When the mansion at Staatsburgh was remodeled by Ogden and Ruth Livingston Mills in 1895, it had been more than a century since the Revolutionary War and the formation of the United States. Yet the history of Staatsburgh was closely tied with the late 18th century and the early years of this nation. The estate was originally founded in the 1790s by Ruth’s great-grandfather, Morgan Lewis. Over 100 years later, when the mansion was remodeled and redecorated, the interior décor included countless nods to Ruth’s family and key figures who were involved in the Revolutionary War and the creation of the fledgling United States. Ruth Livingston Mills was a top society hostess during the Gilded Age. Most leaders of society had mansions decorated in the French aristocratic style, but Ruth also leaned on her Revolutionary War heritage to further cement her legitimacy as the potential next “Queen” of society.
As we celebrate the Semiquincentennial of the nation in 2026, this essay will explore the ways that Ruth Livingston Mills leveraged her Revolutionary War heritage in the interior decoration of Staatsburgh. This messaging appears throughout the entire mansion, but this essay will focus on the library, which has the largest and most varied concentration of Revolutionary War collections. Since Staatburgh was Ruth’s ancestral home, it was the ideal location to showcase her venerable pedigree and show her guests the importance of her illustrious heritage.
