Cornish Estate Ruins

The Cornish Estate Ruins are a complex of decaying structures along Breakneck Ridge in Cold Spring, New York. During its hey-day, the Cornish Estate encompassed a dairy farm, large greenhouse, swimming pool, garage and a lavish mansion. After Cornish's death in 1938, the property and all of its structures were largely abandoned and left to decay. Currently, they are within the Hudson Highlands State Park and are accessible from both the Breakneck Ridge trails and from the long, private driveway on Route 9D which is original to the Cornish Estate and still in very good condition.

Construction of the Cornish Estate

Despite being popularly known as the Cornish Estate ruins, the property and mansion were originally built sometime between 1900 and 1910 by Sigmund Stern, a wealthy diamond merchant. Most, if not all, of the various structures associated with property were constructed under the direction of Stern.

Quarrying at Breakneck Ridge

Ruins of the Cornish Dairy Farm

A locally-famous rock formation known as "Turk's Face" had existed on Breakneck Ridge until the 1830s or 1840s, but it was destroyed by a quarrying operation. Breakneck Ridge and surrounding mountains remained prime quarrying locations for a good deal of time. But by 1913, when a portion of the 163-mile Catskill Aqueduct was constructed on the eastern side of Breakneck Ridge, the quarrying operations there were quickly ceased by the state government who feared that damage might result if blasting was permitted in the immediate vicinity. In this way, the grounds of Stern's estate enjoyed a generous level of protection against development.

Under the Ownership of Edward Cornish

Edward Cornish purchased the estate from Sigmund Stern in 1917. Cornish was also a considerably wealthy businessman who had risen to become president of the National Lead Company in 1916. Despite the relative opulence of the Cornish Mansion, however, it was not the primary of residence of Cornish and his wife. Instead, the couple lived in New York City and used the Estate as something of a vacation house. The dairy farm and various barn structures that dotted the estate were active during Cornish's ownership, as he was fond of engaging "in the pursuits of a gentleman farmer" whenever time permitted. Under his ownership, the estate "raised prized Jersey cows" and boasted "record-setting milk producing efforts" throughout the 1920s.

Concerns Over Nearby Quarrying

Ruins of the estate greenhouse

Although quarrying operations on Breakneck Ridge had ended by 1913 with the construction of the Catskill Aqueduct, nearby peaks were still outside the no-blasting zone. By 1931, a massive quarrying operation had begun on Mount Taurus, the peak adjacent to Breakneck Ridge. Although the Cornish Estate was well out of harms way, the blasting routinely disrupted the serene, country atmosphere that Cornish sought at his mansion. In response, Cornish donated all mining rights of his own property to the Hudson River Conservation Society. In doing so, he ensured that the natural character of Breakneck Ridge and the valley on its eastern slope would not meet the same fate as Mount Taurus.

Later Active Years and Eventual Decline

There do not seem to be any records that document when work at the dairy farm was ceased, but it likely occurred at some point in the mid-1930s as Cornish grew too old to make frequent enough trips out to the estate. By 1936, Cornish was 75 years old and his health was slowly failing. Seeking to preserve the natural beauty of his property on Breakneck Ridge forever, he offered to donate the entirety of the estate to the Taconic State Park Commission. His offer was declined on the grounds that the terrain was unsuitable for parkland, was already largely protected by laws forbidding quarrying and could potentially be too costly to maintain.

Less than two years later, Edward Cornish passed away at his office in New York City in May 1938. Within only two weeks, his wife passed away, as well. Accordingly, the entire property passed to the Cornish's heirs and the next 18 years of the estate's existence are largely a mystery. There is no record of how often the estate was visited, if at all. Vague accounts seem to suggest that the mansion itself was probably maintained on a limited basis, though it's not clear if the extensive outbuildings and dairy farm were also maintained or if they instead began an early decline to ruin.

However, it is known that a fire of indeterminate origin broke out in the mansion in Autumn of 1956 and consumed much of the interior. There is no evidence that efforts were made at repairs, so it was at this point that we can say conclusively that the estate was abandoned to the elements.

Concern Over Development

By the early 1960s, the Cornish Estate had been abandoned and deteriorating for several years. The mansion had been mostly destroyed by fire in 1956 and lay completely abandoned afterwards. The dairy farm and outbuildings such as the greenhouse and pool house would have been abandoned as well, though these secondary structures could have been abandoned much earlier than the mansion (perhaps as early as the late 1930's). Young forests were slowly springing up where there were once well-manicured lawns and open pastures. In 1963, the original heirs elected to sell the decaying property to Central Hudson Gas and Electric, which promptly began contemplating the construction of a powerplant on the old estate grounds. Similar plans were announced by another power company to develop Storm King Mountain (visible across the Hudson River from Breakneck Ridge). Incidentally, the environmental movement had just began building momentum and there was public outcry over both of the proposed projects. The plans to develop powerplants in the area were ultimately abandoned.

By the later half of the 1960s, the Cornish Estate was incorporated into the vast, 6,000-acre Hudson Highlands State Park. Of course, by that time, it had been roughly three decades since Cornish's offer to donate the estate had been declined. All of the structures on the sprawling estate had decayed so thoroughly that there appears to have been no interest in restoration.

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  Dairy Farm Ruins

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  Past and Present

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  Wall at Dairy Farm

Useful Links

• Hudson Valley Ruins
  Northgate: Edward J. Cornish Estate
  http://www.hudsonvalleyruins.org/yasinsac/cornish/cornish1.html
• Hudson Valley Ruins
  (Historic Photographs of the Cornish Estate)
  http://www.hudsonvalleyruins.org/yasinsac/cornish/cornishold.html