Joined by Rep. John Hall (D-19th District), Cold Spring Mayor Seth Gallagher, and other area dignitaries, the environmental and historical protection group Scenic Hudson will formally announce new recognition of its West Point Foundry Preserve and four related properties as a collective West Point Foundry Archaeological Site, on the National Register of Historic Places.
Along with the Foundry Preserve, the archaeological designation covers Foundry Dock Park, also part of the 19th-century West Point Foundry ironworks; the William Kemble estate, located above the current MetroNorth train station in Cold Spring, home of one of the two Kemble brothers instrumental in establishing the foundry; the Foundry School Museum, which educated foundry workers’ families; and the Chapel of our Lady Restoration, Cold Spring’s first Roman Catholic church, built in 1834 by Foundry executives to serve the spiritual needs of employees and used now for cultural programs.
In addition to highlighting the National Register designation, the event on Wednesday, to begin at 11 a.m. at the 1865 office building in the Foundry Preserve, will feature news of a New York State Environmental Protection Fund grant for the preserve.
