NEWSLETTER
The Legacy of Slavery & Free Black Americans at Staatsburgh State Historic Site
Free Program on Saturday July 8
Staatsburg, N.Y. – In recognition of Independence Day, Staatsburgh State Historic Site will be offering their free program “Slavery, Segregation & Staatsburgh,” exploring themes of race, freedom, and citizenship, based on recent research into Staatsburgh’s history. Join site staff at 2:00pm on Saturday July 8, for a conversation about the long path from enslavement to freedom taken by Black men, women, and children within the context of the Staatsburgh estate, built by the son of a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The program is free, but reservations are required at www.Bookeo.com/StaatsburghSHS
This one-hour program will include historic photographs and documents related to the paradoxes of American independence, notably a letter from Staatsburgh’s archives written by Founding Father John Jay, discussing his 1790 purchase of an enslaved man named Peter Williams, from Morgan Lewis. The presentation will focus on recent research into the Black people living and working at the Staatsburgh estate and in the neighboring hamlet of Staatsburg, bringing in the larger context of racial oppression and Jim Crow, to give audiences with a new perspective on Staatsburgh.
Mansion tours can also be reserved on the Bookeo site; admission is charged on arrival for tours: www.Bookeo.com/StaatsburghSHS Visitors may also wish to picnic or stroll along the Hudson River on the site’s grounds, or hike the woodland trails in adjacent Mills and Norrie State Parks.
July 4th, 1827 marks the official end of slavery in New York. It was celebrated by generations of Black New Yorkers as Freedom Day. Yet, 25 years later, famed Black activist Frederick Douglass asked, “What to the slave is the Fourth of July?” Staatsburgh’s founder, Governor Morgan Lewis, son of a signer of the Declaration of Independence, enslaved people of African descent at Staatsburgh. Yet, when his great-granddaughter, Ruth Livingston Mills, lived at Staatsburgh at the turn of the 20th century, the staff was exclusively White and of European descent. At the same time, a free Black community was growing and thriving in the surrounding hamlet.
“Slavery, Segregation & Staatsburgh” and Staatsburgh’s blog series, Enslaved & In Service, are presented within the larger New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation’s “Our Whole History” initiative, which aims to explore indigenous, Black, LGBTQ+, and other stories still untold by historic sites throughout the state. “Our Whole History” seeks to bring a more balanced historic narrative to public awareness, enriching both our state’s history and the stories we share throughout the OPRHP system. Through on-going research and new interpretations, OPRHP seeks to create a more inclusive environment, more reflective of our multicultural past, and welcoming to all.
Staatsburgh State Historic Site and the Ogden Mills & Ruth Livingston Mills Memorial State Park are located on Old Post Road in Staatsburg, off Route 9 between Rhinebeck and Hyde Park. The historic site is one of 6 sites and 15 parks administered by the Taconic Region of New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. For more information, call 845-889-8851, or visit Staatsburgh’s websites at Parks.NY.gov, Facebook, and Blogger. Staatsburgh’s events are listed at Parks.NY.gov/Events.
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 individual parks, historic sites, recreational trails, and boat launches, which were visited by a record 79.5 million people in 2022. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit parks.ny.gov, connect on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter
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Contact: Zack Veith | Zachary.Veith@parks.ny.gov | (845) 889-8851 ext. 355
Image: Depiction of Martha Church, a Black cook for a wealthy New York family, drawn by Baroness Hyde de Neuville c. 1808. Courtesy of the New York Historical Society.