The entrance to Mesier Park where the Homestead is located
The plaque outside the home
I visited the Mesier Homestead recently and toured the home with a local docent. Home to four generations of the Mesier family, the house has been added onto since it was built in the mid-1700’s. The rooms are decorated with furnishings from the Victorian era and shows life as it may have been in the late 1880’s at the height of the Victorian era.
The Mesier Homestead in the summer months
The tour of the rooms shows how the home was added onto to meet the increased demands of a growing family and one of increasing affluence. The original home was added onto from the back to add service areas and work areas for the household.
The entrance to the Mesier Homestead
A portrait of Mrs. Mesier in the hallway
When you enter the foyer from the front door, there are reproductions of family portraits hallway that had served as the parlor of the original house. As the house expanded, this area became the formal entrance to the home. To the right of the foyer, there is the Living Room, where the Historical Society has uncovered one of the two fireplaces from the original home that once heated the rooms.
The reproductions of Mr. and Mrs. Mesier in the Living Room
During the late 1800’s, the son of the owner heightened the ceilings to get rid of the railroad ties that once decorated the ceiling. This gave the room a more modern look and showed the affluence of the family that could heat a home with heigh ceilings.
The Mesier Homestead Living Room
Another view of the Living Room
The room furnishings included family paintings, a then modern Victrola, ornated furniture and diagram of the family tree. The small steps led to a small office off the Living Room that was added onto with more family objects.
The Library and Office off the Living Room at the Mesier Homestead
When you entered the room from the kitchen and the Butler’s Pantry where food was finished and readied to be served, a formally set Dining Room for dinner showed the family’s status in the community.
The Dining Room at the Mesier Homestead
The sideboard and the Dining Room table
An ornate china set from England enhanced the table with fine linens that the family would have owned. A newly opened fireplace that had once heated the dining room was shown by a heating unit that would have been used in the Victorian age. All sorts of fine decorative objects lined the tables and shelves.
The Dining Room table is set for a fine dinner at the Mesier home
By the amount of space available for living and entertaining with the separate rooms for use in the home it showed how times were changing with the affluence of that time. The family would show off their fine things to show their status in the community.
The Fan Collection from Victorian times
The second-floor tour is a view of the slave/then servants’ quarters and the two-family bedrooms. What I thought was interesting on the tour is how the family had to co-mingle in the bedrooms because of the number of children in the family and how mom and dad were not always alone. The rooms had to be expanded so that there was plenty of room for the growing family.
The Children’s bedroom on the second floor
The Adult’s bedroom on the second floor
There were many family items in the house like clothing, children’s toys and playthings and items for recreation like bikes, ice skates and musical instruments of a time before TV, movies and radio. There were also items for spinning and making clothes.
Children’s toys during the Victorian Age reflected imagination and preparation for adulthood with blocks, dolls, kitchen items and other playthings to stimulate the mind.
Bicycles and Native American art on the second floor
During Victorian times, the way people shopped and carried themselves changed after the Civil War with the rise of department stores and the merchant class. Instead of making your clothes, you bought them at the store and there was protocol on how Victorians behaved and handled themselves in society regardless of class.
The care of grooming a Victorian woman had in her bedroom
Clothes in a Victorian bedroomClothing and accessories for the Victorian woman for dressing for the day
One of the rooms was also set up like a small school with original children’s desks and blackboards. There is even a Civil War era flag that was found in one of the local homes hanging in the room.
The tour guide also noted the drafts in the house before insulation was put in and the conditions of the time with weather effecting living conditions inside with drafts in the winter and heat in the summer through the roof plyboards. This was modern living at the time. The heat would radiate from the lower level of the house and the Dutch doors would let fresh air in the warmer months. These were modern in comparison to our modern homes. This was the interesting part of the home.
When I asked why the back rooms had not been renovated like the front of the house, our tour guide explained that the Meiser’s were a very devout family and even though they were affluent for the times, they were restrained and not showy like you would see in places like the Vanderbilt mansion. They would not have entertained like that on a grand scale. It was an interesting perspective that those things did not mean that much to these older families.
The original section of the homestead from 1742 is currently being renovated. This is the original hearth and oven of the kitchen.
The tour takes about an hour and is a fascinating step back in history of the way these families lived.
Recently the house was decorated for the Christmas holidays with garland, holly and fragrant oranges that once masked the household smells. They also gave the house a festive fragrance. These popular tours last through the holiday season.
Please check their website for a list of their activities.
The History of the Mesier Homestead:
The Mesier Homestead and surrounding property was sold to the Village of Wappinger’s Falls in 1891 with the understanding that it forever be known as Mesier Homestead and Mesier Park. The Wappinger’s Historical Society acquired full custodianship of the Homestead in 2007 and through ongoing fundraising efforts has been able to restore the Homestead to its present appearance.
The Mesier Homestead at Christmastime:
Christmas time at the Mesier Homestead is a festive and elegant affair of decorations and the home being set for a Christmas in the Revolutionary War era. The only difference is the the home has a Christmas tree which did not come into existence until the Victorian era.
the outside of the home decorated with wreaths and garland
The Front Porch
The front door with wreaths and garland
Entering the main hallway of the Mesier Home
The other end of the Hallway
Even the doors were festive with wreaths
The family portraits in the hallway were adorned with garland
The Living Room was the centerpoint of the house on Christmas morning with children coming downstairs to see what Santa had left them in the later part of the 1890’s into the early 1900’s. The tree would have been the centerpiece of the room sparkling in Christmas morning and a place for the family to gather for the day. Nothing has changed in this tradition except electronics.
