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142-536: Briarcliff Farms was a farm established in 1890 by Walter William Law in Briarcliff Manor , a village in Westchester County, New York . One of several enterprises established by Law at the turn of the 20th century, the farm was known for its milk, butter, and cream and also produced other dairy products, American Beauty roses , bottled water, and print media. At its height, the farm was one of

284-432: A National Historic Landmark (NHL), and leaves the preserve, continuing straight through a steep, narrow wooded ravine in a slightly southwesterly direction. As it flows between Sleepy Hollow Cemetery to the west and the village's Douglas Park to the east, the river drops below 50 feet (15 m) in elevation. On the north edge of another residential neighborhood, it bends eastward. After flowing under U.S. Route 9 , it

426-854: A draper at the age of fourteen. Shortly after the United Kingdom's election of 1859 , the Law family left Kidderminster, many to Australia. That year, Law moved to the United States, having gained an interest in the US after reading about it. He left England with letters of introduction written by his father, which were addressed to friends in the American carpet business; he also had enough money to last for about two weeks. He arrived in New York City on January 22, 1860. Law originally found

568-498: A "recognized authority on scientific agriculture" according to The New York Times , was consulted; he later organized the school and became its director. When Walter Law was included the school took shape, since he provided its land and building. In September 1900, Law and the committee established the School of Practical Agriculture and Horticulture as part of Briarcliff Farms, on an elevated 66-acre (27 ha) site about midway between

710-574: A beef feeding operation. Stockbriar sold the farmland to its current owners in 1979. The farm combined a practical American business model with the concept of a European country seat or manor , with cows being milked constantly, and with milk promptly chilled and bottled within five minutes, and shipped to stores in New York City each night. The farm was progressive, with sterile conditions, numerous employee benefits, good living conditions for livestock, and regular veterinary inspections to maintain

852-529: A carpet dealer. He relocated to the United States in 1859, where he lived until his death. Throughout his life, he was employed at various places, including at W. & J. Sloane, where he worked for 24 years. After retiring to a house on Scarborough Road in the small community of Whitson's Corners, New York , he developed the surrounding farmland into a suburban village. Law died in 1924 in Summerville, South Carolina , during rest cure treatment. Walter Law

994-569: A cost of about $ 20,000 ($ 678,200 in 2023) and housing 200 Jersey cattle bedded in sawdust or shavings. Barn B was in the Pine Plains hamlet of Bethel and Barn C was farther south, in the town of Stanford . The farm utilized the concept of a European country seat, through tenant farming , established blacksmith, wheelwright , and harness shops on-site, in addition to a butcher shop and smokehouse. Buildings were centrally located around Walter Law's manor house , many of which were constructed in

1136-448: A day. The farm butchered 7,000 broilers each season. Eggs sold for 35 to 50 cents per dozen, with demand exceeding supply. Broilers sold for $ 1.50 ($ 55 in 2023) to $ 3.00 ($ 110 in 2023) per pair. Briarcliff Farms raised about 300 lambs each spring, primarily Dorset Horns . The lambs, which were dressed (their internal organs removed) on the farm, sold for $ 12 ($ 439 in 2023) or more apiece; demand also exceeded supply. The farm gardens grew

1278-628: A dinner dance, a cinema program and a concert. Greenhouse foreman George Romaine propagated an American Beauty rose with longer, more-pointed buds and a brighter color, and Paul M. Pierson registered it with the American Rose Society as the Briarcliff Rose. It is Briarcliff Manor's village symbol, and since 2006 has been used on village street signs. Although the Briarcliff Manor Garden Club also uses

1420-405: A few cattle, and little knowledge of farming, but it eventually grew. At the farm's peak, Law had 500 workers caring for more than 1,000 cattle, 500 pigs, 4,000 chickens, Thoroughbred horses, pheasants, peacocks and sheep. Law believed that farming can pay off if it utilized scientific principles, and that the farm should find the best markets and hold them by producing the best products. Around

1562-549: A healthy herd. The farm also made use of tenant farming , established working blacksmith, wheelwright , and harness shops on-site, was located around Walter Law's manor house , and constructed numerous buildings in the Tudor Revival architectural style. Briarcliff Farms was the original location for the School of Practical Agriculture and Horticulture, established by the New York State Committee for

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1704-472: A high-school education before enrolling, and some had been to college. The school had a capacity of 35 students, and planned to expand. For one year it met in the basement of Pleasantville's public school (until the Briarcliff Farms building was completed), and did not provide housing. The farm building was completed in spring 1901 and dedicated on May 15. The large Colonial Revival building, with

1846-486: A job as a traveling carpet salesman. He continued until he discovered that his employer was misrepresenting domestic rugs as being imported and was also charging premium prices. His next employer, an outfitter of steamships and hotels, went out of business in the 1860s, when the American Civil War affected the business. Law struggled through unemployment, and even while working, pay was low. At one point, Law

1988-496: A man ...who has acquired wealth by trade or manufacture should leave the city to develop an ideal farm is something new and notable. This is what Mr. Walter W. Law has done at Briarcliff Manor. He determined to have a farm run absolutely on the highest principles—a farm where science should speak the first word and the last word, and all the time. Science is nothing but accumulated experience; what we have found out to be best and truest; and so Briarcliff Manor farms were simply to do

2130-561: A minimum of three percent butterfat, Briarcliff required its milk to have over five percent butterfat to be sold. A March 1905 New York Milk Commission analysis indicated that the farm's milk had 8.2 percent butterfat, the "richest Briarcliff product ever reported on". In 1901 the farm had 1,045 Jersey cattle, 4,000 chickens and ducks, 1,500 pigs, and 400 sheep. It grew, with 500 workers tending those animals in addition to Thoroughbred horses, pheasants and peacocks. The pigs (which included Chester Whites and Berkshires ) lived outdoors, because

2272-401: A plain exterior and wide halls, had lecture halls, a library, a laboratory, an office, a dining hall and dormitory space for 40 staff members and students. Its grounds had an orchard, a working garden, experimental greenhouses, poultry houses, a farmhouse and barns. The school's faculty included a director, a horticulturalist, an agriculturalist and instructors in nature study and cold storage. It

2414-485: A printing press and office north of the farm office on Pleasantville Road. The print shop produced Briarcliff Farms , the Briarcliff Bulletin in 1900, the monthly Briarcliff Outlook in 1903 and The Briarcliff Once-a-Week in 1908 (all edited by Arthur W. Emerson) and bottle caps for Briarcliff dairy products. The Briarcliff Table Water Company sold its products in New York City, Lakewood, New Jersey and

2556-511: A resident barber. Farm workers were not required to live in the boarding house, although the number of people wanting to live there exceeded the space available. Rent was $ 15–18 per month, including room, board and laundry. Law frequently joined the men at meals, lecturers visited the boarding house and the farm workers had a performing orchestra, brass band and glee club . Dalmeny opened on Christmas 1899 and closed in July 1908, in conjunction with

2698-430: A silver medal for social benefit or economy. Concerned that the farm's milk had preservatives, French authorities requested an affidavit that no chemicals were added. Photographs by the US government of Briarcliff Farms' barns, farmland, Law's mottoes and employees were displayed in the exposition's Palace of Social Economy and Congress. On September 2, 1901, the farm's dairy buildings were destroyed by fire. The cause of

