The Center for Discovery history

1950 – United Cerebral Palsy Association of Sullivan County (UCPASC) is formally incorporated.

1951 – The first UCPASC clinic opens in two rooms at Liberty-Loomis Hospital to treat physical, occupational and social problems, attracting children from all over the county

1965 – First UCPASC treatment center is opened on Wawanda Avenue, Liberty

1980 – Patrick H. Dollard is hired as Director; UCPASC becomes The Human Developmental Services Center; 30 total employees

1981 – The Birth to 5 Symposium, the first ever conference in the nation specifically designed as an educational tool for professionals, parents, and others caring for disabled infants, is held at Grossinger’s Resort; focus is on the effect of environmental toxins on infants intrauterine

1982 – The Birth to 5 Symposium is repeated at the Concord Hotel; the agency opens its first residential Intermediate Care Facility, in Rock Hill; Twelve acres of land purchased in Harris for new facility

1983 – First farming operation begins (small plots of vegetable gardens behind the Rock Hill ICF)

1985 – Three residential homes are opened on the Harris property

1987 – Three more homes, to accommodate out of state children, are opened in Harris

Partnered with Greene County Medical Society Alliance, it became incorporated in 1991 as a 501(c)(3) governed by a volunteer Board of Directors.

1992 – Agency purchases a 50-acre farm in Harris for the construction of new residences and a supported work environment for children and adults with significant disabilities

1995 – Thanksgiving Farm, a community supported agriculture project featuring innovative work and residential programs for adults with multiple disabilities, opens in Harris; nature-based curriculum implemented

After six years to create awareness and plan the operation, programs, exhibits, renovate, and raise the funds, the Discovery Center of Springfield opened to the public full time in 1998.

1999 – Human Developmental Services Center becomes The Center for Discovery

In 2000, DCS began working on a second master plan for the building and the incorporation of the third building.

2002 – Discovery Health Center opens.

After a lot of research, in 2003 the DCS board and staff decided to deconstruct the third building and build a new addition under the guidelines of the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.

2006 – Thanksgiving Farm CSA receives USDA Organic Certification

2007 – Life Center opens; residences specifically designed for medically fragile population

2008 – The Center receives a $1,000,000 Kresge Foundation Challenge Grant for the Michael Ritchie Big Barn Center for Environmental Health and Education at the Stonewall Preserve

2009 – Thanksgiving Farm CSA receives Demeter Certification as biodynamic farm

2010 – Ridge Campus Opens; first residences in NYS specifically designed for ASD population; Michael Ritchie Big Barn Center for Environmental Health and Education officially opens.

2011 – The Center purchases the 11,000 sq. ft. warehouse building at 202 Main Street, recently vacated by Samuel French, Inc.

2013 – The Center for Discovery partners with the Open Space Institute to purchase 9 miles of O&W Railway right of way to create a hiking and biking trail

2014 – The Hurleyville Market opens as The Center’s first retail operation on the historic, revitalized Main Street of Hurleyville, NY

2017 – Three-mile long section of the Milk Train Rail Trail in Hurleyville, NY is paved, making it accessible for all

The Center currently has 1,432 full time employees and as a result of this project has created 209 of its committed 231 net new jobs by January 2018.

2020 – The Center for Discovery and Northwell Health Announce Affiliation Agreement

2021 – The Children’s Specialty Hospital at The Center for Discovery and the Research Institute for Brain and Body Health to open in Rock Hill, NY