6. Northgate, Cold Spring
Chicago diamond merchant Sigmund Stern built the stone mansion, pool, and other buildings that once stood as the Northgate estate. Its other commonly known name, the Cornish Estate, comes from the second owners, Edward J. Cornish and his wife Selina. The Cornishes bought the 650-acre property in 1917. They enjoyed twenty years in the house before they both died in 1938, just two weeks apart. The estate was inherited by their nephew Joel who didn’t maintain it. In 1956, a fire destroyed the interiors and it was left in a state of ruin.
In the 1960s, the land was purchased by Central Hudson Gas and Electric with plans to build a power plant, but those were scrapped. Soon after, the property became part of Hudson Highlands State Park. Today, you can see the stone ruins of the mansion and remnants of various outbuildings on a hike through the woods.
