Our second stop for the day was the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site is in Kinderhook, New York. Although it was in a different state, it was just over the border from Massachusetts. The presidential sites are always interesting because we learn more about the men who shaped our nation.
Martin Van Buren was raised Kinderhook, a Dutch community in New York, and his first language was Dutch. He is the only president who spoke English as a second language. Van Buren trained as a lawyer, but entered politics when he was in his 30’s. He was a member of the New York Senate, the New York Attorney General, and a United States Senator. He served five years as New York’s governor, then became the Secretary of State under President Andrew Jackson.
After serving as Jackson’s Vice President during Jackson’s second term, Van Buren became Jackson’s chosen successor. Martin Van Buren was elected as the eighth president. He had a troubled presidency and only served one term. Part of the problem was the difference in personality between Jackson, who was very popular, and Van Buren who was taciturn and reserved. Van Buren inherited the bank panic of 1837 from Jackson.
Martin Van Buren was the Democratic choice to run for a second term as president. His refusal to allow Texas to enter the union as a slave state, however, angered Southerners so much that they turned against him and he was defeated. Four years later the Democrats nominated James Polk to run for president instead of Van Buren.
After finishing his term as president, Martin Van Buren retired to Lindenwald, a farm just outside Kinderhook. The Lindenwald house was built by Judge Peter Van Ness in 1797. Van Buren bought it in 1839 while he was still President. After retirement, Van Buren planted pear and apple orchards and kept a large flock of sheep. A farm manager took care of the farm, allowing Van Buren to entertain guests, write, and continue to follow politics.
Martin’s son, Smith Van Buren, moved into the house with his large family in 1849. The addition of this family required extensive renovations and a large addition to the house. Modern technology was added to the house: a kitchen range and running water. Martin lived happily in the house with his son’s family, until his death in 1862. Over the years, the farm has been owned by many different people, until the National Park Service acquired it in 1974 at the direction of Congress.
The only way to see the house was on a ranger-led tour, so we signed up for the next one. While we waited for the tour to start, we walked the wayside trail. This trail had 11 waysides that told the story of Lindenwald during the time Van Buren lived there.
The tour was led by Ranger Molly who did a great job. She showed us the rooms of the house and helped us imagine Van Buren sitting at the dining room table with other politicians. Ranger Molly also discussed which parts of the house were original and which were added by Smith. Some of the furnishings in the house belonged to Martin, but most of them were from the period. We saw the indoor, flushing toilet and the hot water pipes, very unusual for a house in this period.
After our tour, Tom and I checked out the Visitors Center. The main reason we went in the Visitors Center was to use the restrooms. The rangers had discouraged us from going in because the air conditioning was broken and it was hot inside. The Visitors Center is is one of those manufactured buildings that was meant to be temporary but has, over time, become permanent. There was a timeline of Van Buren’s life, but not much else.
When we finished our interesting visit to Martin Van Buren National Historic Site, we drove north of Albany to spend the night. We wanted to be close to the next park site. We picked up supper from the Market Bistro, a very large grocery store with a food court (mostly closed on a Sunday evening) on one side. I picked up a salad and Tom got a sandwich which we took back to our hotel room.
Another stamp added to my book with more to come.