The chairman of the reception committee, Seth B Cole, gave a fulsome welcome to the crowds on the Mansion's lawn: “Nyack embosomed in the semi-circling hills that adorn the west bank of the noble Hudson at Tappan Zee - in possession of beauty and wealth of attractions rarely equaled, has cherished the unfolding hope ... when appreciative, intelligent, worthy and wealthy votaries shall seek and find a resting place in her bowers.

On May 8, 1883, after Ross' death,[10] the home was purchased at a public auction hosted by A J Bleeker in New York City[11] by Mary Elizabeth Haddock Hand (1836-1917).

[12] Mary's husband, William Henry Hand (1837-1898),[13] specialized in decorative woodwork and, with their sons William, Roger and Walter,[14] he completed extensive renovations on the property and installed elements, including a marble fireplace, from the Alexander Turney Stewart Mansion on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan that had recently been demolished.

[18] There, over the next thirty years, Hand and his small team developed a long-life battery that was used by emergency services, the military, public works vehicles, school buses and in boats.

[19] William Henry Hand lived at the house with his brother Raymond (1899-1972), sister Dorothy Crawford (1903-1995) and her daughter Adelma.

The NYS DEC performed additional soil testing of neighbouring properties and implemented their full remediation with state funds.