2840-530: A splendid human result. That is, they must not be left to act as so many mechanical appliances or brute force masters of the lower animals ... It seems not yet quite familiar to us that a store should have the Golden Rule for a business maxim; but what are we to make of a farm where the superintendent says, "Not until we apply the Golden Rule to cows will we ever get the best from them?" The walls of

2982-638: A stockholder and member of the Yonkers company's board of directors. Law and his wife moved to Hillcrest, at 354 Palisade Avenue in Yonkers, making it easier for him to service the Smith account. He later became a vice president of W. & J. Sloane, and also joined its board of directors. If a Cobbler by trade, I'll make it my pride The best of all Cobblers to be; And if only a Tinker, no Tinker on earth Shall mend an old Kettle like me. Posted at Dalmeny , and given to Law by his father when he

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3124-484: A stone retaining wall in front of the current building on the site, built in 1925 by Oscar Vatet for Rufus P. Johnston (pastor of John D. Rockefeller 's Fifth Avenue Baptist Church). The building, later occupied by Arthur O'Connor, Cognitronics, and Frank B. Hall, is currently an unused part of Briarcliff Corporate Campus. Most of the Pine Plains farmland is occupied by Berkshire Stud, a Thoroughbred breeding farm which purchased 550 acres (220 ha) beginning in 1983, and

3266-675: A taste for rural life." Most students were trained in garden and farm operations in a two-year course, with short summer courses in nature study also offered. The academic year had three terms, with twelve weeks of vacation. Although the school allowed new students to begin at any term, a September start was considered the most desirable. Instruction was offered in agriculture , horticulture, cold storage, botany , chemistry, geology, physics, agricultural zoology, entomology , beekeeping , meteorology , land surveying and leveling, soils, drainage, irrigation, tillage , fertilizers, plant diseases, stock, fruit growing, landscape gardening and bookkeeping. It

3408-455: A variety of crops, adapting to the market; in 1900 this included oats, rye, corn, wheat, buckwheat, carrots, mangolds , turnips, rutabagas, radishes, sugar beets, potatoes, apples, cabbages, rye, oat, and wheat straw, hay, corn stalks and silage . The farm rotated its grain production to grow better vegetables. At one time the farm had 12 acres (0.02 sq mi) of asparagus, which sold for 35 to 50 cents per bunch. Briarcliff Farms operated

3550-494: A visitor-observation area, permitting the viewing of each step of the farm's dairy processing. In one room (separated from the viewing area by glass doors), cream was skimmed; in a second milk was bottled, and in a third butter was churned. The building's sterilizing, pasteurizing, and shipping departments were in the basement. Briarcliff Farms shipped 2,000 US quarts (1,900 L) of milk, 300 US quarts (280 L) of cream and 500 pounds (230 kg) of butter each day. Students from

3692-409: Is a habitat for brown trout . The river is stocked each spring; 540 brown trout were stocked in 2013, and 630 were anticipated to be stocked in the river in 2014. After a bacteria test completed on October 4, 2014, the river was found to have an Enterococcus bacteria count of greater than 2420, indicating high amounts of fecal matter in the water. Other tests of the river quality at the mouth of

3834-479: Is again impounded, creating the mill pond at the Philipsburg Manor House , another NHL. From that outlet, it meanders northwest past the former Tarrytown Truck Assembly plant, widening into a flood plain as it does. It bends north to pass another village park on the east, then north around that to divide the park from the residential area of Philipse Manor to its north. After flowing under

3976-436: Is now an automotive restoration facility. 41°08′53″N 73°50′42″W  /  41.148°N 73.845°W  / 41.148; -73.845 Walter William Law Walter William Law (November 13, 1837 – January 17, 1924) was a businessman and the founder of the 8,000-person village of Briarcliff Manor, New York . He was a vice president of furniture and carpet retailer W. & J. Sloane , and later founded

4118-714: The New-York Tribune , The New York Times , New York Evening Post and the Mail and Express (papers which, according to Printers' Ink , advertised to wealthy residents). The farm's stores sold Briarcliff dairy products and table water. Milk was sent to the Hotel Lorraine, the St. Regis , the Waldorf Astoria , Mendel's Lunch Room at Grand Central Station and Milhau's Drug Store on Broadway , and kumyss

4260-1078: The Astronomical Society of the Pacific , New York's Century Association , the Metropolitan Museum of Art , the Players , and Sleepy Hollow Country Club . Law and his wife were on the Aqueduct Guard Citizens' Committee, a committee tasked with providing for the needs of the New York Guard troops who were protecting the Old Croton Aqueduct during World War I . In 1892, Law also received an honorary Master of Arts degree in agriculture from Yale University . [REDACTED] Media related to Walter Law at Wikimedia Commons Pocantico River Writer Washington Irving , who lived in

4402-612: The Briarcliff Congregational Church (built in 1896) and for Liberty Park (later dedicated as the Walter W. Law Memorial Park); in 1900, he established the School of Practical Agriculture on Pleasantville Road on 66 acres (27 ha) of land. He also built Dysart House as a guest house in 1897, named after Dysart House in Scotland. By 1902, Law had invested $ 2.5 million ($ 88 million in 2023 ) in

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4544-708: The Briarcliff Lodge , the Briarcliff Table Water Company, Briarcliff Farms , and the Briarcliff Greenhouses. He founded or assisted in establishing several schools, churches, and parks in the village, and rebuilt its train station in 1906. In the early 1900s, Walter Law was the largest individual landholder in Westchester County . Walter Law was born in Kidderminster , England, and was one of ten children of

4686-410: The Briarcliff Manor and Pleasantville train stations on Pleasantville Road. Law leased the 66 acres (which were worth $ 1,000 ($ 36,600 in 2023) an acre) for 20 years at the rate of a dollar per year, gave the trustees $ 30,000 ($ 1,098,700 in 2023) to build a dormitory and promised them $ 3,000 ($ 109,900 in 2023) a year for expenses until the school earned a profit. With that and $ 30,000 from the trustees,

4828-538: The Edith Macy Conference Center ) as a supplemental source. The farm had a large supply store, with feed and other items, southeast of the service station at North State and Pleasantville Roads. The Briarcliff Farms office, Walter Law's personal office, was also the first dairy building; it burned down in 1901, and was rebuilt the following year. From Briarcliff Manor's 1902 incorporation to the construction of its first municipal building in 1913,

4970-526: The Ethical Culture School and nurses from New York City hospitals visited the farm to learn about its practices in relation to their work, and Briarcliff Farms was reportedly chosen as the most typical New York industry available for inspection. Although Briarcliff Farms' primary operation was dairy, a secondary agricultural product was its American Beauty rose. The farm had two groups of greenhouses; one, behind Walter Law's house and west of

5112-729: The New York and Putnam Railroad to New York City for delivery the next day; they were also sold in the farm's stores or from wagons. Briarcliff Farms had three stores in New York City and stores in Greenwich, Connecticut , Yonkers, Dobbs Ferry and Tarrytown . The farm's first New York City store was in Manhattan's Windsor Arcade, at Fifth Avenue and 46th Street, and it had an office in the Seymour Building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street . The office produced advertisements for

