Ward Acres Nature Preserve facts for kids

Ward Acres is a large 62-acre park in the Wykagyl area of New Rochelle, Westchester County, New York. It used to be part of a big country estate and horse farm. The city of New Rochelle bought the land in 1962. They got help from a New York State program to buy parks.

Ward Acres offers a special outdoor experience. Its wooded areas look much like they did over 100 years ago. The park trails today follow the same paths that horses used to take. You can still see old stone walls that once separated pastures. There are also grave sites for some of the farm's famous horses. Three of the original farm buildings are still standing.

Exploring Ward Acres Park

Ward Acres has several interesting features for visitors to explore:

• Barn Complex – This large barn, about 15,000 square feet, was built in 1906. It was made for the Dickerman family. The barn shows a special building style called "Shingle Style." This style was popular for big estate buildings around 1900.
• Farmhouse – This house is about 2,500 square feet. It has two stories and a cross-gabled roof. You can find it in the northeast part of Ward Acres.
• ‘Forge’ Outbuilding – This smaller building, about 1,000 square feet, has a mysterious past. Some people think it was a metal shop for building the NYW&B railway. Others believe it was used for metalwork needed by the Ward family's horse farm.
• Trails – There are about 9,000 feet of trails in the park. Most of these paths were used when the land was a horse farm. A path goes around the edge of the park. Many smaller trails cross through the middle. The trails are not officially marked, so they can be a bit hard to follow.
• Stone Walls – About 7,500 feet of stone walls crisscross the park. These walls divide about 27 acres behind the barn. They create several open meadows.
• Meadow Areas – These 27 acres of open fields date back to when the park was a horse farm. They are located in the southern and central parts of the property.
• Woodland Area – The park has 35 acres of forests. These woods have many different types of trees. You can see Cherry, Beech, Oak, Ash, Tulip Tree, and Maple trees. The northern part of the park is less visited. It has many very old and large trees.

History of Ward Acres

The Hillandale Farm Era

Ward Acres was once part of a much larger estate owned by Watson Dickerman. He was born in 1846 in Mount Carmel, Connecticut. In 1884, Dickerman bought land in New Rochelle to breed "American Trotters." He named his estate "Hillandale Farm." Over time, he bought more land. His estate grew to almost 500 acres in Mamaroneck and New Rochelle.

Watson Dickerman was a partner in a stock brokerage company. He was also the president of the New York Stock Exchange in the 1890s. Later, he led the New York Zoological Society.

His son, Watson P. Dickerman, became famous for his horse breeding. He had fancy stables and two great male horses named Bellini and Atlantic Express. You can still see tombstones for some of Dickerman's famous standardbred horses along one of the park's trails. These include Ethelbertha (1881), Merry Clay (1881), and Bellini (1887).

Watson Dickerman passed away in 1923. He left most of his large fortune to his wife. She then sold a big part of the land to the Ward family in 1925.

The Homewood Estate Era

Robert B. Ward was born in New York City in 1852. His parents owned a small bakery. The family moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1856 and continued in the bakery business. At 21, Robert and his brother George opened their own bakery. Their company, the Ward Bread Company, grew very large. It had factories all over the middle and northeastern United States.

After becoming very wealthy, Robert Ward moved his family to New Rochelle in 1912. He built a huge home and other buildings on Quaker Ridge Road. This main house was called ‘Homewood’. It was located across the street from where the Hudson Montessori School is today. The main building of that school was originally the stables and garage of the Ward estate. Robert Ward died suddenly in 1915. He left his large estate to his wife and nine children.

One of Robert's sons, William B. Ward, born in 1884, became the president of the Ward Baking Corporation. In 1925, William and his wife bought a large part of the Dickerman ‘Hillandale Farm’ estate from Florence Dickerman. This purchase included the land we now know as Ward Acres.

Between 1945 and 1953, William's son, Jack B. Ward, renovated the stables and barns on the estate. Jack was very interested in the property. He started the "American Saddle Horse Breeding Company." Jack's horses were very successful and won many ribbons. His horse Hickory Mistress alone won 21 ribbons in 1947. This horse business continued until 1957.

In 1949, Jack suggested building a 1,000-seat theater, a museum, and a restaurant near the barn. The theater would host Broadway shows for two-week tryouts. However, the City Council voted against this plan. In 1956, Ward did start a movie company called Ward Acres Studios. It was located on North Avenue. He offered modern studios there. He also offered 100 acres of his Westchester estate for filming movies outdoors.

Jack and his mother Ethel sold much of their estate for new houses in the 1950s. Ethel Ward gave land to New Rochelle for an elementary school named after her husband. She also sold land at a lower price for Albert Leonard Junior High School. The remaining 62 acres of the Ward estate were bought by the City. They used money from a New York State bond. This land then became Ward Acres Park.

The Old Railroad Line

The New York, Westchester and Boston Railway was a train company. It ran commuter trains between New York City and Westchester County from 1912 to 1937. Its train tracks went through the northern part of the Ward property. Both the Dickerman and Ward families used this railroad. There was a short side track, called a siding. This siding allowed them to load and unload horses and farm equipment. The concrete building near Broadfield Road, now called ‘The Forge’, was next to this siding. You can still see where the old train tracks used to be in the park. However, not many parts of the old railroad are left.

Images for kids

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  Watson Dickerson, the first owner of the estate.

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  Horse stables from the old estate.