History in our Backyard: The McAndrews Estate

Growing up in the Montrose/Buchanan area in the 1990's, we spent a lot of time exploring. There were endless acres of woods in Cortlandt Manor and the Blue Mountain Reservation, a secret BMX stunt park in Montrose, an amazing but thoroughly prohibited Quarry in Verplanck, and many other hidden and private places to romp around in.

But few areas were more exciting and mysterious than the modern ruins of the McAndrews Estate (also known as Reusens Farm or Long View) at Oscawana. Located in Crugers between Cortlandt Street and Maiden Lane, the 100 acre area was once the grand estate of Guillaume Reusens, a Belgian diplomat, tobacco baron, and race horse breeder. After his death in 1915 it was inherited by his nephew Stanislaus P De Ridder, and later by De Ridder's widow and her future husband, Anne and Martin McAndrews.

Abandoned by the McAndrews family in the 1960's, the property fell into disrepair until the land was eventually seized by Westchester County. Not long after, most of the buildings on the property were demolished.

But not entirely.

The remains of over 30 structures still exist including a large stone stable, a grand fountain, the foundations of several homes, an old steam engine, strange structures without doors, underground chambers, a full-sized horse racing track,  and miles of iron railings and stonework. 

So it has been for over 40 years, a playground of mystery for generations of local residents and visitors. Very few people know anything about the property save for a handful of locals who live close by.

It was only recently, hiking there with my father-in-law and son, that I finally heard the name "McAndrews" from another family we passed on the trail. This inspired me to dig deeper, resulting in a fun, exciting, and somewhat weird quest to both unlock all the secrets of the McAndrews Estate, and potentially preserve or restore the property to it's former glory.

That was four or five weeks ago. Since then rapid progress has been made in uncovering the lost history, including interviews with local historians and archeologists, searching through historical and newspaper archives, analyzing old maps and court documents, and much more. Recently a 20 minute film was uncovered showing the property both before and after the demolition. We've also created a Facebook group called "Historic McAndrews Estate" which has quickly formed a small following.

But most exciting of all, I got in contact with Martin J. McAndrews Jr, the son of the last owners. He grew up on the property living there until his early twenties. He not only has extensive knowledge of the buildings on the property, but private family archives containing photos, maps, and more, and is willing to share it all. To that end, he will be leading a free tour of the property at 1PM on Sunday, June 5 2011. Any and all are welcome to attend. We'll be meeting in the parking area at the entrance to Oscawana Island. Come join us!