My brother and I continued our quest to hit the museums in NY with one that wasn't actually new to us...both of us had taken a class field trip there when we were in school! However, I'm sure it looks a lot different now than it did in the 80s when he visited, and 1995 when my class visited!
Washington's Headquarters is in Newburgh, NY, and was the next to last headquarters George Washington used during the American Revolution. The actual house he used, the Hasbrouck house, was built in 1750, and it's actually the oldest building I've been in. It was opened as a museum in 1850, and claims to be the oldest public museum in the entire USA! The collection outgrew the Hasbrouck house, and a dedicated museum building was built on the property in 1910.
The one thing I didn't care for in this museum is that the items in the collection are not labeled. If you want to know what each thing is, you have to remember the number and then go check the computer kiosk that is in some of the rooms in the museum. It's cumbersome, time consuming, and far more difficult than it needs to be. And with the museum only being open 4 hours there's not enough time to check everything. I only checked the items I was most curious about, and have zero idea what most of the items in the museum actually are, or are from. However, even though the museum is dedicated to the time Washington was in residence in the 1780s, it actually covers much more than that, with artifacts dating back to ancient Sumer and all the way up to WWII.
It was in the Hasbrouck house that Washington turned down Kingship, and also where he quelled the mutiny of the soldiers. Really historically important stuff.
The Victory Tower was constructed in the 1880s. It's the only part I really remembered from my class field trip in 1995.
A look at the Hasbrouck House, the part facing was built 1750. The museum building I mentioned above is on the left.
Looking out over the Hudson River.
That's one ornate gate.
Not sure why the windows were built in medieval arrow slit style, but they were.
Note the stairs. You are allowed to go up them, but only on the guided tour. I knew I couldn't handle them- both mentally or physically- and so I didn't.
This is the north side of the Hasbrouck house. Some of the windows are actually original.
The face of the museum.
These are some of the system put in place in the Hudson River at West Point to blockade the river.
This spear-looking thing was also part of the underwater defenses. Somebody fishing ended up bringing it up...others of the exact same thing are still in the Hudson.
I've always loved grandfather clocks.
This scale model of the Hasbrouck house was built in 1865!
Life-size portrait. I also bought a post card showing the same image.
Detail of some of the rocks in the Hasbrouck house. This side of the house was added in 1760.
Some interior shots.
Minuteman statue.
Newburgh, NY.
It was pretty cloudy the day we were there. The sundial was not very helpful.
Although I was not about to go up in the tower, my brother did! He took these photos while up there. A great view...which I will never see in person, LOL. You are looking at Beacon NY, the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, and south, where West Point is off in the distance, respectively.
While he went up in the Victory tower, I went over and photographed the museum contents. Again, I don't know what most of the items are other than the obvious general description.
daggers
guns
powder horns (I think)
These are musket balls.
Wall of swords was pretty cool looking!
More swords, an axe and a pike.
bag of some sort
rifles with bayonets
loom, circa 1820. (I actually looked this one up)
Various medals and tokens. There are a WIDE variety of Washington tokens and medals produced. Literal books have been written on them...some dating back to during his actual lifetime. Some also very, very rare.
and some also very large!
This event was held 101 years to the day before I was born. It was held at the museum which was then composed solely of the Hasbrouck house...it's also where the Victory Tower was unveiled. This is an original invitation.
Not sure what that is-I looked it up, but it wasn't clear. However, it was salvaged off the USS Maine in 1898.
Persian tiles.
The oldest artifact in the museum- a cuneiform tablet! (circa 4000 years old, exact date unknown)
Half of the coin collection. Oddly enough there were not any Washington quarters on display! Nor was there any paper currency bearing either Washington's portrait (yes, Martha was on currency). The only paper currency was the three WWI era Mexican notes shown.
Roman artifacts. Coins on top, rings below.
This is looking out the upstairs window of the Museum. That road, I suspect, may be partially original. It's cobblestone below at least three layers of pavement, I suspect the cobblestone may have been in place when Washington was here. Certainly when the museum opened in 1850. It's the bumpiest "paved" road I've ever been on. I don't think the city of Newburgh has done any road maintenance at all in the past 50 years at least...the whole area is bumpy and chopped up. I think they just put down new layers on top of the old.
Overall, it was a great trip! I enjoyed it even more now than I did in 1995. I wasn't yet the history buff then that I am now. Best of all, it's so close to home...less than 30 minutes, and admission is only $4 per person. Worth every cent.
If you can ever get the chance, I HIGHLY recommend visiting, because it's a lot more fun than what I was able to capture. I did end up taking more than 400 photos.
Washington's Headquarters.
Here's a bonus picture: If you took the time to read the sign I posted about the Victory Tower, you saw that the roof had been blown off by a hurricane in 1950 and was locked up and roofless for almost 60 years. Here's how it looked in 1995.
My mom took this photo on my class field trip. That's either me or one of my classmate's shoulders in the bottom left there.
