Printer-friendlyStony Kill Farm Environmental Education Center
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Thank you for your concern for the environment! - SKF Staff
About Stony Kill Farm EEC
79 Farmstead Lane
Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
Phone: (845)831-8780
Fax: (845)831-3416
Email: skfarm@gw.dec.state.ny.us
Stony Kill Farm EEC is an education center dedicated to enhancing environmental awareness and appreciation of the natural world. This facility includes over 1000 acres of rolling country side, farmland, ponds, woodlands, meadows, cultivated fields, and fallow fields. Located in Dutchess County in southeastern New York State, it offers a special setting where visitors discover the delicate interweaving of all living things. The Verplanck Manor House visitor center houses a library where you can simply come and identify a plant or animal or do research on various topics.
Hours
Grounds:
Open daily from sunrise to sunset (even on state holidays)
Visitor Center Office Hours:
Weekdays: 8:45 am - 4:30 pm
Saturdays: 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
Sundays: 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm (April, May, June, September and October)
**Visitor Center closed state holidays**
Barn Open:
Saturdays Only: 11:00 am - 1:00 pm (May thru September- weather permitting)
History
Stony Kill Farm EEC was purchased by two fur traders on August 8, 1683. Gulian Verplanck and Francis Rombout bought 85,000 acres of land from the Wappinger Indians and were paid in wampum, blankets, tobacco, guns and other articles valued at approximately $1,250. In the "Great Partition of 1708" the land was divided into three sections. The Verplancks retained the middle section, of which Stony Kill Farm EEC is a part.
In 1836, the Verplanck holdings were split again. James DeLancy Verplanck received 1,000 acres, of which 756 acres remain today as Stony Kill Farm. He resided in a stone house with his relatives in Beacon until 1842 when his home, Stony Kill Farm, was completed. We now refer to this structure as the Manor House. The barn was built in the 1860's to hold machinery and harvested crops; the lower section housed cattle.
In 1942, descendants of the Verplanck family, John Bayard Rogers and James deLancy Verplanck gave the 756 acre estate to the NYS Education Department "to preserve the property as an agricultural enterprise in perpetuity and give something worthwhile to the public." The farm became part of the State University of Farmingdale, and it was used to teach the students basic agriculture, forestry conservation and landscaping principles. In the late 1960's, the NYS Agricultural and Technical College at Farmingdale announced that it would no longer need the farm.
The Stony Kill Practice Farm was not used for many years until it was turned over to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation in July 1973.
Facilities
Farmstead/Barn
The farmstead includes a 19th Century barn and farmhouse, an 18th Century Dutch stone house, a greenhouse, workshop, pond, picnic area, and community and raised bed garden plots. The community garden plots are leased seasonally through the Stony Kill Foundation, Inc., and the raised bed gardens are for people with disabilities and obtained through the Verplanck Garden Club, Inc.
The classroom inside the barn was added in the 1980's and is used today for education programs as well as meeting space for other organizations. Today the barn houses beef cattle, pigs, sheep and chickens, and these are important teaching tools for the education programs offered to thousands of people who visit Stony Kill Farm throughout the year.
Tenant Farm House
On the National Register for Historical Buildings, the Tenant Farm House was built in four sections. The south-east portion is original and dates back to the late 1600s-1700s. The north-east corner (second section) was probably added in the 1700s, while the south-western portion was constructed in the early 1800s as well as the wood ell on the northwest corner.
Until 1836, most of the Verplanck property was leased to tenant farmers. Through these leases, the Verplanck ensured their land would be properly managed.
Today, the Tenant Farm House is open to the public only for historical interpretation and special events. The Stony Kill Foundation is seeking money through grants and donations to restore the structure.
Manor House Visitor Center
Finished in 1842, the Manor House now functions as a visitor center with offices for staff, reference library, exhibit room, conference room, kitchen, and restrooms.
The area around the Manor House includes a perennial garden, herb garden, picnic tables, trail head, and parking.
Accessibility
The Manor House Visitor Center and its exhibit room, teacher resource center, meeting room, and bathrooms are accessible to people with disabilities. The barn proper and classroom are also accessible and many programs are held at each location. The Woodland Trail, located off the Manor House parking area, is also wheelchair accessible.
Directions
A pleasant drive through New York State's Hudson River Valley brings you to the rolling countryside of Stony Kill (Interstate 84, Exit 11). Approximately 1 1/2 hour north of Manhattan and 2 hours south of Albany.
From NYS Thruway Interstate 87
Take NYS Thruway to Exit 17 (Newburgh) and follow signs and take I-84 East which takes you across the Newburgh/Beacon Bridge. Keeping to the right, take Exit 11 (Wappingers Falls/Beacon) and make a left onto Rt 9D going north. Proceed approximately 2 ½ miles north and Stony Kill is on the left.
From the Taconic State Parkway (TSP)
Take I-84 West to Exit 11 (Wappingers Falls/Beacon) and make a right onto Rt 9D going north. Proceed approximately 2 ½ miles north and Stony Kill is on the left.
From the Metro-North in New York City
Take Metro-North to the Beacon stop and Stony Kill Farm is approximately four (4) miles north from the railroad station.
Metro-North RR: 1-800-638-7646 & Beacon Taxi: (845) 838-3605
More about Stony Kill Farm Environmental Education Center:
- Stony Kill Program Schedule - Listing of current programs at Stony Kill Farm.
- Stony Kill Book List - Topics of books and materials available from the Stony Kill Farm Library.
- The Backbone of Stony Kill Farm - Information about Stony Kill Foundation and Verplanck Garden Club, two friends groups at Stony Kill Farm.
- Public Services at Stony Kill Farm - By participating in the educational programs, interpretive walks, annual events and festivals you get a real opportunity to enjoy and appreciate the outdoors at Stony Kill Farm.
- Exploring Stony Kill Farm - This center has a well developed and maintained trail system with trails of a variety of lengths through a number of habitats: woodland, thickets, fields, pond and marsh.
- Operation Explore - Operation Explore allows New York City public school students in grades four through six, their teachers and parents to explore the natural environment.