5254-609: The New York and Putnam Railroad . Law's greenhouse space grew to 75,000 square feet (7,000 m ), and his roses earned up to $ 100,000 each year. As many as 8,000 roses were shipped from Briarcliff Greenhouses daily, most of them to New York City. In 1902, Law built the Briarcliff Lodge on the highest point of his estate; it was the first hotel in Westchester County. Law also developed the village, establishing schools, churches, and parks. He donated land for

5396-731: The North County Trailway diverge from the Taconic. The river, road and trail continue heading to the southwest as the Pocantico begins to form the Briarcliff Manor village line at the Chappaqua Road crossing. Another 1,200 feet south of that crossing, it recrosses Saw Mill River Road just north of where it merges with the Briarcliff– Peekskill Parkway (also State Route 9A ). After flowing under

5538-482: The Pocantico River for 2 miles (3 km), taking out rifts so the stream would flow and adjacent swamps would drain. Workers also cut rock and took out trees lining the swamps to reclaim land for farming. Law found the soil poor, since it had been farmed for a half-century. The fields were bare, and cows gave poor-quality milk: "I had to begin at the bottom and repair the waste of fifty years." He improved

5680-653: The Tudor Revival style. The farm's office building, Dysart House, the Briarcliff Lodge, and the railroad station shared that architectural style. The farm, one of the first producers of certified milk in the US, operated under the supervision of the Milk Commission of the Medical Society of the County of New York. With the farm producing about 4,500 US quarts (4,300 litres) of milk daily (an average of 8 US quarts (7.6 litres) per cow per day), Briarcliff Farms

5822-496: The unincorporated hamlet of Millwood . The lake is 325 feet (99 m) above sea level, in a narrow valley between Cabin Ridge to the east and a similarly steep ridge on the west. Its surrounding terrain is primarily wooded and lightly developed outside of the two roads. The river begins at a dam on the lake's south end. Shortly after draining the lake, the Pocantico flows under Route 100, which it remains closely parallel to for

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5964-485: The 1933 international show. The farm affected a number of herds, and the Briarcliff prefix is still seen in many pedigrees. In 1935 the 2,000-acre (3 sq mi) portion of the farm east of the road was sold to Henry Jackson, who named it Bethel Farms. After Thorne's death in 1948, Briarcliff Farms changed hands a number of times. In 1968 it became Stockbriar Farm, a beef-feeding operation. Stockbriar tried to sell

6106-440: The 1934 Dutchess County Fair 's beef-cattle show, 100 cattle and steers were exhibited. Briarcliff Aristocrat, a summer yearling weighing 1,000 pounds (450 kg), was named the grand champion steer. The grand champion bull was the farm's Briarcliff Barbarian 8th, the first-prize senior yearling of the 1933 International Livestock Show. The grand champion female was Briarcliff Mighonne 10th, the first-prize senior yearling heifer of

6248-948: The Briarcliff Lodge Association to run the hotel, and the Briarcliff Realty Company to sell the original Briarcliff Farms property. His son, Henry, presided over the realty company until 1936. In 1908, during the Briarcliff Manor-sponsored First American International Road Race , Law donated and presented the Briarcliff Trophy, valued at over $ 10,000 ($ 339,100 in 2023 ). In 1918, Walter Law sold his Briarcliff Farms land in Pine Plains. Walter Law died in Summerville, South Carolina , on January 17, 1924. He had gone alone to Summerville for rest cure treatment. After

6390-529: The Briarcliff Lodge, produced decorations for Briarcliff Farms, the Briarcliff Lodge and Law's and his workers' houses. The other group, the Pierson commercial greenhouses, grew the American Beauty rose and rare carnations ; it produced 22 varieties and about 2,500 blooms a day. The greenhouses, advanced for their time, had light steel frames and glass panes unique in their "almost unshadowed exposure to

6532-616: The Briarcliff Rose as its symbol, the variety is now lost. During the winter of 1895–96, the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor researched the causes of youth moving from the country to cities to develop the most efficient method of attracting them back to the country. That, and an examination of agricultural needs for a year, resulted in meetings at the homes of Abram S. Hewitt and R. Fulton Cutting and

6674-596: The Civil War, wholesale demands increased, and Law's time spent working in wholesale increased until he became devoted to it exclusively. Law first came to Yonkers due to him marketing the products of the Alexander Smith & Sons Carpet Company in Yonkers for the manufacture of moquette carpets. Walter Law increased the business of Sloane's wholesale department by securing their account; he eventually became

6816-673: The Knox School has been located in St. James, New York . James Stillman owned a small farm on Pleasantville Road since at least 1886. It was known as Briarcliff Farm after John David Ogilby's estate, Brier Cliff (itself named after Ogilby's family home in Ireland). In 1887 Stillman had a display at the Great Dairy and Cattle Show in New York City's Madison Square Garden , where he demonstrated setting milk, churning cream and making butter. In 1890, Walter Law began purchasing property in

6958-619: The Manor House on Scarborough Road. Law later built houses for Henry, Walter Jr., and Edith on the Briarcliff Lodge property on Scarborough Road. The three houses were named Hillcrest, Six Gables, and Mt. Vernon, and all three still stand. Walter Law was a friend of Andrew Carnegie , who described Law as always having an interest in reading and writing. When he found a phrase to be clever or intriguing, Law would document it for further use. Carnegie wrote that Law often made new friends, and had an attractive personality. Law's personal interest

7100-636: The Mashomack Polo Club (which owns the farmhouse on Halcyon Lake). The farm's creamery and several barns (some built during the 19th century) still stand at the polo club, and have been used since the 1980s for stables, farm-equipment storage and the raising of sporting birds. The barns also housed the Triangle Arts Association (part of the Triangle Arts Trust ) from 1982 to 1993. In Briarcliff Manor, part of

7242-986: The Netherlands because of that country's reputation for good milkers. In 1905, Briarcliff Farms was milking nearly 500 cows at any given time. The farm raised its own stock, feeding the cattle eight pounds of dry feed twice a day with pasture and green corn in summer. The feed mixture was 50 percent bran, 25 percent crushed oats and 25 percent cornmeal, all of which were claimed to be the best available. The farm required that each cow produce 6,000 pounds of milk with 5 percent butterfat or 5,000 pounds of milk with 6 percent butterfat, or she would be butchered or sold. Each cow ate an average of seven pounds of grain per day (varying from two pounds on pasture to 12 in winter), 1.5 to 2 pounds of oil meal each day and free-choice timothy and clover hay—17–20 pounds (7.7–9.1 kg) daily, depending on size. Each worker milked, cleaned and groomed 16 to 18 cattle daily. The New York Milk Commission analyzed

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7384-477: The Pine Plains farm, claiming that the preserve operated a private club without a liquor permit and CAPA missed a March 23, 1982 payment which was the bulk of its total payment for the farm. Stockbriar Farms requested that Mashomack be evicted, and its property returned. One lawsuit was filed in county court, and the other three were filed in New York Supreme Court . Although Mashomack and CAPA won

7526-429: The Pine Plains property in 1918 and died in 1924. On October 9, 1918, New York banker Oakleigh Thorne and several partners purchased the 4,200-acre (7 sq mi) Briarcliff Farms property, cattle and dairy buildings for $ 500,000 ($ 10.1 million in 2023). Thorne began breeding Aberdeen Angus cattle under the Briarcliff Farms name, and the farm remained well known for its beef. Thorne and W. Alan McGregor began

