Martin Van Buren National Historic Site

Martin Van Buren National Historic Site is a unit of the United States National Park Service in Columbia County, New York, 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the village of Kinderhook, 125 miles (201 km) north of New York City and 20 miles (32 km) south of Albany. The National Historic Site preserves the Lindenwald estate and thirty-six room mansion of Martin Van Buren, the eighth President of the United States. Van Buren purchased the estate during his presidency in 1839, and it became his home and farm from his retirement in 1841 until his death in 1862.

"Lindenwald" redirects here. For the Polish village with the German name of Lindenwald, see Wąwelno.

Lindenwald
Martin Van Buren National Historic Site
U.S. National Historic Site
Front of the house facing the Albany Post Road
LocationTown of Kinderhook, Columbia County, New York
Nearest cityAlbany, New York
Coordinates42°22′10.94″N 73°42′15.14″W
Area125 acres (51 ha)
Built1841
ArchitectPeter Van Ness, Richard Upjohn
Architectural styleFederal; Gothic Revival
Visitation13,617 (2004)
WebsiteMartin Van Buren National Historic Site
NRHP reference No.66000510 (original)
12000406 (increase)
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966[1]
Boundary increaseJuly 11, 2012[2]
Designated NHLJuly 4, 1961[3]
Designated NHSOctober 26, 1974

History

Van Buren, a founder of the Democratic Party, purchased the home and approximately 125 acres (51 ha) of land in 1839 for $14,000 (equal to $336,131 today) while he was still president. However, Van Buren did not move into the home until 1841 (after he was defeated for his second term by the Whig candidate William Henry Harrison in 1840). Eventually, his four living sons, Abraham, John, Martin Jr., and Smith, had rooms in the mansion. The home was previously owned by the Van Ness family and was where Washington Irving wrote most of his book A History of New York. Irving and Van Buren later became friends.[4]

Van Buren ran two United States presidential campaigns from Lindenwald. In 1844, he based his ultimately unsuccessful run for the Democratic nomination at the estate. That year, Van Buren lost a hotly contested fight to nominee and eventual President James Knox Polk. In 1848, in opposition to the extension of slavery into territories captured from Mexico as a result of the Mexican–American War, Van Buren ran for president on a third-party ticket (The Free Soil Party), again directing his campaign from Lindenwald. Van Buren's campaign drew enough votes away from the Democratic nominee, Lewis Cass, to allow Whig candidate Zachary Taylor to prevail.

Van Buren named the estate Lindenwald, which is German for "linden forest", after the American Linden (American Basswood or Tilia americana) trees lining the Albany-to-New York Post Road, which is still located in front of the home. The section of the road on the property remains unimproved to this day. Some replanted Linden trees also remain by the side of the road.

Van Buren died at Lindenwald on July 24, 1862. He was 79.

Recognition

Lindenwald was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.[3][5]

The Martin Van Buren National Historic Site was established on October 26, 1974, and today, Lindenwald is under the care of the National Park Service.

Today

The site can be found on Route 9H, about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Van Buren's hometown of Kinderhook, New York. A visitor center operated by the National Park Service is located at the site. Access to the Lindenwald mansion is by ranger-guided tour only. The tower cannot be visited due to fire safety codes. In addition, the grounds contain educational signs which tell of the history of the Lindenwald estate. During Van Buren's lifetime, the site also contained two gatehouses, a north one and a south one. The north gatehouse was demolished in the 1950s, but today the site is outlined with a stone foundation.[6]

Lindenwald across the years
  • 1937
  • 1961
  • 2017

Further reading
  • Great Houses of the Hudson River, Michael Middleton Dwyer, editor, with preface by Mark Rockefeller, Boston, Massachusetts: Little, Brown and Company, published in association with Historic Hudson Valley, 2001. ISBN 0-8212-2767-X.
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References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. "National Register of Historic Places listings for August 3, 2012". National Park Service. August 3, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  3. "Martin Van Buren Home (Lindenwald)". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 15, 2007. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011.
  4. Jones, Brian Jay. Washington Irving: An American Original. New York: Arcade Publishing, 2008: 311. ISBN 978-1-55970-836-4
  5. Bronwyn Krog (January 31, 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Lindenwald" (pdf). National Park Service. Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying 31 photos, exterior and interior, various dates. (2.79 MiB)
  6. "8) Martin Van Buren*". Ryan's Presidential Quest.
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