The Montgomery Place grounds are open for public access on Saturdays and Sundays only from dawn to dusk. Mansion tours continue to be suspended. The Annandale campus remains closed to the public at this time. Visit Bard's COVID-19 Response website for more information.
Planning Your Visit
Be Ready and Resilient
While Visiting Montgomery Place Campus
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 equipment such as balls, frisbees, etc. with those not in your household
Groups should be limited to members of a household
Exploring Our Grounds
The Montgomery Place grounds are open on Saturdays and Sundays only from dawn to dusk free of charge. Please park only in the Visitors Center parking lot.
Please help us maintain the beauty of these grounds by carrying out whatever you bring in. Trash bins are located only at the Visitors Center.
Please do not disturb or collect plants, animals, or rocks.
When walking the trails, please remain on the paths to assist with erosion control and reduce incidents of Lyme disease.
The Sawkill Trail and South Woods Trail have uneven terrain and are occasionally steep and muddy. The West Lawn Trail features sloping terrain.
The Montgomery Place Campus is a nonsmoking property. Please help us prevent fires and preserve this unique historic location by refraining from smoking anywhere on site.
Information about Hunting Season
We do not permit hunting at Montgomery Place, but hunting is allowed on some of the abutting properties. We encourage visitors to wear brightly colored clothing when using the trails during hunting season. Please review the hunting season schedule from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Past Programs and Exhibitions
Programs and exhibitions at the Montgomery Place Campus focus on people, place, and history. We consider the estate in its Hudson Valley context, with an eye on the region's changing economy and agriculture. We look toward the future, considering conservation and education.
Installation by Nicole Schemansky. Photo by Roman Hrab (detail)
Fall Sculpture Exhibit: Inside Out
Professor Judy Pfaff’s fall sculpture class, Installation, moves outdoors with the exhibition Inside Out. Seven artists have created site-specific works installed throughout the grounds of Montgomery Place, responding to the landscape and activating the surrounding environs and their features. Virtual exhibit coming soon!
Guardians of the Garden 200 Years of Pioneering Women in Horticulture
Montgomery Place’s 2020 spring lecture series, with its focus on women and horticulture, has been postponed indefinitely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This multidisciplinary series—organized and sponsored by Montgomery Place, the Horticulture Department at Bard College, and the nonprofit organization Hudson River Heritage—spotlights inspiring women and their work in the field of horticulture.
Stay tuned to our website for scheduling updates.
Renewable Energies: Balancing Outputs and Historic Landscapes
2019 Fall Salon Series
The Montgomery Place Fall Salon Series, Renewable Energies: Balancing Outputs and Historic Landscapes, presented two sessions highlighting how a local community balances the implementation of renewable energies within an historically significant landscape. Session 1: Solar Energy | November 12, 3–5 p.m. Session 2: Hydro Energy | December 3, 3–5 p.m.
The Gilded Garden: Historic Ornament in the Landscape at Montgomery Place
An exhibit of decorative garden ornaments from the extensive Montgomery Place collection
The gardens at Montgomery Place once featured decorative garden ornaments and furniture, displaying a wide mix of styles, alongside the plants. Examples of statuary, furniture, potted plants, and hanging baskets that have been documented in early photographs of Montgomery Place will be presented in the exhibition. On view through October 2019. Exhibition produced in partnership with and curated by Barbara Israel and her staff from Barbara Israel Garden Antiques. Funding provided by the A. C. Israel Foundation and Plymouth Hill Foundation.
Toward an Ethical Imagination: Gilsonfest
March 10 – September 11, 2019
Gilsonfest was a Bard College–led collaboration including Historic Red Hook, the Dutchess County Historical Society, and the Red Hook Quilters, funded by the Lumina Foundation, that focused on the life of Alexander Gilson (c. 1824–89). Gilson was an African American who labored for 50 years at Montgomery Place, eventually becoming the head gardener.
Toward an Ethical Imagination: Gilsonfest
A People’s History: Oral Histories and Inclusion Sunday, March 10 at 3:00 p.m. Lecture by Susan Merriam, associate professor of art history at Bard College, at the Elmendorf Inn, Red Hook, New York.
Alexander Gilson: From Property to Property Owner Friday, May 24 at 11:30 a.m. Exhibition opening at theHistoric Red Hook Annex, Cherry Street, Red Hook. It includes an exhibition by students in a Bard College class on Alexander Gilson, a quilting presentation by the Red Hook Quilters, and a presentation on historic garden artifacts and plants. Exhibition on view through Labor Day 2019. Adjunct exhibition in the Montgomery Place tool room. Display of historic tools from the Montgomery Place collection. On view through October 2019.
Public signage dedication in honor of the life of Alexander Gilson Friday, May 24 at 1:00 p.m. Montgomery Place Visitor Center. Following the dedication, there will be a gathering at the Montgomery Place Greenhouse tool room to celebrate an adjunct exhibition on Alexander Gilson.
History of Memorial Day Sunday, May 26 at 2:00 p.m. Lecture by Myra Armstead, professor of historical studies at Bard College. Refreshments to follow.
A series of free outdoor programming for all ages!
