Martin Van Buren
National Historic Site
Martin Van Buren
National Historic Site
Martin Van Buren National Historic Site is found in Kinderhook, New York. The Eighth President of the United States, Martin Van Buren purchased the estate in 1839 during his Presidency.
Martin Van Buren was born in Kinderhook in 1782, the last year of the American Revolution. He lived until July 1862, sixteen months into the American Civil War. During the seventy-nine years of his life, he was instrumental in the establishment of many of the political practices and party politics which saw the new nation from its inception to its trial by ordeal.
The estate grew to 220 acres under his direction and was a profitable working farm. Van Buren developed this estate as a working example of his political views based on Jeffersonian principles of democracy.
The Van Buren mansion, Lindenwald as he named it, is the Site's centerpiece and became a National Historic Landmark on July 4, 1961. Public Law 93-486 established Martin Van Buren National Historic Site on October 26, 1974, ". . . to preserve for the benefit and inspiration of the people of the United States of America."
This was the home to which the "Little Magician" retired at the end of his administration and spent the last twenty-one years of his life as an elder statesman, political advisor and gentleman farmer. Other than the White House, this early Gothic/Italianate mansion is the only known surviving structure intimately associated with Martin Van Buren, the first President born with United States citizenship as his birthright.
The Site's nomination for the National Register of Historic Places highlights Lindenwald's architectural merit. Originally built in 1797 as a commodious Federal house, Van Buren substantially remodeled the house in 1849 in a Gothic/Italianate style. Van Buren hired the famous 19th century architect Richard Upjohn to remodel the house with modern technological features such as indoor plumbing and central heating.
The thirty-six room Lindenwald mansion is one of the two surviving examples of Richard Upjohn's domestic Italianate architecture still standing. The site has several significant archaeological sites, dating from the Late Woodland period through the nineteenth century.
The Site's museum collection encompasses more than 21,000 cataloged items. These include fine art, historic wallpaper in situ, the largest collection of historic wallpaper samples in the National Park System, furniture, textiles, household furnishings, archival and archaeological objects. Most of the furnishings exhibited within the historic house have documented provenance to Martin Van Buren's tenure at Lindenwald .
Although the park presently encompasses only 38.50 acres, the cultural landscape and adjacent lands retain a very high degree of integrity to the period of significance. This serves to add environmental and historic context to the life and lifestyle of Martin Van Buren.
Martin Van Buren National Historic Site is open daily to the public seasonally from mid-May to the end of October. The Site is open weekends in November through the first week in December. Call 518-758-9689 for specific dates. In season visitation remains constant, with peaks on holiday weekends.
Martin Van Buren National Historic Site, is found in Kinderhook, New York, which is about 2.5 hours (130 miles) north of New York City, 3 hours (150 miles) west of Boston, 20 miles south of Albany, New York.
(518) 758-9689, (518) 758-6986 (FAX)
Information, Martin Van Buren National Historic Site. (MAVA_Info@nps.gov).
Martin Van Buren National Historic Site is open daily to the public seasonally from mid-May to the end of October. The Site is open weekends in November through the first week in December. Call 518-758-9689 for specific dates.
The Parking Lot Kiosk is open every day of the week, in the season, from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Access to the Lindenwald house is by guided tour only. Sign up for tours at the Kiosk. Tours begin at the mansion.
Summers are generally hot and humid. Lindenwald is not air conditioned, and can get extremely hot. Springs and autumns can be cold and wet. The site recommends layers of clothing, especially in early spring and late autumn. Some activities are outdoors. Come prepared for inclement weather.
Martin Van Buren National Historic Site is on New York State Route 9H in Kinderhook, New York.
Approaching from the east on Interstate 90: take exit B1 onto US Route 9 southbound. Bear right onto Route 9H approximately five miles south of Interstate 90. The Site will be on your right in five miles.
Approaching from the west on Interstate 90: take exit 12 onto US Route 9 southbound. Bear right onto Route 9H approximately five miles south of Interstate 90. The Site will be on your right in five miles.
Approaching from the south on Interstate 87 (New York State Thruway): take exit 21 onto NY State Route 23 eastbound across the Rip Van Winkle Bridge (toll). Follow Route 23 for approximately 10 miles. Turn left onto NY State Route 9H northbound. The Site will be on your left in approximately 15 miles.
Free parking is available at the Site. There is no public transportation access to the Site. The Site is a popular bicycling destination. A bicycle rack is in the parking lot.
Adults, (17 years or older), $2.00 per person. Children, (younger than 17), free. Holders of Golden Eagle, Age or Access Passports, free.
General information and brochures are available at the Kiosk in the parking lot. A bookstore, video presentation, and public restrooms are available at the Gatehouse. There are wayside exhibits throughout the grounds.
Park rangers give guided tour programs of the President's home, Lindenwald . Please note that the Site does not permit baby strollers or video cameras on tours. Still photography without flash is permitted.
A tour of Lindenwald takes 45 minutes, and includes the Van Buren home and furnishings, which The National Park Service has restored to the period when Van Buren lived there.
The Site schedules a variety of other interpretive activities throughout the vistor season. They range from short interpretive talks, bicycle tours, hikes, living history programs, concerts, craft demonstrations, etc.
There is handicap parking behind the mansion. Accessibility is limited due to exterior stairs and several stairways within the mansion. The Site plans a wheelchair lift on the exterior entrance for installation in the fall of 1997. Call for details.
For the hearing impaired, the video presentation is closed captioned and a written tour script is available.
The Site requires reservations for groups containing more than 10 persons. Organized groups may make reservations through the Site by calling the Chief Ranger at 518-758-9689. Anyone wishing to do research, motion picture filming, or make other special use of the site, should call 518-758-9689, to discuss film or special use permits.
Allow 1.5 hours to tour Lindenwald , the grounds and the Gatehouse bookstore.
The site offers special event programs throughout the open season. Please call 518-758-9689 for current information.
This park is featured in a lesson plan created by
Teaching with Historic Places
, a program of the National Park Service that
helps teachers and students understand how parks and other
historic places embody America's historical experiences and
cultural expressions.
In adverse weather or emergency conditions call 518-758-9689 to verify that the Site is open.
Olana State Historic Site, The Shaker Museum, Columbia County Historical Society Museum and Sites (the Lyukas Van Alen House and the James Vanderpoel House), the Mount Lebanon Shaker Village, and the American Museum of Firefighting are nearby. The Norman Rockwell Museum and Chesterwood, Home of Daniel Chester French, in Stockbridge, MA, are within thirty miles. Saratoga National Historical Park is within fifty miles of the site. Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site , the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site , and Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site are clustered approximately 50 miles south of Lindenwald .
Please write: Superintendent, Martin Van Buren National Historic Site, 1013 Old Post Road, Kinderhook, NY 12106 or telephone, 518-758-9689, or E-mail Information, Martin Van Buren National Historic Site (MAVA_Info@nps.gov).