The Story of the Briarcliff Rose. Notebook 2025-10
The Briarcliff Rose traces its roots to the early 20th century at Briarcliff Lodge, a grand Tudor Revival resort built in 1902 by Walter W. Law, a wealthy local land owner and founder of Briarcliff Manor, NY. In 1890 he purchased farmland in the area (then called Whitson’s Corners) and over time amassed more than 5,000 acres. He called his purchases: Briarcliff Farms. The Lodge hosted dignitaries, celebrities, and future presidents. Roses from its gardens adorned weddings, receptions, and grand dinners held in its Dutch Kitchen and Stone Dining Room. However, The Lodge wasn’t just a luxury destination—it was the heart of a self-sustaining estate that included dairy farms, bottled water, residences, and greenhouses. Among these were the large greenhouses established in the village to grow flowers, including the prominent American Rose Society variety “American Beauty.”
According to Mary Cheever in “The Changing Landscape, a History of Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough” (pps. 36-37):
“Horticulture, like dairy farming was profitable in the vicinity of the growing city, and with the assistance of Piersons, “of famous name in the rose business,” Law took up rose culture. The greenhouse space soon grew to seventy-five thousand square feet and the annual return from the sale of American Beauty roses went up to $100,00 (about $1,800,000 today) a year. Twelve greenhouses were owned and operated by Paul M. Pierson and F.R. Pierson. As many as eight thousand roses were cut and shipped to florists daily, packed in long wooden boxes filled with newspapers and ice. Carnations were also grown. While most of the roses were shipped to New York City, some that were sent to Scotland were received “fresh and fragrant” eighteen days after they were cut.
The greenhouses were on the hill between Pine and Sleepy Hollow roads, just above where Fountain Road now runs. There Paul Pierson’s foreman, George Romaine, “with God’s help and blessing,” propagated the pink Briarcliff Rose early in the 1900s (sources vary as to the exact year). Sports (spontaneous mutations or variants) taken from a Columbia rose were on the verge of being thrown out when Pierson noticed several were producing flowers that were a decided improvement on the parent plant, at that time considered the leading pink rose. The buds were longer and more pointed, the color was brighter, and every bud was perfect. Pierson had the rose registered as the Briarcliff Rose with the American Rose Society. Romaine and his “loyal and dedicated daily workers” propagated it in quantity and it became very popular.”
In the 1920s the Romaines lived close to the greenhouses in the second house from the corner of Sleepy Hollow Road. Their granddaughter, Marie Davis (Mrs. Everett) Evelyn, remembers that when she was a child “the highlight of the week” for her family was the Sunday visit with the Romaines. Marie would slip away up the path to the greenhouses, “the magical world of roses, roses, roses” where on Sundays the only sound was the whispering of the steam pipes around the raised rosebeds, the moisture releasing the “fragrance of the living earth and plants.” The center path of narrow wooden boards led to a door outside. Just beyond were steps up to the door to the next greenhouse and then the next and the next.”
Note: a second set of greenhouses existed in the area between the Briarcliff Lodge and Walter Law’s mansion. We understand that these were owned by Walter Law himself and produced decorations for Briarcliff Farms, the Briarcliff Lodge and Law's and his workers' houses.
The Briarcliff Rose became a symbol of the village’s elegance and horticultural excellence. It was known for its beauty and quality and was often featured in high-society events and luxury venues. The rose helped put Briarcliff Manor on the map as a place of sophistication and charm.
It was supplied to top-tier hotels (including the Briarcliff Lodge itself) and restaurants in New York City, and even to transatlantic ocean liners.
The Briarcliff Rose became not just a local specialty, but commercially significant — indicating that the rose was grown widely in greenhouses across the U.S. and was considered among the best pink roses for the florist trade.
In the Village of Briarcliff Manor, the rose has taken on symbolic significance: It is used on village street signs (since about 2006) and is the emblem of the local Garden Club and is now part of how the Village built its identity. It ties into the legacy of the greenhouses and floriculture - often lesser-known compared to dairy/farming, but still an important thread - in the early 20th century in this region. It gives the village a unique horticultural heritage: not many places can claim a named rose cultivar tied to their local history. The historical record emphasizes that Walter Law’s motto was “only the best is good enough for Briarcliff,” and the rose was one of those “best” products.
Interestingly, the village even had a problem with theft of street signs bearing the rose emblem (21 signs stolen in 2019) — indicating how visible the rose symbol is in the community.
Is it possible to find a Briarcliff Rose today?
This is not entirely clear.
Although the cultivar was widely grown in its day (“...is now grown all over the United States” per one local history account). Its formal registration status is murky: Some catalogues list a rose called “Briarcliff” / “Briarcliff (HT)” or “Briarcliff – HT” (HT = hybrid tea) in old lists, but many modern rose databases (e.g., the Royal Horticultural Society plant-listing site) list “Rosa ‘Briarcliff’ (HT)” but mark the name as unresolved (i.e., its provenance or registration is not fully validated). Whether the original (as developed in Briarcliff) is still in active commercial trade, or whether it has died out/been merged/renamed is unclear.
One local history states:
“It is Briarcliff Manor’s village symbol … Although the Briarcliff Manor Garden Club also uses the Briarcliff Rose as its symbol, the variety is now lost.” Wikipedia. This suggests that the original cultivar may no longer be available or has been lost to cultivation (or at least cannot be reliably sourced).
There have been efforts to re-discover or re-create the Briarcliff Rose. For example, “The Changing Landscape” (page 151) states:
“…in 1990, co-presidents [of the Briarcliff Manor Garden Club], Jane Lind and Wanda Callihan, discovered one grower in England who could provide Briarcliff Rose plants. In 1991, thirty-five of them will be planted in members’ gardens”
Unfortunately, nothing seems to have come of this initiative and this and other similar attempts seem to have failed. So, it’s likely that you can’t your hands on a Briarcliff Rose nowadays.
Sources:
The Changing Landscape, a History of Briarcliff Manor - Scarborough. Cheever, Mary. Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society, 1990.
Our Village: Briarcliff Manor, NY 1902-1952. Briarcliff Manor, 1952.
A number of excellent Wikipedia pages authored by Michael Feist - too numerous to mention individually but including one on Briarcliff Farms.
Not so rosy: 21 rose signs stolen in Briarcliff Manor. News 12 Westchester. October 10, 2019.
BMSHS Files