More than forty years ago, three families joined together to purchase two large parcels of land in Lewis Hollow on Overlook Mountain, to prevent the development of an approved 20 home subdivision known as Lewis Hollow Acres. From then until 2012, they kept the land wild and undeveloped; essentially as a game preserve for hunting and outdoor recreation, on the lower and mid-southeastern face of Overlook Mountain. Those families were the Allen’s (late attorneys Rita and Sherwin), the late Overlook Mountain Press publisher Peter Mayer and the late well known graphic artist Milton Glaser.

When in 2012 those owners were no longer interested in conserving the land, they put the 82 acres up for sale, allowing the land to be purchased for development and plans for a subdivision again became a potential reality. This would forever scar the land and disturb the historic and prehistoric cultural landscape features found there, which are important resources of cultural significance.

Thanks to Overlook Mountain Center (OMC), the Villchur family foundation and an anonymous Lewis Hollow neighbor, all 82 acres of land was purchased with the intent to preserve the land with conservation easements and deed restrictions, protecting the property in perpetuity.

The New York State nonprofit Overlook Mountain Center, Inc, stewards the land and endeavors toward these goals and to provide educational and experiential programming regarding ceremonial stone landscapes (CSL), archaeoastronomy and landscape archaeology, while striving to protect and preserve Native American ceremonial stone landscapes (CSL), which in turn, serve our environment, culture and community.