped in that Im discovering the remnants of some lost civilization.

This may either be due to Yonkers residents who are too busy working during weekdays

to kill time in the park or to the parks notorious reputation as a devil-worshipping site.

Reportedly, David Berkowitz, aka Son of Sam, associated with a group of occultists that

performed Satanic rituals at night in the park. Ive heard that third-shift workers at St. Johns

Hospital next door used to see bonfires in the woods, where Satanists or Satanist wannabes

performed unspeakable acts. Some of this may be urban myth; yet it would difficult for police

investigators anybody else to explain the seemingly ritually slaughtered dogs regularly disposed

of there.

The name Untermeyer disguises the parks true historical significance. Originally

known as Greystone (hence the nearby Metro North Railroad stations name), the land

belonged first to Samuel J. Tilden, whose stately mansion still looms over the grounds. Tilden is

known primarily for winning the popular vote in the 1876 presidential election but tying

Rutherford B. Hayes in the Electoral College vote. The House of Representatives settled the

controversy by awarding the presidency to Hayes. Before running for president, Tilden was the

Eliot Spitzer of his day, a civic crusader who finally succeeded in breaking Tammany Halls

longstanding grip on New York City politics. Although his sexual proclivities were never

publicized like Spitzers, Tilden owned the largest pornography collection east of the Mississippi

River according to the author Gore Vidal.


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Turning north of Dobbs Ferry, the trail meanders through some conducive and historic

scenery. Stepping onto the trail from Cedar Street, one enters a reasonably natural space

punctuated by minor water falls resulting from creeks and runoff. I always pause when I hear

these and let their bubbling sound soothe me. This stretch of the trail boasts some very

significant architecture, including Nevis, home of James Hamilton hey! how can you get more

historic than a homestead named for a founding fathers home island, built by his son. The site is

now occupied by Columbia University Press. Another home Ive noticed while walking through

this section is one that I dont believe has any historical import. Still, perched above the trail it

resembles Wayne Manor from the old Batman television show. I used to be incredulous at the

mountain cave from which the Batmobile erupted, thinking that it must have been a Hollywood

gaffe, a problem of continuity regarding the surely flat Gotham City environs. Nowadays, I know

better and continue to be amazed by the topography of Westchester County, and along the

Aqueduct in particular, and I presently view Wayne Manor as a totally believable setting.

Further north from Wayne Manor as one enters Irvington stands the famed Octagon

House. I recently had the privilege of walking the grounds and viewing this structure up close

during a benefit for the Rivertowns Arts Council. I even was able to peer into the windows and

view the period furnishings lovingly arranged by the homes restorer/inhabitant, Joseph

Lombardi. Painted pink according to strict landmark commission dictates, with all manner of

Victorian doodads, including Roman centurion faces in the porch railings, rounded Jules Verne

bubble windows, and weather vanes and lightning rods pricking up everywhere, the Octagon

House, a true one-of-a-kind, is obviously a remarkable structure. But I have to think, based on

my Midwestern upbringing and the no-nonsense form-before-function beliefs drilled into me,

that this structure is, well, an architectural monstrosity, especially when your taste runs toward

modernist Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie School architecture.

The Octagon House is not alone in its monstrous expression of architecture along the

Aqueduct Trail. North of Irvington Middle School are two highly significant historicallandmarks. Down Sunnyside Lane one encounters the cottage occupied way back when by local

literary hero Washington Irvington. Actually, I dont mind this historic home, a rare example of

the Dutch domestic style. Its smallish, human scale always gives the impression of humility in

the shadows of impossibly spectacular scenery. When I first arrived in Irvington and was

checking out the trail, I made my way to the grounds surrounding the house and absorbed the


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literary vibes of a true giant who contributed so much to early American letters. However, the

site director, Dina Friedman, burst out of nowhere, accosted me rather aggressively and ordered

me to leave. You see, I had wandered into the place before March when weekday hours began.

A bit further up is, of course, the pride of the Aqueduct Trail, Lyndhurst. Built in the1830s through the 1860s after the manner of European Gothic cathedrals in an era when all

things European were viewed as superior, I find its design appalling, an example of the common

architectural style known as American Overkill. The gothic aesthetic ruled American arts and

letters during its construction; Im reminded that artists and writers of the period wished to

convey sublime beauty in their works, but they also aimed to instill feelings of profound terror.

With Lyndhurst, the latter goal was certainly achieved. It shouldnt come as a surprise that one of

its occupants was robber baron Jay Gould, considered by many to be a monster for his devilish

business dealings.

Still, I find Lyndhursts grounds to be prettily landscaped, and I enjoy attending the arts

and crafts fairs and Lego-building festivals held there.

What I enjoy more is going off the trail into the woods surrounding the estate. There are

two paths that veer off the trail into the woods. The first heads down an embankment and

disappears amid a collection of giant limestone blocks of varying shapes. I think theyve been

there forever, left over from Lyndhursts building or remodeling. To continue hiking in these

woods requires bushwhacking through some closely spaced trees and thick undergrowth, so after

satisfying my curiosity of where the path led I havent returned in several years.

The second path, however, leads to some interesting artifacts on view to those willing to

explore. For example, there is an old stone kiln built into a ravine; no doubt it provided pottery

items to Lyndhursts residents in the nineteenth century before the availability of mass-produced

goods. There also is an algae-choked pond surrounded by a fence to prevent dumping, which has

nonetheless been occurring for what seems like a long time. The biggest thing left behind here is

an abandoned, sixties-era pickup truck that looks as though someone lived inside it at one time.

One also will find stone foundations and stairs leading to nowhere, evidence of past inhabitants,

although Im unsure if they pre-date the mansion or not. If the path is followed to its conclusion,

one arrives at a precipice with the Metro North train tracks immediately below and terrific views


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of the palisades and Tappan Zee Bridge beyond. As far as I know this spot is the closest to the

Hudson River accessible from the trail.

I dont know if exploring these woods is considered trespassing. There arent any signs

posted that warn against entering the property. Absent such signs, I interpret theyre giving theirtacit approval for accessing the place. Nobody official has ever approached me and demanded I

leave (nobody has ever approached me in these woods, period). But I have a ready answer in

case this ever happens, which takes the form of a question: if Im not carrying a gun (hunting

hazard) or smoking (fire hazard), then how am I harming anyone or anything?

So far, my experience with the Aqueduct Trail has been limited to the stretch from

Yonkers to Tarrytown. I know there are other equally striking sections of the trail further north. I

look forward to exploring these some day. And, I assure you, if I see an opening off the trail to

somewhere that looks interesting, Ill enter it.

On and Off the Trail: An Appreciation of the Old Croton Aqueduct by Tim W. Brown

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