Mansions of the Hudson Valley

If you had lived in New York City in the nineteenth or early twentieth century and were rich and famous, or even just rich, wouldn't you have wanted to build a mansion with this view as your summer home? Even better, is that fact that it is less than 100 miles up the Hudson River from the city, so you could still visit in the fall to see the glorious fall foliage. That's exactly what they did. Many of the American rich and famous built the most wonderful mansions along the Hudson River.

View of Catskills and Hudson River from Clermont Manor
at Wikimedia Commons.

Home of the Rockefellers in Westchester County, Kykuit, which means "lookout" in Dutch, is an amazing Hudson Valley landmark. For architecture, remarkable gardens, art, history, and spectacular scenery, Kykuit is almost without equal. This hilltop estate was home to four generations of the Rockefeller family, beginning with the philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Sr., founder of Standard Oil, and his son, John D. Rockefeller Jr.

Image of Kykuit from Wikimedia Commons.

The imposing stone structure, fronted at the top with the Rockefeller emblem, is centrally located in a "park" of about 250 acres that is the Rockefeller family estate. Upon his death In 1979, Nelson Rockefeller bequeathed his one-third interest in the estate to the National Trust for Historic Preservation with the result that Kykuit is now open to the public for tours which include both the main rooms inside the mansion and the terraced gardens containing an exceptional collection of sculpture, the art galleries, and the Coach Barn with its collections of horse-drawn carriages and classic automobiles.

Kykuit
Open May through October.
Visitor Center at Philipsburg Manor opens at 9 am. Board a shuttle bus from the Visitor Center to begin tours of the estate.
Tours available daily except Tuesdays.

Washington Irving, author of such wonderful tales as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow lived in this Dutch Plantation style home, Sunnyside. Irving gave the building his own fanciful atmosphere, planting a wisteria that frames the entrance as well as the ivy that covers much of the building.

Washington Irving Home, Tarrytown
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When you go inside Sunnyside, you can see the study where Washington Irving wrote his stories, even his writing desk. It's fascinating to imagine him sitting there writing about Rip Van Winkle and the Headless Horseman chasing Ichabod Crane!

The furnishings at Sunnyside are authentic, since many remained in the family. It is not a grandly furnished house, but it reflects the character and life of Washington Irving. Many of the numerous guests who visited Irving at Sunnyside wrote about their visit and even drew sketches of the property. As a result, furniture and object placement within the rooms has been maintained rather accurately.

Looking into the Study That Belonged to Author Washington Irving
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Sunnyside
Summer hours:
Open April through October daily except Tuesdays
11 am - 6 pm; last tour at 5 pm.

November and December:
Open Saturdays and Sundays; Friday, November 27
10 am - 4 pm; last tour at 3 pm.

Lyndhurst mansion in Tarrytown, with its turrets, battlements, and tower has all the appearance of a Gothic castle. It was built in 1838 when William Paulding, mayor of New York City, commissioned architect Alexander Jackson Davis to construct the fortress. Later, when George Merritt bought the estate he hired Davis to make various additions, including a four story tower. Jay Gould, the railroad tycoon, was the next owner and he also made changes to the house and grounds. Following his death, the estate was maintained by his daughters, Helen and then Anna, until Anna's death in 1961.

Lyndhurst Castle, Whose Gothic Revival Spires
Dominate a 67-Acre Estate Overlooking the Hudson
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Lyndhurst
Summer hours from mid-April through October:
Tuesday - Sunday, 10 am - 5 pm, first tour at 10:30 am, last tour at 4:15 pm.
Entrance gate closes at 4:00 pm.

Winter hours from November through mid-April:
Weekends only and Holiday Mondays through March 31.
10 am - 4 pm. First tour 10:30 am; last tour 3:30 pm.
Entrance gate closes at 3:30 pm.

Mills Mansion, located in the boundaries of Mills-Norrie State Park in Staatsburg, originated as a lavish remodeling of an existing mansion. In 1895 nouveaux riche Ogden Mills and his wife, Ruth Livingston of the aristocratic Livingston family, commissioned the creation of a Beaux Arts mansion of 65 rooms and 14 bathrooms that truly exemplified the Gilded Age of American success. With lavish furnishings, the mansion remains a showcase of elegant opulence.

Entrance hall of Mills Mansion
from Wikimedia Commons.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was born at the Roosevelt family's Springwood estate in Hyde Park, and he spent a great deal of his life, even during his presidency, at this mansion. In fact, it functioned as a "Summer White House."

