Martin Van Buren National Historic Site - historic furnishings report addendum - Part 1: Historical data section with implementation options

Hodson J. 2019. Martin Van Buren National Historic Site - historic furnishings report addendum - Part 1: Historical data section with implementation options. National Park Service. Kinderhook, New York

Central to Martin Van Buren National Historic Site is Lindenwald, the only home the eighth President of the United States ever owned. Relatively little primary source evidence exists on how Martin Van Buren furnished Lindenwald. This was true when Carol Kohan conducted her exhaustive research for the 1986 Historic Furnishings Report for Lindenwald and it remains true today. No significant site-specific primary evidence has been found that would substantially help in determining specific furnishing placement or confirming the Van Buren-era use of many of the 36 rooms. During this project, attempts were made to trace specific furnishings types and patterns mentioned in Van Buren family correspondence and documented in Kohan’s report; supplemental information was derived from the inventories and papers of some of Van Buren’s contemporaries; literature on early to mid-nineteenth century period practice was consulted; and surviving furnishings examples from some of Van Buren’s friends, acquaintances and foes were considered. This and similar evidence can provide greater context for the Van Buren pieces that do survive, enhance the current installations and guide future furnishings installations.

Type
Published Report
Authors
Hodson, Janice
Date of Issue
2019
Publisher
National Park Service
Units
MAVA
Keywords
Furnishings, Lindenwald, MAVA, Van Buren

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