“Norvin Hewitt Green spent his boyhood summers at play at his grandparents’ place, a huge estate called Ringwood Manor.”

Most Cooper alumni know that the Ringwood Manor was once the home of Peter Cooper’s Daughter, Sarah, and Son-in-law, Abram S. Hewitt; and that this home was Peter Cooper’s home too, during his senior years.

An article by By JEFFREY PAGE  published in the North Jersey.com site on February 19th,2015, explains how Norvin Hewitt Green donated the Ringwood Manor property to create a State Park and then later donated an additional 174 acres to enlarge the park.  The article also includes interesting tidbits about the Hewitt and Green families.

North Jersey News Article about Green Forest

Norvin Green story on Ringwoodmanor.org

Norvin Hewitt Green donated land adjacent to the Ringwood Manor to the Cooper Union in 1940.  This land became Green Camp.

Through Norvin Green’s philanthropy, ten farm buildings were converted into dormitories, work and recreation buildings.  Alumni contributions financed the construction of hard-surfaced playing courts in the recreational areas, and a dam across the Ringwood River that provided a swimming area.

Green Camp was used for school activities, including landscape drawing and painting, and courses in surveying.  Due to financial constraints in the mid- 1970s, Cooper Union transferred Green Camp to the State of New Jersey, Division of Parks and Forestry.

CU Library archive on Green Camp