President Martin Van Buren’s Home: Lindenwald

If you’ve been following me for long, then you know that my sweet husband and I love outings: historic sites, fairs, town-wide garage sales, and more.
 

Not too long ago, he took a day off and we headed to Kinderhook and Claverack for some adventures, starting with a tour of the National Historic Site: Lindenwald, President Van Buren’s home for the last quarter of his life.

He was the eighth president of the United States, and he described Lindenwald as the place where he spent “the last and happiest days of my life, a farmer in my native town.”

 
Take a tour of President Van Buren's Home: Lindenwald
 

Lindenwald

 
Lindenwald: Pres. Van Buren's home in Kinderhook, NY (Hudson Valley)
 

The front of the thirty-six room mansion, was described by our delightful tour guide, Ann, as a unique mix of Gothic, Italianate, and Georgian. Ann, an extremely informed and interesting guide, fed us all kinds of tidbits, including the fact that Van Buren founded the Democratic Party–never knew that(!).

Washington Irving wrote A History of New York here at Lindenwald, before Van Buren owned it, but he later became friends with Van Buren during the President’s retirement.

President Martin Van Buren Home & Claverack Side Trip

 

In the dining room, looking toward the front, “Dutch” door. Of course this entire area was first
settled by the Dutch in the early 1600s, so their is strong Dutch influence.
 
President Martin Van Buren Home & Claverack Side Trip

The entire dining room is papered with French, hand-painted wall paper. When the National Park Service rescued Lindenwald in 1974, the wallpaper was in terrible shape. They discovered that the French company still existed and they ordered replacements for damaged areas.

President Martin Van Buren Home & Claverack Side Trip

 

A sitting room off the dining room.

 

 
A portrait of one of Van Buren’s four sons (John, I believe) in the sitting room. We learned that after John inherited Lindenwald, he lost it while gambling, to Lawrence Jerome. Jerome moved in with his family, including his daughter Jenny Jerome, mother to Winston Churchill(!).

 

 

Another sitting room off the dining room, featuring a portrait of Van Buren himself.

 

Get a load of this molding–amazing, right? I guess they knew how to do molding back in the 19th century.

 

 

 

 

A beautiful marble-topped sideboard in the breakfast room.

 

 

A warming box, also in the breakfast room.

 

 

The kitchen. Love this old table.
 

 

One of the upstairs bedrooms. So romantic, isn’t it?
 
After the tour, we returned to the Visitor’s Center (where we had purchased our $5 tickets–children < 15 free) and viewed an informative, ten-minute video on his life. Once we finished with the video, we hit the road to find President Van Buren’s grave.

The Van Alen Home

 

Less than a mile down the road is a Dutch-style home, the Van Alen home, built in 1737.

 

Also on the property, the one-room school house–Ichobod Crane, named after the school master in Washington Irving’s tale, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Kinderhook

We drove into the town of Kinderhook to track down Van Buren’s Grave. We saw this amazing house along the way. Kinderhook, by the way, means “children’s corner” in Dutch.

Hendrick Hudson named it for the Mohican children he saw on shore while exploring the Hudson River in the early 1600s.

 

 

 
A view of the downtown area.
 
President Martin Van Buren Home & Claverack Side Trip

 

A wonderful old home in down-town Kinderhook

 

President Martin Van Buren Home & Claverack Side Trip
The asters are out so we know fall is here.

 

Van Buren’s Gravesite

President Martin Van Buren Home & Claverack Side Trip
The President’s final resting site.

 

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Bye for now,

scan of Diana signature

 

 

 
 

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8 Comments

  1. What a lovely day! I'd love just 5 minutes in that linen shop! Your scarf is beautiful. I'm close to 1/2 Dutch, so I always enjoy learning more about their culture/history. Enjoyed the tour, Diana!

  2. Beautiful tour and so informative … what a fun day you must have had. Love your silk scarf. That stack of quilts are beautiful and I was thinking Hudson Bay even before I read your comment.
    Thanks for sharing.
    Audrey Z. @ Timeless Treasures

  3. Gorgeous scarf! It's so special when you get something special at a special spot1 I enjoyed the tour with you. The little Dutch girl inside of me was delighted!!!

  4. I really enjoy doing tours like this, so I enjoyed this post. Loved the linens and the aprons. And that's a very nice photo of you and your husband.

  5. Wonderful tour – amazing home! Love it! I do appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

  6. Pingback: A Fascinating Adirondack Figure: John Brown

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