Staatsburgh State Historic Site facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Staatsburgh State Historic Site |
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North elevation and east (front) facade at sunset, 2016
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| Location | Staatsburg, Dutchess County, New York |
| Architect | McKim, Mead, and White |
| Architectural style(s) | Beaux-Arts |
The Staatsburgh State Historic Site is a beautiful old mansion in Staatsburg, New York. It was designed in the Beaux-Arts style by famous architects McKim, Mead, and White. This historic home and its large grounds are located within the Ogden Mills & Ruth Livingston Mills State Park. The mansion is a great example of the huge and fancy homes built during a time known as the Gilded Age.
Contents
A Look Back at Staatsburgh's History
Early Days and First Homes
In 1792, Morgan Lewis, who later became the third Governor of New York, bought a large piece of land. It was about 334 acres. He built a colonial-style house on this land. In the summer of 1824, a very important visitor, the Marquis de Lafayette, even had dinner there. He was visiting the United States at the time.
Sadly, this first house was destroyed by a fire in 1832. It was said that unhappy tenant farmers caused the fire. Morgan Lewis and his wife, Gertrude Livingston, quickly built a new house. This one was a Greek Revival mansion with 25 rooms.
The Livingston Family Takes Over
The house was passed down through the family. In 1844, Morgan Lewis's daughter Margaret and her husband Maturin Livingston inherited it. Then, in 1847, their son Maturin Livingston Jr. became the owner.
The Mills Family Transforms the Mansion
In 1890, Ruth Livingston Mills inherited the estate. She was Morgan Lewis's great-granddaughter. Ruth and her husband, Ogden Mills, decided to make the mansion much bigger and grander. Ogden Mills was a rich financier and helped many charities.
They hired the famous architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White to do the work. The main architect was Stanford White. Work began in 1895 and finished in 1896. The house was transformed into a huge Beaux-Arts mansion. It had 65 rooms, 14 bathrooms, and 23 fireplaces! This big project cost about $350,000.
To power the mansion, a special electricity plant was built near the Hudson River. This plant supplied electricity for the lights. The mansion also had central heating to keep it warm.
Life at the Mills Mansion
The Mills family used the mansion as a home and for entertaining guests. They owned five homes in total. They mostly stayed at Staatsburgh during the fall, from mid-September until the Christmas holidays. During this time, they hosted many parties, balls, and dinners. The rest of the year, they lived in their other homes in places like New York City, Paris, and Newport, Rhode Island.
Ruth Livingston Mills started buying more land around the estate. After she passed away in 1920, Ogden Mills continued to buy land. The property grew to more than 1600 acres.
Becoming a State Historic Site
In 1929, the property went to their son, Ogden L. Mills. After he died in 1937, it went to his sister, Gladys Mills Phipps.
In 1938, Gladys Mills Phipps gave the house and 192 acres of land to the state of New York. She wanted it to be a memorial to her parents. Today, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation manages the estate as a State Historic Site. In 1988, a group called the Friends of Mills Mansion was formed. They help support the preservation and educational work at the site.
Design of the Mansion
The outside of the mansion is very impressive. It has a huge portico (a porch with columns), balustrades (decorative railings), pilasters (flat columns on the walls), and floral festoons (carved decorations that look like garlands).
The main part of the mansion has a basement, three floors, and an attic. The north and south wings have a sub-basement, a basement, and two floors. The ceilings in the older parts of the house are about 14 feet high. In the newer parts, the ceilings can be as high as 18 feet! The inside of the building is decorated in fancy French styles from the 17th and 18th centuries. Some parts of the older house were kept during the remodeling.
Keeping the Mansion Beautiful
Preserving the Mills Mansion is a big job. On the outside, there's a gray sprayed concrete finish that was added later to protect the building. This needs to be removed and replaced with a better material. Also, the decorative cornice (the molding at the top of the walls) and other decorations need to be fixed or replaced.
Inside the mansion, the wall paint and fabrics need to be replaced. The marble and wooden surfaces need to be cleaned. All the old objects and furniture in the mansion's collection also need special care to keep them in good condition.
Images for kids
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The dining room
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Ruth Livingston Mills's bedroom
See also
In Spanish: Staatsburgh (mansión) para niños
