Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

Hours of Operation

• Tours by reservation only. For times of tours and program, please click the link below: 

  https://bookeo.com/staatsburghshs

  Reserve online and pay when you arrive. 

  Regular House Tour: $10/adults, $8/seniors (62+) & students (w/ ID), Age 12 and under free

  Theme Tours: $12/adults, $10/ seniors (62+) & students (w/ ID), Age 12 and under free

  Group tour rate: Regular House tours, $8/person; Theme tours: $10/person(Age 12 and under free)
  
  
  November 1 – Thanksgiving: Closed for Holiday Decorating. 
• Educational Programs, School Groups & Group Tours: Available year-round, by appointment; please see Education Tab on this page for more info.

Fees & Rates

The grounds of Staatsburgh (Mills Memorial State Park) are open free of charge, from sunrise to sunset, year-round, with free parking. Admission to the mansion is by guided tour only; reservations can be made at https://Bookeo.com/StaatsburghSHS.

• Admission
• $10 Adults
  $8 Students/Seniors
  $8 Groups of 10 or more, by appointment
  $12 Special Theme Tours; other special programs may have different pricing
  Children 12 and under free for drop-in tours and select programs
• Educational Programs
• On-site: $2/student
  Off-site: $50/class/visit
• Rental
• West Lawn $150 off-peak; $300 peak
  Powerhouse $200 off-peak; $350 peak
  Gardener's House Lawn: $1,500
  
  While the mansion cannot be rented for events, there are rental locations on the grounds, along the Hudson River. Please contact the site for information on event rental locations, options and fees

Maps

• Trail Map (pdf)

EDUCATION PROGRAMS AT STAATSBURGH STATE HISTORIC SITE

Staatsburgh is a 79-room, lavishly furnished 1895 Gilded Age country estate on the Hudson River. It is an unforgettable classroom where students explore the world of 100 years ago. Depending on their grade level, they may learn about the lifestyles of Gilded Age millionaires and servants; about immigration and industrialization; or how the estate was an independent community.

Our interpreters present lively and interactive programs that are age-appropriate for students from 2nd grade to college, and craft the presentations to meet Common Core and NYS Learning Standards. Hands-on activities and roleplaying make our programs fun and memorable.

Our staff is happy to work with teachers to adjust our programs or create new ones to meet curriculum needs.

COST: Our fee is $2 per student. There is no charge for teachers.

OUR PROGRAMS:

IT'S A GILDED LIFE
4th Grade to College (with age-appropriate revisions)

Students learn how life was lived in a Gilded Age mansion 100 years ago. First, the students tour the opulent 79-room home of Ogden and Ruth Livingston Mills. Then they are assigned roles as servants, guests or family members. Hands-on activities allow them to compare and contrast the lives of the servants and the gentry.

Background: Staatsburgh State Historic Site, also known as Mills Mansion, is a time-capsule of a vanished age. Here at the ancestral home of Ruth Livingston Mills, she and her husband Ogden Mills entertained the elite of New York Society from the 1880s to the 1920s in the period of American History known as the Gilded Age. The Millses thought of themselves as American aristocrats, modeling their lifestyle on the lifestyles of European nobility.

The Program: The introduction uses period photos to engage students in a discussion of what life was like 100 years ago, both for ordinary folk and for the wealthy Millses. As the discussion progresses, students are invited to think about why the Millses lived such an extravagant lifestyle. Students discuss why Mrs. Mills expanded her 25-room house to 79-rooms, what the rooms were used for and by whom. As students learn how the house was used, they are introduced to the component members of the Staatsburgh community.

A tour of the mansion shows the students what it was like to be a guest of the Millses. Hands-on activities and role playing allow the students to explore the world of the servants and compare it with the life of the gentry.

The activities vary with the age of the students. 4th grade students become servants as they prepare the formal dining room for the guests, contrasting the luxurious arrangements for the guests with the utilitarian arrangements for the servants. Older students will interview for a servants' job, exploring turn-of-the-century attitudes and prejudices about immigrants. As a sharp contrast to the servants' life, they will then learn the etiquette of attending a Gilded Age ball and compare it to going to a modern party.