The Living Room was decorated for both a Victorian and Revolutionary Christmas
The Victorian Christmas tree was lit brightly for the holidays and added a festive touch to the room
The rest of the Living Room was set with flowers and garland
The Library was set with flowers and wreaths and made for a very welcoming environment. This would have been a quiet place on Christmas morning for the family with festivities all through the house.
The Library was simple decorated and elegant
The comfortable Library
Even so, the house was beautifully set with garland all over the mantels and doorways and the Dining Room was set for a formal Christmas lunch which would have been eaten after church. The concept of gift giving on the holidays also did not come about until the Victorian era as well. Still Christmas lunch had been part of the holiday tradition for years.
The Dining Room was set for an elegant Victorian Christmas lunch
Victorian china adorns the festive Christmas dinner table
The mantel in the Dining Room was adorned with garland and oranges which gave the room a wonderful fragrance of pine and citrus
The family portrait in the Dining Room got special attention
Mesier Homestead decorated for the Christmas holiday season
The Wappinger’s Falls Christmas tree is just outside the house
The bandstand outside the house was decorated to the hilt.
The History of the house:
The house itself is part of the ‘Rombout Patent’ of land that had been bought by the Dutch from the local Indian tribes by three prominent Dutch families. This section of the property was bought by Nicholas and Adolphus Brewer and contained 750 acres of land around the Falls area, and they built the first stone house in the village near present Mill Street. In 1742, the Brewers built a mill on the east side of Wappinger Creek.
Nicholas Brewer built the Mesier Homestead in 1741, which he sold in 1777 to Matthew Van Benschoten who in turn sold it to Peter Mesier, a merchant from New York City. In May 1777, soldiers and local residents attacked Peter Meiser’s house in Wappinger’s Falls, disputing the price of tea for sale in a small store inside the home. Mesier was a merchant from New York City and a Loyalist. The angry mob struck Mesier, beat his slaves and drank wine stored in the cellar. They also took the tea and left a small amount of money behind. The house was in the possession of the family for the next four generations (Wiki).
The organization’s goal for 2020 and beyond is to restore the original 1741 building so it can be a showcase of our Colonial history. Your membership, gifts and in-kind donations will help us maintain and restore this jewel of Wappinger’s Falls.
The Wappingers Historical Society Native American Collection:
The Wappingers Historical Society is the curator of an extensive collection of Native American artifacts, many of which stem from the Stoneco/Clinton Point and Bowdoin Park area in the vicinity of the Town of Wappinger. This collection of artifacts was once considered to be the largest private collection in New York State.
Victorian Hair art of the dead
It consists of over 2000 objects, many of which are projectile points (arrowheads and spear points). Some of these have been found to date back 8,500 years. Also included are tools such as scrapers, knives, axes and hatchets. A small portion of approximately 100 pieces of the collection is on display at the Mesier Homestead and can be seen as part of our guided tours.
The Native American collection is extensive at the Meiser House
The Mission of the Wappinger’s Falls Historical Society:
The Wappinger’s Historical is dedicated to preserving and promoting the history of the Town of Wappinger, the Village of Wappinger’s Falls and neighboring communities and to maintain the custodianship of the Mesier Homestead.
The beauty of Downtown Wappinger’s Falls, NY
When you are a member of the Wappinger’s Historical Society, you help:
Storage area of the house
*Preserve and expand our archives, collections and library to actively chronicle the life of our hamlets, village and town for future generations.
*Develop and implement programs and exhibits so that people of all ages can better understand their connection to history.
*Safeguard our architectural heritage of the 1741 Mesier Homestead.
(This information was taken from the Wappinger’s Falls pamphlet, and I give them full credit for it)
The Mesier Homestead in the summer months
Their wonderful gift shop that should not be missed
The outside of the Mount Gulian Homestead at 145 Sterling Street in the Summer of 2024
The sign that welcomes you
On my last trip to the Hudson River Valley to visit the great houses of the Hudson, I came across Mount Gulian, a Dutch manor that I never heard of in all my visits. This smaller Dutch manor house is actually a reconstruction of an 18th century home that burned to the ground by arson in 1931. The original house had been built between 1730 and 1740 and added onto over the next two centuries.
Christmas Time at Mount Gulian in the three weekends in December:
Mount Gulian at Christmas in December of 2021
The historic plaque in front of the house
The house officially had closed for the season at the end of October and was decorated for the holidays for the weekend between December 14-16th to represent the Dutch celebrations. There had been a Children’s tea the Monday before the New Year, so the house was closing down for the season. As the ladies that worked there were taking down the garlands, mistletoe and trees, the curator Amy, let me wonder the rooms as long as I did not get in their way.
The beautiful garland and lights adorn the house at Christmas time
The front door is very welcoming for the holidays
The front door was beautifully decorated for the Christmas season
The house as you enter through the front door
The house is very unique. You would have never known it was a reconstruction. The house really looked its age. The funny part of the house is that is at the very back of an old estate that had been developed with townhouses from the main road to almost the border of the house’s property, so it was strange to drive through to find the house. Once in the semicircular driveway, you plunge back into time.
