In 1924 author, economist, and philosopher Ralph Borsodi and his family designed and began construction of this homestead, using native fieldstone and their own and semi-skilled labor. By 1934 they had completed Dogwoods and an enclave of five buildings. Here they developed the School for Living, described in Flight from the City, Borsodi's acclaimed book that inspired his Bayard Lane and Van Houten Fields developments in Rockland and other back-to-the-land communities nationally.