Where History Lives: Part 13
WHERE HISTORY LIVES PART 13: THE HISTORY OF THE MCANDREWS ESTATE & OSCAWANA ISLAND
The McAndrews Estate (also known as Reusens Farm or Long View) is part of Oscawana Park, located in the Crugers area of the Town of Cortlandt. Once a large working farm and estate, it is now an unincorporated park that contains a number of historic ruins. The park itself is centered around the lake, which is fed by the Furnace Brook. Oscawana Island Nature Preserve is an isolated space where you can enjoy nature.
History: (THE SHORT VERSION) The land was originally owned by Nicholas Cruger. By the 1880s it had been acquired piece by piece by Guillaume A. Reusens, a businessman of Belgian ancestry who bred racehorses. According to a 1912 testimony in Westchester County Supreme Court in the case of N.Y Central & Hudson River Railroad vs. Guillaume A. Reusens, they detailed a sizable number of structures on the property including: A large uninhabited old colonial house, a two-story and attic frame "Fox House" a two-story and attic frame "Powers House" north of Hillside Avenue, a coachman's house, a one-story frame building behind the cow stable, a racetrack with a judge's stand, an ice house, and a brick reservoir.
Long View era: Following the death of Guillaume Reusens on January 5, 1915, the property was inherited by his nephews, brothers Stanislaus P.M. C. and Eugene DeRidder. Eugene died shortly thereafter in 1916. Eventually Stansilaus secured sole ownership of the property, which by that time was known as Long View. After the death of Stanislaus DeRidder on March 7, 1934, his widow Anne married Martin McAndrews. The couple maintained the property as a working farm. Martin McAndrews was one of nine children from a working class family that lived in the Bronx. For the majority of his career he worked in the municipal bond department of the financial firm Hemple Noyes which was located on Broad Street in lower Manhattan. He served on the Town of Cortlandt board during World War 2 and was involved in the civil defense program. While serving on the town board, one of the two town judges passed away and McAndrews was appointed to serve out the final two years of the term and then subsequently re-elected for another full term. In his capacity as town judge, he officiated over legal proceedings related to the Peekskill Riots. Anne McAndrews died on September 20, 1948. Martin McAndrews moved away sometime thereafter, and the property fell into serious disrepair.
Westchester County moved to acquire the abandoned property. McAndrews took the matter to court, and won a $510,000 settlement. It was only then that the County officially assumed ownership of the property. By 1965 Westchester County moved to condemn the property, which it did four years later in 1969. Not long after, under the County's Orders, the deteriorating structures on the property were demolished. The property and many of the buildings on it were filmed shortly before and after the demolition by local resident Frederic Cole. The footage was compiled into a short film called "The End of Long View". The Movie film was transferred to YouTube; view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VKw-gUvwdg.
Over the next 40 years. the forests reclaimed what had once been open fields. The stone remains of a few buildings have slowly started to chip away and have become overgrown with vegetation. At some point, Westchester County formed an agreement with the Town of Cortlandt to co-manage the property, and made it accessible to the public as unincorporated parkland (which it remains to this day). It is a perfect location for exploring nature and history with spectacular views
-Richard H Becker, MD