WORLD COMMUNITIES: MEET THE KING AND QUEEN OF ENGLAND
3rd Grade Etiquette Program

Through discussion and role-playing activities, students will learn etiquette practices that were expected when attending a formal visit to Staatsburgh. They will discuss examples of modern good manners and compare them to customs at Staatsburgh 100 years ago. Then they will put their skills to work as they learn the etiquette of being presented to the King and Queen.

Background: Staatsburgh State Historic Site, also known as Mills Mansion, is a time-capsule of a vanished age. Here at the ancestral home of Ruth Livingston Mills, she and her husband Ogden Mills entertained the elite of New York Society from the 1880s to the 1920s in the period of American History known as the Gilded Age. The Millses thought of themselves as American aristocrats, modeling their lifestyle on the lifestyles of European nobility.

Etiquette was a foundation of the Millses' aristocratic lifestyle. The Millses and their social set learned elaborate rules of behavior from an early age. These rules guided them through the rituals of daily life, as well as teaching them what to do on very special occasions...such as meeting the King of England.

The Millses met King Edward at Wrest Park, an English country home, in 1909. Wrest Park was being rented by Ogden Mills' brother-in-law, Whitelaw Reid, the American Ambassador to England. The Mills family had other connections to the King: Ruth Livingston Mills' sister married a close friend of the King, and the Millses' daughter Beatrice married King Edward's Master of Horse.

The Program: Through discussion and role-playing activities, the children will learn etiquette practices that were expected when attending a formal visit in the Gilded Age. They will discuss examples of modern good manners and compare them to Gilded Age practices.

Then the students will put their etiquette skills to work. The students will adjourn to the dining room, where they will compare the etiquette of a Gilded Age formal dinner with modern polite dinner table behavior.

With their Gilded Age etiquette skills now sharpened, the students will be presented at court. A student playing the butler will announce the other students as they arrive. They will offer polite greetings to Mr. and Mrs. Mills (also played by students). Then they will be presented to the Gilded Age royal couple, King Edward and Queen Alexandra of England (once again, played by students). The students will compare and contrast the polite manner of greeting the Millses with the much more formal etiquette of meeting royalty.

THE STAATSBURGH COMMUNITY
2nd GRADE PROGRAM

Staatsburgh, a Gilded Age estate, was an interdependent community. Discussion, period photos, map activities and roleplaying help students understand each community member's role and how they depended on one another.

Background: Staatsburgh State Historic Site, also known as Mills Mansion, is a time-capsule of a vanished age. Here at the ancestral home of Ruth Livingston Mills, she and her husband Ogden Mills entertained the elite of New York Society from the 1880s to the 1920s in the period of American History known as the Gilded Age. The Millses thought of themselves as American aristocrats, modeling their lifestyle on the lifestyles of European nobility.

The program: The estate at Staatsburgh was more than just a mansion - it was an interdependent community of farm workers, servants, house guests and the Mills family. This program has three components: an introduction to life 100 years ago; a tour of the mansion; and an activity that explores the Staatsburgh community.

The introduction uses period photos to engage students in a discussion of what life was like 100 years ago, both for ordinary folk and for the wealthy Millses. As the discussion progresses, students are invited to think about why the Millses lived such an extravagant lifestyle. Students discuss why Mrs. Mills expanded her 25-room house to 79-rooms, what the rooms were used for and by whom. As students learn how the house was used, they are introduced to the component members of the Staatsburgh community.

During the tour, students see both the elegant areas where the Millses entertained their guests and the utilitarian rooms that were servants' bedrooms and work spaces. As they go from room to room, students learn what they would do at Staatsburg if they were a guest and what they would do if they were a servant.

The activity portion starts with map activities. Students see models of estate buildings and a large map of Staatsburgh's 2,000-acre grounds to aid them in understanding where members of the Staatsburgh community lived and worked. Students use the map to see where Staatsburgh is in relation to Albany and New York City. The map illustrates how the Millses used the Hudson River, the railroad and Route 9 to travel back and forth from the country to New York City. The map also shows the location of the farm buildings that supplied food for the estate.

After working with the map, the students do a role-playing activity in which they become Staatsburgh's farmers, servants and owners. One by one, a component group leaves the community, leaving the others to discuss how to cope without a necessary part of their community. They discover that each group in the community depends upon all the others.