Ossining in Westchester County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

The Pilat Family

A Landscape Legacy

— Dale Cemetery Heritage Trail —

The Pilat Family Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, September 29, 2024

1. The Pilat Family Marker

Inscription. The Pilats were landscape artists in different ways: gardening, floristry, landscape design and landscape painting. After Carl (Charles) F. Pilat (1818-1892) and his brother Ignaz A. Pilat (1820- 1870) fled the Austrian revolutions of 1848, Ignaz became the chief landscape designer of New York's Central Park. In 1864, Carl and his wife Anna Enzinger Pilat (1835-1915) arrived in Sing Sing (Ossining) so that Carl could manage Ignaz's nursery, Lockadian Gardens. In 1867, Carl became the sexton of Dale Cemetery.

Carl and Anna had six children. They lived on Havell St., most likely in the cemetery's Superintendent's Cottage. Carl F. Pilat Jr. (1876-1933) became a well-known landscape designer of parks and estates. He worked on Nelson Park with Louis (1864-1951), the Pilats' eldest son. Carl Jr. moved away, but Louis remained in Ossining and planted his nursery business on Linden Ave. in 1885. The Louis C. Pilat greenhouses flourished for some 70 years, and Pilat's flower shop on Main St. operated into the 1950s.

For eldest daughter Ludmilla Pilat (1867-1925), the beauty of the land found its expression on canvas. In 1882, American painter Thaddeus Welch (1844-1919) met Ludmilla while he was sketching the Devil's Stairs, a rock formation near the cemetery. Welch mentored young Ludmilla, and in

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1882, she painted the Jug Tavern of Sparta, a locally treasured work in the collection of the Ossining Historical Society Museum. Although Welch was 23 years her senior, romance bloomed and in 1883, sixteen-year-old Ludmilla married Thaddeus. The couple lived in California and became well-known landscape artists. Eventually all three of Ludmilla's sisters joined her in California. Ludmilla died on a return visit to Ossining. She is buried here with Louis and his family, her parents and her maternal uncle, Joseph Enzinger.

Erected by Dale Cemetery. (Marker Number 35.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Arts, Letters, Music • Horticulture & Forestry • Industry & Commerce.

Location. 41° 10.292′ N, 73° 51.378′ W. Marker is in Ossining, New York, in Westchester County. It can be reached from the intersection of Havell Street and Jenkins Court. Marker is in Section S of Dale Cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 104 Havell St, Ossining NY 10562, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Hudson Valley

and in the New York City Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American Northeast

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: John Edward Holla (1860-1939) (a few steps from this marker); Capt. Elijah Hunter (1749-1815) (within shouting distance of this marker); John Thompson Hoffman (1828-1888)

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, September 29, 2024

2. The Pilat Family Marker

(within shouting distance of this marker); The Moore Family (within shouting distance of this marker); Sing Sing Marble (within shouting distance of this marker); Dale Cemetery (within shouting distance of this marker); The Receiving Tomb (within shouting distance of this marker); George Titlar (1753-1839) (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ossining.

Also see . . . Welch, Ludmilla Pilat. Islapedia entry on the artist, who painted in a style so similar to her husband that distinguishing between unsigned canvases is a challenge. (Submitted on October 23, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Carl Francis Pilat, Jr. image. Click for full size.

The National Cyclopedia of American Biography, James T. White & Co.; via Google Books (Public Domain), circa 1916

3. Carl Francis Pilat, Jr.

As landscape architect to New York City parks, he redesigned Union Square and designed Isham, Gaynor, Silver Lake and Telewana parks.

Ignaz Anton Pilat image. Click for full size.

The National Cyclopedia of American Biography, James T. White & Co., 1916 (Public Domain)

4. Ignaz Anton Pilat

He became the first chief landscape gardener of New York City's Central Park in 1856, a position he held until his death in 1870.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 23, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 22, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 299 times since then and 61 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 22, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 3, 4. submitted on October 23, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.