Fridays and Saturdays, September 7–21
The Fisher Center at Bard presents a second season of free outdoor events on the grounds of Montgomery Place, a National Historic Landmark overlooking the Hudson River: a puppet circus extravaganza, music from the border and beyond, and two under-the-stars film screenings set against the backdrop of the riverbank.
Fisher Center at Montgomery Place
Bread and Puppet Theater: Diagonal Life Circus Saturday, September 7 (Rain date: Sunday, September 8) Back lawn. Grounds open at 2 pm. Performance begins at 3 pm
Film Screening: The Goonies Friday, September 13 Front lawn. Grounds open at 6 pm. Film begins at dusk.
Music of the Americas The Golden Age of Latin America with Los Hacheros Roots, Funk, and Soul with Martha Redbone Saturday, September 14 (Rain date: Sunday, September 15) Grounds open at 2 pm. Performances begin at 3 pm.
Film Screening: Taking Woodstock Friday, September 20 Front lawn. Grounds open at 6 pm. Film begins at dusk.
James Mongan and Star Children, “Modern pop for vintage tastes, Catskill style.”
Montgomery Place at Bard College, Mansion House North Porch. Bring a picnic, lawn chair or blanket and enjoy the show. Free admission.
James Mongan Solo Acoustic-Electric Concert
Brooklyn-born singer-songwriter James Mongan brings his well-crafted and refined collection of energetic, smart, and socially conscious pop rock songs that will invigorate and inspire. James has been performing for various solo and collaborative projects for decades in New York City and since relocating to Woodstock, New York, some years ago. He has created his newest music project, Star Children, with some of Woodstock's finest musicians. James—both as a soloist and with Star Children—performs a mostly all-original collection of acoustic-electric music and is slowly making his way performing live throughout the Hudson Valley and beyond. James is also in the process of recording some new digital releases and downloads and an EP of new and old tunes.
Outdoor Yoga at Montgomery Place
All levels yoga with Danielle Degutz '19
Sundays, June 16 — August 25 10:00 am — 11:15 am
All are invited to practice yoga on beautiful summer mornings at Montgomery Place. Using nature as our inspiration, we go through a flow connected with breath and hold powerful postures. Bring a yoga mat and water and meet at the Visitor Center. The program is free to the Bard community and general public but donations are gladly accepted.
Spring Salon Series on Music of the Gilded Age
May 11, 18, and 26, 2019 A series of concerts and lectures hosted in partnership with Hudson River Heritage and coproduced and curated by Christopher Brellochs. Pictured: The Musical Life of Cora Livingston Barton and Her Husband Thomas Barton at Montgomery Place. Recital with Christopher Brellochs, saxophone and Rita Costanzi, harp. Montgomery Place Mansion House Parlor. Photos by Karl Rabe
Christopher Brellochs
Rita Costanzi
Dr. Brellochs addresses the audience.
Photo by Chris Kendall '82
The Gardener of Montgomery Place and the Composer of Newburgh, New York
Outdoor performance with Christopher Brellochs, soprano saxophone; Eric Aweh, alto saxophone; Joe North, tenor saxophone; Wayne Tice, baritone saxophone. Montgomery Place North Porch. May 2019. Part of the Music of the Gilded Age Salon Series.
Salon Series on Agriculture
Saturday, October 6, 2018 A daylong gathering of community members, students, and academics, representing farmers, lawyers, journalists, business and finance, and more, came together to address these questions: Can the Northeast feed itself? If so, should it? At what environmental or other costs/benefits? The 2018 Montgomery Place Salon Series was organized in partnership with Rose Hill Farm and the Hudson Valley Young Farmers Coalition.
Trees under Threat: Pests and Diseases that Endanger Our Trees Today
August 10 – October 31, 2018 Presented by the Landscape and Arboretum Program at Bard College, this seasonal exhibition focused on some of the tree insects and diseases that are endangering trees across the Northeast. The interpretive exhibit, which was installed in the Greenhouse Tool Room on the Montgomery Place Campus, explored signs and symptoms, early detection, and efforts under way to protect trees and promote tree conservation.
Montgomery Place: A Window on the World of Alexander Jackson Davis’ Architecture and Design
Spring 2018 Salon Series
April 14 – May 5, 2018
Our Spring Salon Series, organized in partnership with Hudson River Heritage, took place on four consecutive Saturdays beginning April 14. The series centered on the work of Alexander Jackson Davis, America's leading architect of country houses in the mid–19th century—many of them, including Montgomery Place, located in the Hudson River Valley.
Historic Garden Tools of Montgomery Place
July – October 2017 Historic Garden Tools of Montgomery Place is a virtual exhibition of the garden implements used at Montgomery Place for vegetable gardening, landscaping, orchard care, and floral display from the late 19th to mid-20th century. This online exhibit is based on an exhibition organized by the Bard Landscape and Arboretum Program that was on display in the Greenhouse Tool Room on the Montgomery Place Campus from July to October 2017.
Climate Chaos and Its Impact on the People and Places of the Mid-Hudson Valley
October 29 – November 19, 2017
Over four Sundays in October and November 2017 we examined a changing climate and its impact on the people and places of the Mid-Hudson Valley. Each week we explored a different theme: the Hudson River, farming, forests, and Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.