7668-648: The Pine Plains-Stanford Road (present-day New York State Route 82 ) in Pine Plains and began developing his Briarcliff Manor properties for houses, churches and schools. Law's general manager, George W. Tuttle (who had worked at Briarcliff Farms since 1901), arranged the Pine Plains purchases and the construction of new barns, a creamery, a power station and other buildings. The barns used Franklin Hiram King 's King ventilation system, and

7810-856: The Pocantico River in the area of the Old Dutch Church and Burying Ground in Sleepy Hollow . As well, Washington Irving makes frequent mention of the Pocantico River in Chronicle III of his short story anthology Wolfert's Roost . The delighted historian pursued his explorations far into the foldings of the hills where the Pocantico winds its wizard stream among the mazes of its old Indian haunts; sometimes running darkly in pieces of woodland beneath balancing sprays of beech and chestnut: sometimes sparkling between grassy borders in fresh green intervals; here and there receiving

7952-477: The Pocantico was blocked by fallen trees and almost washed away the Philipsburg Manor historic site; about 70 employees of the parent organization Historic Hudson Valley assisted in its protection, along with the site's curators and security guards, and other village residents. The organization Riverkeeper collects samples in three Pocantico River tributaries. The river downstream of Pocantico Lake

8094-509: The Pocantico's river valley and later to the village of North Tarrytown in particular; the village changed its official name to Sleepy Hollow in 1996. Frederick Philipse moved to the area and started purchasing land in the late 1600s, his properties would become known as Philipsburg Manor . He established his country seat at what was then known as North Tarrytown, at the mouth of the Pocantico River. A small community had already been established there when he arrived in 1683. A ship called

8236-487: The Promotion of Agriculture in conjunction with Walter Law. The school's purpose was to teach students in farming, gardening, poultry-keeping, and other agriculture-related skills. The school moved to a farm near Poughkeepsie in 1903, and the school building was run as a hotel for two years until it became Miss Knox's School. After the building burned down in 1912, Miss Knox's School was relocated several times; since 1954,

8378-511: The Roebuck, which transported cargo to and from New York City, ended up in the river, where its keel was scavenged by the miller at the mill of the Philipsburg Manor House site. Around the late 1890s, Walter W. Law and Briarcliff Farms deepened the river for a length of 2 miles (3 km), taking out the rifts so the stream would flow and the swamps adjacent to the river would drain. The workers also cut rock and took out trees that lined

8520-411: The Taconic, the river crosses under the parkway for the last time and continues on a more southwesterly course past 420-foot (130 m) Beech Hill into 164-acre (66 ha) Pocantico Lakes Park . It widens amid swampy areas on either side as it receives Caney Brook from the north and then becomes Pocantico Lake. Midway along the lake, the municipal boundary leaves the river, putting it entirely within

8662-726: The US government asked Briarcliff Farms to exhibit its milk, butter and cream at Paris' Exposition Universelle , the farm submitted raw , pasteurized, and sterilized milk; however, according to the French, "There is no use sending these, for your fresh milk keeps fresh". The farm contributed to the USDA Bureau of Animal Industry and the New York State Commission to the Paris Exhibition's joint exhibit, winning gold medals for its milk, cream, and butter and

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8804-462: The Village of Briarcliff Manor, and it was incorporated on November 21. That year Law's son, Walter Jr. , joined his father and brother Henry in managing the farm and realty company; he was the second village president, in office from 1905 to 1918. In April 1906, Governor General of Canada Albert Grey and US Representative and farm architect Edward Burnett drove up from New York City and toured

8946-438: The Westchester municipalities of Yonkers , Tarrytown , White Plains , and Ossining . The company owned 250-foot-deep (76 m) wells. Around 1901, the Briarcliff Steamer Company No. 1 (later the Briarcliff Manor Fire Department ) housed its equipment and horses at Briarcliff Farms' Barn A. The American Plasmon Syndicate, a producer of the dried milk product plasmon, had its factory in Briarcliff for milk from Briarcliff Farms;

9088-492: The area and began devoting his time to agriculture. He rapidly added to his holdings, buying about forty parcels in less than ten years; by 1900, Law owned more than 5,000 acres (8 sq mi) of Westchester County and was its largest individual landholder. Some previous owners became tenant farmers ; Law received half of the hay and straw from a 160-acre (60 ha) farm formerly owned by Jesse Bishop, and one-third of everything else. Law and Briarcliff Farms initially deepened

9230-459: The area for most of his life, was inspired by the undeveloped area above the river's mouth to write his classic " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ". Later in the 19th century much of the land was purchased by the Rockefeller family as part of their Kykuit estate; today much of that land has become Rockefeller State Park Preserve . A former reservoir used by the city of New Rochelle has likewise been converted into county-run Pocantico Lake Park. While

9372-555: The area, which had 640 acres with a population of 381, be incorporated as the Village of Briarcliff Manor. The village was incorporated on November 21, 1902. At the time, Law owned all but two small parcels of the village, and he employed 100 of its residents. Law largely developed his Briarcliff Manor property as a business corporation until 1907, when he purchased 3,249 acres (1,315 ha) for Briarcliff Farms in Pine Plains, New York ; he then began developing his properties for houses, churches, and schools instead. In 1909, Law formed

9514-491: The best, instead of second best, or third best, or tenth best. The houses were to be models, the stables were to be ideal, the orchards planted and worked ideally, the gardens must show what possibly could be done in vegetables, and the corn crop and the oats and the wheat must not be left to any guesses of man or nature. Feeding must be done on scientific principles; barns must be as sanitary as houses; stables must be sunny and thoroughly ventilated. Water must be absolutely pure for

9656-399: The breeds' milk for 10, 12 and 15 cents per quart respectively. Briarcliff Farms also sold cream (with 50 percent butterfat ) for 60 cents per quart, Jersey butter for 50 cents per pound and Normande or Simmental butter for 60 cents per pound. In 1909, half the farm's herd consisted of registered Jerseys and the other half high-grade Jerseys. In Pine Plains, many of Barn B's milkers were from

9798-426: The building shortly after dedicating a new classroom building. Briarcliff Farms' second location, in the town of Pine Plains , initially covered 3,249 acres (5 sq mi). The farm, 2 miles (3 km) from the hamlet of Pine Plains , was adjacent to the Central New England Railway in the shallow Stissing Basin and 12 miles (20 km) from the Hudson River. The Pine Plains farm had three barns, each built at

9940-536: The building to bottling, took five minutes. Every utensil contacting the milk (or workers) would be regularly sterilized with live steam . The building was as free of bacteria as the farm could make it; its rooms had white-tiled walls and floors, with coving (concave tiling) between the walls and floors for better cleaning. Milk bottles were reused after several cleanings with rotating wire brushes and two hours of heat sterilization. The farm's products were packaged as milk, cream, butter or kumyss , and sent every night on

