Four Sites in One Day

Springwood -- FDR's Home

After leaving New Jersey, we drove up to Lake George, New York, through the Hudson River Valley. This is home to five National Park Historic Sites and we were able to stop and visit four of the five.  Thomas Cole NHS was the fifth and we drove right past it on our drive and would have made it five for five, except it's closed on Mondays.

Val-Kill

First stop was Hyde Park and the Franklin D. Roosevelt NHS and Presidential Library.  The library is a private entity separate from the National Park Service and we decided to forego that and just tour his historic home and property.  Also in Hyde Park is the Eleanor Roosevelt NHS, the family's summer cottage known as Val-Kill.  Eleanor made this her permanent home after FDR's death.

Vanderbilt Mansion

Just down the road from FDR, was the Vanderbilt Mansion, a massive home and grounds with commanding views of the Hudson River.  Situated on a bluff high above the river, we were able to drive down to the water and dip our toes.

Lindenwald

Our last visit was to the Martin Van Buren NHS, the former president's home called Lindenwald.  We were able to get there right before closing, and although we didn't tour the home, we were able to walk the grounds and learn about its history.  We had the entire place to ourselves.




It's always fascinating and interesting to learn about the history and back stories of these important figures in American history.  We heard great stories such as King George VI visiting FDR at his home, and how many important political figures would drop by Van Buren's house because it was on the main post road between Albany and New York City.  In fact, a portion of the old post road still exists on the Van Buren property.

The National Park Service does a wonderful job preserving our historic sites and properties, and we always come away learning so much that we never covered in school.