The Great Estates Consortium
presents From Field to Table: Agriculture on the Great Estates
An all day symposium Saturday, March 31, 2007 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. From Field to Table: Agriculture on the Great Estates
When Saturday, March 31, 2007 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Where Henry A. Wallace Visitor and Education Center at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site Route 9, Hyde Park, New York Registration fee $55 per person Includes Lunch and Wine & Cheese Reception Presented by The Great Estates Consortium Hosted by Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site Sponsored by The Great Estates Consortium With additional funding provided by:
Hudson River Valley Greenway
Stair Galleries & Restoration, Hudson, New York
Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corporation
Cover: Stanley Humphrey Benham, Sr. and "Webster," 1910. Photo by Sidney Smith Benham. ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM
From Field to Table: Agriculture on the Great Estates, a symposium organized by the Great Estates Consortium, will be held on Saturday, March 31, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This conference will focus on the importance of agriculture to Hudson Valley estates from the 18th to the 20th centuries. It will also examine the role that farming and other agricultural activities play today in open space preservation. Symposium attendees can participate in an optional walking tour of Roosevelt Farm Road, and a new program entitled FDR, Empire Forester. The tour will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will depart from the lobby of the Henry A. Wallace Center.
Travis M. Bowman, Curator of Collections at Clermont State Historic Site, will open the symposium with an examination of subsistence and early commercial agriculture entitled, Manor To Market: Colonial Agriculture In the Hudson Valley. Stanley H. Benham, Jr. will follow with a pictorial presentation, Rural Life in the Hudson River Valley in the 1800s. Mr. Benham's presentation will be drawn from a recently published book authored by his father, Stanley H. Benham, Sr., that includes photographs taken by Mr. Benham's grandfather at the turn of the last century that portray farm life, family, community and the beautiful Hudson Valley scenery.
Following lunch, Frank Futral, Curator of Decorative Arts at the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, will explore the dining customs and preferences of the upper levels of society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in a presentation entitled, Fifth Avenue Farmers. Park Ranger Kevin Oldenburg will continue the afternoon's presentations with FDR “A Farmer in My Native Town,” a presentation of the tree farming activities at Springwood, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s family estate in Hyde Park.
After a brief coffee break, Judith LaBelle and Mary Kay Vrba will conclude the symposium with an exploration of the state of agriculture today in the Hudson Valley and the significant role it plays in open space protection. Ms. LaBelle is the President of the Glynwood Center, a Cold Spring based not-for-profit organization that works with communities to identify ways to save farmland. Ms. Vrba is the Director of the Dutchess County Tourism Promotion Agency which recently convened a conference on agricultural and culinary tourism. A wine and cheese reception featuring local products will follow the final presentation.
The symposium will take place in the Henry A. Wallace Visitor and Education Center. Space is limited, and meals and refreshments are included in the conference fee, so pre- registration is strongly recommended. For additional information please call (845) 889-8851.
From Field to Table is made possible through the generous support of the Hudson River Valley Greenway and Stair Galleries and Restoration of Hudson, New York. Additional funding has been provided by Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corporation. The Great Estates Consortium is an alliance of the following museum properties and organizations in Dutchess, Columbia and Greene Counties: Olana State Historic Site, Thomas Cole's Cedar Grove, Clermont State Historic Site, Montgomery Place, Wilderstein Preservation, Staatsburgh State Historic Site, Vanderbilt National Historic Site, Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, Eleanor Roosevelt's Val-Kill National Historic Site, Samuel F. B. Morse's Locust Grove, and the Hudson River Valley Institute. AGENDA
Saturday, March 31
8:30 - 9:30 am Optional walking tour of Roosevelt Farm Road Kevin Oldenburg, Park Ranger Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites
9:30 - 10:00 am Registration and coffee
10:00 - 10:15 am Welcome Remarks Cynthia Koch, Director, FDR Presidential Library Sarah Olson, Superintendent, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt NHS
10:15 - 11:00 am Manor to Market: Colonial Agriculture in the Hudson Valley Travis Bowman, Curator of Collections Clermont State Historic Site
11:00 - 11:15 am Coffee Break
11:15 - Noon Rural Life in the Hudson River Valley in the 1800s Stanley H. Benham, Jr.
Noon - 1:00 pm Lunch
1:00 - 1:45 pm Fifth Avenue Farmers Frank Futral, Curator of Decorative Arts Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites
1:45 - 2:30 pm FDR “A Farmer in My Native Town” Kevin Oldenburg, Park Ranger Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites
2:30 - 2:45 pm Break
2:45 - 3:30 pm Agriculture in the Hudson Valley Today Judith LaBelle, President, Glynwood Center Mary Kay Vrba, Director, Dutchess County Tourism
3:30 pm Wine & Cheese Reception
Conference attendees will receive free admission to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum and the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site throughout the day, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. REGISTRATION FORM
Name ______Address ______City ______State ______Zip ______Telephone ______Email______
The registration fee is $55 per person. This includes coffee and tea in the morning, lunch at the Wallace Center and a wine & cheese reception after the conference. Checks should be made out to: Friends of Mills Mansion.
Please charge $______to my Mastercard Visa
Card #______Expiration Date______
Name (as printed on card)______
Signature ______
Mail payment with this form to:
Country House Symposium c/o Friends of Mills Mansion Staatsburgh State Historic Site P. O. Box 416 Staatsburg, NY 12580
For Additional Information call (845) 889-8851. Staatsburgh Olana Locust Grove
FDR Presidential Library Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt
Wilderstein Cedar Grove Val-Kill
Clermont Montgomery Place Vanderbilt Mansion Located in the heart of the historic Hudson River Valley, these magnificent properties offer great art, architecture, gardens, landscapes, hiking trails, special events, astonishing views, house tours, picnicking, museum shops, and more.
Staatsburgh State Historic Site Staatsburg, New York (845) 889-8851 www.staatsburgh.org
Olana State Historic Site Hudson, New York (518) 828–0135 www.olana.org
Locust Grove, The Samuel F. B. Morse Historic Site Poughkeepsie, New York (845) 454-4500 www.morsehistoricsite.org
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum Hyde Park, New York (800) FDR-VISIT www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu
Hudson River Valley Institute Marist College, Poughkeepsie, New York (845) 575-3052 www.hudsonrivervalley.net
Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site Hyde Park, New York (845) 229-9115 www.nps.gov/hofr
Wilderstein Rhinebeck, New York (845) 876-4818 www.wilderstein.org
Cedar Grove Catskill, New York (518) 943-7465 www.thomascole.org
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site (Val-Kill) Hyde Park, New York (845) 229-9115 www.nps.gov/elro
Clermont State Historic Site Germantown, New York (518) 537-4240 www.friendsofclermont.org
Montgomery Place Annandale-on-Hudson, New York (914) 631-8200 http://www.hudsonvalley.org/web/mont-main.html
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site Hyde Park, New York (845) 229-9115 www.nps.gov/vama The Great Estates Consortium c/o Friends of Mills Mansion P.O. Box 416 Staatsburg, NY 12580
From Field to Table: Agriculture on the Great Estates
March 31, 2007
Presented by the Great Estates Consortium