A Tour in Pictures Historic Estate • Museum • Nature Preserve
History While the Locust Grove Estate has been permanently occupied since the late 18th century, when Henry Livingston, Jr. named the estate for the black locust trees growing along the drives, it was not until 1830 that subsequent owners John and Isabella Montgomery built a house on the bluff, taking advantage of the dramatic views to the Hudson River. The Montgomery’s house was a typical Greek Revival- style building set well back from the Post Road (today’s US Route 9) with symmetrical, white-painted facades and three large rooms on each floor, opening off the central hall and stairs. In 1847 the Montgomerys sold their estate to Samuel Morse (opposite page, top left) and from 1851 to 1852 Morse remodeled the house extensively, changing its character forever. Inspired by the colors and architecture of rural Tuscany, where he had traveled and painted twenty years earlier, Morse commissioned his friend, the celebrated architect Alexander Jackson Davis, to turn his preliminary sketches into working plans and specifications for a greatly expanded home in the Italianate style.
Morse’s artistic sensibilities, honed during his years of study at the Royal Academy in London, were not blunted by two decades of work perfecting the commercially viable electromagnetic telegraph. To maximize his villa’s visual appeal Morse carefully embellished the existing building with intriguing architectural features. A Tuscan tower anchored the west front, while a grand porte cochere with massive Roman arches balanced the east facade and sheltered visitors and their carriages at the front entrance. For more than twenty-five years Morse and his family enjoyed summers at Locust Grove but following his death in 1872 the family spent more time in New York City and eventually emptied the house and rented the property. When William and Martha Young (opposite page) purchased Locust Grove from Morse’s heirs in 1901 the house entered its last and longest period of ownership. All furnishings now displayed in the house were used by the Young family and, as much as
possible, have been returned to the positions they occupied in the early 20th century, documented in the extensive records and photographs housed in the estate archives. The Youngs were a wealthy family with strong economic and social ties in the Hudson Valley and their children were raised in a sophisticated and privileged environment. As Mr. and Mrs. Young were well educated and had traveled extensively, their home and its furnishings reflected an appreciation of fine art and objects. Their children, Annette (top middle) and Innis (top right), devoted years to the task of documenting and preserving their family history and heritage.
In 1958 Annette Young opened her great-great grandfather’s home, Locust Lawn, in Gardiner, NY, to the public as a museum and nature preserve. In 1975 she bequeathed her own home at Locust Grove, together with its contents and her family papers, to an independent, not-for-profit corporation chartered to preserve the estate for the “enjoyment, visitation, and enlightenment of the public.” Today Locust Grove strives to meet this challenge through exhibitions, educational programs, and public tours at both the Locust Grove Estate and Locust Lawn Farm.
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Entrance Hall and Library Like many houses of the 1830’s, Locust Grove is built around a central hall from which all other parts of the house are accessible. While the elegant, simply fluted moldings date from the 1830 construction period, Morse dramatically extended the hall with the Tuscan tower addition on the west side in 1851, and the Youngs added the elaborately patterned Minton tile floor in the foyer in 1901. Displayed in the Entrance Hall are important paintings by Sanford R. Gifford and Cornelius Krieghoff. A pair of Chippendale side chairs and card table (New York, c. 1750), complete the Entrance Hall furnishings. Added to Locust Grove in 1851, the half-octagonal library was originally Samuel Morse’s study. From a large oak desk in the center of the room, Morse could gaze at the lovely view across the wide veranda to the flower beds that surrounded his home. The Youngs installed the glass-fronted Gothic Revival bookcases and filled them with reference books, histories, and novels. Furnishings include a paper mache work table, writing desk, and table, all c. 1850.
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First Floor
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Music Room
Receiving Room
Conveniently located across the Entrance Hall from the Receiving Room and Parlor, this room served as the dining room from 1830 until 1901, when the Youngs added their larger and more modern dining room in the new north wing. Annette and Innis Young played the piano, flute, recorders, and mandolins displayed in this room and also staged recitals here for their parents and friends. The furnishings include a group of massive Elizabethan Revival library furniture (New York, c. 1850) made for Henry Winthrop Sargent’s estate “Wodenethe” in Beacon, NY. Two large gilt bull’s eye mirrors (American, c. 1830), originally with convex mirror plates, flank a three-quarter length portrait of Hasbrouck Innis (Annette Young’s uncle), by Josef Koppay (c. 1911).
