Palisades Interstate Park Commission
Palisades Interstate Park | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
![]() Lake Kanawauke in Harriman State Park | |
Location | Fort Lee, New Jersey northward to Palisades, New York |
---|---|
Built | 1900 |
NRHP reference No. | 66000890[1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
Designated NHL | January 12, 1965[2] |
Palisades Interstate Park and its governing body, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, was formed under an interstate compact in 1900 by governors Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Foster M. Voorhees of New Jersey in response to the destruction of the Palisades by quarry operators in the late 19th century. The Palisades are the cliffs on the west bank of the Hudson River across from and continuing north of Manhattan Island. The commission consists of ten commissioners, five appointed by each governor, who serve staggered five-year terms.
History[]
In 1900, George W. Perkins was appointed chairman of the newly formed commission by Governor Roosevelt. He hired Major William A. Welch as assistant engineer, and in 1914 named him chief engineer and general manager. Under Welch's leadership, the Palisades Interstate Park grew from the initial 10,000-acre (40 km2) Bear Mountain State Park to the more than 40,000-acre (160 km2) Harriman State Park. By 1919 nearly a million people a year were coming to the park.
When work started on the park there were no models or precedents for an endeavor of its nature and scope. Welch organized a massive reforestation program, built twenty-three new lakes, 100 miles (160 km) of scenic drives and one hundred and three children's camps, where 65,000 urban children enjoyed the outdoors each summer. He helped found the Palisades Interstate Park Trail Conference, which later became the New York–New Jersey Trail Conference, and he served as chairman of the Appalachian Trail Conference.
The Palisades Interstate Park was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965. The designated area includes the Palisades Park in New Jersey, the Palisades Park in New York State, and the Tallman Mountain State Park in New York State.[2][3]
Current scope[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/2013-05-05_14_50_42_View_from_the_southwest_of_the_Women%27s_Federation_Monument_in_Palisades_Interstate_Park.jpg/170px-2013-05-05_14_50_42_View_from_the_southwest_of_the_Women%27s_Federation_Monument_in_Palisades_Interstate_Park.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Palisades_cliff.jpg/170px-Palisades_cliff.jpg)
The park system has been expanded over the years to include nineteen state parks and nine historic sites,[4] covering over 100,000 acres (400 km2) along more than 20 miles (32 km) of Hudson River shoreline and beyond. The commission also oversees and operates the Palisades Interstate Parkway, built between 1947 and 1958. The commission also owns four additional parkways that traverse its parks, although two are partially or wholly maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation, while the rest are both owned and maintained by PIPC.
The Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey is about 12 miles long and half a mile wide at its widest point, the average width of the facility is about 575 yards wide. It covers an area of 2,500 acres (3.9 sq.mi.). The park contains uplands, cliffs and the Hudson River shorefront. PIP has more than 30 miles of hiking and ski trails.[5]
State parks[]
- Bear Mountain State Park, NY
- Blauvelt State Park, NY
- Bristol Beach State Park, NY
- Franny Reese State Park, NY
- Goosepond Mountain State Park, NY
- Harriman State Park, NY
- Haverstraw Beach State Park, NY
- High Tor State Park, NY
- Highland Lakes State Park, NY
- Hook Mountain State Park, NY
- Lake Superior State Park, NY
- Minnewaska State Park Preserve, NY
- Nyack Beach State Park, NY
- Palisades Park, NJ
- Rockland Lake State Park, NY
- Schunnemunk State Park, NY
- Sterling Forest State Park, NY
- Storm King State Park, NY
- Tallman Mountain State Park, NY
Historic sites[]
- Blackledge-Kearney House, NJ
- Fort Lee Historic Park, NJ
- Fort Montgomery State Historic Site, NY
- Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site, NY
- New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site, NY
- Senate House State Historic Site, NY
- Stony Point Battlefield State Historic Site, NY
- National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, NY
- Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site, NY
Parkways[]
Arden Valley Road
Lake Welch Parkway (ownership)
Palisades Parkway
Seven Lakes Drive (partial ownership)
Tiorati Brook Road
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b "Palisades Interstate Park". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. 2007-09-18. Archived from the original on 2007-02-25. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
- ^ Greenwood, Richard (May 30, 1975). "Palisades Interstate Park". National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination. National Park Service.
- ^ "Parks & Historic Sites". Palisades Parks Conservancy. Archived from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
- ^ "Home:Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey". njpalisades.org. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
Other sources[]
- Myles, William J., Harriman Trails, A Guide and History, The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, New York, N.Y., 1999.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Palisades Interstate Park. |
Coordinates: 40°57′11″N 73°55′52″W / 40.95319°N 73.93099°W
- Parks in Bergen County, New Jersey
- Palisades Interstate Park system
- Ramapos
- Rockland County, New York
- Hudson River
- National Historic Landmarks in New York (state)
- National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey
- National Register of Historic Places in Bergen County, New Jersey
- National Register of Historic Places in Rockland County, New York
- 1900 establishments in New Jersey
- 1900 establishments in New York (state)
- United States interstate compacts
- Environmental agencies in New York (state)
- Parks on the Hudson River