WWI HISTORY

ONE-DAY ITINERARY

In 2018, Dutchess County commemorated veterans with The Year of the Veteran to honor the 100th Anniversary of Dutchess County Troops heading off to fight World War I in 1918.

Dutchess County continues to honor veterans with activities and events that support the history of our veterans throughout the year. Visit the Dutchess Tourism’s Calendar of Events. Watch the video produced by the Dutchess County Historical Society about The Year of the Veteran in Dutchess County here: https://dchsny.org/portfolio/2018/.

S = Seasonal attraction or activity
SE = Open during scheduled events

Locust Grove Estate, Poughkeepsie
At this historic home, formerly owned by Morse Code inventor Samuel F.B. Morse, guides will tell the story of how life changed on the estate during WWI. Visitors will learn how the Young family, who owned Locust Grove at the time, handled shortages of food and fuel, and supported refugees from France and Belgium. Innis Young, who was mostly deaf and failed his military service test, wrote about a number of friends who served in his diaries. Grounds are open year round but the home is closed January – March except for groups.
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Staatsburgh State Historic Site, Staatsburg (SE)
Home to prominent social hostess Ruth Livingston Mills and her husband, financer Ogden Mills, Staatsburgh is a 79-room, lavishly furnished 1895 Gilded Age country estate on the Hudson River. The historic site, formerly known as Mills Mansion, includes an exhibit focused on the wartime activities and political career of the couple’s son Ogden Livingston Mills who quit his job as a New York state senator to fight in WWI. The family's Paris home also became American General Pershing’s headquarters in France. The site also periodically offers a special tour titled World War I & the End of the Gilded Age, which explores how that extravagance withered away in the cataclysm of the Great War. Guided mansion tours available by reservation only.
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Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, Red Hook (S)
Starting with six derelict WWI planes, Cole Palen made the Aerodrome into America’s first flying museum of antique aircraft and replicas. He believed, “It isn’t an airplane if it doesn’t fly,” and for more than 50 years, the non-profit Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum has continued his work collecting, restoring and exhibiting more than 60 aircraft from the Pioneer, WWI and Lindbergh Ages of aviation, including a 1918 Curtiss Jenny all flyboys learned to pilot. Museum open daily, May-October. Air shows, Mid-June-October: Saturdays “History of Flight” and Sundays “WWI Dog Fight Spectacular”. Bi-plane rides also available. Closed November – April. Museum opens in May. Air shows start in June.
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Millbrook Tribute Gardens, Millbrook
In 1919, Mr. & Mrs. Oakleigh B. Thorne donated 6 acres to the Village of Millbrook as a living memorial to all veterans from the town who served in WWI. A native tree was planted in commemoration of each veteran. The playground is dedicated to the children of the village, whose freedom our veterans fought for. Plaques mounted at the entrance and top of the grounds honor those who served in WWI, WWII, Korean and Vietnam wars. Open year round.