by Mike Hays Buried cannonballs, barred windows, and sheep are distant memories in Upper Nyack, but they are all bound together in the history of River Hook, The Hester Haring Cason Preserve. One of the last remaining large open spaces in Upper Nyack, the park is not only a natural, community-owned space but an historical preserve as well. The property ownership can be traced from the beginnings of Upper Nyack through ownership by a Revolutionary War hero, a Confederate general, a Wall Street money manager, to Hester Haring Cason who lived on the property from 1934 to 2013.