Palisades Interstate Park Commission

The Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC) was created in 1900 by Governors Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Foster Voorhees of New Jersey. They formed it to protect the beautiful Palisades Cliffs of New Jersey from being damaged.

The Palisades, also known as the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, are tall cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in Northeastern New Jersey and Southeastern New York. These cliffs are special and are a National Natural Landmark.

After it was formed, the PIPC worked to buy the land at the base of the Palisades. This helped stop quarrying in both New York and New Jersey. The commission has ten members, with five chosen by each governor. In 1937, an Act of Congress approved its interstate compact.

Today, the PIPC takes care of public parkland in New York and New Jersey. This includes 21 state parks, 8 historic sites, and the Palisades Interstate Parkway. Every year, these parks welcome many visitors.

History

In the late 1800s, people were taking rock from the Palisades Cliffs along the Hudson River to build things in New York City. This hurt the cliffs, and many people wanted to save them. A group of women in New Jersey worked hard to get help from leaders like Governors Theodore Roosevelt and Foster Voorhees. Together, they created the Palisades Interstate Park Commission in 1900 to protect the cliffs and make a public park.

The commission, led by George W. Perkins, worked fast to buy land and stop the rock-taking. They protected land along the Hudson River in New Jersey and New York, including Tallman Mountain. Soon, the quarries closed, and the Palisades Interstate Park opened. The commission also helped create Bear Mountain State Park and Harriman State Park in New York. These parks now welcome millions of visitors each year and helped start the Appalachian Trail and nature education in the United States.

Major Welch

Main article: William A. Welch

In 1913, George Perkins hired William A. Welch to help plan and build the park. After Perkins passed away in 1920, Welch became the leader of the park system and kept this role until 1940.

During Welch's time leading the park, it grew a lot. He helped add lands to Harriman and Bear Mountain State Parks and many other areas. Welch started projects to plant trees, managed workers, built new lakes, long driving paths, and special camps for children from cities to enjoy the outdoors each summer. He also helped start groups to care for trails in the area.

Palisades Interstate Parkway

Main article: Palisades Interstate Parkway

In the early 1930s, an engineer named William A. Welch wanted to build a special road. This road, called a parkway, would connect beautiful parks along the Hudson River. He got help from John D. Rockefeller, who gave land for the project. But not everyone agreed to build it at first.

Later, in the 1940s, Rockefeller and a planner named Robert Moses started building the parkway. The road was planned to go from New Jersey to New York. Building took many years because of delays, but the road opened in steps during the 1940s and 1950s. The whole road was finished in 1958.

Henry Hudson Drive

Henry Hudson Drive is a pretty road in Bergen County, New Jersey. It stretches for 8 miles (13 km) along the western side of the Hudson River, from Edgewater, New Jersey to Alpine, New Jersey. The road sits right at the bottom of the Palisades Cliffs, close to the river.

This road was built and is taken care of by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. It is older than the Palisades Interstate Parkway, which is now more commonly used, but the Drive is still open for people to enjoy as a scenic road. It links many picnic spots and docks to the main roads and even goes under the George Washington Bridge, which is the only road in New Jersey that does this.

Current scope

Over time, the park system has grown to include nineteen state parks and nine historic sites. It covers more than 100,000 acres along the Hudson River and beyond. The commission also manages the Palisades Interstate Parkway, which was built between 1947 and 1958. They own four other parkways too, but some are maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation.

The Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey stretches about 12 miles long and is half a mile wide at its widest point. It includes uplands, cliffs, and the Hudson River shorefront, with over 30 miles of hiking and ski trails.

State parks

The cliffs of the New Jersey Palisades in Bergen (seen here) and Hudson counties overlook the Hudson River.

Location	Fort Lee, New Jersey northward to Palisades, New York
Built	1900
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966
Designated NHL	January 12, 1965

Palisades Interstate Park Commission