{"nrhp_refnum":"03000022","name":"Layman, Frank D., Memorial","other_names":[],"category":"object","location":{"address":"Near Kaaterskill Falls","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hunter","county":"Greene County","state":"NY","lat":42.190078404000076,"lon":-74.06478956699993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-06-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A rustic fieldstone pyramidal monument with an inscribed marble tablet, on the southwesterly side of South Mountain above Kaaterskill Clove in the Town of Hunter, Greene County, New York. It was built and dedicated in 1901 on state forest land beside the Escarpment Trail.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the memorial is a locally significant example of rustic wayside monument design, built from indigenous fieldstone in a cairn-like form suited to its site. It commemorates Frank Layman, who died fighting a forest fire on August 10, 1900, and has come to symbolize the contribution of firefighters. It also expresses local craftsmanship and a strong sense of place.","narrative":"Set into a bend of the Escarpment Trail on South Mountain, this pyramidal fieldstone monument rises about eleven feet from a base roughly seven feet across. Local stone is laid in mortar in regular courses, topped by three capstones and a small boulder. A marble tablet on the west face honors Frank D. Layman of Haines Falls, who died on August 10, 1900, while fighting a forest fire that threatened nearby homes and hotels. Residents of Haines Falls and Twilight Park began raising the memorial almost at once. In March 1901 a hotel owner deeded a small parcel for it to the Twilight Park Association, and the monument was finished within a year for about $750. Its cairn-like form and local materials give it a rustic character suited to the setting above Kaaterskill Clove. It is valued as a locally significant example of wayside monument design and as a lasting tribute to Layman's sacrifice. Residents held a ceremony there in 2000, a century after his death.","period_of_significance":"c. 1901","architect_builder":"Not known (the Terns brothers, masons from Haines Falls, probably designed and built it, though this is unconfirmed)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Survives nearly as built in 1901 with a relatively high degree of integrity, except for erosion and moisture undermining rocks at the north corner of the base.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:52.763595-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/03000022.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000022/575ff24db7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000022/575ff24db7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"GivingBackInTheCatskills","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LaymansMonument.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">GivingBackInTheCatskills</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LaymansMonument.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317990","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_D._Layman_Memorial","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5486123"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/greene-county/layman-frank-d-memorial-03000022/"}