I recently visited the Easton Tower on a beautiful sunny day and it really is a treat to see. It is located on the Saddle River Bike Path, so you can access it from the other side of the park and park on that side of the road for easy access. After seeing the tower, take a walk up and down the Saddle River Bike Path. It is really beautiful to follow the river on a nice day. It is really picturesque and a wonderful place to take pictures and enjoy nature.
The historic Red Mill Marker
This information is provided by the Bergen County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs:
The Easton Tower is a unique historic site in Bergen County, NJ. This stone and wood frame structure was built along the Saddle River in 1900 as part of a private landscaped park in the Arcola area Paramus. Surrounded by busy NJ roadways, it is now adjacent to the County’s Saddle River Bikeway.
The front of the tower on the bike path
The tower sits near the Saddle River in the Saddle River Park
Once used to pump water to irrigate and provide a scenic setting for the estate of Edward Easton, it is a 20 foot rectangular, stone-masonry tower topped with a wood-frame structure and a wood-shingle, gabled roof. On the side is a large wood water wheel, which is under a wood-shingle roof. The architect Henry Ihnen designed it.
Easton Tower historical information sign
In the 18th century, this area along the Saddle River and near the heavily used Albany Post Road, was the location of many mills. Jacob Zabriskie, a Bergen County Freeholder during the Revolutionary War had leased the 80 acre mill site around 1766 and in 1771 acquired the mill that had been built in the 1740’s. Revolutionary maps identify it as “Demarest’s and Zabriskie’s Mills.”
The Easton Tower in Saddle River Park
Over time it was rebuilt or expanded and in the early 1800’s painted red by its owner Albert Westervelt. It is at this time it acquired the “Red Mill” name often mistakenly applied to Easton Tower. By the 1800’s, the mill had fallen into disrepair and was demolished circa 1894.
The inside of the tower
The Easton Tower inside
In 1899, Edward D. Easton (1856-1915), bought this almost 48 acre site, which included the mill pond and dam. The area was called “Arcola”. Easton’s father, a teacher, had originally brought his young family to this area and suggested the name for the new settlement after a town in Italy. Edward Easton was a notable figure in American technological history. He started out as a stenographer, reporter and then a court stenographer In Washington DC, covering many famous trials in the 1880’s. After the 1886 patent was granted for the method of engraving sound by incising wax cylinders, Easton went on to make his fortune in the recording industry. He was a founder and eventually president of the Columbia Phonograph Company, which became one of the three major recording companies at the turn of the twentieth century.
The Easton Tower from the back
After opening an office in New York City, Eaton relocated his family from Washington DC to Arcola. He had a large house built on his property and commissioned the design of a landscaped park. The tower, to be built neat the site of the old Red Mill was a functioning structure pumping water to several fountains. There were also rustic bridges, lakes and expansive lawns. The tower was a favorite of photographers and appears in many contemporary postcards. People came from miles around to this beautiful spot to take boat rides and walks and in the winter, ice skate near the tower. Sources list the Easton home and park as having been used in early silent films.
After Easton’s death in 1915, the property went through various owners. In 1931, construction of the Route 208 connection with Route 4 at “the Old Mill at Arcola” provided access to the recently opened George Washington Bridge. This destroyed sections of the landscaped park and isolated the tower. In 1940, the 1.26 acres site was sold at a sheriff’s sale to Clyde A. Bogert. The County acquired the tower from the Bogerts and the Blauvelt-Demarest Foundation in 1956. In 1967, the Bergen County Park Commission dedicated the tower. Easton Tower was placed on the State and National Register of Historic Places and in 2008 was completely restored by the County. It can be viewed from the Saddle River Bikeway and visited year round.
Disclaimer: This information is taken from the Bergen County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs (C) 2015 pamphlet. The Bergen County Division of Cultural & Historic Affairs received an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State.
Special Note: I visited the site recently and it is hard to get to by car. It is located right off Saddle River Road and it is off on a odd bend in the road. It is a quick turn to the right so pay attention to the directions.
