In 1838, Bliss decided to retire. He and Louise sold the rail business to a group of investors (eventually to become the Pennsylvania Railroad). They were to move the rail and shipping business further north and leave the Bliss estate as private lands. The small rail station was torn up and Bliss walled off most of the land.
1839 was an unusually cold winter, even by New York standards. The harbor had completely frozen over. In January of that year a coach approached the Bliss estate. On board was a representative from the group of investors that had purchased the Bliss Shipping Company.
He explained that the land where they were attempting to build the new railroad had proven too weak to support the heavy trains they would be using. To make matters worse, due to the cold winter, ships were unable to make it into the harbor. The new company was about to go bankrupt.
The man demanded that Bliss let them use the land of the Bliss estate to re-build the rail road. Bliss flatly refused.
For month after month, letter after letter, the investors demanded Bliss allow them to use his land. Bliss held his ground. He enjoyed his extensive property and the tranquility he felt there. He enjoyed his gardens and watching sunsets over the harbor.
In September of 1839, there was a knock at the Bliss’ door. Bliss answered. A large man stood there silently with a cap pulled low on his brow. In a deep, monotone voice he told Bliss simply “last chance.” Bliss responded with a resounding “No!” The man said “You will regret this. Oh yes, you will regret this.” He turned and walked away.
Bliss put it out of his mind and quickly forgot about it. He and Louise were about to embark for a month long trip to Europe.
Wakeman and Louise said farewell to their young son Alfred and their house-staff. They were travelling to England for a visit with the Bliss cousins. They were to return October 31st, 1839.
The trip went by quickly. There was a fog on the water as they pulled into the harbor on Halloween, 1839. They were unable to see the estate from the ship.
As the ship pulled in, they saw their coach waiting for them. Their driver, Gerard, was obviously upset. “Oh Mr. Bliss, I am so sorry!”
“What is the matter, Gerard?” Bliss asked.
“I must show you” Gerard replied.
Gerard chauffeured the Bliss’ in somber silence toward the estate.
They could smell smoke as they approached their home. The Bliss home had burned to the ground.
“Alfred!” cried Bliss as he ran from the coach.
As he ran through the smoldering remains of what was their family home he found Alfred’s decapitated body on the floor near their fireplace. His head was never found.
Wakeman and Louise Bliss never recovered from their loss. They built a small shack near the ruins of their home and made no attempt to rebuild either their home or their lives. The walls of the home still exist atop the hill.
Louise died that winter of what they said was pneumonia. Wakeman knew it was of a broken heart. He buried her in a small plot of land south of the estate now known as Louise Terrace.
The railroad investors still wanted the land and they let Bliss know it. Wakeman Bliss had other plans.
He set up a trust donating the estate to the “faire citizens of Yellow Hooke” to be used as a public park. On October 31st, 1840, the anniversary of discovering the death of his son, Wakeman J. Bliss hung himself from a tall oak tree at the eastern base of the hill on his estate.
The park, officially known as “Bliss Park” was not popular at first due to rumors it was haunted. Very often, especially on Halloween, local residents would see a ghostly apparition late at night of a weeping man carrying a headless body. The man would ask "Have you seen Al's Head?"
In the 1850s, an epidemic of Yellow Fever swept throughout New York. The Yellow Hook town council decided to change the name of their town from the unpopular “Yellow Hook” to “Bay Ridge.” At the same meeting, “Al’s Head Park” became “Owl’s Head Park.”
So this Halloween, keep a look out for the weeping ghost of Wakeman J. Bliss. And if you see him, bow your head and remember the tragedy of the Bliss family of Yellow Hook

Happy Halloween!

Why wouldn't you credit the author?

So to not credit an author is positive? Maybe in Texas.

yeah, really? get a grip.

Oh so it's jerky to think that stealing is wrong? Okay, again, more morals lessons from the Chrisitian.

You see where I'm from I believe in personal property rights. But, maybe you guys don't.

and why would texas have anything to do wtih this...oh because dan lives there.

I'd like to know what I am suppose to answer back to a ghost looking for the missing head..........some how BOWING my head doesn't seem like a good idea...

Yes, bacc, you see before you came onto this board, Mr. Zero used to like to cut and paste articles and try to pawn them off as his own. It's a little thing known as plagiarism. Hence the Texas reference.

Posted By: nyujoeYes, bacc, you see before you came onto this board, Mr. Zero used to like to cut and paste articles and try to pawn them off as his own. It's a little thing known as plagiarism. Hence the Texas reference.

gotcha

Well maybe you never noticed it before.

mama, only native bay ridgers know the response

it's been nice having you around

mawwwwwwww

Wow, I never knew that (the part about the murder and burning at least)
Thanks T.

