Revolutionary-Era Barn Renovation Deal Signed At Cropsey Farm

NEW CITY, NY — Rockland County and the town of Clarkstown signed an agreement Thursday providing funds to restore the historic New World Dutch barn at the Cropsey Farm property. The deal calls for $1 million in funding to restore the Revolutionary War-era barn. Clarkstown will pay $390,000 of the cost, with the county covering the rest in the 2017 Capital Projects budget.

Rockland County legislators voted 14-0 Wednesday night to support the restoration of the historic barn at Cropsey Farm.

“Every resident of Rockland should feel a sense of pride when they visit or even drive by Cropsey Farm,” Legislature Chairman Toney Earl said. “The barn has stood the test of time and now it needs our help to keep going. The barn and the farm have been there since the founding of our country. It is up to us to make sure future generations have an opportunity to see it and to learn about it.”

The a 25-acre parcel was saved from development a decade ago through an inter-municipal pact.

"This action will preserve an important part of Rockland's agriculture past and provide for the County's environmental and recreational future," County Executive Ed Day said as he signed the measure at Cropsey Farm, a 25-acre parcel off South Little Tor Road.

Day was joined by Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann, Councilmen Frank Borelli and Dan Caprara as well as Rockland County Legislator Harriet Cornell, Allan Beers, director of the Rockland County Division of Environmental Resources, Robert Gruffi, Rockland County director of Facilities Management and John McDowell, president of the Rockland Farm Alliance.

Rockland County and Clarkstown formed a partnership to buy the property from the Cropsey family in 2006 with the understanding that it would be preserved for open space and protected from development.

The County has 61 percent ownership and Clarkstown has 39 percent.

"Not that long ago there were farms and barns all over Rockland as most people made their living from the land," the County Executive said. "Now we have to make an effort to preserve what is left of our agricultural past and safeguard undeveloped land for the future."

The Rockland Farm Alliance has been using part of the Cropsey property to bring it back to its roots: farming. Residents from all over the county take part in the community farm run by the Alliance.

There are numerous activities at the property that teach residents about Rockland's farming past and show how agriculture can be an important part of the future.

Farm Alliance President John McDowell thanked the County Executive for making the barn renovation possible. The barn has been in continual use until just a few years ago and the farmers look forward to using it again, he said.

The first step of the renovation involves erecting a high tunnel similar to a greenhouse to use as a temporary barn. After the barn restoration is completed the equipment in the temporary barn will go into the new barn and the temporary barn will be used to grow produce.

“Cropsey Farm has meant too much to our community to allow it to fall by the wayside,” Legislator Alden Wolfe said. “This historic barn is a tangible piece of the history of Rockland County and therefore our heritage – not only of our county, but of our nation.”

Jim and Pat Cropsey agreed to sell their historic property for $6.5 million - millions less than what developers were willing to pay - and by doing so, helped to preserve an important part of local and American farming heritage. Negotiations and paperwork took a while, but in 2006, the county, the state and Clarkstown signed an agreement and the sale was official.

In January, the Blauvelt-Cropsey Farm was named to the National Register of Historic Places. Two Blauvelt brothers established the farm in 1769, when they built the Dutch Colonial home at the site.

The farm had 10 subsequent owners between 1850 and 1890, when Jim Cropsey’s grandfather Andrew, a Brooklyn lawyer, purchased the property. He was a gentlemen farmer, and the property passed to his son, Wallace, then onto Jim Cropsey, who fully farmed the site.

A 2015 consultant’s engineering report concluded that the historic Revolutionary War-era Dutch barn would require significant restoration to preserve it. The cost is estimated at $1 million. The barn, one of the few remaining structures from the 1700s in Rockland, shows visible signs of its age, including some tilting walls and damaged foundation areas.

The County and Clarkstown have a cooperative maintenance agreement in place, signed in 2006; the County has a 61 percent ownership interest and the town has a 39 percent interest. The resolution adopted Wednesday night approves a Memorandum of Understanding between the County and Clarkstown, which has agreed to cover 39 percent, or $390,000, of the barn’s restoration cost.

The County has included funding for the project in the Department of Environmental Resources’ 2017 Capital Projects budget. The restoration period runs from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2019.

PHOTO: John McDowell, George Hoehmann, Dan Caprara, Ed Day, Frank Borelli, Harriet Cornell, Allan Beers/ contributed