I recently visited the Steuben House for a Christmas concert which was an evening of Christmas songs, a talk on the history of Christmas before, during and after the Revolutionary War. It was a very lively evening of song and lecture and the ladies who entertained us sang beautifully.
The Campbell-Christie House was used as the ‘pub’ for diners that night
Linda Russell & Company sang Christmas songs of the time and then talked in between about how Christmas was celebrated during the War years. She was a delight in her discussion and her and her daughter and their friend did a wonderful job.
The concert was entertaining, and the talk was interesting in the Van Steuben House
A sample of Linda Russell’s music
It seemed that while the Puritans put a damper on the Christmas holidays in New England the Dutch New Jersey and New York thoroughly enjoyed the holiday season after all their hard work during the Fall harvest months.
What was really nice was the Campbell-Christie House was open as a pub for dinner and light snacks and you could order things like Shepard Pie, Cheese & Onion Pie and Cake doughnuts and gingerbread for dessert while enjoying conversation by candlelight. It was an interesting and engaging history.
The Van Steuben House for the holidays was where the entertainment was that day
The house is nicely decorated for Christmas circa 1778
The Campbell-Christie House at Christmas 2020 Historical Event
Singer Linda Russell at the Christmas Tour Event at the BCHS 2020
Don’t miss their historic lectures and reenactments during the year. Check their website above for more activities.
The historic marker of the Campbell-Christie House
The Campbell-Christie House, an 18th century sandstone structure, is located in Historic New Bridge Landing State Park, River Edge. This historic building originally stood at the intersection of Henley Avenue & River Road, in New Milford, NJ. In 1977, in order to save it from demolition, Bergen County purchased and moved it south to this site next to the Hackensack River.
The Christie Family Pub sign
The house was used again for a pub for the Christmas concerts that returned to the site in December 2022. The house was set up as a restaurant with a limited menu before and after the concerts. The light fare was catered in and the menu was similar to what people would have eaten at that time but with a modern twist. The food was really good.
The house was used again for a pub on Christmas 2022 for the concert night
The Campbell-Christie House as the Blackhorse Pub for Christmas dinner
My Shepard’s Pie meal for the Christmas concert at the Blackhorse Pub
The Dutch Sweets dessert plate at the Blackhorse Pub in the Campbell-Christie House Christmas 2022
Sandstone houses were built continuously from the Dutch colonization of the 17th century through the founding of the Republic and the early years of the 19th century. The Campbell-Christie House, an outstanding example of this early regional architecture, is a 5 bay, 4 room center all building with two rooms to either side and two interior chimneys. This stone house form seems to have been built mainly after the Revolution and up to the turn of the century. The front wall is built out of well-dressed local sandstone with inset wooden trapezoidal lintels and side composed of roughly coursed sandstone.
The Campbell-Christie House during Washington’s Birthday Celebration
The Historic New Bridge Landing Site
Jacob Campbell, at the time of his marriage in 1774 built this house along the road (now Henley Avenue) that led from Old Bridge to the Schraalenburgh Church. Historical evidence records that Campbell, a mason by trade, also ran a tavern in his household. In 1795, the house was sold to John Christie, a blacksmith, who continued as a tavern keeper. Jacob Brinkerhoff-Christie, manager of the Comfort & Lumber Company, eventually inherited this large valuable homestead farm property along the Hackensack River. His son. John Walter, born in the house in 1865, was a famous inventor who built and raced cars (at one time holding the world’s speed record), invented the automotive front-wheel drive and is known as the “father of the modern tank”.
Historic New Bridge Landing Park is located at the narrows of the Hackensack River. Because of its strategic site along a tidal waterway it has been an active area of settlement, trade and commercial activities for thousands of years. The construction of the “New Bridge” in 1744 accelerated development of the area. Because of the nearness to Manhattan, New Bridge Landing was a principal base of operation during the Revolutionary War and considered an important strategic route, guarded by troops from both sides at different times. General George Washington, who made his headquarters in Zabriske’s house, led his soldiers in retreat across here on November 20, 1776, saving his troops from entrapment by advancing British troops.