10082-410: The cattle were transferred a day later, to the farm's main station (between Pine Plains and Attlebury on the Central New England Railway) at Barn A. During Briarcliff Manor's first automobile race in 1908, the barns were used for mechanic crews and each driver had his own crew weeks before the race. In 1909 Law formed the Briarcliff Realty Company to sell the original Briarcliff Manor property. He sold

10224-512: The cattle, and their sanitary conditions as perfect as those for human beings. The Independent In 1906, Andrew Carnegie wrote about Briarcliff Farms: "Every known appliance or mode of treatment is at hand, and the herd is pronounced free from all and every ailment. In cases of doubt animals are sacrificed". The farm used the best obtainable stock, with extensive experimenting, for its products. The operation immediately removed every cow that appeared ill, and many cattle were butchered during

10366-410: The concrete dairy building cost about $ 25,000 ($ 847,800 in 2023). The farm's well, 700 feet (210 m) from the barn, was 26 feet (7.9 m) deep and 15 feet (4.6 m) in diameter. In 1907 and 1908, the farm and many of its workers moved to Pine Plains. Although preliminary steps in the relocation were primarily small, the final October 1908 transfer used two trains to move 300 cattle. The rest of

10508-612: The conductivity of the water failed state standards with conductivity levels averaging about three times the recommended levels. American eels enters the river from the Hudson every spring, moving upstream over the course of one to three years. The eels often accumulate under a dam in Sleepy Hollow, and approximately 10% make it past the dam. The eels move upstream where the habitat is preferable, with lower polychlorinated biphenyl pollution, fewer parasites, faster growth rates for

10650-621: The cottages still standing, six are on Dalmeny Road and three are on Old Briarcliff Road. The farm also owned and operated a farm in Peekskill previously owned by John Paulding , a militiaman who helped capture British major John André , running the Peekskill farm as a nursery for maples, oaks, lindens, hemlocks, spruces and other trees. During the early 1900s Law purchased farms in Lewisboro and Pound Ridge , using those farms to replenish

10792-771: The country). Pew began eighteen Angus herds in Dutchess County , and was a director of the American Angus Association . At the International Livestock Show in 1927, the farm had the International Grand Champion Female, and in 1930 it had the 1930 International Grand Champion Bull. Because of the 1931 and 1933 expositions, Thorne became first to win a grand champion twice, with two of his livestock awarded International Grand Champion Steers . At

10934-451: The dairy-processing building, where it was poured into a large, sterilized tank and forced—with compressed air at 160 US quarts (150,000 ml) per minute—through sterilized pipes to the building's second floor. There the milk was cooled, strained five times and bottled. The bottles were sealed with parchment circles with the supervising commission's certification and the date, and then put in boxes with ice. The entire process, from entering

11076-446: The east as it turns south; on the west it is paralleled by the preserve's Pocantico River Trail, which follows it for a mile and a half (2.4 km). All three cross under Phelps Way ( State Route 117 ) and turn south. Within the preserve, the river meanders between hills amidst woodland interrupted by large clearings. Small stone bridges carry several of the preserve's trails across the river. About 600 feet (180 m) after entering

11218-508: The eels, and a higher percentage of females in the population. Other species in the river include white perch , white sucker , yellow perch , golden shiner , and alewife , only in small numbers. Adjacent to the river is a protected area known as Pocantico Lake Park. The park contains hiking trails as well as an abandoned water treatment plant from the New Rochelle Water Company. Nearby land fronting Pocantico Lake

11360-763: The family's summer house, formerly the C.H. Burnham house, in Jefferson, New Hampshire . Law had three sons and four daughters with his wife, Georgianna Hitt (née Ransom) Law, whom he married on January 4, 1866, at 152 Second Avenue in New York City. She lived from 1839 to September 18, 1910. Their children were Georgia "Georgie" R. Penman (born November 10, 1866), Carrie Law-Fotterall (b. September 10, 1869), Walter W. Law Jr. (b. July 15, 1871), Edith Bird Brockelman (b. April 10, 1874), Arthur Law (January 11, 1876 – January 23, 1877), Henry Herbert Law (February 28, 1878 – November 18, 1936), and Martha Janet Macey (b. March 10, 1880). During their life at Briarcliff Manor, Law owned

11502-444: The farm and the Briarcliff Lodge . The farm's blacksmith, wheelwright, harness shops and other buildings were located around that barn, and a smokehouse and butcher's shop were on-site. Barns B (housing 78 cattle) and C (housing 118 cattle) were at the south end of Dalmeny Road; Barn D (housing 116 cattle), between Beech Hill Road and New York State Route 117 , was later used as a boarding stable for horses. Barn E (housing 118 cattle)

11644-407: The farm as guests of Walter Law. According to Briarcliff Outlook , they "expressed hearty approval of Briarcliff ways". Law developed his Briarcliff Manor property primarily as a corporation until 1907 when, due to rising property values and falling agricultural development in Westchester County, he purchased twelve farms—totaling 3,249 acres (5 sq mi)—for Briarcliff Farms on both sides of

11786-411: The farm built the factory and its power plant. In a 1900 publication the farm's motto was reported to be "The production of pure food of the highest standard of excellence", although a 1902 publication reported that its motto was "Do unto a cow as you would that a cow would do unto you" (also saying that the motto appeared in large letters in every barn on the farm). Notices printed by the farm began with

11928-523: The farm emphasized the commercial value of such virtues. On Christmas Eve, after the Briarcliff Orchestra played George Frideric Handel 's " Largo ", Law spoke about the farm's improvements that year and awarded the prizes. The orchestra was made up of the farm's workers, and among its members was Law's son Walter Jr. The arrangement for human beings must be on the highest level. Men and boys who were employed must be looked after to produce

12070-767: The farm had weak cattle (many afflicted with tuberculosis ) and "ordinary milk", but after Law's development the farm had strong cattle, healthy calves and an abundance of rich milk. Law hired Leonard Pearson (a professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Pennsylvania ) to check each cow every six months for tuberculosis and other diseases, exceeding New York City Board of Health standards. Although Law had little knowledge or experience of farming at first, he had enough money to reach his goal of maximizing his dairy farm's quality and output. Law's farm had 500 workers tending cattle, pigs, chickens, Thoroughbred horses, pheasants, peacocks and sheep at its peak. In 1900, when

12212-666: The farm several times, and it nearly became a county zoo. In 1979, Stockbriar sold the farmland to the Conservation and Preservation Association (CAPA) for $ 2.1 million ($ 8.82 million in 2023). In 1982 CAPA hired a Millbrook realtor, who advertised the farm for $ 2.75 million ($ 8.68 million in 2023) in The New York Times , The Wall Street Journal and newspapers published by Taconic Press. Around that time Stockbriar Farms filed four lawsuits against CAPA and its lessee (Mashomack Fish and Game Preserve) over

12354-457: The farm superintendent believed they should be penned only for breeding; in summer, they were allowed to run in the orchards or the woods. About 2,000 were butchered each year. The farm's 31 poultry houses had a head poulterer and 40 assistants; each building was 18 by 100 feet (5.5 by 30.5 m), and they were spread around the property. The farm, which used 300-egg insulators, fed the hens a mix of grains (including oats, wheat and corn) five times

