The Stony Kill Farm Environmental Education Center is a charming multi-use Department of Environmental Conservation facility nestled in the mid-Hudson Valley town of Wappingers Falls. This thousand acre center offers a historic and (some say) haunted manor house, five hiking trails, a working farm and two lovely gardens.



The Verplanck Manor House is on the National Register of Historic Places. It dates back to the 18th century. Used as a visitor center and for meetings, the home has also a library that includes books on acid rain, astronomy, aquatic biology, birds, farming, mammals, insects and gardening. Occasionally, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, who serves as the caretaker of these delicate pieces, displays original furniture from the manor house. It is also said that soldiers from the American Revolution stayed at the home.



Stony Kill Farm’s Sue Kmiotek goes onto say that “the manor house may be haunted by a ghost called Matilda, who is a Verplanck family descendant.” When she mentions this, thoughts run wild through your head and you envision a team of paranormal investigators from the television show Ghost Hunters running around the house with their electronic equipment. Sue Kmiotek describes the encounters with Matilda by numerous workers as “the unexplained sound of doors opening and closing as well as mysterious footsteps.” The haunting of this historic home comes as no surprise, since the Hudson Valley is known for its ghosts, according to Judith Richardson, author of Possessions: The History and Uses of Haunting in the Hudson Valley.



Stony Kill also has fabulous hiking trails, some of which go by fishing ponds filled with bass, blue gills, sunfish and turtles. According to Sue Kmiotek, the trails “bring visitors in contact with deer, owls, snakes, skunk, great blue heron, bald eagles and a variety of hawks.”



The Woodland Trail is ADA-Accessible and wanders through a deep woods, passing vistas onto open meadows. The 1.5 mile Verplanck Ridge Trail climbs a moderate ridge through a nice forest. The Muller Pond Trail is a one-mile loop over grassy knolls, through woods and past a scenic pond. The Sierra Trail has a lot of beaver activity and is partly flooded out from them, although you can still view its picturesque pond. The Freedom Trail is filled with ups and downs and is a tribute to the free African Americans and Wappinger Indians who once lived here. There was also a great deal of underground railroad activity here prior to the Civil War.



Stony Kill also includes a working farm where schoolchildren from the area and New York City come to learn about farming and the environment. They get to come into contact with and feed the farm’s cows, sheep, pigs, chickens and turkeys. They also learn about the watershed and pollution. There is also coverage of the farm’s crops which include hay, corn and alfalfa.



Common Ground Farm has a project on nine acres at Stony Kill dedicated to environmentally sound agriculture. Its volunteers help out by farming the plot. Today 160 families participate in the organization’s Community Supported Agriculture program, which provides its members with access to healthy food. Produce is also sold at the Beacon Farmers’ Market with surplus donated to a food pantry in Beacon.



There are also two splendid gardens adjacent to the manor house. One is a bountiful and diverse herb garden maintained by the venerable Verplanck Garden Club. The other one is a perennial garden that attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. The garden club works on the perennial garden along with the Stony Kill Foundation.



Stony Kill Farm is located along Rt. 9D a few miles north of the Beacon exit on I-84. For more information call 845 831 8780.