The Hallway decorated for Christmas
The Hallway decorations in more detail
The Staircase to the Second Floor (Closed) was beautifully decorated for the holidays
The large porch in the front of the house looks over what’s left of the lawn and the housing developments. Once inside you enter the foyer and long hallway with rooms on each side. Each room was or had been decorated for the holidays with garland, mistletoe, fruits and a Christmas tree in one room, a kind of mixture of old Dutch meets Victorian Christmas. Still the effects were nice and it was very festive.
The furniture in the hallway decorated for Christmas in 2024
The furniture in the Hallway was nicely decorated for the holidays
What I enjoyed is that in each room, there were stories of the Verplanck family and the role that they played in the formation of the community and in the nation as well. In real life though, this much decorating would not have been done. This is a more elaborate look on how the Victorians would have decorated the house. The Dining Room would have been one of the most elaborate for entertaining during the holiday season for dining and entertaining.
Until the Victorian Age, things had been kept very simple. You would have decorated the house before Christmas Eve and then on Christmas Day, there would have been an afternoon church service and a nice lunch. Gift giving did not come into play until after the Civil War.
The Dining Room set for Christmas dinner in 2024
The full view of the Dining Room
The Dining Room Table and the fireplace mantle
The back part of the Dining Room
The Dining Room sideboard decorated for the holidays
The Historic Documents in the Dining Room with a funeral dress (why this was here I was not too sure)
The elaborate decorations between the windows in the Dining Room
The detailed decorations on the Dining Room table ready for a wonderful Christmas dinner
The beautiful fresh Christmas tree in the corner of the Dining Room in 2024
All of the rooms had artifacts that the family keeps donating the house as most of the original furnishings were destroyed in the 1931 fire. Still the furnishings are vintage to the time period. Here and there are stories of the house, the people that lived here and about the family in their daily lives. There were also stories of the Revolutionary War and its headquarters of Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. There was also a display on the founding of the Society of the Cincinnati, a Veterans group.
The Order of Cincinnati at Mount Gulian
The history of Mount Gulian and the surrounding area
The history of Mount Gulian and the surrounding area
The main room decorated for the Children’s Tea in the room of the Order of Cincinatti information
The Main Room set up for the tea
The back part of the room with its elaborate details
The beautiful window decorations in the main room
The Children’s Christmas Tea menu at Mount Gulian for the late December event
The Christmas tree in the corner of the room by all the portraits and photos of the members
The Kitchen in the basement area is one of the areas of the home that survived the 1932 fire when the house burnt to the ground. It would not have been used in modern times as a more modern kitchen was built in the newer area of the house. Still, this was decorated for the holidays to show the bounty of the Fall harvest and the items that would have been served for the Christmas holidays.
The kitchen decorated for Christmas in 2024
More detail on the Kitchen decorations
The Kitchen cabinets decorated for the holidays
The decorations on the Kitchen table in the basement area
The windows in the basement were decorated as well in the Gift Shop
The Gift Shop in the Basement area just off the Kitchen area
When I went back upstairs, we toured the Library and the Sitting Room just off the hallway and the Dining Room.
The Library decorated for the holidays
The Library decorations
The beautiful details of the window decorations
The cases of artifacts with the Christmas garlands decorating the top of the furniture
The other side of the Library cases and displays
According to family records, Christmas was a big holiday in the house with many members of the Ver Planck family enjoying the holidays together. The Drawing Room (where the Tea was taking place) was ‘decorated with pine over the doors and windows with wreaths of laurel and the berries of the bittersweet in various places and the room was aglow with a bright wood fire and candlelight and it was all adorned for Christmas. When the Drawing Room door was opened Christmas morning, the Christmas tree burst on our sight. It was lighted with little wax candles as the modern trees were but there were none of the stereotyped ornaments of tinsel and glitter. There were Lady Apples on the tree and oranges, cornucopias and toys and the sugar plums. The tree was always of laurel, reaching nearly to the ceiling and yet it looked small in that great room’ (William Samuel ‘Ver Planck Family History’). The current curators have done a nice job keeping this tradition alive in the decorations.
When I left the house, I visited the grounds over-looking the Hudson River. On the property behind the house was a ‘A frame’ Dutch barn. The barn was closed for the season but fit very well into the landscape of the estate. The view of the Hudson River was beautiful.
The Dutch Barn at Mount Gulian set up for a party
The view to the Hudson River from the house in the Summer
Don’t miss visiting the downtowns of Beacon and Wappinger Falls while visiting the area. Taking Route 9D is an interesting and scenic way to tour the area.
Downtown Beacon, NY at Christmas in 2021
Downtown Beacon, NY at Christmas time
Downtown Beacon at Christmas time
Mount Gulian in the Summer:
In the Summer of 2024, I returned to Mount Gulian to take a full tour of the estate in the summer when everything was in bloom. The same house but a different feeling than the Christmas holiday season. On the Summer tour, you are able to walk the gardens, the barn and the grounds around the house. Plus the gardens were in bloom so it was a more complete tour.
