Anchor Diamond Park

Anchor Diamond Park at Hawkwood is a 246-acre forever-wild preserve owned and managed by the Town of Ballston, with a conservation easement held by Saratoga PLAN to ensure community access to its woodlands, streams, wetlands, and wildlife. The property was purchased in 2015 through money left in the will of Frank Schidzick and was sold to the town by John Taylor. The land was once owned by an early settler named Mitchell, about whom little is known, and in the 1790's Henry Walton bought it and built a mansion whose remains still survive in the park. Walton had studied law with Aaron Burr, and his house included a large receiving hall, fireplaces in every room, brick-lined walls for protection against stray bullets and arrows, and required as many as 15 servants to maintain it. The mansion was later improved by others, reached its height in the early 1900's, fell into disrepair by the 1940's, and burned in the 1960's. The Delevan family owned the house from 1824-1870 and was active in the Temperance Movement, while the Baker family lived there from 1891-1917; the 1904 marriage of Guy Baker and Countess Louise Irene Palma DiCesnola drew newspaper attention, and her father, an Italian-heritage Civil War veteran and Medal of Honor recipient, later served as U.S. consul to Cyprus and directed the Metropolitan Museum of Art for 25 years. Other owners included the Turnbull, Wagoner, Thuener, and Taylor families, and many farmed the land. The park's name comes from the Anchor Glass Company, owned for many years by Frank and Wanda Schidzick on Diamond Road near Round Lake in Ballston, as Frank Schidzick directed that the park be named for his company and its location.

Ballston, New York · United States