We recently visited the Mills Mansion in Staatsburg, NY. Since we had the dog with us so I couldn’t go on the house tour, but my wife did and found it interesting. It’s a good place to walk a dog with attractive trails along the river and some nice views out towards the Catskills.

According to the Friends of Mills Mansion Website:

Originally built in 1832 and greatly expanded in the 1890’s, Mills Mansion (also known as Staatsburgh) is emblematic of the great country estates built in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to house America’s wealthiest families.

Staatsburgh is a New York State Historic Site located within the boundaries of Mills-Norrie State Park. It is an elegant example of the great estates built by America’s financial and industrial leaders during the Gilded Age.

A 25-room Greek Revival structure was built on the site in 1832 by Morgan Lewis and his wife, Gertrude Livingston, replacing an earlier house that had burned down. This second house was inherited by Ruth Livingston Mills, wife of noted financier and philanthropist Ogden Mills.

In 1895, Mr. and Mrs. Mills commissioned the prestigious New York City architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White to remodel and enlarge their Staatsburg home. After completion in 1896, the house was transformed into a Beaux-Arts mansion of 65 rooms and 14 bathrooms. Its exterior was embellished with balustrades, pilasters, floral swags, and a massive portico. The rooms were furnished with elaborately carved and gilded furniture, fine oriental rugs, silk fabrics, and a collection of art objects from Europe, ancient Greece, and the Far East.

In 1938, the house and 192 acres were given to the State of New York by Gladys Mills Phipps, daughter of Ruth and Ogden Mills.

Rear of the mansion overlooking a large lawn and down towards the Hudson River.

Another view of the rear of the mansion.