The back of Mount Gulian in the Summer of 2024
The back lawn on the Mount Gulian Homestead estate
The lawn to the gardens from the house
I started the tour of the property while I waited for my tour at 2:00pm. I walked the lawns and walked around the gardens. The property looked so much nicer than in the winter months. You can see the vibrance of the gardens and the beauty of the lawn and woods against the house. The gardens were well maintained and the flowers were still in bloom in the late summer months.
The gardens with the house in the distance
When I started the tour of the house in the Summer of 2024, it was similar to the December tour in the description of the house but the tour guide discussed the house from the perspective of the family living here full time when they moved from their New York City home to the Hudson River Valley permanently.
The Living Room with original furniture from the Verplanck family
Our first stop was in the Living Room where original family furnishings decorate the room. The family would gather in this room for specials occasions and holidays. The tour guide explained that the room contained some items that used to be in the original house including the portrait of the last resident of the house, Virginia Verplanck before the house burned down in the 1930’s.
The Verplanck Family china
Portrait of Virginia Verplanck as a child. She was the last Verplanck to live in the house
The Library
Revolutionary War artifacts in the house
The house was used by General Washington and his troops during the Revolutionary War and Baron von Steuben used the house during the war as well. The proximity both Washington’s Headquarters and the City made it an ideal location.
The portrait of the Baron Van Steuben
We next toured the kitchen, which had been decorated for a Dutch Christmas the last time I had visited. The hearth was from the original house and you could see how things were cooked in the open fire and then in the beehive oven where breads and cakes were cooked.
The kitchen in the basement
The cooking hearth and heat of the house
Cooking and Kitchen equipment
The items a cook would need to prepare meals in a Dutch kitchen.
The Grounds part of the tour:
After the full house tour, we went out to the grounds to see the barn and the gardens. The barn was the American Dutch style barn which was specific to this area. It was large and airy, enough to hold the crops and the animals in case of bad weather.
The Dutch Barn sign
The outside of the Dutch Barn
The Maitland bird holes in the barn to eat bugs on the hay and vegetables
My tour guide told me the unusual holes were that of the Maitland bird the could enter the barn to eat the bugs and insects on the crops and hay.
The inside of the barn set up for a future wedding
We next toured the gardens, which have been partly restored to their original design. They were in bloom with late summer flowers and decorative bushes and the layout was taken from early designs from the house.
The formal Gardens and Lawns tour:
The side of the house leading to the gardens
The semi circle in front of the house
The lawn between the house and the formal gardens used to be vegetable and fruit garden
The sign for the formal gardens
The formal flower gardens followed the original design the Virginia Venplanck had when she lived here
The beautiful gardens had been over grown in the years since the house burned down so volunteers and landscape architects had to cut down the woods and flow pictures and diagrams of the gardens to recreate them.
Entering the formal gardens
The middle of the gardens
The original trellis was still standing in the woods and it was rebuilt on its original spot
Walking through the trellis
The stone bench at the edge of the gardens
The back of the formal gardens
We ended the tour on the back lawn facing the Hudson River. The tour guide explained that the are thinking of trimming back the the woods near the river to better open up the view. This was probably true of the time of the house to pick up boats when moving around the river.
The views are spectacular now
The tour of the house and garden gives it a different perspective than at the holidays. It shows a working farm and an estate of a very prominent Hudson River family.
History of Mount Gulian:
The land where the house stands was purchased by two fur traders Francis Rombout and Gulian Verplanck on August 8, 1683. In exchange for 85,000 acres of land, they paid about $1,250 in goods. The Rombout Patent which formally granted the land to Francis Rombout and Gulian Verplanck was issued by King James II of England on October 17, 1685. After Gulian Verplanck’s death, his estate was eventually divided among divided among his heirs. Julian Verplanck II, a merchant from New York City, received 2880 acres, 400 of which were on a slope overlooking the Hudson River.
He named his estate Mount Gulian, in honor of his grandfather and had the first house on the site built between 1730 and 1740. The building was a small structure with an a-roof. Archaeological evidence suggests it was probably enlarged around 1767 and the characteristic gambrel roof as well as two porches were added between this year and the American Revolutionary War.
Mount Gulian in an early picture
The Revolutionary War years:
During the war, Gulian Verplanck’s son Samuel stayed at the house, while his wife, Judith Commerlin remained at the family mansion at 3 Wall Street in Manhattan. In early 1783, Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben made Mount Gulian his headquarters. At the same time, George Washington had his headquarters in Hasbrouck House, Newburgh on the opposite side of the Hudson River.
On the morning of May 13, 1783, a group of officers of the Continental Army met at Mount Gulian to found the Society of the Cincinnati. Mount Gulian is headquarters of the Society’s New York State branch. The building was extended by in 1804 by Daniel Crommelin Verplanck, the grandson of Gulian Verplanck II, who also laid out the garden. When Marquis de Lafayette visited the house on his return to America in 1824, he stayed in the new addition.
The Gardens of Mount Gulian at Christmas in 2021
In 1803, upon the death of Judith Commerlin Verplanck, the family mansion at 3 Wall Street was closed and much of its furnishings moved to Mount Gulian. In 1849, construction of the Hudson River Railroad cut off access to the Verplanck boat and bathhouse at the end of the property at the shoreline.