On the Hackensack River’s west bank, near the bridge, is the Steuben House. Originally constructed by Jan Zabriskie in 1753 and doubled in size around 1765, it has been referred to as to as among the five “great houses” of Colonial Bergen County. The third stone house is the 18th century Demarest House, moved to this site in 1956 and owned by the Demarest-Blauvelt Foundation. The Historic New Bridge Landing Park Commission, a partnership of the Bergen County Historical Society, Blauvelt-Demarest Foundation, the County of Bergen, New Jersey Division of Parks & Forestry, New Milford Borough, River Edge Borough and Teaneck Township, operates the New Bridge Landing site.
This site also contains the County-owned 1888-89 Pratt-type, “pony” truss, iron swing bridge, the oldest highway swing bridge in New Jersey. The Campbell-Christie House, along with the other two houses and the bridge, is on the State & National Register of Historical Place. It is the headquarters of the Bergen County Historical Society and furnished with the furniture and collection owned by the Society. Open year round. For the FCHS calendar of event or go to http://www.bergencountyhistory.org.
(2015 Bergen County Division of Cultural & Historic Affairs)
The Bergen County Division of Cultural & Affairs received an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of the State.
Disclaimer: This information is taken directly form my pamphlet from the Bergen County Division of Cultural & Historic Affairs. The site holds it position in its participation in the Revolutionary War and should not missed. I give them full credit for this information. Please call them for more information.
The reenactment of the Historic Bridge attack during the American Revolution at the Bergen County Historical Society. I give the Historical Society full credit for this information.
The Dyckman Farmhouse during the Christmas holidays
I visited the Dyckman Farmhouse on day during my walk around the Inwood section of Manhattan and came upon this old farmhouse in the middle of the commercial district by Columbia University’s football field. You have to take the A or the 1 Subway uptown to get there but it is one of the last vestiges of the farming community that once was Manhattan in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s.
It has been there since the family donated it to the city in 1916. It should not be missed when visiting Manhattan. I wrote more about my trip there in “MywalkinManhattan.com” blog site.
The Dyckman House in the Spring
The Dyckman House, now the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum in the oldest remaining farmhouse on Manhattan Island, a remainder of New York City’s rural past. The Dutch Colonial-style farmhouse was built by William Dyckman in 1785. It was originally part of over 250 acres of farmland owned by the family. It was once the center of a thriving farm with fields and orchards of cherry, pear and apple trees. It is now located in a small park at the corner of Broadway and 204th Street in the Inwood section neighborhood of the city.
The front of the Dyckman Farmhouse
Don’t miss the self-guided tours of the house. You can tour all three floors of the house to see the bedrooms on the second and third floors and the first-floor parlor and receiving areas. The basement area has the ‘winter kitchen’ where all the cooking of the house was done, and it was the room that kept the rest of the house warm during the winter months.
The Winter Kitchen hearth for cooking meals
The Winter Kitchen
The Winter kitchen at the Dyckman Farm
The house was slightly decorated for the Christmas holidays with garland and ivy and holly to make it look more festive. The Dyckman House was built at a time after the Revolution where the excesses of the Victorian era had not taken hold and the Christmas holidays were more subdued and concentrated on going to church and a light luncheon that afternoon. The decorations of the home reflect this.
The museum is decorated for Dutch Christmas with the bounty of the holiday season
The Farmhouse at Christmas time outside in 2025
The house decorated for the Dutch Christmas in 2025
Don’t miss the gardens in both the spring and summer to see everything in full bloom. Even in the winter it is interesting to watch the paths and see what needs to be accomplished for spring planning.
The Dyckman House in the Fall of 2025
It is an interesting look into how the Dutch farmers lived and worked.
