From glass plate negative, circa 1900, Joslyn Collection of the Warwick Historical Society, published in "Days Gone By." (
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The news of plans to build a hotel on the Pulpit Rock property on West Street is incomprehensible.
Mr. Kitar, the developer, has stated that “to clear the path for his development, he contracted for historic, archeological, environmental and traffic studies, all of which found no impediments to its development.”
Had he contacted the remarkable archives of the Warwick Historical Society, he would have found, among other photos and information, this stereopticon image going back to the 1870’s or 1880 from the New York Public Library archives.
Pulpit Rock has been a revered site that has been loved and appreciated for some 200 years by Warwick residents and visitors.
Furthermore, legend has been passed down through generations of village residents that it was an important site for the Indians who lived in the area.
Henry Pelton’s diary from 1805 recounts the existence of the Rock and he could easily observe “its picturesque beauty” from his farm, now owned by Tunis Sweetman on County Route 1.
Had Mr. Kitar checked the index of our book, "The Halcyon Days, The Historic Homes of Warwick, NY and the Families that Breathed Life Into Them," published in 2009 by Silvio Geltario, he would have found that Rev. Ezra Terry Sanford (1865-1912), a descendant of one of Warwick’s earliest families, liked to preach at sunrise services on Easter Sundays from the top of Pulpit Rock. One can only imagine the sight of this ebullient man of the cloth climbing the rock and spreading the Gospel with the sun rising behind him.
My father, the late John J. Beattie (1888-1969) would often tell about the Sunday afternoon walks and picnics he and his friends would have at Pulpit Rock when he was young. Our grandparents also enjoyed outings at the site.
Well, do we remember the loud public outcry when the library proposed its new building be located on the Pulpit Rock property in 1997.
Fortunately they were able to build on donated land in its present location.
Many towns and villages have monuments and statues for which they have payed artists enormous sums to design and erect. Warwick is blessed to have this sacred and historic natural outcropping that should be preserved with Community Preservation funds.
What better way to honor our forebears and finally recognize the importance and significance of this beautiful rock structure and the space around it.
Jean Beattie May
Warwick Village Historian (2009-2017)