The view to Hudson River from Mount Gulian
The Restoration of the House:
The original mansion was destroyed in a fire laid by an arsonist in 1931. After this, the house laid in ruin and was left unattended until 1966, when Bache Bleecker, a descendant of the Verplanck family and his wife, Connie, founded the Mount Gulian Society, as a nonprofit private organization. The goal reconstructed the house to the state it was when it served as von Steuben’s headquarters. The interior contains artifacts related to the Verplanck family. The 18 century Dutch barn was moved here as well.
(This information came from Wiki and I give them full credit for the information)
History of the Verplanck Family:
Mount Gulian is the Hudson Valley colonial homestead of the Verplanck family. Between 1633 and 1638, a Dutch entrepreneur named Abraham Isaac Verplanck arrived in New Netherlands Colony (now New York and New Jersey) from Holland. He originally came to purchase land for a farming settlement and trading post.
The trading post would enable him to trade Dutch goods with the local Native Americans in exchange for beaver and other furs, Indian tobacco and trade goods that were rare in Europe. New Amsterdam was a thriving port and frontier town, filled with Dutch settlers, Indians and traders from all over Europe, Africans, both freemen and slaves, as well as French Huguenots seeking to escape from religious persecution in Europe and Jews fleeing the Inquisition in South American came to a relatively tolerant and busy New Amsterdam.
Abraham Issac Verplanck settled in the growing city and became a prosperous businessman. he married Maria Vigne Roos by 1635, they had Abigail and Gulian (Gulyn is Old Dutch for William), Catalyna, Isaak, Sussanna, Jacomyntje, Ariaentje, Hillegond and Isaak II moved to Albany and established the Verplanck line in that city, which exists today.
In 1664, an English nave appeared off the coast of New Amsterdam and demanded the city’s surrender. The Dutch surrendered their colony, swore loyalty to the British Crown and saw the city renamed New York. The Verplanck’s spoke Dutch but were now English citizens. By the 1680’s, Gulian Verplanck was sailing up the Hudson River looking for land to increase his wealth.
In 1683, with partners Francis Rombout and Stephanus Van Cortlandt, Gulian Verplanck bought 85,000 acres of land from the local Wappinger Indians for approximately $1200 worth of goods. About 75 miles north of Manhattan, overlooking the Hudson River for miles and going inland into rich meadows and forests, encompassing nearly one-seventh of modern Dutchess County, NY in today’s Fishkill-Beacon area, the purchase was quite a bargain. In 1685, the Deed of Sale was approved by King James II of England and is known as the Rombout Patent.
For the next forty-five years, Verplanck, Rombout and various partners and heirs sub-divided, sold off and rented portions of this huge tract of land, while logging, hunting and planting crops on the land.
During the English colonial period, the Verplanck’s became quite prosperous and built a fine home on Wall Street in Manhattan. The Verplanck’s were civic minded and participated in the development of the business and banking industry in New York City and were among the Trustees of Kings College, now known as Columbia University. Around 1730, a colonial-style fieldstone house was built in Fishkill Landing on the Rombout Patent land.
This rough frontier home was gradually surrounded by a working plantation, a dock on the Hudson that facilitated the New York-Kingston-Albany trade and many service buildings for servants and crop production. This homestead was called “Mount Gulian”, and it was used as a summer retreat for the family and a working plantation, but it is not believed that any family member lived at the site year-round until the early 1800’s. Other Verplancks at this time lived in Albany and Verplanck Point in Westchester County, NY.
The Verplancks were prominent citizens in colonial New York while maintaining correspondence with their Dutch relatives in Holland. Young Samuel Verplanck was fortunate enough to take “the grande tour” of Europe in 1761. As businessmen of that era, it must be noted that the Verplancks of Manhattan and Mount Gulian owned slaves during the mid-1700’s and into the early 1800’s, most likely house servants and skilled laborers.
Before the Revolutionary War, Samuel Verplanck became involved with anti-British groups and joined “the Committee of Safety of One -Hundred” in Manhattan. This patriot group was poised to take over the city in the event of rebellion, which occurred on April 19, 1775 at Lexington & Concord.
Later during the War for Independence, Verplanck turned over Mount Gulian to the Continental Army because of its strategic location on the Hudson near the Fishkill Barracks and across from Washington’s Headquarters at Newburgh. In late 1782, through the summer of 1783, Mount Gulian was the Continental Army headquarters of patriot General Fredrich Von Steuben. After the American victory at Yorktown, upon learning of the Treaty of Paris, General Von Steuben and other Chief American officers created at Mount Gulian on May 13, 1783, the Society of the Cincinnati, America’s first veterans’ fraternal organization.
In 1804, Daniel Crommelin Verplanck, a member of Congress moved from Manhattan to permanently occupy the home at Mount Gulian, which underwent extensive expansion with the addition of a large frame house attached to the original homestead. An ornamental “English Garden”, all the rage in Europe at the time, was laid out by him and his daughter, Mary Anna to supplement the 6 acres “kitchen garden” and the fields filled with salable crops. More permanent structures were built on the property, still thousands of acres, including barns, smokehouses, storage buildings and structures to facilitate brick making from clay taken from the Hudson.