History and Description
William Dyckman was the grandson of Jan Dyckman, who came to the area from Westphalia in 1661. Jan Dyckman, a shoemaker and another Dutch settler, Jan Nagel purchased much of the land between present 155th Street and the northern tip of the island. Members of the Dyckman and Nagel families lived on the land for three generations until the Revolutionary War broke out.
The house and front gardens during the summer months
During the Revolutionary War, the British occupation of Manhattan in 1776-83, the Dyckman’s, like many other patriots, fled the city and did not return until the British had been defeated. When the war ended and the Dyckman’s found their home and orchards had been destroyed, they built a new house on the Kingsbridge Road, now Broadway. They chose this location on a major thoroughfare in order to supplement their income by providing accommodations for travelers on their way to and from Manhattan.
William Dyckman, who inherited the family estate built the current house to replace the family house located on the Harlem River near the present West 210th Street, which he had build in 1748 and which was destroyed in the American Revolutionary War.
There was also 30 people living within three other houses scattered across the roughly 250 acre farm. The residents included laborers and other Dyckman family members. The main outbuildings for the farm were built close to the farmhouse including a cider mill, corn cribs, barns and stable (Dyckman Farmhouse Museum Alliance).
William died in 1787 and the property with its “commodious dwelling house,” and 250 acre farm was offered for sale. William’s son, Jacobus, took over the farmhouse and land and rebuilt the farm after the war. This took about five years. Jacobus altered and added to the house over the years. When Jacobus died in 1832, he left the bulk of the estate to his bachelor sons, Isaac and Michael and many members of the extended family moved in as well.
Following the death of Isaac in 1868, his nephew, James Frederick Smith, changed his name to Isaac Michael Dyckman and inherited much of the Dyckman property. When the subway lines reached the area in 1906, there was discussion about the impact on historic homes such as this.
In 1915, Mary Alice Dyckman Dean and Fannie Frederika Dyckman Welch, daughters of Isaac Michael Dyckman purchased the house with the plan of turning it into a museum. They fully restored it, furnished it and landscaped the grounds. They presented it to the City of New York in 1916 so that it could be used as a public park and museum (History of Dyckman Farm).
The house is designed with:
The Relic Room: Objects that are displayed were discovered from digs in the area.
The Relic Room at the Dyckman Farmhouse
The Second Floor Bedroom: Some of the rooms are decorated with furnishings dating from the 18th and 19th centuries and reflect colonial life around 1800.
The Second floor bedroom
The second floor bedroom during the second renovation of the home from a dormer to bedrooms
The second floor of the farmhouse had been a dormer when the home was at its height of the growing season and then later on in the house’s history was converted into regular bedrooms. The first floor bedroom was for the owner of the house for easier access to the farm and the outdoors during the growing season.
The First Floor Bedroom for the Master of the House:
The Bedrooms:
The downstairs bedroom
The Parlor Room:
The Parlor is where the family socialized and entertained their guests. The best pieces of furniture and family possessions would be shown off to visitors.
The Parlor:
The Dyckman Parlor:
Full view of the Parlor in the Dyckman Farmhouse
The Winter and Summer Kitchens: The farmhouse had two kitchen, the Winter and Summer kitchens, the Winter one would have kept the home warm in the cold months and would have been used as a non-cooking work space in the summer.
The Winter Kitchen:
The Summer kitchen is closed to the public has a small bedroom attached to it.
The back of the Dyckman Farmhouse with the grounds left and the old smokehouse in the distance
The Garden Area: On the half acre of family land left they have constructed a reproduction a smokehouse and outbuildings along with gardens planted with thousands of new plants that include things like bleeding hearts and foxglove.
The Hessian Military Hut recreation on the house’s property
The Hessian House recreation on the back part of the property
The gardens and smokehouse
(The Dyckman Farmhouse Museum Alliance)
The current two-story house is constructed of fieldstone, brick and white clapboard and features a gambrel roof and spring eaves. The porches typical of the Dutch Colonial style but were added in 1825. The house interior has parlors and an indoor (winter) kitchen, with floors of varying-width chestnut wood. The house outdoor smokehouse kitchen, in a small building to the south, may predate the house itself.
