Boscobel (Tour)

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My name is Kurt Rhoads, and I am delighted you decided to visit us today. My wife, Nance, and I will be your guides on this virtual tour. Please start walking along this red brick path. It's not the yellow brick road, but while you are with us, you will meet some extraordinary people and hear their wonderful and hair-raising stories. Nance and I moved here a number of years ago because this place is full of history, and one of the most beautiful places in the world. We think so anyway - we hope you'll agree. If you haven't already visited the mansion, you must take a guided tour of it by one of our docents. They'll tell you what went on inside Boscobel. We'll tell you what happened outside. Now, you have a nice decision to make: What story to hear first?

2. States Dyckman Builds His Dream House

You wouldn't be looking at this magnificent house without the dedication and quick thinking of local historian Benjamin West Frazier and the generosity of Lila Acheson Wallace. Without them, Boscobel would not be here at all. But I am getting ahead of the story. It actually begins over two centuries ago. Boscobel was the dream of States Dyckman who was a Loyalist, or Tory, during the American Revolution. Well after the War was over in 1794, he married Elizabeth Corne, a young woman from a distinguished New York family. He envisioned this lovely place for her.

3. The House Is Saved

Soon, in Montrose, New York, a house wrecker would be pulling up in his truck and going to work. Boscobel would be gone. When historian Ben Frazier, who lived here in Garrison, heard what was happening, he sprang into action and managed to raise $10,000 to buy the house, delaying the wrecker’s ball at the last minute. Miraculously, in the 1930s, the house had been carefully drawn and measured by architecture students. So after it was bought, it was dismantled and the pieces were carefully numbered and brought here to Garrison by truck. That took over five months in 1956. People who cared stored it in their garages, sheds and barns. There, it waited for another life, in pieces

4. The Iconic Architecture of Boscobel

Stand back for a minute and look at this beautiful house. It’s easy to see why it’s been called a superb example of Federal architecture. But what does that mean? Well, first of all, the house reflects the way its owner, Loyalist States Dyckman, wanted to present himself – apparently as a fine country gentleman. So he used the style fashionable in England at the time, which reflected Italian styles rooted in ancient Greece and Rome. For example, the center of the house, with the pillars, is meant to remind us of a classical temple on a hill. Doesn’t sound very English. In fact, an Italian architect named Palladio came up with the idea back in the 16th century.

5. The Grounds Beyond

In the summer of 1960, the reconstruction of the house was completed here. But it stood in a barren field. That certainly did not suit Boscobel’s benefactor, Lila Acheson Wallace. A year earlier, she had hired the landscape designer Richard Webel to come up with a solution. He proposed a classical plan entirely to her elegant taste -- the result is the grand setting you see around you here at Boscobel. It was accomplished less than a year later, when the mansion first opened to the public.

This Tour is a Virtual Museum or Site Tour.

Boscobel

Created by Ed Glisson on October 6th 2015, 7:36:26 pm.

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Description

Boscobel is a historic house museum set within a restored early 19th century home located in Garrison, New York. It was built between 1804 and 1808 by States Morris Dyckman and his wife Elizabeth, who over saw its completion after States passed away in 1806. The house was originally located near Montrose, New York but was moved to Garrison in 1955 after it was threatened by demolition. It was restored and opened to the public in 1961. The house is situated overlooking the Hudson River Valley and the USMA at West Point can be seen from the distance. The house contains one of the the best collections of American decorative arts and New York furniture from the Federal period.

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Boscobel

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