As New York began creating its first state parks in the Hudson Valley Region during the 1910s and 20s, it concentrated its efforts on larger tracts it had acquired such as Harriman and Bear Mountain to the southwest and Fahnestock to the east. Much of the present Hudson Highlands State Park was either part of large estates or owned by commercial interests seeking to exploit their mineral resources. An organization called the Hudson River Conservation Society (HRCS) worked to preserve the lands by persuading owners to donate them to the state or include clauses in deeds that forbade or greatly restricting quarrying and mining operations on the property.