The Dyckman Farmhouse during the Christmas holiday season 2022
The house stayed in the family for several generations until it was sold in 1868, after which it served as a rental property for several decades. By the beginning of the 20th century, the house was in disrepair and in danger of being demolished. Two sisters of the original family and daughters of the last Dyckman child to grow up in the house, Mary Alice Dyckman Dean and Fannie Fredericka Dyckman Welch, began restoration of the farmhouse in 1915-16 under the supervision of architect Alexander M. Welch, the husband of Fannie.
They then transferred the ownership of the house to the City of New York in 1916, which opened it as a museum of Dutch and Colonial life, featuring original Dyckman family furnishings.
The Dyckman Farmhouse in Inwood during the Summer months
The farmhouse, which is not only the oldest remaining in Manhattan, but the only one in the Dutch Colonial style and the only 18th century farmhouse in the borough as well. It has New York City Landmark and a National Historic Landmark status since 1967. A major restoration of the house took place in 2003, after which it reopened to the public in the fall of 2005.
When I visited the homestead in January 2024 for the Epiphany, the house had an interesting children’s exhibition entitled “Beyond Play”, based on a child’s life on a farm back in the 1800’s. This would include simple games such as “Tag” and “Blind Man’s Bluff” and homemade wooden trucks, blocks and dolls.
The exhibition “Beyond Play”
The display of toys that child would play on the farm in the 1800’s.
The display of toys that children would play on the farm.
Walking around the Inwood neighborhood has changed a lot in a hundred years and is now home to a large Dominican population as well as the quickly gentrifying Inwood neighborhood and home to Columbia University sports.
Inwood at Broadway near the Dyckman Farmhouse
*Disclaimer: This information comes from the Historic House Trust and Wikipedia and the NYC Parks System. The site is free to visit and takes less than an hour to visit. During the summer months, it is nice to visit the gardens and property. It is a interesting property to visit and when you are through with your tour, there are many nice Spanish restaurants in the area on Broadway and along 207th Avenue corridor. It is a nice place to walk around and explore.
This quirky little museum is located in the ‘A’ Building on the Fashion Institute of Technology campus and is a little ‘gem’ if there was ever one and I am not just saying that because I am a proud Alumnus of the college (Class of ’93). This museum is dedicated to the world of fashion and has had several revolving shows themed of fashion from the colleges extensive collection. The school really does know how to mount a show.
Please watch this video on the Museum at FIT.
About the Museum at FIT:
The Museum at FIT (MFIT) is the only museum in New York City dedicated solely to the art of fashion. Best known for its innovative and award-winning exhibitions, the museum has a permanent collection of more than 50,000 garments and accessories dating from the eighteenth century to the present, MFIT is a member of the American Alliance of Museums. Its mission is to educate and inspire diverse audiences with innovative exhibitions and programs that advance knowledge of fashion.
For more information about The Museum at FIT, please visit fitnyc.edu/museum.
The museum is part of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), a college of art and design, business and technology. FIT is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and offers nearly 50 programs leading to AAS, BFA, BS, MA, MFA, and MPS degrees.
I have been to many shows at the museum over the years and the curators do a nice job mounting show from the College’s collection and from items that they borrow from other museums.
“Paris Refashioned, 1957-1968” examined the combined influence haute couture, ready-to-wear and popular culture, highlighting how changes that took place during this time period helped to shape the fashion industry as we know it today. Exhibitions and books about this era tend to focus on London as the center of innovative, youth-oriented design but this perspective overlooks the significant role that Paris continued to play in the fashion industry.
Like England, France had a large population of young people-more than eleven million of its citizens in 1958 were under 15 years old. This generation came of age during the 1960’s, listening to their own music, watching films featuring their own movie stars and frequenting their own boutiques. Paris’s creative output was singularly dynamic, far-reaching and innovative.
