Can a brush with death create a dynasty? William Henry Osborn (1820-1894) had an eye toward the future as he lay in his bed recovering from malaria, contracted at his successful hemp plantation in the Philippines.
From his hospital room at West Point, Osborn marveled at the endless acres of unspoiled beauty across the Hudson River and envisioned them as a place to oversee his new investment in the Illinois and New York Central Railroads and build a home fit for a raising a family. That”™s exactly what he did after he recovered.
To date, seven generations of the founder”™s family have lived atop the hills of Garrison. Although they have donated most of the 2,000-plus acres originally purchased by Osborn to the Hudson Highlands, his descendents have kept their own 100-acre wood and the family legacy alive and thriving.
On a clear day, you can see almost forever from Cat Rock, where Fred and Anne Osborn”™s home in the lofty hills overlooking Garrison give guests a sweeping view west and north of West Point and the Shawangunks and a southern view of the Empire State Building.
Fred worked for the Episcopal Church for more than four decades. The Vietnam veteran retired from his job in 2005 and along with his wife, he has been able to devote his full attention to nonprofits that promote the preservation of the Hudson Valley and further the arts in the community.
Anne, a native of Bedford in Westchester County, has served on the board of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival since its inaugural event at Manitoga, working with Terrence O”™Brien and Melissa Stern Lourie. The original festival has grown from just one production to a 12-week summer run held at Boscobel House and Gardens in Garrison. (The festival”™s just completed its silver anniversary season with its first-ever “Hamlet.”)
Anne is also a former president of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and is vice president of Manitoga.
Fred has been able to devote his full time to volunteering. After volunteering on dozens of boards during his lifetime, he is currently on 11 nonprofit boards of directors and is a founder of the Hudson Highlands Greenway Triathlon.
“I”™m so lucky,” he said. “At this time in my life, I”™m able to spend so much time working with and meeting some of the most interesting people who really care about the same things I do.”
His current endeavor is the SS Columbia Project. “The last iron steamboat is sitting in Detroit. We”™d like to bring it to the Hudson Valley and have it on the river for tours and events. It”™s going to cost $25 million to renovate it, and we are working to raise the money to do that. I think it will be a great attraction for visitors and for residents.”
While Cat Rock boasts the architecture and size of a small castle, inside, its warm, gracious rooms are cozy and comfortable. A window Fred”™s grandfather built in the octagonal living room is a picture perfect view of the Hudson ”“ which he designed with the Hudson River School in mind. The window is a living picture of the Hudson, giving the viewer the changing seasons framed forever in the stone walls of Cat Rock.
A mile up a well-maintained gravel road ”“ damage from Hurricane Irene quickly restored ”“ you arrive at the Osborn Castle, built by Fred”™s grandfather. Cat Rock is today a venue for weddings and special events.
It wasn”™t always so. Fred and Anne, matched by their parents, both presidents of their respective garden clubs, have been living at Cat Rock since 1987. What was going to be a weekend retreat quickly became a year-round home, with the couple falling in love with the Hudson Valley and becoming involved in what they loved best ”“ working with nonprofits endeavoring to build a gracious hub of beauty and intellect in the valley.
Cat Rock”™s first weddings were held for Fred and Anne”™s three children, whose guests soon approached the couple and asked if they, too, could hold their wedding ceremony there.
“Before long, we were having weddings regularly here,” said Anne. “I wasn”™t very keen on having my bedroom used by other people, so Fred and I ”˜downsized”™ and moved to a smaller home on the property. It suits our needs, and when Cat Rock is vacant, we come up and enjoy it, bring the grandchildren for a swim or hold fundraising events during the off-season.”
Their son, Hank, lives on the property and manages the events. “It does help pay the taxes, too,” added Fred.
Cat Rock, which holds between 18 and 25 weddings from May through October priced at $5,000 and up, will be closed in 2012 for some much-needed renovations. Prospective brides and grooms need not be disappointed; they can always forego the wedding they”™ve dreamed of until 2013, when the castle is retrofitted and brought up to 21st century standard, including the addition of Wi-Fi, a revamped heating and cooling system and some needed work to the roofs, badly damaged before Hurricane Irene struck. One thing that won”™t change ”“ the priceless view and the endless charm of Cat Rock.
