Before the residential neighborhoods. Before the streets that now climb the hills. There were mansions. Large country houses built to face the river. From above, they dominated the landscape of Peekskill and the broad channel of the Hudson River. Their names still survive on old maps: Mount Florence, Rest Hill and The Beeches.
On March 12 at 6 p.m., local historian Kirk Moldoff will speak about that vanished landscape at the Hendrick Hudson Free Library. The talk, titled The Lost Estates of Peekskill, will reconstruct the history of the large private properties that occupied the city’s hills during the 19th century.
For much of that century, the slopes overlooking the Hudson were occupied by extensive private estates. They were large country residences built by businessmen, newspaper publishers and public figures seeking open river views and distance from the city. The properties included main mansions, formal gardens, private carriage roads and grounds that descended toward the Hudson.
Among the names that appear in historical records are Mount Florence, Rest Hill and The Beeches. Today they survive mostly in old maps, documents and photographs that will be presented during the lecture at the Montrose library, about three and a half miles from Peekskill. The buildings gradually disappeared throughout the 20th century as properties were subdivided, repurposed or demolished.
Several of these houses belonged to influential figures of their time. Daniel H. Craig, one of the founders of the Associated Press, lived at Mount Florence. The preacher and social reformer Henry Ward Beecher also had connections to property in the area. Another owner was Moses Sperry Beach, publisher of the influential newspaper The New York Sun.
That world also produced stories that circulated widely in its day. Documents and contemporary accounts record episodes of social disputes, public controversies and scandals involving some of the figures associated with these estates. Over time, those stories became scattered across local archives and historical publications.
The March 12 lecture will examine that material from the perspective of local history. Moldoff has researched Peekskill’s urban development for more than three decades and has worked with historical maps, photographs and property records to reconstruct the location and fate of many of these residences. The presentation at the Hendrick Hudson Free Library is open to the public, but advance registration is required through the event link. For more information, contact the library.
