Existing comment:
Friendship Hill became a centerpiece for the local social scene, with the Martins hosting a variety of lavish parties. A large farming operation was maintained throughout the 1950s and 60s. At the farm's height of production, its work force included three foremen, six dairy workers, and twenty seasonal workers. The property became the home for the Chestnut Ridge Hunt of the Pennsylvania State Fox Hunters Association, of which Evelyn Thompson Martin was an active member. Evelyn died in 1974, leaving Sherwood to eventually sell Friendship Hill to the Trust for Public Land for the sum of $760,000. The Trust then sold the property to the United States Government for $800,000 to become part of the National Park Service. |