Landscape Information
Nestled between Kinderhook Creek and Route 9H, this 285-acre, irregularly shaped site was the home of President Martin Van Buren from 1841 to 1862. Van Buren managed the property, which he expanded to 221 acres, as an experimental and working farm, demonstrating the value of progressive agriculture and free labor.
Following Van Buren's death, Lindenwald changed hands several times, most of the owners maintaining its agricultural operations. In 1946 William DeProsse sold 166 acres and the remaining acreage became solely residential, while the farmland surrounding the house fell into disuse. In 1973 the National Park Foundation acquired the property and in 1977 turned it over to the National Park Service (which now manages 45 acres). Efforts rehabilitate the property have been informed by Van Buren’s progressive farming approach, preserving and protecting as much of the historic landscape as possible, including original field patterns.
The topographically varied site incorporates two connected terraces that slope gently northeast towards Kinderhook Creek. The higher, easternmost terrace features a Federal-style residence (1797), redesigned by architect Richard Upjohn (1849), and is fronted by a generous lawn edged by copses of pine and deciduous canopy trees, enclosed by a semicircular crushed-stone drive shaded by an allée of black locust trees. In addition to several contributing outbuildings (South Gatehouse at the south entrance, 1840s; Farm Cottage on the upper terrace, 1844), the property comprises four ponds, woodlands, and actively farmed land, all framing borrowed views of the Catskills Mountains to the west. Other notable features include the Van Ness Monument (1847) and the Dutch Farming Heritage and Martin Van Buren Nature Trails.
The Martin Van Buren National Historic Site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. The site is located within the Hudson River National Heritage Area.