Known today as the Receiving Room, this was previously the Morse family’s Library. In 1901, the Youngs relocated the Library to the south end of the house and used this room as an informal reception area. Furnishings of the Receiving Room include a beautiful mahogany sofa with carved neoclassical decoration (New York, c. 1810) and “Twilight,” an 1887 watercolor by Henry Farrer, over the mantle.
First Floor
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Butler’s Pantry
Dining Room
The Butler’s Pantry was extensively remodeled when the Young family constructed the north wing in 1901. With the help of modern conveniences including a dumbwaiter, a call station for the servants’ buzzers, a wine cooler, and a copper sink, this room served as an essential facilitator between the kitchen and dining room. The spacious, locking cupboards in this room and in the adjacent china room protected the fragile glassware and porcelain dinnerware used by the Young family, including the enormous Chinese export service exhibited (Canton, c. 1810) and other services manufactured by the Meissen, Sevres, and Limoges factories.
The Dining Room, the centerpiece of the north wing, was added to Locust Grove in 1901. It replaced the Morse’s much smaller dining room (now the Music Room), deemed insufficient for the grand parties envisioned by the Youngs. The long mahogany table (American, c. 1840) can extend to seat up to fourteen guests, and is surrounded by Federal lyre-back chairs (American, c. 1815). Three New York sideboards, two with inlaid satinwood stringing (c. 1800), display Tiffany silver and Meissen porcelain cherished by the family. Portraits of William and Martha Young by Josef Koppay (c. 1911) flank the fireplace, while a portrait of William Young’s grandfather, Henry Young, by Samuel L. Waldo (c. 1860) occupies the place of honor over the mantle.
First Floor
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Drawing Room The Drawing Room is the most formal reception room at Locust Grove. Occupying the entire first floor of the grand Tuscan tower added by Morse and Davis in 1851, this elegant room is placed on axis with the front door and Entrance Hall. Through tall casement windows the great sweep of the west lawn leads the eye
toward the Hudson River and distant hills, a dramatic vista created by Samuel Morse. The Drawing Room is furnished with a group of white painted and gilt decorated furniture (American, c. 1815) and a large gilt pier mirror (American, c. 1850). A portion of Martha Young’s extensive collection of transfer-decorated cups and Staffordshire plates is displayed in the Chippendale secretary
(American, c. 1750), while a 19th century copy of Titian’s “Flora” hangs above the mantle. 1
First Floor
Master Bedroom The Master Bedroom occupies the second floor of the Tuscan tower and, like the Drawing Room one floor below, looks out onto breathtaking views across the estate’s landscaped grounds and Hudson River. This is the only bedroom in the house with an en-suite bathroom and water 2
closet, probably installed by the Youngs when they purchased the home in 1901. The Master Bedroom is furnished with an impressive group of marquetry-decorated furniture (Dutch, 1800-1850) including a bed, desk, two chests of drawers, dressing mirror, and several side chairs.
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Second Floor
Annette Young’s Bedroom Furnished much as it was in 1908, this bedroom was used by Annette from 1895, when the Youngs began renting Locust Grove from Samuel Morse’s heirs, until 1946, when she moved to the Master Bedroom after her mother’s death. The lovely views of the Hudson River and glimpses of wildlife from the window must have made this room a favorite for Annette, a nature and animal enthusiast. Personal photographs and mementos fill the room, and the furnishings include a large secretary (American, c. 1810) for Annette’s books and correspondence and a chest of drawers (American, c. 1825). 1
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Innis Young’s Bedroom Suite This bedroom, dressing room, and closet have changed little since the early 1950’s, when Innis Young last occupied them. Used by Innis 1895 until his death in 1953, most of the current decorations were purchased by him during his extensive global travels between 1914 and the mid-1940’s. While the pictures on the wall include fine paintings, watercolors, and engravings, Innis also clipped and framed illustrations from newspapers and magazines and hung them here in a pleasant jumble. The glass-fronted display case contains some of Innis’ numerous collections, including military medals, snuff boxes, miniatures, Delft plates, and Bohemian glass.
