The Museum began in 1959 with 140 square feet in the Cornwall Town Hall. Local teenagers worked to collect, house, care for and exhibit native wildlife, plants and geological specimens.
In 1962, the Ogden Foundation made possible the construction of a museum building at the present site. In 1978, a second wing was added. In 1986, the exhibits in the original wing were completely renovated. The Museum's new habitat exhibits in its natural history wing portray the dominant habitat types native to the area.
Large vaulted windows open wide on the surrounding forest while a stream rushes from a granite gorge to flow beneath the Museum's Ogden Gallery. A self-guided nature trail winds through a forty-acre mature hardwood forest of towering oaks, sycamores and tulip poplar trees, while a shorter loop explores a recently established tall-grass prairie.
The Museum draws around 30,000 annual visitors from throughout the Northeast and from many corners of the world. Throughout its history, the Museum's purpose has remained constant: to provide its public with exceptional opportunities to experience this region's unique natural history.
The natural history wing holds the collection of live animals, all wild and native to the Hudson River Valley and its Highlands. Visitors are often greeted by a "Hello!" from the Museum's talking crow or by ominous hoots from our great horned owl. Hawks and falcons, turtles, snakes, amphibians, fish and small mammals are all on exhibit here and give this hall a vitality all its own.
The living collection is presented through a newly-renovated series of seven habitat exhibits that capture the essence of the Highlands -- A Highland Pond, The Hudson River, A Hudson Tributary, Natural Grassland, Agricultural Land, Mature Forest and A Hudson River Cliff. In addition to live animals, each grouping contains taxidermic mounts, models, dried plant material, artificial plants and panoramic background murals. Live animals are constrained in such a way they cannot destroy the exhibit, but are not confined in conventional cages.
In 1985, the Hudson River Foundation supported the Museum's efforts to conduct a year-long inventory of Hudson River habitats critical to the survival of these rare and endangered birds of prey. This organization continues to be one of our most solid supporters. They funded our 1988 field research efforts and our unique style of field work conducted by volunteer amateur naturalists. The study focused on the Hudson River between Storm King Mountain and the Newburgh Beacon Bridge, including two of the river's major tributaries, the Moodna and Fishkill Creeks. It integrated lectures, field excursions and field research and documented the area's water quality and associated wildlife.