Hyde Park, New York - Exterior Patio View of Franklin D Roosevelt's House
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In addition to the house, also of interest are the F.D.R. Library and Museum which contain many historic documents and personal belongings of the Roosevelts. The burial site of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt is located in the rose garden, marked by a simple, elegant monument. A number of sculptures and busts of Roosevelt are also to be found in scenic spots around the grounds.

The Home of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Hyde Park, New York, February, 1935
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Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt - Springwood
The grounds are open year-round, seven days a week.

Buildings are open 9 am to 5 pm. The last tour of the day is at 4 pm.
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day.

Following her husband's death in 1945, Eleanor Roosevelt moved to Val-Kill in Hyde Park, where she lived the rest of her life. Just as Eleanor was no ordinary woman, this was no ordinary Hudson Valley mansion! She had been encouraged by her husband to use this property as a place where she could put into practice her idea of an industry that could employ rural workers and women. This became Eleanor's home; the only residence that she personally owned.

Image of Val-Kill main house from Wikimedia Commons.

Eleanor Roosevelt's Val-Kill
Summer schedule:
Open daily May through October from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Winter schedule:
Open November through April with tours at 1:00pm and 3:00pm.
Closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day.

The grounds are open daily year-round from sunrise to sunset.

Locust Grove is a mansion I've driven past many many times, but didn't actually realize it was the home of Samuel F.B. Morse until recently. Well, to be more accurate, I didn't realize this was the home of the man who invented the telegraph and Morse Code!

This was another of the estates owned by the Livingston family until Morse bought it in 1847. He actually lived there for 25 years, transforming it into his graceful summer retreat.

Locust Grove
from Wikimedia Commons.

So here's Samuel Morse himself, with the telegraph he invented!

The original house that Morse bought was Georgian in style, but together with his friend, architect Alexander Jackson Davis, he transformed it into a villa in the Tuscan style. Most notable among their additions were two wings that created an octagon, and the four-story tower structure facing the river. Morse also landscaped the grounds.

After Morse died the estate was sold to the Young family, prominent in Poughkeepsie, who further developed the house and grounds, and it is their furniture and collections that remain in the mansion today. In 1963 Locust Grove became the first mansion to be designated a National Historic Landmark.

Samuel Morse with His Invention, the Telegraph
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Locust Grove
Grounds are open year round 8 am to sunset daily.
The house is available by guided tour only.

May 1 - November 30, daily; April and December, weekends only.
Visitor Center Open 10 am - 5 pm.
Last tour starts at 3:15 pm.

This mansion was built by Frederick William Vanderbilt, the third generation of Vanderbilt millionaires, is a great example of the Beaux-Arts country homes built by wealthy industrialists during the Gilded Age. Vanderbilt purchased the property in 1895 for use as a vacation country residence. The best architects were hired and a 54-room mansion was designed, and completed in 1899.

The mansion is furnished with gorgeous European antiques as well as period reproductions. The main rooms are ornate and richly decorated; interestingly, visitors also can go downstairs to a large dining room provided for the numerous servants. I'd be happy with this level of luxury myself! The columned porch at the rear of the mansion provides a majestic view of the Hudson River. The grounds are wonderful, perfect for walks all year round, and the trees and flower gardens are just crying out to have their photographs taken. Definitely a place that can be visited many times.

Image of Vanderbilt Mansion from Wikimedia Commons.

Vanderbilt Mansion
Open seven days a week from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm by guided tour only. The last tour of the day is at 4:00pm.

November through March tours are limited.
The Mansion is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day.

Grounds open 7 days year-round from sunrise to sunset.

Wilderstein (wild man's stone) mansion in Rhinebeck was originally built in the 1850s in the Italian villa style by Thomas Suckley, a descendant of the Beekman and Livingston families both prominent in the area. The house was remodeled into an elaborate Queen Anne style country house in the 1880s. Three generations of Suckleys occupied Wilderstein until 1991 when the last Suckley resident, Margaret (Daisy) Suckley, died in her 100th year.

Daisy Suckley was a cousin and confidante of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and is known for giving him his black Scottish terrier, Fala. She was instrumental in opening the mansion to the public when she began the tradition of inviting the public at Christmas. This tradition continues with local florists and designers transforming the first floor of her home into a Victorian Christmas wonderland complete with mannequins in authentic Victorian dress.

Image of Wilderstein mansion from Wikimedia Commons.

Wilderstein

Regular Season:
May 1 - October 31 (Thursday - Sunday)
Open for tours Thursday through Sunday, 12 noon - 4 pm; last tour begins at 3:30 pm.

