Bear Mountain in Rockland County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Walt Whitman

Photographed by Michael Herrick, September 17, 2011

1. Walt Whitman Marker

Inscription.

Walt Whitman. . Walt Whitman 1819 – 1892 To commemorate the gift in 1910 by Mary Wilson Harriman Making Possible The Bear Mountain-Harriman State Park Dedicated November 17, 1940 Jo Davidson, Sculptor. [ Marker next to the Statue ] Walt Whitman. Walt Whitman, one of America's greatest poets was born at West Hills Long Island in 1819. At an early age he left the public schools of Brooklyn and dismissed all foral education to learn the printer's trade. He later became a teacher and from 1846 to 1848 was editor of the Brooklyn Eagle. At the outbreak of the Civil War he volunteered as a nurse in the Union Army after which he accepted a government clerkship in Washington D.C. but still spent practically all of his spare time in hospitals aiding the wounded. Whitman was attacked by paralysis in 1873, retired to Camden, New Jersey where he died in 1892. Whitman is famous for his poems of democracy and America. His first and best known work "Leaves of Grass" of which the "Song of the Open Road" is part, was published in 1855 and was received for the most part with abuse, later becoming one of the best known American poetical works. In 1940 this statue was presented to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission by William Averell Harriman in behalf of his brother and sisters as a memorial to their mother Mary Williamson Harriman on the thirtieth anniversary of her gift to the state of ten thousand acres of land and one million dollars to establish the Bear Mountain – Harriman section of the Palisades Interstate Park. This statue of Walt Whitman was designed by Jo Davidson to portray the feeling of one of Whitman's verses in the "Song of the Open Road". It was exhibited at the New York World's Fair before being placed here. Below are the lines cut in the rock to your right from the "Song of the Open Road". The Song of the Open Road Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road, Healthy, free, the world before me, The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose. Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune, Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing, Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms, Strong and content I travel the open road. Camerado, I give you my hand! I give you my love more precious than money, I give you myself before preaching or law; Will you give me yourself? Will you come travel with me? Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?

Walt Whitman
1819 – 1892
To commemorate the gift in 1910 by
Mary Wilson Harriman
Making Possible The
Bear Mountain-Harriman State Park
Dedicated November 17, 1940 Jo Davidson, Sculptor
[ Marker next to the Statue ]
Walt Whitman Walt Whitman, one of America's greatest poets was born at West Hills Long Island in 1819. At an early age he left the public schools of Brooklyn and dismissed all foral education to learn the printer's trade. He later became a teacher and from 1846 to 1848 was editor of the Brooklyn Eagle. At the outbreak of the Civil War he volunteered as a nurse in the Union Army after which he accepted a government clerkship in Washington D.C. but still spent practically all of his spare time in hospitals aiding the wounded. Whitman was attacked by paralysis in 1873, retired to Camden, New Jersey where he died in 1892.
Whitman is famous for his poems of democracy and America. His first and best known work "Leaves of Grass" of which the "Song of the Open Road" is part, was published in 1855 and was received for the most part with abuse, later becoming one of the best known American poetical works.
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1940 this statue was presented to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission by William Averell Harriman in behalf of his brother and sisters as a memorial to their mother Mary Williamson Harriman on the thirtieth anniversary of her gift to the state of ten thousand acres of land and one million dollars to establish the Bear Mountain – Harriman section of the Palisades Interstate Park.
This statue of Walt Whitman was designed by Jo Davidson to portray the feeling of one of Whitman's verses in the "Song of the Open Road". It was exhibited at the New York World's Fair before being placed here.
Below are the lines cut in the rock to your right from the "Song of the Open Road".
The Song of the Open Road
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.
Camerado, I give you my hand!
I give you my love more precious

Marker next to the Statue image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Michael Herrick, September 17, 2011

2. Marker next to the Statue

than money,
I give you myself before preaching or law;
Will you give me yourself? Will you come travel with me?
Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?

Erected 1940.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Charity & Public Work • Environment. A significant historical date for this entry is November 17, 1864.

Location. 41° 19.014′ N, 73° 59.277′ W. Marker is in Bear Mountain, New York, in Rockland County. It can be reached from Perkins Memorial Drive 2 miles north of Seven Lakes Drive, on the left when traveling north. Located on the path from the Bear Mountain Inn to Fort Clinton. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Bear Mountain NY 10911, 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,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. 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

Walt Whitman Statue and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Michael Herrick, September 17, 2011

3. Walt Whitman Statue and Marker

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Indian Campsite (within shouting distance of this marker); Appalachian Trail (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Bear Mt. Bridge (about 600 feet away); Anthonys Nose (about 600 feet away); Ancient Canyon (about 600 feet away); Railroads (about 600 feet away); Scenic Road (about 600 feet away); Hudson River (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bear Mountain.

Additional keywords. LGBT, LGBTQ, 🏳️‍🌈

Lines from the "Song of the Open Road" image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Michael Herrick, September 17, 2011

4. Lines from the "Song of the Open Road"

Closeup of Walt Whitman image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, February 12, 2012

5. Closeup of Walt Whitman

Credits. This page was last revised on July 22, 2020. It was originally submitted on October 2, 2011, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut. This page has been viewed 3,565 times since then and 165 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 2, 2011, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut. 5. submitted on February 22, 2012, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.