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.
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