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 Henry Hudson was entertained in a Mahican lodge about September 15, 1609. Dutch explorers and traders first put the names of Claverack and Kinderhook on their maps between 1614 and 1616, but the landscape remained the home to the Mahican people for another fifty years and more. The first formal settlements at Claverack and Kinderhook occurred in the late 1650s and picked up energy after the English took New Netherland. Most settlers came from Beverwyck and Rensselaerswyck. Those at Claverack were mostly connected with the Van Rensselaer family’s manor system of settlement and those at Kinderhook were freeholders of smaller parcels and farms. Agriculture and milled timber -- shipped out on the Hudson river -- were the economic basis of these communities for several generations. Dutch language and traditions remained prevalent until the 1840s. Martin Van Buren, born at Kinderhook, was the first United States President of Dutch heritage. He retired to Lindenwald, a great house and farm at Kinderhook that is today operated as a museum by the National Park Service. MARTIN VAN BUREN NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE 1013 Old Post Rd, off Rt 9H, Kinderhook. The home and farm of the 8th President of the United States. 518-758-9689. www.nps.gov/mava LUYKAS VAN ALEN HOUSE Route 9H, Kinderhook. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968, the Luykas Van Alen House is a restored house museum representing 18th century rural Dutch farm life. The house, featuring parapet gables, Dutch doors, and entrance stoops, stands as a testament to traditional Dutch architecture in the Hudson River Valley. 518-758-9265. www.cchsny.org |
