November 2010

A captain in the Royal Navy, Billopp built this House around 1680 as the center of his 1,600-acre Manor of Bentley. The sophisticated, two-story fieldstone House was markedly different in both style and scale from the scattered Dutch and English farmhouses of Staten Island with its high, gabled end walls containing fireplaces and chimney stacks. The House had two large parlors opening off a central hall on the main floor, and two bedchambers on the floor above.

The House opened as a museum in 1927. Today, it has been restored to its mid-18th-century appearance. Education programs and special events at the house focus on the Billopp family and the Revolutionary War conference that made the House famous. The Conference House is owned by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, operated by the Conference House Association, and is a member of the Historic House Trust.

The Clinton House served as a meeting place for local goverment officials when Poughkeepsie served as the capital of New York from 1777-1783. After a fire in 1783, General George Washington's New Windsor Cantonment ordered carpenters to rebuild this important structure. In addition to repairs, the house was enlarged and the present stairway was constructed at this time.

Today the Clinton House serves as the base of the Dutchess County Historical Society and the Franklin Butt Library.

In 1836, Pell family descendant Robert Bartow and his wife, Maria Lorillard, purchased part of the old manor and built a fashionable three-story Greek Revival mansion, with a dramatic freestanding spiral staircase connecting the elegant parlors on the ground floor with the bedrooms above. The Bartow-Pell Mansion was surrounded by pastureland, orchards, and lawns sloping down to the bay.

The family lived in the house for 50 years, until the Bartows’ children sold the estate to the City of New York in 1888 as part of the new Pelham Bay Park. In 1914, the International Garden Club adopted the Mansion as its clubhouse, restoring and enlarging it. The Club installed the elegant terraced gardens in 1916. In 1936, during one of the hottest summers on record, Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia moved his staff north to Bartow-Pell Mansion and directed the affairs of the City from a phone bank in the basement. Ten years later, in 1946, the Garden Club opened Bartow-Pell Mansion to the public as a museum.

In 1877, at the age of 11, Austen received a camera from her uncle. She was immediately mesmerized by this new invention, and spent the next 40 years capturing some 8,000 images. She was often seen riding her bicycle around Staten Island and Manhattan, carrying almost 50 pounds of photographic equipment. Austen is best known for her street photography: photos of immigrants just off the boats from Ellis Island, street sweepers hard at work, postmen, bootblacks, and fishmongers. Her photographs bear witness to a strong aesthetic eye: she knew how to compose an image, what to include and leave out. Her artistic talents are evident in her photographs of nature, which were influenced by 19th-century ideas of nature as holder of both beauty and spirit.

In 1975, recognizing the importance of Alice Austen to New York's history, the City purchased the House and restored it and the grounds to their 19th-century appearance. Today, Clear Comfort operates as a museum, featuring exhibits of Austen's work and contemporary photography as well as period rooms that have been recreated based on photographs.

Clermont became the home of the historic Livingston family in 1728 when Robert Livingston, Jr. inherited 13,000 acres along the Hudson River. The property has morphed over time with later generations making improvements and adding land through marriage. Most famous of the Livingstons may be Robert R. Livingston, Jr. A member of the Committee of Five responsible for drafting the Declaration of Independence, he also served as the first United States Minister of Foreign Affairs (Secretary of State) and, as Chancellor of the State of New York, he gave the oath of office to George Washington as first President of the United States.

David Bannerman purchased the island from the Taft family in 1900 as a safe storage site for the weapons he collected on behalf of his business. Mr. Bannerman began construction on a simulated Scottish castle and simple residence in 1901.

Equipment of every description as well as ammunition were shipped there for storage until sold. Although Frank Bannerman was a munitions dealer, he titled himself to be a man of peace. He wrote in his catalogues that he hoped that his collection of arms would someday be known as "The Museum of the Lost Arts". He was a devoted church goer, a member of the St. Andrews Society, founder of the Caledonian Hospital, and active in a boy's club - often taking them on trips to the island in the summer months. In W.W.I he contributed cannons; uniforms, and blankets, to the U.S. government. Frank and Helen Bannerman used the house on the island as a summer residence. Mrs. Bannerman, a successful gardener, enhanced the paths and terraces with wonderful flowers and shrubs, some which still exist today.

Ventfort Hall is an imposing Elizabethan-style mansion built in 1893 for Sarah Morgan, the sister of J. P. Morgan. Designed by the architects Rotch & Tilden, it is located in Lenox, Massachusetts. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and declared an official project of “Save America’s Treasures,” a Millennium program of Hillary Rodham Clinton and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Ventfort Hall is the home of The Museum of the Gilded Age.

Ventfort Hall was one of the approximately seventy-five so-called “Cottages” built in Lenox in the last century when the village became a popular Gilded Age resort. Located on spacious grounds in the heart of the village, it is partially restored and open to the public. Through lectures, exhibits, theatrical performances and other events, The Museum of the Gilded Age interprets the great changes that occurred in American life, industry, and society during the nineteenth century, a fascinating period of American history.

Naumkeag was the summer "cottage" of the Choate family who began summering in Berkshire County in the 1870s. Designed by McKim, Mead & White in 1885, this forty-four-room, shingle-style house is filled with original furniture, ceramics, and artwork collected from America, Europe, and the Far East. Joseph Hodges Choate (1832-1917) was a prominent New York attorney. Between 1899 and 1905, he served in England as U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James.

Following ministerial studies at Yale, Reverend John Sergeant moved to the south Berkshires to establish a mission for fifty Mohicans. He lived in a simple cabin until he married Abigail Williams in 1739 and built the Mission House.

The Shakers trace their beginnings to Manchester, England, in 1747. They called themselves The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing. They soon became known as Shakers because of the trembling, whirling, and shaking that affected them during their spiritually ecstatic worship services. As Millennialists, they believed that Christ's second coming was realized in their leader, Ann Lee, whom they called Mother Ann. Misunderstood and persecuted in their native England, the Shakers nonetheless gathered a small group of enthusiastic followers to their new Christian lifestyle and beliefs.

This beautifully restored village, set amongst acres of farm, woodland and pasture, is home to the premier collection of Shaker buildings and artifacts. Graceful Shaker furniture, craft and household items are exhibited in 20 historic buildings, each an architectural gem. The Round Stone Barn, most famous of all Shaker buildings, is a testament to Shaker efficiency, innovation and design.