Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site
MID HUDSON
http://nysparks.com/historic-sites/5/details.aspx
P.O. Box 207
Vails Gate, NY 12584
Hours: Open Memorial Day through Labor Day: Wednesday-Saturday, 10 AM – 5 PM Sunday 1 PM – 5 PM. Other times are available by appointment only.
Phone: (845) 561-5498
Historical Description: The elegant fieldstone mansion now called Knox's Headquarters was constructed in 1754 when by stonemason William Bull for the prosperous miller and merchant, John Ellison. High-ranking officers, including Generals Henry Knox, Nathanael Greene, and Horatio Gates, shared the home with the Ellison family at various times during the American Revolution. Major General Knox occupied the house four different times, including when he commanded the artillery park during the winter of 1780-81. He and his wife Lucy made their final stay there in the summer of 1782 prior to his assumption of command of Fortress West Point. Subsequently, Major General Gates used it as his headquarters when he was Commandant of the New Windsor Cantonment
The Site: Built in the Georgian style the house is elegant and beautiful. The rooms are still furnished in the eighteenth century style bringing to life the wartime appearance of the house had when it was shared by Ellisons and their military guests. The Jane Colden Native Plant Sanctuary, named after Jane Colden, the daughter of the last Royal Lieutenant Governor of New York and the first woman botanist in North America, contains over one hundred different kinds of wild flowers. The ruins of the 1741 Ellison gristmill on Silver Stream can also be found at site.
Directions: Knox's Headquarters is located in Vails Gate, New York. From I-87 (Thruway) Exit 17 or I-84 exit 7-S, Newburgh, take NY 300 south until you reach an intersection. Take NY 94, and turn off on Forge Hill Road. From south on NY 9-W, turn left onto Orange City 107; take until you reach NY 32. Turn right onto NY 32 north; take until you reach a five-way intersection at NY 300, and NY 94. Take NY 94, and then turn onto Forge Hill Road.
Research Patron: Barnabas McHenry
