Early Heritage Narrative Walk

Nestled along the treeline of our rural properties in Kinderhook, this permanent outdoor exhibition explores the diverse history of Columbia County through nine narrative panels. We invite you to visit and learn about the stories of the people who lived and labored here from prehistory through the 20th century, and imagine what life was like at various points in time as you make your way around the exhibit.

Visitor Information

Location:

2589 NY-9H, Kinderhook, NY 12106

Admission:

Free

Hours:

Dawn to dusk, 365 days a year

Narrative Panels on Display

The Original Ichabod Crane
Colonial Dutch Architecture
Enslavement in the Hudson Valley
The Van Alen Family & Early Dutch Settlers
Eleanor Roosevelt at Ichabod Crane
Black Locust Trees
Native Inhabitants
One-Room Schoolhouses
Washington Irving

Exhibition Made Possible by:

  • The Embassy of The Netherlands in New York
  • Hudson River Bank & Trust Foundation
  • Humanities New York
  • Hudson River Valley Greenway
  • County of Columbia

Also on Site

Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse

Visit this c. 1850 Kinderhook school to learn about one-room schoolhouse education in the 19th century and the literary lore that gives the school its name.

Dutch Farming Heritage Trail

Explore the farmlands of Kinderhook’s early Dutch settlers on this 1.7-mile walking trail linking the Luykas Van Alen House to Martin Van Buren’s Lindenwald.

Luykas Van Alen House

The 1737 Luykas Van Alen House in Kinderhook, NY is recognized as one of the best remaining examples of a Dutch Colonial farmhouse in the Hudson Valley.

Land Acknowledgement​

Our sites are located on ancestral lands of the Muh-He-Con-Neok, “the People of the Waters that Are Never Still”.  Called Mohicans by the English, these people are now officially known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community.  They have a rich and illustrious history which has been retained through oral tradition and the written word.