In the Dutchess County Spotlight
Area Preservationists Donate $675,000 so Montgomery Place Can Reopen
Several eminent Hudson Valley philanthropists have pledged $675,000 over five years to Historic Hudson Valley (HHV) to reopen Montgomery Place, an historic architectural landmark designed by Alexander Jackson Davis with an expansive Hudson River landscape influenced by Andrew Jackson Downing. The gifts enable HHV to open the home as well as the grounds to visitors after five years of reduced public access.
This circa 1802 home of Janet Livingston Montgomery is a rare intact example of Hudson Valley estate life. She was the widow of General Richard Montgomery, the first officer to die in the Revolutionary War at the 1775 battle for Quebec. The war's first hero, she became a revered widow, a status she cultivated for half a century. Hundreds of places in the US are named for him, including Montgomery, Alabama's state capital, and Fort Montgomery in Orange County.
In 1802, 59-year old Mrs. Montgomery surprised her family by acquiring a working farm and building a house she named "Château de Montgomery." She built it to honor the General's memory and to provide a fitting legacy for his heirs; the French name derives from her brother Chancellor Livingston's tenure as Minister to France, 1801-1805. She developed a prosperous commercial enterprise of orchards, gardens, nursery, and greenhouse, tended by hired hands and enslaved Africans. The orchards still bear fruit today and a thriving farm market operates in season.
Montgomery Place grounds are open to all (except pets) daily from 9am-4pm, free. The house is open for tours Thursdays-Sundays from May 15 to October 31, 2010, 11am-4pm. House tours take 45 minutes and are offered on the hour, with the last tour at 3pm, at a cost of $10. Group and student tours with advance reservations and private events can be scheduled at any time.
Seventeen major structures at Montgomery Place are maintained, as well as 380 acres of landscape, orchards, hiking trails and gardens. It is HHV’s largest site by acreage and number of buildings. HHV has invested more than $24 million in the property on improvements over its 23 years. Recently completed were the exterior restoration of the Swiss Factory Lodge and installation of water, sewer and electrical infrastructure. The top preservation priority is restoration of building exteriors, including the AJ Davis-designed farmhouse.
HHV pilots a new educational plan to enrich the experience for visitors by exploring the changing relationship between Americans, landscape and nature over time. A dozen new interpretive panels in the Montgomery Place landscape will be installed.
Together with Joe Cicileo of The Madalin Hotel in Tivoli, HHV announced an exclusive catering partnership under the banner Madalin at Montgomery Place. It includes regular Friday evening food service at the site at sunset, including a simple menu of light fare and drinks, with live music on Fridays from Memorial Day to Labor Day, plus social catering for wedding receptions and private events.
For car buffs of all ages, save the date of September 12, 2010, for the Antique Car Show at Montgomery Place, a ticketed special event. HHV will have programs coordinating with Family Weekend at neighboring Bard College, October 22-24, 2010.
Historic Hudson Valley is a not-for-profit educational organization that owns, restores, preserves, interprets, and promotes historic landmarks of national significance within the Hudson Valley. See www.hudsonvalley.org