12496-838: The farm's first few years to improve the herd's overall health. According to Walter Law, "It is not the cows that have been put in, but those which have been taken out, that have made the Briarcliff herd what it is". The farm's large, light barns had concrete floors, which were cleaned daily, and up-to-date appliances for separating, churning, handling and packing its products. Law made annual five-dollar cash awards ($ 183 in 2023) to workers in September (giving them out at Dalmeny on December 24), which included "most gentle with cows", "most careful teamster in feeding his horses and keeping his stables clean", "cleanest delivery wagon", "neatest house yard", "best garden truck" and "best-kept room in Dalmeny";

12638-474: The farm's milk weekly; although the board of health regulations in New York allowed three million bacteria per cubic centimeter in milk, the milk commission limited bacteria to 30,000. The farm chilled its milk within two minutes of milking to 45 °F (7 °C), often limiting its bacteria counts to 200–400 per cc. A chemical analysis of the milk was performed every month; although regulations required

12780-443: The farm's poultry yard, hennery and stables. After observing the farm's heifers and stallions, they went to the creamery to taste Briarcliff butter. The guests went to Law's Yonkers home, Hillcrest, for dinner before returning to New York. After the visit, the duke had said "Well, this is a perfect place. I am delighted with what I have seen." In 1898 Law retired from the vice-presidency of W. & J. Sloane , moved with his family to

12922-462: The farm's relocation to Upstate New York . Over a period of several months in 1909 the building was moved to the Briarcliff Lodge property, where it was adjacent to the Lodge's laundry building. When the Lodge was the campus of King's College from 1955 to 1994, the school called the former boarding house Harmony Hall and used it for classrooms and staff housing. In autumn 1979, King's College demolished

13064-465: The fire (which was discovered in the dairy building's tower) was unknown, and the damage was covered by insurance. Law quickly arranged for a temporary dairy in a room of the electric plant which had a boiler for sterilization; by the afternoon, milk was processed as usual. A larger dairy building was planned closer to the railroad station for faster shipping. When Briarcliff Manor was incorporated on November 21, 1902, Law owned all but two small parcels of

13206-664: The first two, in 1984 a state supreme court justice ordered Mashomack and CAPA to vacate the property and Stockbriar Farms remained for sale. The farm, overlooking the Hudson River , was established between the Hudson and Pocantico Rivers in the hamlet of Whitson's Corners (present-day Briarcliff Manor), 27 miles (40 km) from Manhattan . Its location was described in 1901 as "the most healthy, hilly portion of Westchester ...where there are neither swamps nor contaminated streams of water". The original land plot, four miles (6,400 m) long and three miles (4,800 m) wide,

13348-417: The formation of the New York State Committee for the Promotion of Agriculture. The committee, chaired by Hewitt, included Cutting, Jacob H. Schiff, John G. Carlisle, Mrs. Seth Low, Josephine Shaw Lowell, Walter Law and William E. Dodge. Its board of trustees had five officers (with Theodore L. Van Norden president) and seventeen other trustees, including Law, V. Everit Macy and James Speyer . George T. Powell,

13490-468: The herd by importing cattle from Scotland in 1925, and enlarged it through breeding. The Aberdeen Angus industry became prominent in the United States due to Briarcliff Farms; in 1955, about 95 percent of US Angus cattle were from Briarcliff stock. Thorne hired William Harper Pew for Pew's knowledge of livestock bloodlines. At the time, the farm had over 5,000 acres (8 sq mi) and 1,000 purebred Aberdeen Angus cattle (the largest Aberdeen Angus herd in

13632-525: The largest dairy operations in the Northeastern United States , operating about 8,000 acres (10 sq mi) with over 1,000 Jersey cattle . In 1907, the farm moved to Pine Plains in New York's Dutchess County , and it was purchased by New York banker Oakleigh Thorne in 1918, who developed it into an Aberdeen Angus cattle farm. After Thorne's death in 1948, the farm changed hands several times; in 1968 it became Stockbriar Farm,

13774-408: The light". The newer greenhouses, 50 by 300 feet (15 by 91 m), held up to 40,000 plants apiece. The Pierson roses, which earned up to $ 100,000 ($ 3.66 million in 2023) a year, were sold in winter for eight to 12 cents each with most shipped to New York City. The Briarcliff Lodge sponsored an annual American Beauty carnival with a golf tournament, water sports, moonlight bathing and night diving,

13916-603: The main farm's cattle herd. He also purchased a house in Pound Ridge, which his Briarcliff Realty Company sold to Westchester County after his death; it became the headquarters of the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, the county's largest park. Walter Law provided Dalmeny, a boarding house on Dalmeny Road, for the farm's single men. The building, modeled after the Mills Houses in New York City,

14058-628: The news of his death spread, Law's son, Henry, left for Summerville. Law's funeral was held at the Briarcliff Congregational Church three days later. He was buried with his wife and two of his children in Woodlawn Cemetery in New York City. On February 1, 1924, Law's will was filed with county surrogate George A. Slater in White Plains. His estate was approximately $ 5 million, the majority of which

14200-427: The next few miles. About 1,200 feet (370 m) from its source, the stream crosses the town line from New Castle into neighboring Ossining , soon forming the boundary between that town and neighboring Mount Pleasant on its west. A short distance to the south, the river crosses back under Saw Mill River Road and receives its first tributary , the unnamed outlet of Campfire Lake to the northeast, as it, Route 100 and

14342-517: The office housed the village government. During the 1960s the building was redesigned, rebuilt and became a local union headquarters for the International Union of Operating Engineers . The farm was enclosed, and its pastures were divided by stone walls from within the farm; the stones were also used for roadbeds, and for walls of the farm buildings, office, and Law's house. Walter Law encouraged his Briarcliff Farms employees to move into

14484-550: The original Stillman farmhouse survives as the rectory of St. Theresa's Catholic Church and several employee wood-framed cottages still stand on Dalmeny and Old Briarcliff Roads. Similar houses are on South State, Pleasantville, and Poplar Roads. The farm's dairy building is owned by Consolidated Edison ; the company also owns a nearby building which formerly housed the Briarcliff Manor Light and Power Company. The Plasmon Company of America's Woodside Avenue factory

14626-466: The original school building was known as Pocantico Lodge, a small year-round hotel. In 1905 Alice Knox, an employee at Mrs. Dow's School , opened Miss Knox's School in the building. Destroyed by fire in 1912, the school moved to nearby Tarrytown and then to Cooperstown . The Knox School moved to St. James , on Long Island , in 1954. The only remaining feature of the Pocantico Lodge building is

14768-405: The parkway, it passes just east of downtown Briarcliff Manor and then crosses Saw Mill River Road and the parkway again, meandering a little further to the east into residential neighborhoods, then turning south through the village's Jackson Road Park. After that it flows due south to the immediate east of the parkway, itself to the immediate east of a steep slope. After a slight swing east towards

14910-538: The present-day village of Briarcliff Manor as part of his desire for rest and recreation. That year, Law paid James Stillman $ 35,000 ($ 1,186,900 in 2023) for his 236-acre (96 ha) farm and renamed it Briarcliff Farms. In 1893, The New York Times reported that the 14th Duke of Veragua (a livestock farmer) and a large party visited the farm on the afternoon of June 16; at that time, the farm had about 330 cattle and 100 sheep. The party went from New York to Scarborough , proceeding by carriage to Briarcliff, and visited

