An interesting lecture about Kendal’s next-door neighbor Rockwood Hall will take place on Monday, April 26, at 7:30 pm via Zoom.
Begun in 1886, Rockwood Hall, adjacent to present-day Kendal, was home to the William Rockefeller family. It consisted of over 200 acres, with winding carriage trails and a 204-room Gilded Age mansion. Frederick Law Olmsted designed and laid out the park-like landscape.
When William Rockefeller died in 1922, the mansion was turned into a country club. Later, the Rockefeller family bought it back, and the mansion was demolished in 1941. In 1999, the Rockefellers donated the land to New York State and, fortunately for us, it became part of Rockefeller State Park Preserve.
On Monday evening, April 26, Peter Iskenderian, Park Manager of the Rockefeller State Park Preserve, will share the history of Rockwood Hall from the time of Native Americans to the present. Iskenderian was the former manager of the Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park and assistant manager of the Rockefeller Preserve from 2004-2007 when he left to become Moreau Lake Park’s manager. He assumed his current position in 2019.
Residents with email will receive a Zoom invitation to the lecture. Be sure to join and learn a little more about our historic neighbor.