The Billiards Room
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The Billiards Room, with its domed ceiling and Venetian window, is one of the most imposing architectural spaces at Locust Grove. While Samuel Morse designed the room as a billiards room, the current billiards table (manufactured by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company in the 1890’s) was purchased by William Young. Mr. Young was an avid billiards player and his trophies from tournaments at the Union League Club in New York City line the tops of the highboys (American, c. 1740-1760) flanking the east window. Other significant pieces include a large mahogany wardrobe (English, c. 1720) now used as a bookcase and the group of eight framed lithographs of Plains Indians by George Catlin.
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Guest Wing
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Comprising three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the north side of the house with connecting closets and a dressing room, the Guest Wing was completed during the Young’s renovations in 1901. With the interior doors closed, these rooms could be used separately or combined as required by visitors. Hasbrouck Innis (Annette Young’s uncle) used these rooms frequently, but the large wardrobes and chests of drawers were also used by the Youngs to store out of season clothing and linens. 3
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Servant Bedrooms
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These two ground floor rooms, conveniently located near the kitchen, have been part of Locust Grove’s service quarters since the 1830’s. Following their purchase of Locust Grove, the Youngs remodeled three large attic rooms for the housemaids and provided these bedrooms for Catherine Jones, their housekeeper, and Mary Smith, their cook. Typical of rooms for higher status servants, these bedrooms are furnished with a combination of furniture previously used by the Youngs, and pieces purchased new for these servants.
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Service Floor Ground Floor 3 2
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The Kitchen,Laundry, and Maid’s Dining Room are the heart of Locust Grove’s service floor. The Kitchen, with its large coal burning range (c. 1900) and wide slate sink was the primary work center for the household staff and meals for the family as well as the staff were prepared here. The Kitchen is connected to the Butler’s Pantry by a dumbwaiter and to the rest of the house by the call station for the servants’ buzzers. The Laundry Room includes both built-in wash tubs and freestanding equipment for washing, drying, and ironing clothing and linens. Next-door, the Maids Dining Room also includes a lounge for staff, and work space for cleaning and mending.
Gardens and Grounds Samuel Morse designed the grand elements of a “picturesque” landscape at Locust Grove in the 1850’s, and continued to improve the grounds of the estate for the remainder of his life, planting trees and shifting walls to make the most of what he called his home’s “capabilities.” After William and Martha Young purchased the estate in 1901, they preserved the great maple, locust, and beech trees that defined the landscape and purchased adjoining property to preserve and protect the grounds from development. Martha Young was an enthusiastic plant collector and ordered staggering quantities of flowers and shrubs for the estate gardens. The original gardens have been restored using original plans and seed orders from the Young Family Archives, in many cases using the same varieties ordered a century ago. The original kitchen garden has also been restored as a display garden for heirloom vegetables.
Locust Lawn Farm The main house at the Locust Lawn Farm (located just 30 minutes from Locust Grove in Gardiner, New York) was completed in 1814 for Annette Young’s great, great grandfather, Josiah Hasbrouck. Josiah served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (under Presidents Jefferson and Monroe) and developed a taste for sophisticated architecture while in Washington, D.C. The facade of his house, the centerpiece
of what was once a 1,000-acre farm, is based on a design by Asher Benjamin and contrasts with the adjoining stone house, built in 1738 for the Terwilliger family and converted to staff quarters by the Hasbroucks. Three generations of the Hasbrouck family filled the house with furniture, paintings, and personal possessions, but the house was closed in 1884 and used primarily for storage. In the 1930’s
Annette and Innis Young re-opened the house first to family friends and then, in 1958, to the general public. Enjoy paintings by Ammi Philips and furniture from the shops of Joseph Banks and Duncan Phyffe in one of the Hudson Valley’s best preserved interiors.
The Locust Grove Estate & Locust Lawn Farm 2683 South Road, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
845.454.4500 • www.lgny.org