The major properties are the Spring Hill Estate and the adjacent William Beebe Tropical Research Station (also known as Simla), which was established by the famous naturalist and explorer William Beebe as a tropical research station for the New York Zoological Society. Beebe bought the 'Verdant Vale' estate in 1949 and named it after Simla in India, which he had visited in 1910. Beebe stayed at Springhill in 1949 with the Wrights, while water and electricity connections were made to Simla, four miles down the road. His bedroom is now the Springhill manager's office.