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 CLERMONT- Germantown NY Posted by:  nomadwillie
N 42° 05.153 W 073° 55.139
18T E 589407 N 4659877
Clermont is a New York State Historic Site and was designated a United States National Historic Landmark in 1972. Margaret Beekman Livingston rebuilt the family home between 1779 and 1782.
Waymark Code: WM162QC
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 04/22/2022
Views: 4
At 14.9 m. is the junction with a macadam road.
Right here 1.7 m. to (R) CLERMONT (occasionally open; watch for sign at gate), the lower Livingston manor house. In 1729-30 Robert Livingston (1688–1775), who had been given a 13,000-acre estate here by his father, first lord of the manor, erected a substantial stone house. Judge Robert R. Livingston (1718–75), who inherited the estate, died in the same year as his father. The burden of administering the manor in the unsettled years of revolution fell on his widow, Margaret Beekman Livingston, and she proved heroically equal to the task. After the British burned Clermont in October 1777, she had it rebuilt the next year in its original form. The exterior has undergone numerous face liftings, but the interior escaped alteration. From the central hall with its fine staircase, mahogany doors in delicately carved frames lead to well-propor tioned rooms with 12-foot ceilings.
Margaret Livingston's six daughters all married men who attained eminence in the affairs of State and Nation. Her eldest son, Robert R. Livingston (1746–1813), served
as chairman of the committee instructed by the Continental Congress to draft the
Declaration of Independence, first Chancellor of the State of New York, and chair-
man of the State convention that ratified the Federal Constitution. As Chancellor he
administered the oath of office to President Washington on April 30, 1789. While
Minister to France under President Jefferson, he negotiated the Louisiana Purchase.
Having obtained from the legislature exclusive rights to steam navigation on the
waters of the State-a monopoly that was not broken until 1824-he financed Robert
Fulton's successful experiment with the Clermont, which was named for this estate.
Chancellor Livingston was one of the founders of the American Academy of Fine Arts
and its president in 1808. Interested in the improvement of agriculture, he imported
fine cattle, introduced Merino sheep, and cultivated fruit trees. The mansion be built
for himself just south of here burned down in 1909.
American-Guide-Series - New York: a Guide to the Empire State, p.609-610
This is now known as Clermont State Historic Site, operated as a museum by the State of New York. Sits right on the Hudson River with some spectacular views. The property has been designated at National Historic Landmark.
Book: New York
Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 609-610
Year Originally Published: 1940
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