Winter Holiday Tours:
The mansion is open for holiday tours Saturdays and Sundays from 1 pm - 4 pm from Thanksgiving weekend through the end of December.

Montgomery Place was designed by Alexander Jackson Davis and Andrew Jackson Downing consulted on the gardens and grounds. Janet Livingston Montgomery built the house in Annandale-on-Hudson, on the grounds of a working farm. She did this to honor the memory of her husband, General Richard Montgomery, who had been killed in the battle for Quebec, becoming the first hero of the American Revolution. The estate was passed on through her Livingston relatives, who finally deeded the property to Historic Hudson Valley in 1986.

Image of Montgomery Place
from Wikimedia Commons.

In 1988 the restored Montgomery Place estate was opened to the public. Further restoration of the mansion took place 20 years later, with this unique American treasure once more open for public viewing.

The 380-acre property remains an example of Hudson Valley estate life. From the mansion's terrace and north pavilion are the hallmark inspiring vistas of the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains. The grounds maintain their character, with woodland trails, and gardens filled with flowers and fragrant herbs. The orchards continue to be productive.

Montgomery Place
House tours:
Mid-May through October:
Thursdays-Sundays, 11 am - 4 pm (last tour at 3 pm).

Grounds open daily year-round, from 9 am - 4 pm.

Montgomery Place Orchards has been a privately owned and operated small farm on the Montgomery Place property for over 20 years. Owners Doug and Talea Fincke grow a wide variety of fruits, and vegetables which are sold from their roadside stand.

Image of Montgomery Place Orchard
from Wikimedia Commons.

Montgomery Place Orchards
Farm tours:
The first Saturday of every month, from 9 am - 4 pm.

The Clermont estate was established in 1728 by the affluent and influential Livingston family. It was named Clermont, meaning "clear mountain" in French, for its clear view of the Catskill Mountains across the Hudson River.

Clermont Manor House, owned by the Livingston Family
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The mansion was occupied by seven generations of this family. Alice Livingston, the last to live there, moved out of the main house to the gardener's cottage during World War II, and deeded the estate to the State of New York in 1962.

Robert R. Livingston, Jr., the mansion's most notable owner, was one of the five men who authored the Declaration of Independence, and he swore in George Washington as the first president. Although the first house was burned by British troops, it was quickly rebuilt and maintained for several more generations, being remodeled in the 1920s in Colonial Revival style. Today, visitors can enjoy the grounds, where many special events are held, and tour the house which contains the Livingston family's furnishings as well as a portrait collection and sculptures.

Clermont
House tours:
April through December:
Saturday and Sunday, 11 am to 4 pm (last tour at 3 pm).

Grounds open daily year-round 8:30 am to sunset.

Yes, Clermont offers spooky fun on Friday and Saturday evenings in October!

The whole mansion is decorated in 1920s Halloween style, so you can just visit the mansion during normal visiting hours. But the best is to take one of the Candlelight Spook Tours! You arrive at the mansion after dark (first tour starts at 6:30pm) and are greeted by a little boy who asks your help in finding his sister. As you go through the mansion different "ghosts" of the Livingston family appear and tell you their story.

Tours start every 30 minutes beginning at 6:30 with the last tour starting at 9:30. Cost is $10 per adult, $5 per child. Reservations are encouraged.

Olana was the home of Frederic Edwin Church, the most famous member of the Hudson River School of landscape painting. A student of Thomas Cole, whose home and studio at Cedar Grove are located on the other side of the Hudson River in Catskill, Church had interests that ranged far beyond the Hudson Valley. Thus, he named his house "Olana," after the Persian treasure house. And Church's Olana is indeed a store of treasures! The exotically decorated interior displays objects he acquired during his global travels, as well as numerous paintings.

Image of Olana from Wikimedia Commons.

Located high on a hill overlooking the Hudson River, the house is a mixture of Victorian and Persian styles. Both the house and grounds offer the most amazing view of the Hudson - no wonder Church painted it!

Hudson River by
Frederic Edwin Church
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Olana
Grounds are open year round 8 am to sunset daily.
The house is available by guided tour only.

April - October
House tours Tuesday through Sunday and holiday Mondays 10 am - 5 pm; last tour starts promptly at 4 pm.

November - March
House tours Friday and Saturday 11 am - 4 pm; Sunday 12 pm - 4 pm; last tour starts promptly at 3 pm.

Copyright © Jennifer P. Tanabe, 2009.
This page was created on December 3, 2009 and is the property of jptanabe (Jennifer P. Tanabe) and Squidoo, LLC. Please do not copy my material!