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Sterling Forest State Park Expands With Purchase of Historic Black Resort

March 7, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Blue Lake Sterling Forest Taken from Fire TowerSterling Forest State Park in Orange County, NY is growing by an additional 130 acres that includes a portion of the former Greenwood Forest Farms, the first resort in New York State incorporated by and for Black families.

Between its founding in 1919 and through the 1960s, a portion of this property was Greenwood Forest Farms, which was founded by a group of prominent Black families and civic leaders from New York City, the resort became a haven for cultural and civil rights leaders from Harlem and Brooklyn, including writer Langston Hughes. Some descendants of the original pioneers now live in the neighborhood year-round.

Identified as a priority in the 2016 New York State Open Space Plan as part of the New York Highlands, the new property provides critical buffer land to help maintain and enhance biodiversity. Offering a potential new access point to Sterling Forest, the property also contains a network of woods roads and trails to complement the park’s existing trails.

Learn more about the history of this pioneering enterprise in the NYS Parks Blog, which features content on Parks’ people, places, and projects.

The property was acquired with $364,000 from the Environmental Protection Fund.

For more information click here.

Photo of Blue Lake in Sterling Forest State Park courtesy State Parks.

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Filed Under: Hudson Valley - Catskills, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Black History, Brooklyn, Catskills, Cultural History, Harlem, Hudson Valley, nature, Orange County, Social History, State Parks, Sterling Forest State Park

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