TJQ can tell a good story that what writers do
and that what it is a good ghost story

Theories abound as to the origin of the name Owl's Head Park. The geographic explanation is that the land was once shaped like the head of an owl. Some insist that owls formerly lived here, but there is no survey or record to confirm this. A local journalist remembers a swank hotel of the same name on the corner of Third Avenue and 69th Street. The last theory derives from the fact that the estate which once nestled into the hillside had a pair of stone owls framing its entrance gate. Despite its uncertain source, the name has withstood the test of time.

Canarsie Indians, who were part of the Mohegan Nation and spoke Algonquin, lived in and around present-day Owl's Head Park. They fished in the Hudson River and New York Harbor, collected oysters on the shore, and farmed the fertile outwash plain. The first Europeans to settle this land were of Dutch descent. They established Yellow Hook, an agricultural community named for the yellow clay which leached from the shore into the water. Among these farmers, Swaen Janse, a freed slave, purchased land that included what is now part of the park.

In 1853 a group of citizens, concerned that Yellow Hook reminded people of the yellow fever epidemic, renamed the community Bay Ridge for the prominent geographic features of the area. Owl's Head Park is located on a terminal moraine that extends from New Jersey to the end of Long Island. A moraine marks the place where a glacier (in this case the 10,000-year-old Wisconsin glacier) deposited boulders, rocks, soil, and debris.

A native of Brooklyn, Henry C. Murphy (1810-1882) built his estate along the glacial ridge. The son of Irish immigrants, Murphy's political career included terms as Mayor of Brooklyn, U.S. Representative, U.S. Minister to the Hague, and New York State Senator. As Senator, Murphy drafted the bill which authorized the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, and in 1866 he signed the bill at his mansion. He also founded The Brooklyn Eagle and was one of its first editors. Considered a founding father of Brooklyn, Murphy translated colonial sources and documented Brooklyn's Dutch heritage. Senator Street, which begins at the park, was named in his honor.

The Murphy estate was purchased in 1866 by Eliphalet W. Bliss (1836-1903). This wealthy manufacturer made his fortune by introducing and implementing techniques of mass production to the pressed metal industry. Bliss refurbished the mansion and built a horse stable and observatory tower from which one could view the bay, Staten Island, and the Orange Mountains of New Jersey. In his will, Bliss offered his million-dollar property to New York City for $835,000 with the stipulation that it would be used solely for parkland. In 1928 the land was designated a park upon acquisition of the remaining corners of the site. Although quite impressive at the time, Owl's Head Park fell into neglect, and the mansion, stables, and tower were demolished by 1940.

Owl's Head Park is now one of the premier parks in Brooklyn. Families picnic at the park in the summer, and children sled down its hill in the winter. The vista remains unmatched for watching ships enter and leave New York Harbor. Owl's Head Park also boasts an extensive collection of trees, including pines, locusts, oaks, maples, corks, beeches, and one S-shaped tulip poplar that defies gravity. In 1994, Borough President Golden and Council Member Sal Albanese, funded a $396,690 restoration which provided new playground equipment, landscaping and paved paths. What was once only the preserve of wealthy families, Owl's Head Park is now available for all visitors to enjoy.

The Murphy estate was purchased in 1866 by Eliphalet W. Bliss (1836-1903). This wealthy manufacturer made his fortune by introducing and implementing techniques of mass production to the pressed metal industry. Bliss refurbished the mansion and built a horse stable and observatory tower from which one could view the bay


thiswould be the building i was talking about at the top of the hill
i was wrong when i said part of the house

great tale

The walls of the home still exist atop the hill.

Anyone know where exactly are these walls?

The walls of the home still exist atop the hill.



Anyone know where exactly are these walls?

the only walls that are otop of he hill
are the ones hat run alongthe walk
that will stop youfrom going down what was know as DEAD MANS HILL

Beer,
I know the house the Pic's lived in on Sedgwicl pl well.
Before they lived there a family by the name of Reed lived there.
Mr. Pic did a total overhaul of the house in the late 60's early 70's and I remember helping unload concrete blocks for the job.
The house was so old that part of the building was resting on dirt and they had to jack that side of the house to put in a concrete foundation.
I found some great pictures of Bliss park at the NYPL site but have been unable to load them to put up on here.
One of the pictures show's the old house that was on top of the hill. The only building that I personally remember on top of the hill was the old concession stand that had two side structures with a kind of a covered breeze-way in between. that building was burned down in the 70's by ...persons who shall remain un named in this public forum.
My favorite house around the block was the old house that used to be on 67th street across from sedgwick pl,,,it's now a row of ugly brick multi family units.
I have some great pictures of it...maybe I'll try to post them sometime.

I was there the day before they tore that house down,,,,I was the kid who broke most of the windows,,breaking windows without getting in trouble for it...whatta day !

I almost had sex there in 1965 in the front seat of a green Mercury. Sharon was her name and what a living doll. Close but no cigar.