HIDDEN TREASURES OF THE HUDSON VALLEY

New York's Hudson Valley boasts mainstream historic sites such as the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home and Presidential Library and the Vanderbilt Mansion, both in Hyde Park, which attract thousands of tourists every year. At the same time, a number of relatively unknown but historically significant locales in the region often go unnoticed. In most cases the sites are hidden in plain view, positioned along heavily trafficked roads or in the midst of city centers.

Within these pages, existing buildings such as early stagecoach stops and prominent inns that served as meeting places for some of the nation's first political leaders are identified in narratives that describe each one's history. Aging structures that line the streets of local cities, towns, and villages served as critical components of the Revolutionary War, early American industry, and social hubs during past centuries.

In the Hudson Valley the Continental Army resisted the advancement of British troops, entrepreneurs such as William and Andrew Smith developed their cough drops, and Matthew Vassar gained significant wealth brewing beer before founding one of the nation's most prestigious colleges.

Discover a local theater whose stage once featured the talents of Frank Sinatra, Enrico Caruso, and Sarah Bernhardt, and learn why a small city in the region was once known as the "Hat Capital of the United States."

Transformed structures built for one purpose and now serving another hold historic secrets. Identify meetinghouses where Quakers worshiped and travelers in the Underground Railroad sought refuge. Learn how a peaceful country estate became the epicenter of the 1960s drug culture. Read about, visit and explore these historic diamonds in the rough...the hidden treasures of the Hudson Valley!