Founded in 1922, Ramapo for Children is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit organization serving children with special needs. Ramapo's mission is to serve children with a wide range of emotional, behavioral and learning disabilities in a dynamic and stimulating outdoor environment, providing educational and recreational experiences that promote social, emotional, physical and intellectual growth.
Ramapo's specific focus is to provide adventure-based, experiential learning programs that promote positive character values, build social and learning competencies, and enhance self-esteem in children from preschool through late teens.
In addition, Ramapo Training provides professional development training, program support and -coaching' for educators and youth service workers serving children with disabilities.
For over 86 years, Ramapo has kindled a spirit of hope in exceptional children. From anxious and fearful young girls and boys with functional disabilities to teenagers caught in a web of emotional and learning problems, Ramapo strives to offer youngsters opportunities for healthy growth and normal development. We stress the importance of showing concern for others, accepting personal responsibility, addressing issues openly and honestly, accepting help, and most important- a commitment to do one's best.
Few places in the Hudson Valley are as entangled with local history as the 192-acre Ferncliff Forest Game Refuge and Forest Preserve. To the early colonists of the Rhinebeck area, the land of the Ferncliff Forest was too remote, hilly, and heavily wooded to be settled; it stayed largely untouched until the early 1800s. Small farms eventually grew up on the land. In the 1850s William Backhouse Astor, Jr., the grandson of John Jacob Astor bought several of the farms and consolidated them into an estate called Ferncliff Farm. Over the years, William added more acres to the Ferncliff estate, eventually acquiring properties that spread east of River and Mt. Rutsen roads all the way to the Old Post Road and what is now Route 9.
Another part of the land was owned by Thomas Suckley, known locally as the man who built Wilderstein, the Queen Anne style mansion on Morton Road that is now open to the public. In 1878, Suckley donated the farm on his property to the New York Methodist Conference to be used as a retreat for retired clergy. The clergymen built cottages and a chapel and tried their hand at agriculture. They were notably unsuccessful as farmers and, by 1900, the colony was shut down.
At same time, William Backhouse Astor's son John Jacob Astor IV decided to increase his family's holdings in the area; the 106 acres of the Methodist colony were sold to him in 1900 for $5,500 and incorporated into Ferncliff Farm. The Methodist chapel continued in use as a Sunday school for a few years, but the cottage homes were torn down. Eventually, the chapel fell into disuse and was demolished. When Jack Astor went down with the Titanic in 1912, Ferncliff Farm went to his son Vincent, who continued to expand the family assets until, by 1940; the estate had grown to 2,800 acres.
Vincent Astor died in 1959 leaving Ferncliff Farm to his wife, Brooke. Mrs. Astor decided to break up the land, selling some of it and donating the rest. In 1963, Homer K. Staley, a local real estate broker who had spent some of his boyhood on the estate, asked Mrs. Astor to donate the 190-acre area known as Mt. Rutsen. She agreed, giving the land to the Rhinebeck Rotary for a forest preserve and game refuge that would remain forever wild. Homer K. Staley was named the Ferncliff Forest’s first Forest Ranger, a voluntary post he held for 30 years. In 1988, Ferncliff Forest was transferred from the Rotary and became a nonprofit corporation funded entirely by donations.
Ferncliff Forest is located between Mt. Rutsen and River roads in Rhinecliff. Parking pullouts are found on both sides of Mt. Rutsen Road near the intersection. The forest is open year-round; the trails are easy to navigate and can be covered in a few hours—making this a great place for hiking with kids. Overnight camping is allowed by permit.
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