Hand Hollow

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The combination of forest and lake habitats makes Hand Hollow a great site for watching wildlife!

You may find Woodcocks, plump small birds with short legs and a very straight bill. They are best known for the “air dance” they during mating season in spring, when they soar high into the sky and appear to crash back to earth. You may also spot a Barred Owl, also known as the Hoot Owl. These birds are large with “barring” vertical lines on their chests and make the classic “who” or “hoot” sound. Other forest birds at Hand Hollow include Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Red-bellied, Downy, Hairy, and Pileated Woodpeckers, Wood Thrushes, Baltimore Orioles, and several species of Warblers and Vireos.

Head closer to Meizinger Lake and you may see signs of Beavers or Otters! Beavers create an ever-changing landscape that may shift among open water, marsh, meadow, swamp, and forest. Beavers are an important traditional food source for the Mohican people, especially their tails, which are a late-winter delicacy. Otters also hold a special spiritual significance for the Mohicans, and often regarded as leaders of the aquatic world. Their impressive tails allow them to swim at speeds of up to seven miles per hour! On land, you may find them running along the banks of rivers, or sliding down snow- or mud-covered hills on their bellies. Their range has been reduced by habitat loss and they are sensitive to pollution.

The forest at Hand Hollow has a mix of trees including White Pine, Hemlock, Ash, Beech, Birch, and Hickory. This forest is part of a large area of woodlands known as the mid-Hudson Wildlife Corridor, which stretches from the Appalachians to southern Canada. The Corridor allows species, such as Wild Turkeys, Bobcats, and Black Bears, to migrate throughout this region without much disturbance, staying in the woods and avoiding areas that could put them in harm’s way.

In the springtime along the Beaver Byway at the Route 9 entrance to the site, you may find several spring ephemeral (short-lived) flowers. These flowers sprout up from the soil and disappear before the trees have fully grown their leaves, taking advantage of early-season sunshine.

Indigenous peoples of the Northeast use many of these plants for medicinal purposes, including Wild Geranium, Wild Ginger, Bloodroot, Red Trillium, Blue Cohosh, and Mayapple. You may also come across the Jack-in-the-pulpit, or Indian Turnip, plant. The corm (similar to a bulb) of this plant was traditionally baked in pits or on hot rock platforms for one to three days to make it edible, then the starch was used for thickening soups.

Colonial records suggest that the Hand Hollow area may have been called “Mogonghkamigh,” likely originating from the Mohican term “M’xakáameekw,” meaning “Big Grounds.” By the first half of the 18th century, the Van Rensselaer family claimed much of the upper Kinderhook Creek watershed and the upper Green River watershed as within their Lower Manor. The tract of land they claimed was large, spanning several counties all the way to the border with Massachusetts. They, and other Dutch patroons, relied on the labor of indentured people and enslaved Africans to manage these large tracts of land. Ships from the West India Company used the Hudson River as a way to transport enslaved peoples. Once manumitted, those original Black families continued to live, work, and create a vibrant community that survives to this day.

The Van Rensselaer claim was hotly contested by the nearby Mohican descendants of the original sellers. They rightfully believed that the boundaries had been grossly exaggerated by the Van Rensselaers. The Mohican people were subject to genocide, coerced into assimilation, and forcibly removed from their homelands to what is now known as Wisconsin. They continue to retain their unbroken status as a Sovereign Native Nation. Despite removal, they continue to hold relationships with their homelands and settler communities.

Hand Hollow is named after the Samuel Hand family, who emigrated from Massachusetts to settle in New Lebanon Springs. Descendants of some of those families still reside in the area today and talk about farming there in the 20th Century. There are remains of a farmstead on County Route 9, including the farmhouse and a pet cemetery in a grove of trees.

Eventually, the property was purchased by George Rickey. Rickey, born in 1907 in South Bend, Indiana, was a sculptor who rose to prominence in the mid twentieth century, known for his large, moveable abstract sculptures from a variety of metals. He moved to East Chatham in 1960, and lived there until he died in 2002. Though his home and studio are private, some of his famous sculptures can be seen from the road. The Rickey family, along with the Winch, Meizinger, Lewis, Spiegel, and Dobkin families donated land to create this beautiful public place, which CLC opened to the public in 2000.