15052-463: The preserve, the Pocantico crosses into the village of Sleepy Hollow . A short distance to the south, it receives Rockefeller Creek from the Pocantico Hills to the east. It bends north, away from the road, to receive its last named tributary, Gory Brook , from the north, where it turns abruptly south again. After another quarter-mile (400 m) it crosses under the Old Croton Aqueduct ,

15194-490: The railroad tracks used by Metro-North 's Hudson Line and Amtrak 's Empire Service , it flows under the entrance road to the county's Kingsland Point Park and empties into the Hudson River . The Pocantico's 16-square-mile (41 km ) watershed covers areas of Ossining , Mount Pleasant , and New Castle, including Briarcliff Manor and Sleepy Hollow. It includes 436 acres (176 ha) of mapped freshwater wetlands and eleven dams. Approximately 14,866 people live within

15336-428: The river in Sleepy Hollow also contain high levels of Enterococcus bacteria. In fact, the high bacteria counts throughout the river were taken both after wet and dry weather. Dry weather tends to result in lower bacteria counts because less flooding results in less overflow from sewage treatment plants . The high levels of bacteria in the river resulted in beach advisories for the entire river. In 2014, $ 9.9 million

15478-517: The river runs predominantly through those parks and suburban land, it is still one of the most polluted tributaries of the Hudson. In the past the Pocantico was considered to have two different sources, but today it is acknowledged that it rises from Echo Lake in the eponymous state park located in the town of New Castle between Saw Mill River Road ( New York State Route 100 ) and the Taconic State Parkway , just southwest of

15620-422: The same time, he established the Briarcliff Table Water Company and the Briarcliff Greenhouses. The water company sold its products in five cities, and owned 250-foot (76 m) wells. Briarcliff Farms was one of the first producers of certified milk in the U.S., and the farm produced about 4,500 US quarts (4,300 litres) of milk daily. Every night, his milk, cream, butter and kumyss was sent to New York City on

15762-520: The school for student access to its lectures, museums and conservatories. Tuition was $ 100 a year ($ 3,700 in 2023), and board $ 280 a year ($ 10,300 in 2023). Instruction was primarily weekday-morning lectures with laboratory work; during the afternoon, students worked on the school farm (which had a foreman, gardener and several workmen to ensure continuous operation) under instructor supervision. In 1901 35 students attended, followed by 34 in 1902 (almost all from cities), ranging in age from 16 to 35. Most had

15904-493: The school opened; the committee focused the curriculum on horticulture , floriculture , gardening and aviculture . The school's progress was followed by members of the public interested in agricultural education. When it was founded, the school was considered an experiment. Its goal was "to open an independent means of livelihood for young men and women, especially of our cities; to demonstrate that higher values may be obtained from land under intelligent management, and to develop

16046-461: The school was established there, Theodore Van Norden said that it needed funds for equipment and an endowment. The land had no buildings, and thus the school rented two houses in Poughkeepsie until funds were obtained to build. It initially hoped to raise one million dollars; in 1903, after raising $ 50,000 ($ 1.7 million in 2023) of a hoped-for $ 150,000 ($ 5.09 million in 2023) to operate

16188-713: The school, director George Powell announced that it would close and the property would be sold. Cutting presented a plan to the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts to carry out the plan devised for the school in Poughkeepsie. In 1908, school funds were donated to Cornell University as the Agricultural Student Loan Fund for students in Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences . From 1903 to 1905

16330-422: The soil's fertility by arranging for manure from New York City streets and stables to be regularly brought to his farm; for four years, twenty carloads of manure a week were spread on the land. As a result, the farm's hay yield increased from two to five tons. Law also decided to improve the area's roads, giving them a base layer of large, closely packed stones and layers of top gravel. He developed his herd; at first

16472-420: The square-mile village and employed nearly all of its residents (around 100). He developed the village, establishing schools, churches, parks and the Briarcliff Lodge. The population grew, encouraging Law to incorporate the area as a village. A proposition was presented to the supervisors of Mount Pleasant and Ossining on October 8, 1902, that a 640-acre (260 ha) area with a population of 331 be incorporated as

16614-488: The stables are hung with such mottoes as "Speak gently; it is better far to rule by love than by fear." The application of this rule to cows ought to create a moral evolution in the stablemen, so that by and by it could be applied to human folk as well, and thoroughly believed in as a workable law of life. The Independent Briarcliff Farms intended to prove that optimal farming practices could be profitable. Law believed that kind treatment would produce better cattle, and

16756-403: The swamps to reclaim land for farming. The North Tarrytown Assembly , a large automobile factory in Sleepy Hollow, was owned and operated by General Motors for much of its history; a 1923 expansion of the facility involved land-filling the river; two-thirds of the factory site was land formerly occupied by the river. The river was rerouted south of the site. During 1999's Hurricane Floyd ,

16898-432: The town of Mount Pleasant. The dam at the lake's south end is at 219 feet (67 m) above sea level, a loss of 106 feet (32 m) from the Pocantico's source at Echo Lake. From there, it flows southwestward again. At Old Sleepy Hollow Road it enters Rockefeller State Park Preserve , at over 1,400 acres (570 ha) the largest of the three protected areas the river flows through. The road continues to parallel it on

17040-430: The udders and before milking each cow. Each worker had a set of towels and washed, cared for and milked 15 or 16 cows. The cattle grazed from early spring until late autumn, and were in the barns only for milking. In 1901, The Trained Nurse and Hospital Review said it doubted that any other large New York-area dairy did this. The farm had a veterinary chemist and a laboratory for regular milk analysis. Its dairy plant had

17182-406: The verse, "If a Cobbler by trade, I'll make it my pride, the best of all Cobblers to be; and if only a Tinker, no Tinker on earth shall mend an old Kettle like me"; this verse and several other mottoes decorated friezes on the interior walls of the Dalmeny boarding house. At its peak, the farm delivered milk to areas from Albany to New York City. After it was cooled, the milk was brought daily to

17324-414: The village, selling 2,500-square-foot (230 m) or 11,250-square-foot (1,045 m) plots of land to workers for a nominal price. He asked workers to choose the type of house they wanted; he would have it built and hold the mortgage, or allow them to rent a cottage. Law built several wood-framed cottages near the farms, with steep front-gable roofs and open porches using some of the first-floor space. Of

17466-462: The village. In 1906, he replaced Briarcliff Manor's railroad station with the present-day public library. His employees at Briarcliff Farms moved into the village in its early years, and Law held some of their mortgages. At the time, New York State required a population density of at least 300 per square mile for incorporation as a village. A proposition was presented to the supervisors of Mount Pleasant and Ossining on October 8, 1902; it requested that

17608-467: The watershed. It is largely suburban, but also contains parks, forests and wildlife, highways, utilities, and institutions. The Weckquaesgeek Native American tribe, who established their primary settlement around the mouth of a river in present-day Dobbs Ferry , also had a village at the mouth of the Pocantico River called Alipconck, meaning "place of elms". The river historically set the dividing line between Mount Pleasant and Ossining. The river

17750-478: Was coeducational , with identical courses for men and women. Students were required to be proficient in English, provide good references, be at least 16 years of age, and be in good health. On January 1, 1902 Henry Francis du Pont , then in his third year at Harvard University , wrote to Powell requesting admission to the school; Powell replied that DuPont was listed first in the school's 1903 class. However, DuPont

