Park Place

The Rockefeller dynasty has lived on the same swath of prime woodland in the lower Hudson Valley for more than a century. In 1983, the descendants of oil baron John D. Rockefeller began to donate what would ultimately amount to more than 1,000 acres of the land to the public, forming the Rockefeller State Park Preserve. At the same time, they created an enclave around the new park where they could live in virtual solitude. Asked what happened to Abeyton Lodge, the historic home he grew up visiting on the estate, David Rockefeller told The New York Times in 2002 that when no relatives chose to live in it, it was leveled to ensure privacy: "We really wouldn’t have wanted non-family members living inside the fence," he said.