Hi Friend of Quarry Park:
Over the past few weeks, there has been remarkable progress on the Wooded Bluff. This is the forested area that sits high above the quarry floor on the northern end of the park that abuts Draper Park.
Through the great generosity of donors to Friends of Quarry Park, we were able to fulfill what has long been a dream—a scenic overlook on the Wooded Bluff with stone benches perched high enough to provide a beautiful view of the mighty Hudson River—a gift to the people of Hastings from Friends of Quarry Park.
This is in the long historical tradition joining the quarry to the river where 19th century laborers once quarried dolomite marble and loaded it onto a small incline railroad (now the Quarry Railroad Trail) bringing it to the Hastings waterfront where it was loaded onto sloops taking it to construction sites in New York City and other cities along the east coast where it remains today on the facades of many famous landmarks.
The rustic style of the new stone benches echoes the design of the benches in the original Quarry Park of the 1930’s which you can see if you look carefully at this photo, taken by Arthur Langmuir, the Hastings scientist, philanthropist and master photographer who, together with his wife, Alice, created the magnificent original Quarry Park:
To create the new benches, the stonemasons painstakingly brought the huge stones up by hand. I think you will agree they are built to last! The seating is enhanced by a low serpentine stone wall and stepping stones guiding the way from the Langmuir Steps to the overlook. The crew even did some work to uncover and clean up the top few steps remaining from the original park, leading from the quarry floor up to the Wooded Bluff.
Here are some photos of the crafting of the new stone benches:
And even more good news . . . more native trees!
The Village of Hastings-On-Hudson applied for and received a Community Forestry grant that has paid for an arborist who has assessed the Wooded Bluff and created a plan to thoughtfully care for and protect this important little forest.
Dead and diseased trees and a few invasives have been taken down and, earlier this month, 24 new native trees were ordered through the Tree Power program of the New York Power Authority and planted in the park. They included: 6 Hop Hornbeam, 8 Red Oak, 4 Hackberry, and 6 Eastern Redbud. These are in addition to the 51 new native trees planted in the park a few years ago for a total of 75!
And more understory plantings, too . . .
Part of the mission of Quarry Park is to serve as an example of how public spaces can best serve both the public and the environment by planting native species that have evolved to support wildlife and pollinators. On Friday, October 31, led by arborist Peter Strom, new native deer-resistant perennials, shrubs and grasses have been planted to rejuvenate the little forest. The plantings fill in the area around the new scenic overlook with native species such as ‘Shenandoah’ Switchgrass, Prairie Dropseed, Lowbush Blueberry, Black Chokeberry, Little Bluestem, Blue Wood Aster, Wild Bergamot and Mountain Mint.
More plantings will extend down the western slope, providing visual interest while also protecting against erosion. These include Eastern Redcedar, Sweetfern, ‘Gro-lo’ Fragrant Sumac, ‘Shenandoah’ Switchgrass, Little Bluestem, Rough Leaved Goldenrod, Hay Scented Fern and Blue Wood Aster.
There are also new native plantings within the grove of red oak trees in a small deer exclosure. These include Sweetfern, White Wood Aster, Blue Wood Aster, Hay Scented Fern and Marginal Wood Fern.
It will be exciting to see the new trees and understory plantings take root and show their stuff in the spring!
Meanwhile, the dead dogwood on the Birch and Dogwood Walk has been replaced by a new dogwood.
Many thanks to Mayor Armacost, Village Manager Murphy, Parks Superintendent Podhurst, Peter Strom and all of the laborers and volunteers who have contributed to the beauty and sustainability of the park.
Here is a photo of Peter Strom on the new benches, surrounded by the new understory plantings:
More photos of the brand new plantings:
There is more to do!
Hopes for the future include some restoration work to better secure the Langmuir Steps and the addition of a simple handrailI there as well as improving the trails from Draper Park and from the OCA onto the Wooded Bluff and some restoration work on the old stone wall and steps from the north end of the Panhandle to the bluff as well as some simple stone seating along the paths.
If you enjoy the park and would like to be part of future improvements, please consider donating to Friends of Quarry Park HERE
Christina Lomolino
Chair
Friends of Quarry Park
Hastings-On-Hudson, NY 10706
quarryparkhastings.org