A new day and a new luxury landmark in the favorite us state of new York. Today we will get acquainted with the estate, which bears the proud title of Montgomery place and is located near the town of Barrytown. It is listed as a national historic landmarks of the United States and is included in the historic Hudson river valley, thanks to two centuries of history.
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Estate Montgomery was built in the XIX century in the Federal style by architect Alexander Jackson Davis. It had all the features of the tastes of the younger generation of the times subsequent to the end of the War for independence — wealthy landowners, who are increasingly inspired by the French style, departing from the classic English models. This is the only mansion in the Hudson valley that time, which has reached our days unchanged. It is also the only country house, built in the neoclassical style by the project of Davis, which we can see with our own eyes.
source: flickr.com/Historic Hudson Valley/(s)
The history of this place begins long before the nineteenth century. Originally on these lands lived the Indians, who were hunting in the sprawling woods here. In the XVIII century the territory was inhabited by European settlers: there were farms, mills and sawmills. In 1802 a 58-year-old Janet Linguisten Montgomery, the widow of the hero of the War for independence, Richard Montgomery, purchased the land to build a vacation home. Three years later, appeared the estate.
source: bard.edu
True passion Janet was botany. Therefore, she also founded a commercial nursery for fruit trees, shrubs, berries and seeds, whom she ruled. When Janet died in 1828, her brother Edward and his wife Louise inherited the property.
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The original home of Janet Livingston reflects the tastes of the era in which this woman lived. She and her family made much of its status and influence through agriculture, giving land in rent to other farmers. Homes of the large landowners were often built on hills, where owners would see their land, which in the case of the Livingston family included at that time part of Catskills located across the river. The rectilinear form of the styles of Federal and Greek revival seemed to have claimed authority and dominance over these territories.
source: flickr.com/Historic Hudson Valley/(s)
Several years after the death of Edward, Louise, his daughter Cora and son-in-law Thomas Barton turned part of the estate of a working farm set in the exhibition hall. Well-known architect Andrew Jackson Davis rebuilt the house, adding a new extension and porticos in the classical revival style that was so popular in the era of romanticism. He used curved forms in the balustrades, to compensate for the vertical lines of the existing building. Abundant ornaments, many of which used floral motifs, added to the structure of the missing textures, and it sparkle again. Landscape designer Andrew Jackson Downing created an elaborate ornamental garden with paths, benches and arboretum.
source: flickr.com/Historic Hudson Valley/(s)
In the 1920-ies Violetta and John Ross Delafield (a Livingston descendant) inherited the estate. Violetta, who by a curious coincidence, was also a botanist, expanded the garden, continuing the legacy of Cora, Louise and Janet. In 1986, the heir to the Livingston, John Dennis Delafield transferred the estate to the historic Hudson valley. In 2016, the property acquired Bard College, starting a new Chapter in the life of the estate.Montgomery.
source: flickr.com/Historic Hudson Valley/(s)
Visit Montgomery place can be any day, from dawn to sunset. Regular tours are held on Saturdays from 3 June to 21 October, in 10:30, 11:30, 13:30 and 14:30. The cost of tickets is $ 10 per person. Also available private tours for groups of five or more people at a price of $ 20 per person.
