Staatsburg in Dutchess County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Down by the River

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 2, 2019

1. Down by the River Marker

Inscription. Some 12,000 years ago, after the glaciers receded and melt waters carved out water courses, a forested river valley formed here. In 1609 Henry Hudson sailed up the Muhheakantuk ("The River that Flows Two Ways") and met the local Algonquian-speaking Mohican people. Dutch settlers later named the waterway Hudson's River. In 1693, Captain Henry Pawling, an English army officer, purchased Eaquaquanessinck from the Mohicans; that 4,000-acre tract included Hopeland.

Hopeland on the Hudson
In 1859 Major Rawlins Lowndes and his wife Gertrude (Livingston) purchased the property that became their Staatsburg estate. They hired prominent English architect Calvert Vaux to design their home in the early 1860s. During the Civil War the Lowndeses moved from South Carolina to the country retreat they called Hopeland.

Calvert Vaux visited the Lowndeses in Staatsburg in 1860. Their house was completed a few years later and was illustrated in the 1864 edition of Vaux's book, Villas and Cottages.

In 1907 architect Robert Palmer Huntington and his wife Helen Dinsmore Huntington purchased the former Lowndes estate and enlarged the original

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house with large flanking wings. Two years later they moved into their Tudor Revival style mansion, which they also called Hopeland. In the early 1950s, Hopeland House was demolished by their daughter, Helen Huntington Hull.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Exploration • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels.

Location. 41° 51.892′ N, 73° 55.248′ W. Marker is in Staatsburg, New York, in Dutchess County. It is on Old Post Road 0.3 miles west of Albany Post Road (U.S. 9), on the right when traveling west. Marker panel is located on the right side of the Hopeland Area trailhead kiosk at Mills-Norrie State Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 110 Old Post Road, Staatsburg NY 12580, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Upstate New York

and in the Hudson Valley.

It is also in the American Northeast,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

Marker detail: 1751 map shows Captain Pawling’s land partitioned into 18 lots image. Click for full size.

2. Marker detail: 1751 map shows Captain Pawling’s land partitioned into 18 lots

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Lighthouse Park (approx. 1.6 miles away); Dewitt House (approx. 2.1 miles away); Wilderstein (approx. 2.3 miles away); Wilderstein's Boathouse (approx. 2.3 miles away); Dutch Church - 1827 (approx. 2.6 miles away); Sojourner Truth (approx. 3.7 miles away); Westward on the Right (approx. 3.8 miles away); Landsman’s Kill (approx. 4 miles away).

Marker detail: Major Rawlins Lowndes and Gertrude Laura Livingston Lowndes, ca. 1825. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Gibbes Museum of Art/Carolina Art Association

3. Marker detail: Major Rawlins Lowndes and Gertrude Laura Livingston Lowndes, ca. 1825.

These watercolors on ivory may have been painted on the occasion of their engagement or marriage.

Marker detail: Lowndes Mansion image. Click for full size.

4. Marker detail: Lowndes Mansion

Although portions of the Lowndeses’ original house remained at the center of the Huntington mansion, it was greatly expanded during the revolution.

Down by the River Marker Kiosk image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 2, 2019

5. Down by the River Marker Kiosk

(Hopeland Area trail in background)

Hopeland Area Trail Map image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 2, 2019

6. Hopeland Area Trail Map

(kiosk panel located just left of marker panel)This 107-acre section of Mills-Norrie State Park contains a variety of habitats that provide sanctuary to many wildlife species. The landscape is primarily made up of gently sloping terrain with mixed vegetative covers.

Credits. This page was last revised on March 21, 2020. It was originally submitted on March 21, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 572 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on March 21, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.