New York – Hyde Park

We ended our time in the Appalachian Mountains and headed toward Boston, but we decided to break up the long trip back with one more tourist stop.

Last summer Barbara read No Ordinary Time, a Pulitzer Prize winning book about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt during World War II. Ever since then Barbara wanted to see their homes. Bill saw Franklin’s home when he lived in the Hudson Valley, but that was years ago and didn’t include Eleanor’s. So we decided to visit Hyde Park.

We reserved a 3 tour package online which included the Vanderbilt Mansion, Springwood (the home of Franklin D Roosevelt), and Val-Kill (the home of Eleanor Roosevelt).

VANDERBILT MANSION

The first was the Vanderbilt Mansion. This was the Spring and Fall home of Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt. The home is a fine example of the Gilded Age, though one of the smaller Vanderbilt homes with only 54 rooms.

ornate ceiling at the Vanderbilt Mansion

The house is undergoing major renovations, so scaffolding surrounded the exterior, the upstairs was closed, and the lower level was filled with covered artifacts, but we got a good overview on the ranger-led tour. Renovations should be complete around October.

NPS photo before renovations

A niece inherited the house and furnishings, neither of which she wanted. A neighbor (Franklin Roosevelt) suggested she donate it to the National Park Service which she did. The lavish mansion and furniture remain virtually unchanged from the time of the Vanderbilts.

SPRINGWOOD

Next we went on a ranger-led tour of Springwood which is the home where Franklin was born and raised and remained his home base as an adult. The tour included details about both the house and Franklin’s life.

the living room and library

VAL-KILL

We also got a tour of Eleanor’s cottages. Springwood was Franklin’s mother’s house and Eleanor never felt at home there. So Franklin had a cottage built for Eleanor on land that he owned. The cottage and a second house lack much of the original furnishings, but the tour was interesting and included information on Eleanor’s accomplishments.

FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT LIBRARY & MUSEUM

Last we went back to the grounds near Springwood and visited the Franklin D Roosevelt Library and Museum. This was the United State’s first Presidential library, starting the tradition of preserving presidents’ papers and artifacts. The museum weaves the lives of the Roosevelts with the history of the Great Depression, the New Deal, and World War II. It was quite well-done and interesting.

Bill was impressed with the tenacity of both Franklin and Eleanor. Yes they were giants living in “no ordinary time,” but their many accomplishments took dogged determination and hard work.

We stayed at Mills Norrie State Park and even got a glimpse of the sun going down over the Hudson River from a trail near our campsite.

This ends our trip. Now back to Boston to see family and friends.