Montgomery Place, a 380-acre estate adjacent to the main Bard College campus and overlooking the Hudson River, is a designated National Historic Landmark set amid rolling lawns, woodlands, and gardens, against the spectacular backdrop of the Catskill Mountains. Renowned architects, landscape designers, and horticulturists worked to create an elegant and inspiring country estate consisting of a mansion, farm, orchards, farmhouse, and other smaller buildings. The Montgomery Place estate was owned by members of the Livingston family from 1802 until the 1980s. In 1986, Livingston heir John Dennis Delafield transferred the estate to Historic Hudson Valley in whose hands it remained until 2016, when Bard College acquired the property.
The Montgomery Place grounds will be open to the public beginning on Wednesday, July 1.
Mansion tours will continue to be suspended.
Be Ready and Resilient
Note the Following:
- All bathrooms are closed to the public until further notice
- This is a carry in/carry out facility
- Stay on groomed paths and trails
- Avoid touching objects and surfaces, including park signage
- Don’t share equipments such as balls, frisbees, etc. with those not in your household
- Groups should be limited to members of a household
Digital Collections
Digital Exhibitions
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This digital presentation was produced by students in a Bard College course entitled The Window at Montgomery Place, taught by Professor Myra Young Armstead. As a combined History and Experimental Humanities course, the class provided students with the opportunity to think creatively and artistically of ways to use visual electronic media technologies to present historical narratives. Using Alexander Gilson's life as a reference, the images address the themes of slavery, gardening at Montgomery Place, business and property ownership, and family/community connections.
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Violetta White Delafield lived at Montgomery Place with her husband, John Ross Delafield, and their children from 1922 until her death in 1949. As a young woman, Violetta took an interest in botany and began to collect various fungi specimens in the rural Northeast, publishing scholarly works on the mushroom specimens she collected. As with most women in the sciences, her studies were viewed as "amateur." In spite of this, Violetta continued to collect and document specimens. This student-curated exhibition showcases some of Delafield's research.
Podcast: The Montgomery Place Story
Listen to Professor Myra Young Armstead, Montgomery Place Director Amy Husten, Arboretum Director Amy Parrella '99, and College Archivist Helene Tieger '85 talk about the history of Montgomery Place and how it's become part of the Bard story.
Audio Transcript PDFVisit Montgomery Place
The Montgomery Place grounds are open to explore every day from dawn to dusk free of charge. Mansion house tours are currently suspended.
Host Your Event at Montgomery Place
Picture yourself at Montgomery Place. The scenic gardens and grounds at this historic landmark are the perfect place for an unforgettable event.
A Living Legend
Learn about how the faculty and students of Bard College are connecting the rich history of Montgomery Place to modern life in the Hudson Valley and the most pressing issues of today through research, exhibitions, and local partnerships.