The Verplanck family grew and eventually married into many prominent families in New York such as the Schuyler’s, the Johnsons, the Delancey’s and the Bleecker’s. Daniel’s son, Gulian C. Verplanck, also a member of Congress, ran for Mayor of New York in 1834, losing what many believe was a fixed election. Other Verplancks were judges, businessmen and wealthy farmers.
With slavery abolished in New York in 1827, the conservative Verplancks, along with many upper-class Northerners, gradually sided with the abolitionists, even hiring and assisting James Brown, an escaped slave who worked for the family for forty years. Brown’s diaries, written at Mount Gulian, provide a detailed record of daily life there.
During the Civil War, Robert Newlin Verplanck volunteered in the Union Army’s United States Colored Troops, training and fighting alongside black troops until the victory at Appomattox. His battlefield letters to his mother and sister have been preserved by Mount Gulian.
The Victorian era at Mount Gulian was a grand time, as the family associated with the local Livingstons, Roosevelts and Vanderbilts. Many Verplancks achieved fame in the professions, in arts and letters and as sportsmen. Verplanck Colvin was a topographical engineer who extensively surveyed the Adirondacks. Virginia E. Verplanck was a celebrated gardener and hostess. John Bayard Verplanck was an early seaplane flyer, racing World War I era veteran and banker.
The history of the area around Mount Gulian
Mount Gulian was occupied by the Verplancks until 1931, when the house was destroyed by fire. Many of the furnishings and valuable were saved by family members, neighbors and firemen who cleared the house before it was fully engulfed.
Prior to the American Bicentennial of 1976, Mount Gulian was beautifully restored with the assistance of Verplanck descendants, local history lovers and members of the Society of the Cincinnati. In 1998, Mount Gulian sponsored a well-attended family reunion, which included an updated version of the family genealogy book originally from 1892. Today Ms. Charlotte Verplanck Willman is one of the Mount Gulian Historic Site’s Board of Trustees.
The Order of Cincinnati
(This information was taken from the Mount Gulian Society website and I give them full credit for the information.)
After the tour, it was a long walk in Downtown Beacon, NY to picture taking and window shopping.
Downtown Beacon, NY in the summer of 2024
Downtown Beacon, NY in the summer of 2024
Downtown Beacon, NY in the summer of 2024
Downtown Beacon, NY falls in the summer of 2024
I also visited Downtown Beacon in December of 2024 for the pre-Christmas holiday season and the whole downtown was decked out for the holidays.
The Mountains behind the downtown glitter with the recent snowfall
The edge of Downtown where the church is located
The downtown was decorated with wreaths and garland topped with fresh snow
The store fronts during Christmas time in Downtown Beacon, NY
The Falls at Christmas time
The Downtown Beacon decorations for the holidays
The festive and very creative signs of the merchants in the downtown area
Downtown Beacon decorated for the holidays at dusk as the lights came on
More merchant signs downtown
Each lamppost was festive and nicely decorated for the holidays
I recently spent my afternoon at the Senate House and Museum in Kingston, NY taking a tour of the museum and the House next door. The Senate House itself had just finished its renovation and the gardens were in full bloom in 2023. It was a quiet afternoon, and I was the only patron for most of the afternoon. The grounds were full of beautiful foliage and flowers, so it was nice to walk around the grounds.
The Senate House story board
The Senate House had just reopened in 2023 after almost a four year renovation and because of the closure during COVID. The grounds are very pretty and well-landscaped and the outside has had a lot done to the gardens. The house was built for merchant Abraham Van Gaasbeek and his family. It stayed in the family for generations.
The Senate House at 296 Fair Street
We were able to tour the inside of the house and see the renovations that the State of New York made on this important structure. The home has been renovated by the state but the tour guide told us not with the historical integrity it should have had. It was not to the total interpretation of the life in the house. Still, it told the story about the people that lived there.
The Senate House Kitchen
Here you see the beehive oven, the working fireplace and many household items including waffle makers, cookie molds and candle making tools. The daily household tasks would be time consuming.
The Dining Space
The bedroom
In the original part of the house, the dining space and bedroom would be in a one room section of the home and as the family got larger, the house was added on to on both sides.
The Parlor
The Parlor was the fanciest room in the house with the best furnishings, decorations and a place of social interactions with guests. This rooms was for adult use at that time.
The Meeting Room for the leaders in change.
This was the room where plans by the patriots were made that changed the course of New York and the rest of the country. Now that the Senate House home is open again, you get a feel for what these people must have went through in developing the country during the Revolutionary War years.
When I visited the Senate House at the holidays for the “Snowflake Festival”, it was still closed for renovation but the grounds were open for touring, music and for a visit with Santa. It was a magical night on the grounds of the historical site and people had a nice time that evening. The grounds and the other buildings were decked out for the holidays.
The Senate House decked out for the Christmas holidays at the “Kingston Snowflake Festival” in 2022
The Senate House property decorated for the Kingston Snowflake Festival in 2022
Santa’s visit at the Senate House property in 2022
The history of the Kingston Stockade section of the city.
The main part of the park is the Senate House Museum, which is broken into three sections. The right side of the museum is the history of the City of Kingston and the matching artifacts. There is a description of manufacturing, merchant class and its military prominence. Here I learned about the growth of Kingston and its founding, its strategic spot on the Hudson River in the early colony, its role as diplomats to the Native Americans, which was not so pleasant and its growth after the war.
