Walking the grounds is encouraged with all the available parking It started as a plan with the best of intentions and turned into one of New York's greatest disgraces, as told by Geraldo Rivera in 1972 with his investigative reporting of the conditions within the walls of Willowbrook in Staten Island and Letchworth Village, here in Rockland County. William Pryor Letchworth was born in 1823 and made his fortune in the saddle and carriage-equipment business. He was responsible for the 1875 Children's Law which removed children from almshouses and poorhouses and put them in asylums or with families who would care for and educate them. He dedicated about 2,000 acres for what became Letchworth Village to create a home for the developmentally disabled. He died the year before the village was opened. While activities of daily life continue, such as court hearings and town meetings, and while people pray, a once thriving village decays around them.
Use your phone's native QR code scanner to open this Adventure in the Adventure Lab® mobile app. Learn more.
