While searching Anna Bradbury's History of the City of Hudson for reference to the Misses Peake's Young Ladies Seminary, I discovered a quote from the Honorable Amasa J. Parker, a Justice of the New York Supreme Court, worthy of sharing with Gossips readers. From 1819 to 1827, Parker was first a pupil and then the principal of the Hudson Academy.
Writing in 1885, Parker shared these memories of his alma mater: "The Academy building was charmingly located on Prospect Hill, and in part surrounded by a beautiful grove, of which classic Greece might justly have been proud, a grove where the muses might well have lingered. Later vandalism destroyed it, and ("horresco referens") converted it into cord wood!"
Although the Academy building is not visible in this photograph, the clear-cut state of the hill to the left is undoubtedly the reason for Parker's lament.
The house in the photo must be that of Mr. Rossman, who gave his name to Rossman Avenue. A lot of stately trees grew up in that site but some were cleared at No 4 Rossman and of course the top of the hill has been clear cut for the renowned Academy Hill townhouses.
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