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Conservation Education Center
Lying between two extensive urban/suburban developments, the IBM Glen provides an oasis of wilderness whose central feature is a small ravine with cliffs and waterfalls flanked by about 40 acres of old-growth forest, a rare habitat in this area. Gray's Creek, named for the Gray family, has carved out the ravine down to bedrock in many places and sports several shale cliff faces featuring plants characteristic of that habitat. One 12.5-foot waterfall lies just upstream of the old stone arch bridge constructed in the 1940s. The IBM Glen offers a variety of terrain for most hiking experience levels. Some trails provide a fully paved experience; others are smaller earthen trails. Please note that the creekbed and waterfall are only accessible by steep earthen trails.
History of the Glen
For hundreds of years, people have enjoyed the glen hidden in the Town of Union Hills, behind what is now the IBM Glen Homestead. Between 1828 and 1918 the glen was often referred to as Grays Glen, after the man who purchased the land, already famous for its sylvan thickets and tranquil beauty. During WWI ownership transferred to Hiram Mintz who continued the tradition of allowing the public on his land. He even allowed the public to cultivate the farmland for war gardens.
In 1919 the land was purchased by Elliot Spaulding, the treasurer of the Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company. Editorials in the newspapers raised "grave concerns' for the future and preservation of "Gray's Glen and the timber track that included some of the finest pine, hemlock, hickory, and butternut trees to be found in the anywhere." The uproar subsided when Spaulding constructed a lavish mansion on the crest of the hillside and kept the surrounding lands intact.
In 1925 the Masonic Fraternity purchased the estate for $100,000 and operated it as the Kalurah Country Club. Foreclosure proceedings began in the early 1930s due to the declining economy during the Great Depression.
IBM acquired the site and built the IBM Country Club around the former Crocker house, the mansion became "The Homestead." Since 1931, when IBM purchased the glen it has been referred to by locals as the IBM Glen. IBM developed a carefully-built trail with stone steps and bridges. Most of the bridges and trails along the stream were destroyed during the June 1960 flood. They also built a blacktop road, along which stone fireplaces and picnic tables were placed at frequent intervals. These 3 miles of road in the Glen were closed to vehicular traffic in the 1980s.
In July 2000, IBM announced their intention to log the Glen, but due to public outcry, the plan was canceled by December thanks to a dedicated group of people. It began with a group from the Sierra Club that organized meetings, as the group grew they began calling themselves the "Friends of the Glen." The biggest meeting was held at the high school in November 2000 with 168 people attending. Students from the Binghamton University Ecology Club went door to door in the area of the Glen getting petition signatures and inviting them to the November meeting. People wrote letters to the local IBM office and the National Office.
In 2004, the country club was purchased by a local group of 9 men and renamed "Traditions at the Glen." The sale specified that 205 acres including the Glen be donated to a group designated by IBM. In August 2004 the Glen was officially donated to the Fred L. Waterman Conservation Education Center.
The IBM Homestead,
once the Spaulding Mansion
Picnic Area at the IBM Glen
Jones Trail dedication for their leading role in "Friends of the Glen" and saving the IBM Glen