17892-437: Was 100 feet (30 m) long and four stories tall. Its first floor had a social hall for meetings and entertainment, a parlor and reading room equipped with books, newspapers, magazines, and games, a large dining room, a private dining room, a kitchen and a bathroom with marble basins and clean towels. The upper floors had seventy individual bedrooms for the men, with bathrooms with showers and tubs on every floor. Dalmeny also had

18034-574: Was a practical school, with no attempt to provide a general education. Work included caring for orchard trees and bush fruit, greenhouse culture of fruits and vegetables, jelly- and jam-making, market gardening, tillage, fertilizer use, hybridizing and propagating flowers, harvesting and marketing crops. The school used Briarcliff Farms, where students worked the land, tested milk and cared for a variety of animals. Students also raised flowers, vegetables and fruit, and accompanied their products to cities for marketing. The New York Botanical Garden arranged with

18176-520: Was born on November 13, 1837, in the English town of Kidderminster . He was one of ten children born to John and Elizabeth Bird Law, who were strict Nonconformists . His father sold carpets and dry goods; at the time, Kidderminster was a center of carpet manufacturing in Britain. Law was educated in private schools in Kidderminster; however, he left school and began working as a cash boy for

18318-411: Was developed within twelve years. In 1901, Briarcliff Farms (including its school farm) encompassed 6,000 acres (9 sq mi) between Pleasantville and Old Briarcliff Roads north of Scarborough Road. At its peak, its original location covered 7,800 acres (10 sq mi). In Briarcliff Manor, the farm had six main barns: Barn A, near its office building on Pleasantville Road, housed the horses for

18460-577: Was divided equally between his children. They also each received 25 shares of the Alexander Smith and Sons Carpet company's stock and scrip and 250 shares of the Nairn Linoleum Company. Law's friends, servants, and employees received from $ 500 to $ 5,000. He also bequeathed $ 13,500 to his longtime nurse and secretary Ida Z. Thompson. Law's son Henry inherited the family's Briarcliff Manor house, and Law's daughter Georgia inherited

18602-750: Was eight or nine. In 1890, Walter Law began purchasing property in the present-day village of Briarcliff Manor. That year, Law paid James Stillman $ 35,000 ($ 1,186,900 in 2023 ) for 236 acres (0.4 sq mi) of land in the area; he named the land Briarcliff Farm. In 1898, Law retired from W. & J. Sloane and began devoting his time to his farming. He built an estate, the Manor House, on Scarborough Road in Briarcliff Manor. He later purchased more land, acquiring 5,000 acres by 1900, including land in Yorktown , Millwood , Pound Ridge , and Glenville, Connecticut . Law's farm began with rough farmland,

18744-444: Was employed at a store and was making eight dollars a week. Later on, Law contacted William Sloane, head of W. & J. Sloane. Sloane hired him more out of kindness than need for employees. In 1866, at the age of 29, Law began work under Sloane with wages of $ 1 a day. After four years of employment, Walter Law became a partner in the company and later became a trustee for life. Originally Law mostly worked in mostly retail, but with

18886-498: Was groomed before milking, and a pail of warm water and a brush would then be used on her sides, flanks and udders. The flank and udder were washed again with a one-percent creolin solution, rinsed and dried. Workers would milk into a fine wire strainer placed over a pail; during milking no talking, laughing, smoking or spitting was permitted, since such behavior was claimed to have a "perceptible effect upon their milk". The workers were required to wash their hands thoroughly after cleaning

19028-474: Was intolerant of animal abuse: "Cruelty to a cow is the same as cruelty to me, and shall never be permitted on this farm." He knew everyone who lived at the farms, and the farm workers knew the name of each cow (which was on a brass plate at the front of the cow's stall). The cows were sponged several times a day, and workers wore white cotton suits which were sterilized daily by boiling. Law treated his workers as intelligent co-workers, rather than laborers. Each cow

19170-592: Was largely in his personal library of 7,000 volumes, which he collected for more than forty years. His library was said to contain many works of classic literature and history; on a vacation to Europe, Law mostly spent time in Greece visiting historic sites. He was also a member of the Alpine Club, Aldine Association, the American Fine Arts Society , Ardsley Casino (now Ardsley Country Club),

19312-569: Was on Pleasantville Road just east of the present Taconic State Parkway , and Barn F (housing 118 cattle) was in Millwood near the intersection of the Taconic and New York State Route 100 . The farm also had a large barn near New York State Route 9A for supplies, including feed for the farm. Each barn had an ice shed to cool milk; ice was harvested primarily from Echo Lake (source of the Pocantico River), with Kinderogen Lake (now part of

19454-748: Was once called by the English as "the Mill river", while the Native Americans called it Pocanteco, a derivative of the Algonquin term Pockóhantès, meaning a "run between two hills". The Dutch called it the Sleepy haven kill. Dutch colonist Adriaen van der Donck 's Beschrijvinge van Nieu Nederlandt , published in Amsterdam in 1655, referred to the Pocantico River as "Slapershaven" (Sleepers' Haven). The anglicized term "Sleepy Hollow" grew to apply to

19596-546: Was one of the largest dairy operations in the northeast. According to Nebraska's department of agriculture in 1903, the three largest owners of dairy cows in the eastern US were Fairfield Farm Dairy in New Jersey, Briarcliff Farms and the Walker-Gordon Laboratory Company (which had "branches in all of the principal cities"). In 1897 the farm had Jersey, Normande and Simmental cattle, selling

19738-410: Was purchased by a housing developer in 2020; local residents subsequently began a campaign to prevent the land from being used for more housing and protect the environment, including its supply of fresh water, and wildlife. As of 2023, a number of residents had pointed out flaws in the draft environmental impact statement . The dénouement of " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow " is set at a bridge over

19880-561: Was put aside to repair the Tarrytown sewage treatment plant in order to improve water quality in the region. A Westchester County water quality study of the Pocantico River found that the chemical pollutants in the water met most of New York State Standards. The river met state standards on nitrate and phosphate levels, resulting in little cultural eutrophication in the water. Dissolved oxygen levels also met state standards with an average concentration of 9.853 milligrams per liter. Only

20022-574: Was sent to seventeen New York City drugstores. Milk was sold to stores in New York free on board for $ 0.084 ($ 2.75 in 2023) per quart. The farm also supplied the Briarcliff Lodge with cream, milk, butter, eggs and vegetables. It shipped its products in zinc-lined cases on ocean-going steamers and shipped nationwide every day except Sunday (shipping a double order on Saturday). The farm's milk was processed into milk, cheese, butter or buttermilk at its Barn A creamery in Pine Plains, and packaged for its 101-mile (200 km) rail shipment to New York City. That

20164-517: Was unable to attend and left Harvard (perhaps due to his mother's sudden death in autumn 1902). The school outgrew its Briarcliff location, and in autumn 1902 R. Fulton Cutting purchased a 415-acre (168 ha) farm near Poughkeepsie as a permanent upstate location. Prior to the move, the school was popularly known as the Briarcliff School, and after moving it became formally known as the School of Practical Agriculture at Poughkeepsie. When

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