“Paris Refashioned” exhibition
Although the French ready-to-wear revolution did not truly begin until the 1960’s, the concept of lively, youth-oriented design had been set in motion during the previous decade. By the late 1950’s, a few young, talented couturiers-including Pierre Cardin, Hubert de Givenchy and Yves Saint Laurent-had made names for themselves. In 1957, the House of Christian Dior promoted 21 year old Saint Laurent to creative director.
While fashion insiders questioned the decision to place an unknown, seemingly naïve designer at the helm of such a prestigious institution, Saint Laurent’s first solo collection for Dior quickly silenced his detractors. His line of short, swinging A-line dresses-known as “Trapeze” dresses-was a critical and commercial success, ushering in an unmistakable shift toward more relaxed and ultimately, more youthful designers.
Another exhibition that I had seen in the past was “Pink: The History of Punk, Pretty and Powerful Color” running until January 5, 2019 and “Fashion Unraveled”, a guideline to ‘Behind the Seams’, ‘Repurposed Clothes’ and ‘Distressed and Deconstructed’ that ran through November 17, 2018.
The History of Pink video
I recently visited the museum for the “Dior + Balenciaga: The Kings of Couture and their Legacies” exhibition and it was an interesting approach to fashion after WWII. Both designers brought back a very feminine and wearable look to women that accented their bodies. What I thought was interesting is that the undergarment was stitched right into the garment and was a way to fit the garment to the woman.
“Dior + Balenciaga: The kings of Couture and their Legacies”
The exhibit showed a comparison of both designers and how they approached items such as dresses, coats and evening wear. Each had a way to form fit a woman. What I thought was interesting is that Dior just designed his garments and never worked on the construction whereas Balenciaga do all the draping of garments himself.
The exhibition continued with the new designers that took up the mantles of the houses when the founders died. It was a different take on the founders ideas but with a more modern twist. I think the classics still were the best and looked more professional on a woman.
Video on “Dior + Balenciaga” exhibition
The recent exhibition “Statement Sleeves” is a retrospect on the evolution on the pattern of sleeves in a woman’s dress. These statements of fashion on the sleeve is “a sleeve, style that is exaggerated, embellished, elaborately constructed or otherwise eye-catching to the extent that it defines a garment.” (show description).
“Statement Sleeves” sign
The start of the exhibition.
The front of the gallery.
The diagram on the evolution of sleeves.
The changes in Sleeves design.
The changes in Sleeves design.
The different ways at looking at formal design.
The unique designs from the 1980’s and 1960’s.
The changes of Sleeve designs over the years.
The “Power Suit” of the 1980’s.
The colorful trends in women’s wear over the years with the changes in design of the sleeves.
The exhibition of “Statement Sleeves” runs through August of 2024.
Information and History of the Museum at FIT:
(From the Museum’s website):
For further information about the Fashion Institute of Technology, please visit fitnyc.edu.
Couture Council:
An elite membership group, the Couture Council helps to support the exhibitions and programs of The Museum at FIT. Members receive invitation to exclusive events and private viewings. Annual membership is $1,000 for an individual or couple and $350 for a young associate( under the age of 35).
For more information, write to couturecouncil@fitnyc.edu or call (212) 217-4532.
Tours and donations
Every six months, a changing selection of garments, accessories and textiles from the museum’s permanent collection is put on display in the Fashion and Textile History Gallery, on the museum’s ground floor. Tours of the Fashion and Textile History Gallery and of the Special Exhibition Gallery may be arranged for a sliding fee of approximately $350. Donations of museum quality fashions, accessories and textiles are welcome.
For more information about tours, call (212) 217-4550. For information about donations, call (212) 217-4570.
All MFIT exhibitions and public programs are supported bin part by the couture council of The Museum at FIT.
The shows are continuously changing so please check the website for more detail on the current show. Below is a sampling of one of the shows earlier last year when I visited the museum.
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 