Staatsburgh.
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Staatsburgh was the home of financier Ogden Mills and his wife, socialite Ruth Livingston Mills.The Gilded Age mansion, completed in Dutchess County, New York, in 1896, features 79 rooms.The Mills had tickets for the Titanic’s second trip, which never happened since it sank in 1912.
When New York City socialite Ruth Livingston Mills inherited her family’s country estate known as Staatsburgh in 1890, she felt it wasn’t grand enough to entertain her sophisticated friends.
With the help of her husband, financier Ogden Mills, she oversaw a massive renovation that transformed the home into a Gilded Age mansion modeled after the royal palaces of Europe.
Located in Staatsburg, New York, about 100 miles from New York City, Staatsburgh is now a museum that continues to preserve the home’s extravagant furnishings and rich history. Take a look inside.
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Adult tickets for hour-long tours cost $10 each and can be reserved online. The full schedule is available on Staatsburgh’s official website.
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Unlike other historic mansions I’ve toured where the visitor’s center is located in what was once a guest house or carriage house, Staatsburgh’s reception desk is on the ground floor of the original home itself.
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Ruth Livingston Mills came from “old money.” The Livingston family descended from Scottish nobles, and their ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War and signed the Declaration of Independence. Ruth’s great-grandfather, Morgan Lewis, served as the third governor of New York and purchased the Staatsburgh estate in 1792. Ruth inherited the home in 1890, according to Staatsburgh‘s official website.
Ogden Mills was known as “new money,” a financier who served as President Herbert Hoover’s Secretary of the Treasury.
Ruth and Ogden wed in 1882 and had three children.
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Ruth and Ogden Mills had tickets for the Titanic’s second voyage, but it never happened since the ship sank on its maiden voyage in 1912.
Staatsburgh offers special “Tales of the Titanic” mansion tours led by costumed guides.
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When Ruth inherited the house, the backyard was planted with corn. In order to prepare the residence for entertaining her posh New York City guests, she had the crops replanted elsewhere on the property.
The estate grounds are now known as Mills Memorial State Park.
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In the 1950s, Staatsburgh’s exterior was sprayed with gunite to preserve the facade. However, the active ingredient in gunite is asbestos, and it turned the house gray.
The white area in the photo above shows where the asbestos has been abated. Most of the front of the home has been restored, but the project is ongoing.
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The renovation cost $350,000 in 1895, or about $11 million in today’s dollars.
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The English oak wood paneling on the walls was meant to evoke the decor of English royalty.
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The portrait on the far left depicts Morgan Lewis, the third governor of New York and Ruth’s great-grandfather. Next to him is his daughter, Margaret.
Next to Margaret is Judge Robert Livingston, a statesman and attorney, followed by Chancellor Robert Livingston, who helped draft the Declaration of Independence, swore in President George Washington, and negotiated the Louisiana Purchase under President Thomas Jefferson.
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The last three steps were wider than the others to leave room for women’s gowns to cascade behind them in elegant, dramatic entrances.
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Ruth’s cousin, John Jacob Astor, was the richest man in the world when he died in the Titanic disaster. His body was recovered two weeks later, identified by the initials sewn into his jacket and the engraved gold watch in his pocket.
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The furniture was arranged differently when the Mills family took up residence there, but everything in the room was original to the home.
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The home had its own water system with a pump house on the property that filtered water into a steel-reinforced tank.
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Alice Roosevelt was good friends with the Mills’ twin daughters and a frequent guest at Staatsburgh.
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Maids slept on the third floor, while male servants such as footmen and butlers slept downstairs. Servants at Staatsburgh worked six days a week and had their own rooms, a rarity in the Gilded Age.
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The male servants’ quarters were used as the New York State Parks Taconic Regional Headquarters until 2009, and the area is undergoing restoration.
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A detail-oriented hostess, Ruth would be at the front of the line to be escorted into dinner by the highest-ranking gentleman.
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The green Italian and French marble walls were decorated with 18th-century Belgian tapestries. The Mills would also decorate the room with plants from their greenhouse.
The floor was constructed with 1-inch-thick Vermont marble to deaden the sounds of the kitchen below.
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The table could seat up to 30 people when fully extended. Meals lasted around two hours and included eight to 10 courses of mostly French cuisine.
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Typical of the Gilded Age, even the ceilings were works of art.
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The bronze lion statues had brass eyes that glowed when the sun shone on them.
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Located off the dining room, the butler’s pantry featured a speaking tube for communication with the kitchen.
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Different classes of passengers on the Titanic dined off different china patterns.
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Our tour guide described the drawing room as Ruth’s “she shed” where female family members and guests would socialize and take tea.
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Women’s corsets in the Gilded Age didn’t enable them to fully sit down.
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The urns date back to 400 to 600 BCE.
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Their collection of books included rare artifacts such as George Washington’s diaries.
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A large portrait of Ruth hung on the wall on the left.
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Her and Ogden’s suites were on the main level, which was unusual in the Gilded Age, but Ruth had a heart condition that made it difficult for her to go up and down flights of stairs.
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Ogden called Ruth “Tiny,” and her nickname for him was “Sweet.”
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According to our tour guide, 95% of the items inside Staatsburgh are authentic to the home and the Mills family, providing a historically accurate portrayal of how the wealthiest members of high society lived during the Gilded Age.
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