Historic Ringwood Manor Participates in Mohawk Valley Gives Campaign

Historic Ringwood Manor overlooking Otsego Lake in Cooperstown is participating in this year’s Mohawk Valley Gives Campaign. The early donation period is now open with donations being accepted through the big Giving Day on September 18. Donations made to Ringwood Manor’s campaign will help this much-loved historic site with its restoration efforts. Plans at the manor include it being “reimagined as a Living Heritage Estate where visitors will be able to stay, gather and explore while experiencing the many layers of history connected to the property.”

Restoration and Preservation of the Site

The restoration and historic preservation work at Ringwood Manor is a multigenerational endeavor combining the efforts of owner and operator, Violet Ackas, her daughter Cristina Ackas, head of events & museum programming, and granddaughter Charlotte. Violet recently shared,

“Ringwood Estate holds generations of history—from the Whipple family, who once called this land home, to the Ryerson family who built Ringwood Manor more than 125 years ago and whose story became forever connected to the Titanic, and later to generations who knew this place as Beaver Cross Camp. We have an opportunity now not just to save a historic building, but to preserve the many layers of this remarkable place and ensure its stories are shared and experienced for generations to come.”

Ringwood Manor sits on land once owned in the 1800s by Squire Whipple who was known as the “father of iron bridges.” The manor itself was built in 1900 as a Gilded age summer cottage for the Ryerson family whose patriarch tragically died aboard the RMS Titanic. Much later in the mid-twentieth century, the property was “willed to the Episcopal Diocese of Albany, when the estate was adapted into Beaver Cross Camp, transforming the property into a place of community and youth experiences.”

Support Ringwood Manor through the Mohawk Valley Gives Campaign

Ringwood Manor’s participation in this week’s giving campaign presents a unique opportunity for people living throughout the valley and beyond to contribute to the history of this well-known landmark. As Cristina Ackas told us,

“Mohawk Valley Gives offers people the chance to become part of Ringwood Manor’s next chapter. Every contribution, at every level, helps us move from stabilization toward restoration and ultimately toward opening the Manor as a museum. There is something incredibly meaningful about a community coming together to preserve a place today so that people we may never meet will still be able to experience its stories decades from now. Preservation shouldn’t only be about what we save. It should also be about what we pass forward.”

Support is critical for the work currently underway including emergency stabilization of Ringwood Manor, interior demolition and preparation of the former camp cottages for rehabilitation, draining and assessment of the historic swimming pool, and reconnection and modernization of major mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.

Looking ahead

The former camp cottages will be available for booking during the 2027 season. Visitors will be able to enjoy the property’s grounds for intimate gatherings, arts and cultural programming, and opportunities for visitors to experience the landscape surrounding Otsego Lake.

Like so many in and around the Mohawk Valley, we’re looking forward to how the story of Ringwood Manor continues to unfold.

Visit the Ringwood Manor website at ringwoodmanorny.org  or follow on Instagram at RingwoodEstate.