The first floor exhibitions on early life in Kingston
The history of the City of Kingston is described with the Native American settlements and the trade with the Dutch, the unsettling relationships that the two groups had with each other, the War years, the growth of industry and trade in early New York and manufacturing in the area.
The Native American exhibition
Early manufacturing and life in Kingston
The Artist’s sign
The Vanderlyn Exhibition of artist John Vanderlyn’s art
Artist John Vanderlyn’s works are featured on this part of the museum.
The left side of the museum is dedicated to the locally born artist, John Vanderlyn. His paintings line the walls of the museum of the artist at different stages of his career. His work was ahead of its time for the area, and it was noted in the collection that he forced himself to commission portraits to survive. His works advanced for the time because of his studying abroad now line the walls of the best museums in the country.
The exhibition of John Vanderlyn’s portraits
Artist John Vanderlyn’s bio in the museum
Members of the extended Vanderlyn family portraits
The second floor holds the furniture that is not historically correct with the Senate House and comes from different time periods. There is furniture, beds and chairs, spinning wheels, chamber pots and all sorts of accessories for the home and their uses in everyday life. Vintage furnishings with explanations on their use are a big part of the exhibit.
Artifacts from the past are displayed here
The everyday items used to spin material and create clothing
The Loughran House next door houses more of the furniture of the house and has a new exhibition “Back to the Future: The Evolution of Senate House”. This houses artifacts from the house.
The Senate House property during the “Kingston Snowflake Festival” in 2022
The Senate House property during Christmas 2024
The Senate House property during Christmas 2024
History of the Senate House:
(From Wiki/Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation pamphlet)
Amidst the turmoil of a British military invasion in the fall of 1777, the elected representations of rebellious New Yorkers met in Kingston to form a new state government. While convened in Kingston in September and October, New York’s first Senate met in the simple stone house of merchant Abraham Van Gaasbeek.
Here they adopted a system comprising of a senate, assembly, governor and judiciary that still exists today. Every one of the assembled delegates risked his life and property by being so openly disloyal to the Crown. Indeed, all were forced to flee for their lives when the British attacked and burned Kingston on October 16th.
While convened in Kingston in September and October, New York’s first Senate met in the simple stone house of Abraham Van Gaasbeek, a prosperous merchant trader who had suffered financial losses as a result of the war and personal losses in the recent deaths of his wife, Sara, his daughter and infant granddaughter. It was Sara’s grandfather, Wessel Ten Broeck, who built the original section of the house in 1676.
At first called Wiltwyck, Kingston was the third “city” established in the Dutch Colony of New Netherland. Planned and developed by the Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant in 1656, the town was renamed Kingston after the colony was seized by the English in 1664.
Wessel Ten Broeck’s one room Dutch style house was enlarged by succeeding owners in the 18th century. Each change reflected the increasing fortunes of the Ten Broeck/Van Gaasbeek family and demonstrated a gradual acceptance of English styles and customs over the persistent influence of the early Dutch. Kingston at the time of the American Revolution was still a noticeably “Dutch” town and most of its citizens supported the American cause. British Major General John Vaughan justified his destruction of the city because it was a “nursery for almost every villain in the country.”
In 1887, to recognize Senate House’s role in the formation of New York State, New York State acquired the property, which quickly became a vital community museum. A two-story Museum Building was constructed in 1927 to house and display the site’s burgeoning collection. Among its treasures are: major works by John Vanderlyn and other members of the Vanderlyn family of Kingston. The museum also includes the site’s popular new exhibit: “Kingston Stockage: New Netherlands’ Third City,” discussing Kingston’s early history.
(New York State Park History)
The Kingston Stockade: The City’s formation from the beginning
The mysterious Bannerman Castle sits on an island in the middle of the Hudson River
The welcoming sign by the riverfront
I recently visited Bannerman Island (Pollepel Island) just outside of Beacon, New York on a cool cloudy day and I highly recommend the twenty minute boat trip to this mysterious and scenic island. The only way to visit the island is by boat or kayak and the ride is very quick depending on the weather and the waves on the Hudson River.
The dock at the Beacon Railroad station at the beginning of the tour
The dockside and park at the Beacon park
The view of the docks before the tour
The view of the bridge near the park and part of the boat tour
Arriving at the dock on Bannerman Island after your boat ride
The historic sign of General Lafayette’s landing at this site in 1824
Once you get to the island, you are greeted by the tour guide and then have to walk up 74 steps from the harbor to the ridge of the island so this is NOT ADA compliant. At the top of the stairs starts the path around the island. Our tour guide that lead the tour had been there since the tours started in 2004 and gave us many insights on the history of the island and its purpose to the Bannerman family.
The gardens at the hillside as you walk up the stairs at Bannerman Island in the Summer of 2024
The first stop on the tour is the view of the ruins of the old Munitions Storage building
Our first stop was the Bannerman Munitions Storage facilities that were in the form of a castle that can be seen from the rail system up to Poughkeepsie, NY. For years I thought (as most people do) that this was a home but it was the Bannerman Munitions Warehouse for all the Army surplus items that Mr. Bannerman had brought up here from New York City. All the Military items were stored up here and the orders were fulfilled from this island.
