Stony Point Committee

The standing committee of the Society having charge of Stony Point consists of Mr. Gordon II. Peck, of West Haverstraw; Mr. Henry K. Bush-Brown of Washington, D. C.; Hon. Thomas H. Lee of Stony Point; Henry Fairfield Osborn, Sc.D., LL.D., of New York; Edward L. Partridge, M.D., of New York; Hon. Cornelius A. Pugsley of Peekskill; and the Secretary of the Society.

Financial Statement of State Funds

Following is a statement of state moneys received and disbursed on account of Stony Point during the year ended December 31, 1916:

FORT BREWERTON STATE RESERVATION

Need of Improvement

Pursuant to chapter 653 of the laws of 1904, the State purchased in 1906 an acre of land in the town of Hastings, Oswego county, embracing the site of old Fort Brewerton, and placed it in the custody of this Society. The property lies on the north side of the Oneida river about eight rods from the river. The village of Brewerton is directly opposite on the south side of the river in the county of Onondaga. The nearest railroad station is Brewerton, which is on a branch of the New York Central railroad about 13 miles north of the center of Syracuse. A bridge, forming a link in the State road (the main north-and-south highway, formerly called State street), crosses the river at this point and gives access from the village to the fort site.

A copy of the deed conveying the property to the State will be found in our Report for 1916 at pages 61-63; and a history of Fort Brewerton in our Reports for 1905 at pages 176-189, and 1914 at pages 379-404.

Since the property came into our care we have repeatedly sought from the Legislature the money with which to put it in proper order, but the limitations of the state treasury have not thus far permitted the granting of our request. In the general appropriation bill passed by the Legislature of 1916 there was an appropriation of $1,000 for " fence and pedestal," but it was vetoed by Gov. Whitman with the comment that "This item is disapproved because in view of the high market price of iron and steel, this expenditure should be deferred until next year." We hope that the present Legislature will provide a few thousand dollars to enable us at least to enclose the property with a fence and erect a suitable indication that the property is historic and belongs to the State. The wall should be something so substantial that it will not entail constant expense for maintenance; and we recommend either a stone wall or a fence of stone posts and two lines of heavy iron pipe. As soon as possible the earthworks should be restored and the moat cleared out. Our experience at Stony Point Reservation with the remnants of Fort Wayne shows that when work is done in a solid manner, the current expense for maintenance is very small. We earnestly renew our request for this provision.

The standing committee of the Society in charge of the Fort Brewerton Reservation consists of the Hon. Thomas P. Kingsford of Oswego, Hon. Thomas D. Lewis of Fulton, Hon. Thoma's W. Meachem of Syracuse and Col. Thomas R. Proctor of Utica.

LETCHWORTH PARK

Description and Administration

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Letchworth Park embraces 1,000 acres of land on the Genesee river in Livingston and Wyoming counties, and includes three miles of the Portage gorge and the three Portage Falls. The nearest regular railroad station is Portage on the Erie railroad from which a walk across the railroad bridge at a dizzy height brings one directly into the park. There is a flag station" within the park which is available for certain trains. Glen Iris, the administrative center of the park, may also be reached conveniently by a four mile drive southward from Castile station on the Erie road. The Rochester branch of the Pennsylvania railroad has a "flag station " on the southeast side of the river near the Portage station on the Erie road, but it is inconvenient for access to the park, involving a high climb to the Erie railroad bridge and the same passage across that viaduct. From Portageville (which is to be distinguished from Portage) on the Pennsylvania road, the park may be reached by a drive of three miles.

This park was given to the State of New York by the late William Pryor Letchworth, LL.D., upon condition that it should be in the custody of this Society and forever be maintained as a public park. The gift was accepted by chapter 1 of the laws of 1907 and came into our actual care on Dr. Letchworth's death on December 1, 1910. An extended description of the park and biography of the donor are given in our Report for 1907, and a fuller biography of Dr. Letchworth may be found in "The Life and Work of William Pryor Letchworth " by Mr. J. N. Larned of Buffalo, published by the Houghton Mifflin Co., in 1912. The park is a beautiful tract of meadows and hills, forests, river, brooks and waterfalls, deep gorges and sunny expanses, and is maintained in part by means furnished by the State of New York and in part by the residuary estate left to this Society by the donor.

The Trustees of the Society administer the park through its Letchworth Park Committee, which is composed of Mr. Wolcott J. Humphrey of Warsaw, Chairman; Mr. Herbert L. Bridgman of New York; Charles M. Dow, LL.D., of Jamestown; Mr. Francis Whiting Halsey of New York; Hon. Thomas P. Kingsford of Oswego; Henry M. Leipziger, Ph.D., LL.D., of New York; Ogden P. Letchworth of New York; Hon. Adelbert Moot of Buflafo; Hon. N. Taylor Phillips of New York, and Charles Delamater Vail, L.H.D., of Geneva.

Dr. Dow is Director of the park, Mr. John R. Lingenfelter, Superintendent, Miss Caroline Bishop, Librarian and curator of the museum, and Mr. George B. Sudworth of the United States Forest Service at Washington, D. C., Consulting Forester.

Repairs to Buildings

During 1916, a great deal of work was done in various buildings in the park. At the Glen Iris residence, the administrative center of the park and the place of public hospitality, the halls on the second and third floors and the bathrooms on the second floor were rearranged. Sidewalls and ceilings were repaired, thirty-six rooms papered, and the interior and exterior woodwork painted. The Lauterbrunnen cottage, (the Superintendent's residence,) the Prospect Home (the Labor Center,) the barns at the Labor Center, and the Fancher cottage, were also painted and many minor repairs made. The cottage on the Davis lot, referred to hereafter, was improved by the removal of the old piazza, the making of new shutters, etc.

Roads, Paths and Landslides

The hilly roads, gutters and culverts have been kept in pretty good order within the means at our disposal. A landslide, involv ing half an acre or more and seventy-five large trees, developed during the winter of 1915-16 and the spring of 1916 near the Homestead farm.

The top of the bank a little below the Homestead cottage broke off, carrying with it trees and shrubs, and blocking the road that leads from the Council House grounds through the forest towards the Erie Railway bridge. Trees which probably represent a growth