Editing Montebello, New York (section)

===Bayard Lane===
"Turning off the Haverstraw Rd, almost opposite the house of [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[Royal S. Copeland]], into a dirt avenue, one is faced by a waste-land of scrub oak and sassafras with a lonely shack near the entrance." This is how a visitor described the Bayard Lane community, a small "Utopia" homestead project, made up of a group of self-sufficient, self-sustaining colonists in 1936.<ref name="villageofmontebello.org"/>

Beyond the initial appearance lay the successful homestead project, the brainchild of [[Ralph Borsodi]], nationally known author, [[economist]] and [[philosopher]]. It was his vision to develop a domestic lifestyle that was productive, independent and economically practical for the New York City commuter. Borsodi, a wiry, shock-haired little man who wore [[horn-rimmed glasses]] and paid "little attention to his clothes", began his new style of country living, later labeled as "[[agrarianism]] for commuters", in 1919. He, along with his wife and two sons, moved from New York City and rented a small unimproved [[farmhouse]] near Suffern. While Borsodi commuted to work in the city, they began their initial family experiments. Within a 15-year period, he and his family, tested their theories and dreams of self-subsistence and [[economic freedom]] while enjoying the beauty of nature.<ref name="villageofmontebello.org"/>

Authoring several books on economics, Borsodi's work, ''This Ugly Civilization'', published in 1929, brought him national attention. Four years later, his bestselling book, ''Flight from the City'', appeared as the country was mired in the depths of the [[Great Depression]]. Firing the imagination of struggling families, many with low-paying inner city jobs and an aimless future, the book described a way to seek out a good agrarian lifestyle and graphically detailed his own family's experiences and accomplishments at homesteading in Suffern. In 1935, Borsodi launched Bayard Lane, a small experimental cooperative community on a rolling unimproved tract of {{convert|40|acre|m2}} at the foot of the [[Ramapo Mountains]].<ref name="villageofmontebello.org"/>

The property was acquired by the Independence Foundation, a nonprofit cooperative and self-governing group of which Borsodi was a trustee. The other members were Samuel D. Dodge, Clarence E. Pickett, Dr. Harold Rugg, Beveridge C. Dunlop, W. Van Alan Clark, Mrs. Elizabeth Macdonald, Mrs. William Sargent Ladd and Dr. Warren Wilson. They divided the estate into {{convert|1|to|2|acre|m2|adj=on}} homesteads occupied by individual families. The homes were owned individually, the land cooperatively. The Foundation indentured the land to the homeowner through a corporation representing them. Fourteen families who knew Borsodi or who had heard of his project were willing to try the experiment after those interested in the idea had been "philosophically initiated the previous January", ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported.<ref name="villageofmontebello.org"/>

Ground was broken for the first house (Marquart residence, #14 Bayard Lane) on June 23, 1935. Using the [[Ernest Flagg]] method of construction, they built attractive, economical, sturdy homes of native [[fieldstone]]. Each house had all the modern conveniences of the day. It was said, they "will be standing at least a hundred years after they are paid for." Homes could be constructed by various building craft guilds under a special arrangement with the Independence Foundation. A professional staff would provide architects, estimates, record keeping and construction. The benefits to the homeowners were considerable. They could do as much of the work themselves as they wished, calling in help whenever needed. The Foundation would also offer loan contracts. To prevent substandard, unattractive buildings, construction plans were reviewed by a committee.<ref name="villageofmontebello.org"/>

The School of Living was literally and figuratively the centerpiece of Borsodi's experiment in homesteading, headquartered at 21 Bayard Lane in 1938. Dedicated on [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]] to the "economic independence of the American people", the School of Living was to develop research and promote the Borsodi philosophy of balanced and healthy living in which the home and the land were productive instruments. The school taught the essentials of do-it-yourself [[agrarianism]], including [[caning]], [[poultry]] raising, [[animal husbandry]], [[masonry]], [[carpentry]], and use of tools and household equipment.<ref name="villageofmontebello.org"/>

Borsodi's "Bayard Lane Utopia" appeared to be a great idea on paper, and initially it appeared to be successful and was prominently featured in a variety of national publications. A group near Ossining, New York, hoped to start a similar project ([[Stillwater, Ossining]]) with the help of the Independence Foundation, and made overtures to Borsodi. But as the United States entered the [[Second World War]], the economy shifted and society began to change. A new wave of patriotism swept the country, leading Bayard Lane residents to distance themselves from Borsodi's self-sufficient principles and cooperative living. Eventually, Borsodi resigned from the Foundation, and in time, many of the original families living in this small enclave moved away.<ref name="villageofmontebello.org"/>

In 1992, two historical markers were erected along [[U.S. Route 202]] to recount the legacy left by the nearly forgotten experimental community whose new style of country living received national attention in the 1930s, and gave hope and inspiration to struggling families of the Depression.<ref name="villageofmontebello.org"/>