Although the point served as a dumping ground for much of the twentieth century, local efforts have restored the park into a model of environmental conservation. Today, bald eagles have returned to the delight of visitors, who also explore the remarkable landmarks, cruise the waters of the Hudson or enjoy scenic picnics.
About the Authors
Q+A with Scott Craven and Caroline Ranald Curvan
What was your primary intention in writing the book?
Caroline Ranald Curvan (CRC): To share the long and varied history of this remarkable bit of land, and to alert people to the history that surrounds us everywhere if you just take the time to notice it.
Scott Craven (SC): I’m a firm believer that the more you understand our valley, the more you care about it and adopt a personal creed of stewardship. Hopefully this book helps folks with that journey.
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Who is the book’s target audience?
CRC: Anyone who’s curious and interested in history. It really is amazing how you can practically see the whole history of this continent reflected in this one place.
SC: Two groups of people: The first – people I grew up with in the area. Most of us just thought about the Point as “the Dump,” with its perpetual cloud of gulls hovering over it, and a place to be avoided. It’s a lot different now. Through the efforts of groups like Riverkeeper, Saw Mill River Audubon and Westchester County, the capped landfill is now a great place to walk as well as see nature.
The second – the people who are exploring the Hudson Valley for the first time. Croton Point is THE best place to see all the historical themes of the Valley! In a two-hour walk, pedal, or paddle, you can see so many, represented and supported by knowledgeable, generous experts.
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Did anything surprise you in your research?
CRC: So many things! The most remarkable was randomly connecting with Dwayne Mann, the assistant house manager at the Gershwin Theater [in Manhattan] and learning that his great-grandparents lived on Croton Point in the 1900s. The fact that there was a family picture of them from that time really made the stories about the brickyards come to life in a way they hadn’t before for me.
Also eye-opening was seeing how many cultural artifacts have been found on Croton Point left by the indigenous people who’d lived there for thousands of years before the Europeans arrived. (Learning not to call this era “pre-history” was also game-changing. It’s ALL history!)
SC: I’ve spent a lot of time on Croton Point, and I was amazed at the history in the early 19th century; the origins of the park, the aviation history and the early recreation. It was all new to me.
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What was the biggest challenge?
CRC: Figuring out how to write a book with another person. Neither one of us had had this sort of experience before, so we had to learn the best ways to work together. But we were very lucky with the amount of information that’s out there, and in the generosity of the various archives, historical societies, local experts and photographers. There’s so much more we could have included.
SC: We could have easily spent eight months learning about knapped lithic points or bird migration or any number of other topics that are well represented, with local experts more than willing to share their expertise. It was tempting and a constant concern about “getting too far into the weeds” and not focusing on the big picture.
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How did you divide the work between you?
CRC: We originally evenly split up the chapters between us, with each writing the first draft of our assigned chapters. (We assigned ourselves the chapters that we each knew the most about and/or were most interested in.) Then we read the other’s chapters, making suggestions/additions.
SC: We were able to use some of the platforms adopted by so many during that time (Facetime, Zoom, document sharing) to help us collaborate remotely.
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What do you see as the primary takeaway for a reader?
CRC: I’d have to repeat the John Stilgoe quotation we have in the book: “Outside lies utterly ordinary space open to any casual explorer willing to find the extraordinary. Outside lies unprogrammed awareness . . . outside lies magic.” We want people to open their eyes to the history that lies all around and be curious enough to ask questions and learn.
SC: Croton Point and the Hudson Valley are special places and they should be experienced.
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Can we look forward to similar projects?
CRC: Yes! We are in the early stages of a new local history book. All will be revealed shortly on our website HudsonValleyChronicles.com.
About the Book
- Price > $23.99
- Pages > 176
- ISBN > 978-1-4671-5238-9
- arcadiapublishing.com/imprints/the-history-press