The Woodpile: Evergreen Lawn

The land of the Wood family farm was purchased by James Wood, a Quaker farmer, and Blacksmith in 1809. The farm prospered under James and his son Stephen, at some point Stephen sold or gave sections of the family to three of his four sons.[1] When Stephen's oldest sons Henry and John became adults, they decided to leave the farm behind to go in the dairy industry. Due to his brother's ill health and his own abilities, John became the more active partner in the dairy. In 1855 when their mother fell ill, both sons moved back to Bedford and began building their homes on the family farm.[2] The Woodpile is significant for its landscape and architecture. 

John Jay Wood designed and built his house as a copy of the home of Richard Underhill in Croton. The Underhill, and Wood families were linked by close friendships and several marriages. The original part of the house is Z-shaped, with a two-story half octagonal bay on the south facade and a rectangular bay on the ground floor of the wing projecting toward the front, or west. John farmed his few acres to serve his household; apples, pears, grapes, and watermelons being especially favorable.[3] In 1884 at the age of 62, John died of Parkinson’s disease. The main entrance was altered in 1924 by the removal of a porch and the installation of granite steps and a window fan over the door. The plants of particular interest are the few remnants of the double row of Norway Spruce planted by John Wood, most of the others were lost in a 1938 hurricane. These trees may have been the inspiration for the name, Evergreen Lawn.

[1] Barbour, Hugh. “The Woods of Mt. Kisco” in Quaker History vol. 87, no. 1 (Spring 1998)

[2] Williams, Grey. Jackson, Kenneth T. Picturing Our Past National Register Sites in Westchester County. New, 2003.

[3] “National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form.” United states Department of the Interior-National Parks Service