Cowen Farm: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River
NPS Northeast Regional Office and Killion J. 2025. Cowen Farm: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 300157. National Park Service. NPS Northeast Regional Office, Boston, Massachusetts / CRIS-CL Database
The Corwin Farm property is located in southwestern New York state in the Town of Lumberland, a rural community situated along the Delaware River. The 4.24-acre site preserves an intact portion of the Delaware & Hudson Canal and a complex of buildings associated with an adjacent lock, including a locktender’s house, barn, and outbuildings set within a landscape of mature trees, orchards, and lawns. Although it no longer holds water, the canal’s stone retaining walls, earthen/gravel towpath, and bridge/causeway crossing still convey its nineteenth century design and use. The property is part of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, a unit of the National Park Service established in 1978 to conserve, protect, and interpret 73.4 miles of the river and its outstanding natural and cultural resources. Corwin Farm currently serves as the park’s Barryville ranger station. The 171-mile-long Delaware & Hudson Canal operated from 1828 to 1898, and included 16 miles of gravity railway, 108 locks over 108 miles, and four cable-suspension aqueducts to connect the coal fields of Pennsylvania with the Hudson River and New York City markets. The aqueduct that carried the canal across the Delaware between Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, and Minisink Ford, New York, approximately 5.5 miles upstream from the Corwin property, remains today. Designed by John Roebling, it was acquired by the National Park Service and underwent adaptive reuse restoration as a one-lane bridge. The structure is North America’s oldest existing wire suspension bridge, and has been designated a National Historic Landmark and National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- NPS Northeast Regional Office; Killion, Jeff
- Date of Issue
- 2025
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- UPDE
- Keywords
- Architecture, Barn, Canals, Corwin Farm, Corwin Farm Ranger Office, Delaware & Hudson Canal, Developing the American Economy, Expressing Cultural Values, Greek Revival (1820-1840), Lock 67 Locktender’s Complex, Ranger Station, Shipping and Transportation by Water, Single Family House, Transportation, Vernacular Landscape