| About Programs Special Events Exhibits Membership Officers and Trustees Bylaws King House Museum Early Families Newsletter Trip |
Trip
Annual Field Trip Saturday May 15, 2010 Kingston, NY Maritime Museum, Clermont Estate and Olana The Hudson River Maritime Museum: The Hudson River Maritime Museum is the only museum in New York State exclusively preserving the maritime history of the Hudson River, its tributaries, and the industries dependent on the river. Founded in 1980 by members of the "Steamship Alexander Hamilton Society," the National Maritime Historical Society, and local historians, the Museum is located in the Historic Rondout Waterfront at Kingston, NY, once the major port between New York City and Albany. The Museum's permanent collection related to Hudson River transportation, industry, and commerce, has grown through generous donations. The collection is comprised of paintings, prints, photographs and ephemera, vessel blueprints, artifacts such as ice-harvesting tools, important pieces of Hudson River vessels that have long since disappeared, and a variety of ship models. Our collection of small craft includes a 100 year old shad boat, a life boat from the steamboat Mary Powell, a lighthouse tender, and several ice yachts. Clermont: Clermont State Historic Site was the Hudson River seat of New York's politically and socially prominent Livingston Family. Seven successive generations of the family left their imprint on the site's architecture, room interiors, and landscape. Robert R. Livingston, Jr. was Clermont's most notable resident. His accomplishments include: drafting the Declaration of Independence, serving as first U.S. Minister of Foreign Affairs, administering the oath of office to George Washington, negotiating the Louisiana Purchase, and developing steamboat technology with Robert Fulton. Today, Clermont appears much as it did in the early 20th century, when it was the home of the property's last two generations: Mr. and Mrs. John Henry Livingston and their daughters, Honoria and Janet. In addition to the Clermont family home, the property houses five historic gardens restored to their early 20th century appearance and five marked trails for the outdoor enthusiast The many acres of fields and woodlands are a birder watchers paradise. More than 100 species have been known to visit the estate grounds. Olana: In 1867 Frederic Church purchased 18 acres at the top of a hill overlooking the Hudson River. Before building his new house, he and Isabel and their infant son Frederic Joseph left for an extended tour of Europe and the Middle East. Frederic and Isabel Church, impressed by the architecture they saw in cities like Beirut, Jerusalem and Damascus, envisioned a home at Olana that incorporated Middle Eastern elements and designs. They decided on Calvert Vaux as an architect. Church spent the next two years working with Vaux designing and building a home that would be, as he called it "Persian, adapted to the Occident". In the fall of 1872, Church and Isabel and their growing family of children moved into the second story of the new house while Church continued to decorate the ground floor. He designed stencils and chose the colors with which to decorate the walls and ceilings. Eclectic furnishings soon filled the house, gathered from NYC and abroad, and eventually, from the Church family home in Hartford, Connecticut. Frederic even designed a few pieces of furniture. The couple filled the house with thousands of objects meant to direct the attention to the great civilizations of the past. The contents of the house today, accumulated by Church over a 30-year period, include furniture, tapestries, rugs, bronzes, paintings, sculptures, and the myriad objects collected by Church to represent the major civilizations and religions of the world. The color scheme and stenciling that Church designed in 1870 remain, and from Church's studio the visitor can still see the vistas recorded in Church's paintings. For a virtual tour of the house see: http://www.olana.org/learn_the_house.php Schedule:
Snacks and soft drinks will be available on the bus. For additional information see web sites. You may also call Bob Stewart at 668-2928 or Ed Chase at 668-2962. Print out the registration form and mail with your check to: Suffield Historical Society - Kingston Tour |