Christman Bird and Wildlife Sanctuary

Set in the valley of the Bozenkill, this 105-acre tract of mostly wooded land near Delanson and Duanesburg operates as a bird and wildlife sanctuary. The creek drops over a thirty-foot waterfall, and hemlock, oak, beech and cherry shelter wildlife. Old farm fields have been reforested, and the buildings include an 1868 frame house, the older house where W. W. Christman was born in 1865, a stone dairy house, barns, stone walls and a lean-to built in 1934. The sanctuary began in 1888, when Christman and his wife started feeding birds during a great blizzard. He later planted pine, spruce and larch on his stony land, wrote nature poetry and essays, and corresponded with Walt Whitman and John Burroughs. State conservation officials and the Mohawk Valley Hiking Club formally dedicated it in 1931. The nomination values it as evidence of early conservation activity in New York.