Note: Everything below the lines is a sandbox page for editing Wikipedia:Upload. Admins can substitute all or parts of this sandbox version into Wikipedia:Upload. You can too if editing by regular users is allowed. If not, add and remove {{editprotected}} from this page as needed (not for every change please). Please try to edit from the latest version of Wikipedia:Upload. Delete any old wikicode below the lines.





Ledgewood Estate

edit
Ledgewood Estate
 
Ledgewood from the front
Main House
 
 
LocationHyde Park, NY
Coordinates41°46′1.95″N 73°56′8.0″W / 41.7672083°N 73.935556°W / 41.7672083; -73.935556
Area10 acres approx.
BuiltOctober 1796
Architectural stylePre [Gilded Age]],American Renaissance
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1924

Ledgewood Estate, located in Hyde Park, New York, is one of America's oldest examples of the countries homes built by a wealthy dairy farmer John Huyler during the preGilded Age.

The site includes 9.3 acres from the original property 880 the original larger property historically named Ledgewood Estate at Hyde Park. Situated on the east bank of the Hudson River, the property includes grounds with views of the river and the distant Catskill Mountains, gardens, natural woodlands, and auxiliary structures. TheFrederick Law Olmsted inspired grounds that have been maintained since original ownership and have been modified to include a pool and all weather tennis court with original barn and work shed. Ledgewood on the Hudson, located at 4699 Albany post road is the historical home built in 1796 and was the originally the center piece of a large dairy farm belonging to the Huyler Family. It is the oldest estate still standing on the Hudson River. The Huylers were dairy farms that owned the surrounding 888 Acres they also operated a successful chocolate manufacturing business. John S. Huyler of Huyler's Candy and Restaurants company (1883) used the residence as a country retreat as he built his company in New York. In 1886, the Fredrick Vanderbilt Mansion was built next to the Ledgewood state and in 1830s the Roosevelt Family built Springwood near by, the home of Franklin D Roosevelt, currently a National Historic site. Milton Hershey was a regular visitor to Ledgewood as he worked with John Huyler learning the chocolate and candy making business. He later went on to create the world famous Hershey chocolate empire as we know it today!

The main feature of the Estate is the distinguished architectural styles of Richard Morris Hunt, with Charles Follen McKim architecture. Designed and built in 1796, the house is a good example of the pre Gilded Age architectural style and one of the architects' finest residential projects. The interior of the mansion is an archetype of the American Renaissance, most notably in the paneled Presidential Library. Materials for the construction of the home were locally sourced from the woodlands of New York and reclaimed wood from a Vermont Milling Factory in original condition with imported Dutch Wood from Amsterdam. The Gandhis, the Estates most recent owners, took great lengths to bring the fine tuned home to state of the art features and restored the grounds.

History

edit

The Huyler family sold the estate to the Beckett Family in 1924, occupying the home for 46 years until 1970 - selling to Ingegnos'. The Ingegnos' lived in Ledgewood for 30 years until selling the home to the Caroline Carrey in 2000. Finally, the Estate came into the Gandhi's possession in 2013 and the family currently owns the home. The Gandhis did considerable work to restore the gated estate to its former state keeping all architectural aspects intact. The wooden beams, Dutch wood floors, handblown crystal lead glass bathroom Windows and original fixtures - all remain intact in a modern high speed internet connnected home. The perfect blend of old features with modern amenities.

Grounds

edit

The Fredrick Olmsted inspired grounds feature 400 oak and maple trees as well as apple and cherry trees.

 
Ledgewood grounds

See also

edit

Further reading

edit
  • Great Houses of the Hudson River, Michael Middleton Dwyer, editor, with preface by Mark Rockefeller, Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, published in association with Historic Hudson Valley, 2001. ISBN 0-8212-2767-X.

References

edit

This article incorporates text from National Park Service documentation, which as a product of the US Government is in the public domain.

edit

Category:National Historic Sites in New York Category:Historic American Engineering Record in New York Category:Vanderbilt family residences Category:Hudson River Category:Beaux-Arts architecture in New York (state) Category:U.S. Route 9 Category:Historic house museums in New York Category:Biographical museums in New York Category:Museums in Hyde Park, New York Category:Houses in Hyde Park, New York Category:Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area


Category:National Historic Sites in New York Category:Presidential homes in the United States Home Category:Houses completed in 1800 Category:U.S. Route 9 Category:Historic house museums in New York Category:Federal architecture in New York (state) Category:National Register of Historic Places in Dutchess County, New York Category:Presidential museums in New York Category:Museums in Hyde Park, New York Category:Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area Category:Houses in Hyde Park, New York