Location: Kinderhook
Top Things to do in Kinderhook
Things to do in Kinderhook, New York (NY): The Best Sights & Landmarks
Kinderhook is a town in the northern part of Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 8,498 at the 2010 census, the most populous municipality in Columbia County. The name of the town means "Children's Corner" in the language of the original Dutch settlers (Kinderhoek). The name "Kinderhook" has its root in the landing of Henry Hudson in the area around present-day Stuyvesant, where he was greeted by Native Americans with many children. With the Dutch Kinder meaning "child" and Hoeck meaning "bend" or "hook" [in the river], the name literally means "bend in the river where the children are".
Restaurants in Kinderhook
1. Vanderpoel House of History
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1 reviews
Originally the Federal era home of prominent lawyer and politician, James Vanderpoel and his family, the property is now an exhibit space featuring galleries of paintings and decorative arts from the CCHS permanent collection. The CCHS Bookstore & Museum Shop is located within the house.
2. Martin Van Buren National Historic Site
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 205 reviews
The estate and home of Martin Van Buren, the eight president of the United States, is spread over 38.5 scenic acres, many of which retain a high degree of integrity to the period of the former president's residence.
Reviewed By kzsull01 - Windsor, United States
My husband and I visited the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site in Kinderhook, New York on Wednesday, May 23, 2018. We visited this site multiple times in the past and always enjoyed it. The introductory film at the Visitor’s Center as well as the guided house tour provided great information on Martin Van Buren’s life including his early years, political career, important accomplishments, family, retirement and his home, also known as Lindenwald. The Visitor’s Center had a nice timeline showing details regarding how the events in Van Buren’s life aligned to the major events that were happening in the world, providing interesting details. An added bonus of our visit was that the guided house tour was free and there was plenty of convenient free parking. We recommend a visit to this historic site to others and we hope that you have the opportunity to enjoy it as much as we did. It was definitely very interesting and educational from both a historical and political perspective. Our guided house tour took about an hour and was well worth our time. In total, we were at the site for about an hour and a half. It was a nice walk back through time and gave us a good idea of how life was back during the timeframe of Van Buren’s life. Please refer to the below for further details about our visit. We arrived at the Visitor’s Center about twenty minutes before the 1:00 PM tour and saw the introductory film, which provided good background information. We then took the 1:00 PM guided tour of the Van Buren house on the Lindenwald estate. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, informative and provided great details about Van Buren’s life and his home, with focus on his political career and the political climate of the time. She was very passionate about telling Martin Van Buren’s story and effectively portrayed his character and his legacy as a politician and gentleman farmer. Her tour was well done, enjoyable, interesting and educational. She answered everyone’s questions and provided many details to help understand Martin Van Buren’s life from both a historical and political perspective, including the events of turmoil that occurred during his lifetime, which included the timeframe right before the end of American Revolutionary War and right before the start of the Civil War. She gave good background information on the Wig, Democratic and Free Soil Parties as well as the issues associated with the time period, including the monetary crisis, the depression, the independent treasury, over expansion and slavery. Our tour guide emphasized Van Buren’s major accomplishment as being the founder of the Democratic Party and his efforts to keep the country united through the formation of the Free Soil Party. The guided house tour included touring several rooms on three floors of the Van Buren house. The interior of the house was very elegant and nicely restored with beautiful furnishings, wood work, and wall coverings, even an impressive mural made from wall paper panels and a very long table in the downstairs Great Hall/Dining Room. There were items on display both original to the house, which our tour guide pointed out, as well as typical to the time period when Van Buren lived in the house. The exterior of the house was well preserved, reflecting different architectural styles, with a unique tower which was part of an addition that Martin Van Buren’s son built. The surrounding grounds of the house were nicely maintained, with picnic tables and hiking trails. It was a nice place to walk around and enjoy the outdoors. The outdoor interpretive markers along the Wayside Loop Walking Trail provided details about Van Buren’s progressive agrarian lifestyle and the location of the Old Post Road.. Our entire visit at the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site took a little over an hour and a half and included the introductory film, the guided house tour as well as walking around the Lindenwald estate. It was definitely worth the visit!!.
3. Luykas Van Alen House
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 8 reviews
National Historic Landmark, the Luykas Van Alen house is a restored house museum representing 18th century rural Dutch farm life in the Hudson River Valley. The "Van Alen House" and its farm are believed to have served as the inspiration for Washington Irving's short story 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' as the homestead of the Van Tassel family. Irving was a close friend of Kinderhook native (and U.S. President) Martin Van Buren, a neighbor of the "Van Alen House" and a frequent guest in the town. This property (interior and exterior) was also a location scene in the 1993 Martin Scorsese film, "The Age of Innocence" starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Daniel Day-Lewis. Open seasonally-all summer and fall-along with the Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse. Admissions for the Van Alen House & Ichabod Crane are combined. Temporarily Closed.
4. Kinderhook Cemetery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 15 reviews
Reviewed By RoundTopper
The weather was cold and rainy, or we'd likely have spent the entire day exploring this historic cemetery. Martin van Buren's grave is rather unobtrusive, and we wished we'd have been able to find the graves of his parents and infant son. van Buren's grave is well-marked, though, and easy to find. DEFINITELY go visit the grave if you go to visit Lindenwald!
5. Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 5 reviews
The Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse is a 19th-century building that served as a local single-room public school into the 1940s. Recently awarded a 'Legends & Lore' marker by the New York Folklore Society & William G. Pomeroy Foundation honoring Washington Irving's "Sleepy Hollow" character 'Ichabod Crane', who was patterned after the original Kinderhook Schoolteacher, Jesse Merwin--hence the schoolhouse name. Washington Irving was a friend of President Martin Van Buren and boarded at the Van Ness home in Kinderhook for about eight weeks in 1809 after the death of his fiancée. Schoolteacher, Jesse Merwin, was also a boarder at the Van Ness home, and the two twenty-something bachelors went fishing and otherwise socialized with the small colony of intellectuals in the otherwise agrarian community. Known as a "classic of American literature", Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow's greatest character was conceived right here.
6. Samascott Orchards
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 47 reviews
Reviewed By drivingoverflying
I was looking for a place to buy a hard-to-find apple variety, and am really glad I ended up going to Samascott. I drove up with 3 girlfriends, and we had a lovely day wandering around the beautiful farm and exploring all the different produce available. Being able to drive your own car onto the farm is SO convenient, and make exploring so much more accessible to people who have difficulties with mobility. The prices were more than fair, and the variety of produce and products available was amazing. I noticed a lot of people are complaining about the $5 per person entry fee - I understand if it's a change then it may be a shock, but that seems very reasonable to me and certainly not a "rip off". You are not just paying for produce - go to a farmers market for that. You are paying for the experience of picking your own and getting to be on the farm. They have to maintain the grounds enough so all the visitors will have a good experience. I'm more shocked that they didn't always charge an entry fee!
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