You can finally
book reservations again for a Road Trip:
Close to home to the Philipsburg Manor in
Sleepy Hollow after a two-year pause from the pandemic.
We start our
tour at the manor house - the only original building on the property dating all the way back to
the late 1600s. “The Philips’ were people that came to New Netherlands, which
was New York City at that time, and within 20 years, the first Philips, became
the richest man in New York,” says Brenda Hundley, interpreter at Philipsburg Manor.
And you can
actually see the family’s wealth within the walls of nearly a dozen rooms. “The table here is set up for making hot chocolate. That was considered only
something wealthy people had,” says Hundley.
Between
imports, exports and more - the family business thrived with the help of 23 enslaved people who
called the manor house home. “You see a pallet that
they will pull out at night for sleeping, you see shoes, you see clothing
hanging,” points out Hundley.
Enslaved women
used to milk about a dozen cows, then bring the milk to the dairy room using an extremely heavy yoke.
You’ll learn
the lifestyles of enslaved people
- along with the Philips Family
- by simply walking through rooms as if they were frozen for
hundreds of years.
It’s a house
that has stood the test of time. “Westchester
County has gone from a farmland to an industrial leader, to a sleepy suburban
community…the house is still in the same location,” muses Hundley.
Booking
a tour here with Historic Hudson Valley
expands further than just the manor house — with about 20 acres
of history to uncover!