July 2003 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Jackson Davis (1803-1892), the pre-eminent mid-19th century rural architect. Come spend a summer weekend immersed in his vision. This is not Greece, nor Italy, this is the Romantic Landscape of the 19th Century in our midst today: the temple and the villa.

Saturday will begin at Montgomery Place, the Country Seat established in 1804 by Janet Livingston Montgomery and 'improved' over time by subsequent generations of her family with the aid and style of Davis between 1841 and 1867.

Currently, there are two major preservation projects focusing on the rehabilitation and return to use of important designs from the architect's body of work in the Hudson Valley. In Newburgh, strides are being made to secure a viable future for the Greek Revival temple-form Dutch Reformed Church which has teetered dangerously close to demise since falling into disuse in the early 1980's. In Hudson, after a similar period of dereliction and neglect, the significant first phase of preservation activity has been initiated at the Plumb-Bronson House, an extravagant Italianate bracketed Villa.

We will also open and visit modest gatehouses with elegant detail and proportion and the grand waterfront temple-fronted, villa of Edgewater. Experience the range of the work and the imagination of this "Architectural Composer" in the unparalleled setting of the Hudson Valley of New York.

Saturday, July 26, 2003
11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Montgomery Place, Annandale-on-Hudson
      A property of Hudson River Heritage

Lunch will be provided on the grounds of Montgomery Place.

Lectures in the Coach House (1859)

• William Rhoads, SUNY, New Paltz
  The Temple and the Villa: A.J. Davis in the Hudson Valley



• William Krattinger, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
  The Duch Reformed Church, Newburgh, and the Plumb-Bronson House, Hudson

Tours of the Davis-designed buildings at Montgomery Place rarely open to the public, including the Farm House (1861) and the newly renovated Swiss Cottage (1867), will be conducted by Geoffrey Carter, Director of Preservation, Historic Hudson Valley.

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Saturday afternoon, July 26, 2003
2:30 - 5:30 p.m.

Tours of Davis-designed buildings in the immediate area, self-driving:

• Delamater House, Rhinebeck (1844)
• Blithewood Gatehouse, Annandale-on-Hudson (1841)
• Maizefield Cottage, Red Hook (1849)
• Octagonal Cottage, Barrytown (1855)
• Edgewater, Barrytown (1858, 1863)

$55.00 per person for the day.

Please reserve in advance.


Maps and tickets for the Saturday afternoon tours may be picked up separately at the registration desk at Montgomery Place the day of the tour.

Thank you to our hosts for the Saturday programs, Historic Hudson Valley, Bard College, George and Phoebe Banta, Maynard Hamm, Peg and Buzz Gummere and Richard H. Jenrette.

Generous support for this program
provided by The J.M. Kaplan Fund.

Engraving from The Horticulturist, and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste, Vol. II, No. 4 (October, 1847); A Visit to Montgomery Place by Andrew Jackson Downing.

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Sunday, July 27, 2003
10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Tours of five significant properties designed by Davis in the Hudson Valley.

Maps connecting and describing each property will be available on Saturday at Montgomery Place and during the day at each site. This is a self-driving tour. A special Davis interpretive program will be conducted throughout the day at each of the five properties.

Plumb-Bronson House, Hudson (1839, 1849)
      Historic Hudson

Montgomery Place, Annandale-on-Hudson (1841-1867)
      Historic Hudson Valley

Locust Grove, Poughkeepsie (1851)
      The Samuel F. B. Morse Historic Site

Dutch Reformed Church, Newburgh (1835)
      Newburgh Preservation Association,
      Dutch Reformed Church Committee

Lyndhurst, Tarrytown (1838, 1864)
      National Trust for Historic Preservation

Montgomery Place is located on River Road (Route 103), just off Route 9G, three miles north of the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge in Annandale-on-Hudson, in Northern Dutchess County.

From North/South New York State Thruway:
From the New York State Thruway (I-87), take exit 19 for Kingston onto Route 209/199 east across the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge and proceed east on Route 199 to 9G. Take a left on Route 9G and travel 3 miles, then left again on Annandale Road, bearing left onto River Road to the estate entrance.

From North/South Taconic State Parkway:
From the Taconic Parkway, take the Pine Plains/Red Hook exit for Route 199. Take a left at the end of the exit ramp. Proceed west 10 miles on Route 199 through Red Hook to 9G. Go right on Route 9G, and left on Annandale Road, bearing left onto River Road to the estate entrance.