Walking by the ruins of the old castle
Walking by the castle on the pathway
The pathway by the river
Walking the pathway by the river
The company has not been in business since the early 60’s and when the children of the founder closed the company after the laws in the Federal Government changed to where private citizens could not sell explosive, it put a damper into operations. In 1967, the storage buildings were destroyed by fire and the compound was a shell of the former factory. The home was also abandoned at the top of the ridge when the family sold the island.
The Bannerman Island Munitions Storage Facility
Once you leave the former storage facility which is now being held up by stilts because the structure is so weak, you will proceed up the path past the formal gardens that are planted along the trail. The local garden clubs now come to the island to replant Mrs. Bannerman’s formal gardens and beautify the island.
The gardens on the pathway to the house
The gardens along the pathway
The gardens
The gardens along the pathway to the house
The gardens by the front of the house
The gardens by the front door of the Bannerman Mansion
At the top of the point, there is the former home of the Bannerman family that is currently under renovation. It houses a quick tour of the family and there is a small gift shop inside. The porch area has the most amazing views of the Hudson River and the surrounding mountains. Here the Friends of Bannerman Island show movies in the warmer months and hold plays just outside the home. The last movie had been “Abbott and Costello Meet the Frankenstein”, which had been sold out according to the tour guide.
The Bannerman House and Gardens
The main room in the house
The old kitchen in the Bannerman home
The restoration of the house
The house restoration
When you leave the house, there are two paths that you can follow around, one to Wee Bay at the bottom of the hill where you can see the beach and some of the river buildings. The other is the Red Trail around the hill of the island that takes you to the top of the hill to see spectacular views and back to the dock where you will pick up the boat. I suggest good walking shoes and patience. The Wee Bay trail is past the gardens. You take the trail down to the beach.
The pathway to the beach
The Bannerman sign before you head down the hill
The signs to Wee Bay Beach
The Wee Bay path tour
The Wee Bay path tour
The Wee Bay path tour
The views of the river from the Wee Path tour
The Wee Bay beach at the bottom of the trail
The beauty of the beach at the bottom of the hill
The docking buildings by the beach
Wee Bay Beach
The view from the beach
The view of the River buildings
I headed back to the top of the trail by the house and continued the walk around the house to walk the Red Trail on the other side of the house. I have to admit this is not for the faint hearted and you had better like hiking because it is not easy.
The beginning of the trails by the main house
The Red Trail gardens
The Red Trail by the house
The trail at the highest point on the Red Trail
The end of the Red Trail
The end of the trail by the castle
As you exit the tour, you will be heading down another flight of stairs to go back to the harbor. Please watch out for poison ivy! It is all over the place. Then it is back on the boat to the Beacon harbor. The tour guide gives you plenty of time to take pictures.
The view of Mount Beacon on the Hudson River
Finishing the tour and back to the boat
The tours are finished at the end of October and will reopen again in the Spring. You must book on line for the tours through the State website and the boats only hold 44 people so be sure to book in advance of when you want to go.
In 2019, I had lucked out in that three people did not show up for the 2:00pm tour and I was able to pay cash for the trip. In 2024 I booked online which is what I suggest.
For the views alone it is well worth the trip
The view of Downtown Beacon when you return to the dock
The boat awaited the next group who were at the dock when we returned
The view of the parks when you return
History of Bannerman Castle on Pollepel Island:
Bannerman Castle was built from 1901-1918 by Frank Bannerman IV as a warehouse to store his collection of antique military equipment from the Spanish American and Civil Wars. Bannerman was the father of the Army Navy Store. His world famous catalogue of military equipment became the “go to” source for collectors.
The ruins of the Bannerman Castle
The island housed seven structures that formed the Scottish baronial castle, including workers apartments, a summer residence and beautiful trails and gardens. A great fire in 1969 destroyed the interiors and left the shells you see today. Bannerman island opened for tours in 2004.
History of Francis Bannerman VI:
(from the parks website)
Francis Bannerman VI was born on March 24th, 1851 in Northern Ireland and emigrated to the United States in 1854. The family moved to Brooklyn, NY and began a military surplus business by the Brooklyn Navy Yard purchasing army surplus after the Civil War. The family continued to grow the business by buying weapons directly from the Spanish Government before it evacuated Cuba and then purchased 90% of the munitions auctioned off by the Federal Government that had been capture by American forces at the close of the Spanish-American War.
The family bought the island in 1900 to store the surplus items to their growing business. The warehouse in New York was too small and too dangerous to keep in the City anymore and they could keep their inventory isolated on the island.
The castle was visible from the water and had a giant advertisement sign right on the arsenal “Bannerman’s Island Arsenal” created into the wall of the building. With the change in federal and state laws on selling military weapons and the sinking of the ferryboat that served the island by 1950, the island was abandoned. The island and its buildings were bought by New York State in 1967 and is now run by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
(This information is a combination from Wiki and the island pamphlet)
I visited Downtown Beacon, NY when I was finished with the tour. I highly recommend the town to shop and eat lunch or dinner. Maybe just a drink by the river. It is really a nice town.
Downtown Beacon in Summer 2024
Downtown Beacon, NY in the Summer of 2024
Downtown Beacon by the falls in the Summer of 2024
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 
