Senate House, Kingston, NY
In the Fall of 1777, amidst the turmoil of a British military offensive, the elected representatives of rebellious New Yorkers convened in Kingston to form a new state government. The session, New York's first Senate, met in September and October in the simple stone house of Abraham Van Gaasbeek, a local merchant.
Probably built around 1680 by Wessel Ten Broeck, immigrant from Westphalia, the house was owned by Ten Broeck's descendants or their relatives until, in 1887, the State of New York paid $8,000 to acquire the property, which quickly became a central community museum. A two-story Museum Building was constructed in 1927 to house and display the site's burgeoning collection.
Now part of a complex of three buildings located on three acres in Kingston's historic Stockade District, the Senate House tells the story of New York's early government, and gives a taste of life and art in the Hudson Valley 200 years ago.
The treasures housed in its museum include major art works by John Vanderlyn and other members of the Vanderlyn family of Kingston, dating from the 1720s through the 1870s, as well as paintings by Ammi Phillips, Joseph Tubby, James Bard, and Thomas Sully.
The Senate House State Historic Site is now listed as a significant stop along the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area Revolutionary War Trail.
Senate House is open April 15 through October 31 and other times off-season, by reservation. To obtain further information, please call (845) 338-2786
The Senate House is staying open for tours this winter, weather permitting. Touring the Senate House gives the whole family a chance to relive the cultural and working lives of our area's earliest European settlers, the Dutch colonials of the 1700s, and to learn the exciting story of the house's role during the Revolutionary War. The world's largest collection of paintings by the important American painter, John Vanderlyn, hangs in the Senate House Museum, along with artworks by early American itinerant painters, miniatures portraits painted on ivory and unique 18th- and 19th-century artifacts and manuscripts.
Senate House will be closed on Christmas and New Years days but is generally open for tours from Wednesday to Saturday from 10 am to 4:30 pm and on Sundays from 1 to 4:30 pm. The site's address is 296 Fair Street, Kingston, NY 12401. Please call the site at 845-338-2786 for directions or visit the State Parks website for additional information, www.nysparks.
Contact Information:
296 Fair Street
Kingston, NY 12401
Phone: (845) 338-2786
Fax: (845) 334-8173
CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS
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