This historic site is located in Beacon, New York on 145 Sterling Street. It was built between 1730 and 1740. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The land on which it was built was the third part of the Rombout Patent that belonged to the Verplanck Family. Gulian Verplanck who was a Dutch Merchant built the home. When looking at the house you will notice the gambrel roof which slopes down to become the roof of the veranda or porch and the four chimneys. Mount Gulian played a significant part during the Revolutionary War. During the war, Gulian Verplanck's son Samuel and his wife Judith Crommelin left the house and lived in their town house in New York City. While they were living in their town house General Baron Von Steuben used Mount Gulian as his headquarters. When you visit the home you can see his office. From here he trained the troops that were staying in Fishkill and he could easily get to George Washington's headquarters which was directly across the Hudson River in Newburgh. When you stand on the lawn off the veranda you can see where he crossed the river. He helped the American army to defeat the British troops as the inspector general of the Continental Army.

Another significant historical event happened in the home. On May 13, 1783 the Society of the Cincinnati began here. This is a famous society that was started by the officers of the Continental Army as a veteran's organization. It still exists today with thirteen chapters in each of the states that were the thirteen original colonies. There is also a chapter in France to recognize their role in the war.

Later in 1804 Daniel Verplanck added a large addition to the home which burned down in 1931. It included a large ballroom that was copied from the White House. From 1829 to 1868 a runaway slave named James Brown lived at Mount Gulian and tended the gardens started by Daniel Verplanck and his daughter Mary Anna. James Brown kept a diary during these years which tells of all the happenings at Mount Gulian. After the fire the home fell into disrepair. In 1966 the Mount Gulian Society was formed to restore the original house and use the site for educational and historical purposes.

Famous Visitors: General Baron Von Steuben used this home as his headquarters during the Revolutionary War. We are not certain if George Washington ever visited here but we do know that after the war the Marquis de la Fayette stayed in the new section of the home when he visited.


Interesting notes: On the property is a Dutch barn which the Verplancks built around 1720. There are no nails used in building it. When you look at it you can see the unique way they had of building the upstairs so that hay could dry out. We enjoyed the office of General Von Steuben and seeing a reproduction musket fired. There is a small traveling desk displayed in this room that was used during the war. You can also see what it took to light a fire in the fireplace. A piece of flint was used to light a small bit of flax. We learned that it took a lot of hard work to run a farm during this time and that was why families generally included many children. They were needed to do chores like carrying water in buckets up from the river, churning butter, carrying firewood for the fireplace, tending the fire and cooking all the meals. You can also see the home of the pet squirrel that one of the boys kept in the house. We learned about the types of games children might have played and what school was like then.

Interesting phrase: "Rule of thumb" When a child had misbehaved they had to go out and find their own switch which was a limb from a tree that was no fatter than your thumb.