Bronck Museum: Travel Back to 1663 in the Hudson Valley
The Bronck House, built all the way back in 1663, is one of the oldest houses in New York. It a great spot to be reminded that tough people have made it through some really tough times. My kids, who have an oddly long attention span for historical lectures and love hearing about the incredibly difficult living conditions of the past, were enthralled by this place when we visited last summer. (They were 7 and 10 years old at the time).
[Please note: If you have little kids or antsy kids with short attention spans, this historical site may not be for you! Take your high-energy buddies to the New York State Museum in Albany or the kid-friendly Thomas Cole Site, or let them romp around the gardens of Olana. Save the Bronck House for a rainy day with friends who are deeply interested in the history of the Hudson Valley!]
Beds through the ages at the Bronck House.
When our guide spoke of the horrendous and dangerous living conditions during the long, cold winters of the 1600s, the kids’ eyes grew big over their masks. For a moment, the fact that we were all dealing with a pandemic on a steamy summer day didn’t seem quite so bad. The kids were very excited to sit on an uncomfortable bed stuffed with something hard and pokey — perhaps hay or corn husks (see above). I think it gave them new appreciation for the modern mattress (even the cheap ones we put on the many bunk beds at our place).
The Bronck Museum includes a Dutch Colonial home furnished with period pieces.
Our guide took us 350 years back in time, as we learned about the architectural history of Pieter Bronck's utilitarian, single-room stone house that was built all the way back in 1663. Then, we moved through the Dutch Colonial house built by Leendert Bronck in 1738, which is filled with eighteenth and nineteenth century family furniture, regional art, and period-specific objects (see above).
This is a place where every picture really does have a story, and I loved learning about the people in the portraits and the little girls whose embroidery projects were hanging on the walls.
Roasting in the kitchen at the Bronck House in Coxsackie
We visited on a very hot day and got a sense of what it might feel like to roast in the colorful detached kitchen (pictured above), as the oven blazed and food was prepared for a large home of family members and household servants. Our guide answered all the kids’ questions about kitchen tools and the types of food that would’ve been prepared here.
A canopy bed in one of the oldest homes in New York State, the Bronck House
Speaking of extreme temperatures, we also learned about how the curtains could be drawn around the canopy bed (pictured above) to help retain heat during cold winter nights. Canopy beds are cute, but this reminded me how happy I am that we now have a winterized home in the Catskills. (Shout-out to Nolan Propane, the very kind and attentive folks who keep our double-wide warm all winter! Gosh, those people are just so nice!)
Anyway, we loved the Bronck Museum, which is the headquarters of the Greene County Historical Society. This summer, we hope to head back to check out the archives at the nearby Vedder Research Library.
The Greene County Historical Society headquarters at the Bronck House Museum
The Bronck House Museum is located at 90 County Highway 42, Coxsackie, NY; (518) 731-6490.
