History

In 1988, a small group of local residents came together to save the 22-acre Zena Cornfield from development. Thanks to an outpouring of support from more than 500 donors across the community, we raised $165,000 in just eight weeks to purchase this historic and scenic landmark, which has dramatic views of Overlook Mountain and was farmed by Native Americans and tilled by early European settlers. Just one year later, native Woodstocker Aileen Cramer granted WLC’s first conservation easement on her family’s land, an expanse of fields with stunning views of Mount Guardian.

In December 2003, in partnership with the Open Space Institute (OSI), WLC launched a campaign to save the uppermost reaches of Overlook Mountain. Overlook is the birthplace of the Hudson River School of painting and a vital habitat and migration corridor for wildlife. Thanks to an extraordinary outpouring of financial support, WLC and OSI have so far earmarked almost 600 acres to be added to the Overlook Wild Forest, keeping the land on the tax rolls and “forever wild.”