During the month of February, in honor of Valentine's Day, we celebrated some of the many swoon-worthy men and women of the Gilded Age. These short profiles take a look at four men and four women who captured the attention of Staatsburgh staff. Originally posted on Staatsburgh's facebook page, we compiled all the posts here to share in a single essay.
Before the invention of electric refrigeration, how did food and perishables keep cold, especially during the warm summer months? The answer is ice. Large blocks of ice cut from a river or lake during the winter would keep food items cool all summer. But how did the ice move from the river into the home? To answer that question, we must take a look at the ice harvesting industry, which was active throughout much of the north-east coast of the country (as well as inland, in northern states) between the 1830s and 1920s, and which was dominated for several decades by production on the Hudson River and nearby lakes.
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| Ice harvesting on the Hudson, 1912 Photo: New York State Archives, NYSA_A3045-78_830 |
...my true love gave to me... Are you already singing it in your head? "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is a Christmas carol with a very catchy tune. This popular and enduring carol cumulatively lists increasingly lavish gifts during each verse from a partridge in a pear tree to twelve drummers drumming. Even though the version we hear today identifies the gift giver as "my true love," some earlier versions of the song instead used "my mother." Many different tunes were also used with the lyrics until the current version became the standard in the early 20th century.
"The new speed limit signs which were recently placed north and south of the village by Mrs. Ogden Mills do not seem to have any effect on the motorists with their speed."
- Poughkeepsie Courier (July 7, 1918)
No self-respecting 'motor-head' would ever, voluntarily, put speed limit signs outside their house. So, it's safe to say the Mills probably weren't car people. That's not to say they didn't enjoy the status and luxury of the new inventions to sweep the nation during their years at Staatsburgh.
A century ago, the Mills family were known for their successful racehorses. Yet, many people today associate their estate with 'horseless carriages' - cars! Every October, Staatsburgh State Historic Site welcomes hundreds of antique cars to its main lawn.
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This essay is the conclusion to a four part series about Hallowe'en during the time of World War I and the Spanish flu pandemic. The series is written by Carol Kohan who is one of Staatsburgh's wonderful volunteers. Carol has presented enchanting Gilded Age Hallowe’en Tea & Talk programs at Staatsburgh since 2016. In addition, Carol enjoyed a 38-year career with the National Park Service, holding interpretation, curatorial, and management positions including Curator of Martin Van Buren National Historic Site in Kinderhook, Midwest Regional Curator in Omaha, Superintendent of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in Iowa, and Deputy Superintendent of Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site in Hyde Park. After her retirement from the National Park Service in 2013, Carol served two terms as Historian for the Town of Hyde Park.
