Open: The Second and Forth Saturday of the month when in season. Please visit the website for the days open. The cabin is open from 12:00pm-4:00pm when in season.
My review on TripAdvisor:
The entrance to John Burroughs ‘Slabsides’
The entrance to Slabsides is located on a local country road off another local country road off Route 9. Use your Google Map carefully when visiting or you will miss the turn off. The parking lot is really small and holds only about eight cars so please make the turn around on the road above and park facing down from the parking lot (word of advice on parking).
The pathway from parking lot to the house is really beautiful and lush in the summer. It seemed more desolate in the cooler months and just empty. Still it is only about a five minute walk from the parking lot to the cabin.
The original cabin “Slabsides” from the pathway. This one room cabin was used by Naturalist John Burroughs as a home away from home to write and to think.
The lawn outside the cabin
The historic sign outside the cabin
The porch of Slabsides in the summer
John Burroughs work area inside the cabin and his kitchen
John Burroughs work station overlooked the woods and rock formations
The fireplace and resting area
The kitchen area in the back of the cabin
The bedroom and sleeping area of the cabin
The bedroom of the cabin
The pictures of Walt Whitman and John Burroughs in the bedroom
John Burroughs was one of the most popular authors of his day and is credited with creating the modern nature essay. Using easily understood prose, he described nature that was familiar and local, bringing the natural world to his readers. He encouraged them in the art of observation by sharing a sense of place and purpose in the land. Burroughs wrote more than three hundred articles published in leading magazines and in twenty-seven books over sixty years. Through his writings and friendships with influential leaders he had a profound impact on the emerging conservation movements.
Born in the Catskill Mountains in 1837 he settled on a nine-acre fruit farm on the west bank of the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie that he named “Riverby.” Poet Walt Whitman and Burroughs tramped through its surrounding woods during Whitman’s several visits, moving Burroughs to call these woods “Whitman Land.” In 1895 he purchased a nearby tract of land and built a two-story cabin as a place to write and entertain, calling it “Slabsides.”
Though Burroughs was a writer particular to the Hudson Valley region, his travels were widely known and celebrated. In 1899 he joined the Harriman Expedition to Alaska and wrote the “Narrative” of the expedition. He accompanied Roosevelt into the wilderness of Yellowstone, telling the story in Camping & Tramping with Roosevelt, which provided the narrative for a segment of Ken Burns’s The National Parks. Burroughs also traveled to the Grand Canyon and Yosemite with John Muir and went on elaborate camping trips with his industrialist friends Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone. Accounts of these events are in Burroughs’ journal archived at Vassar College.
Burroughs received honorary doctorates from Yale, Colgate, and the University of Georgia, and the Gold Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
The ceiling of the cabin
The stairs to the upstairs loft
The cabin was small and is pretty much one full room with one or two walls partitioning the rooms. This seems more like a summer cabin. Still it had its charm.
We then finished the tour outside along the trails outside the cabin.
I admired the outside woods from the patio
(From the John Burroughs Association website)
The land around Slabsides informed many of his essays in which he described nature close at hand. Through works written here, John Burroughs inspired national leaders to preserve land and its wildlife and generations of readers to head out-of-doors. For nearly three decades Slabsides drew devoted readers and prominent friends. There are nearly seven thousand signatures in his Slabsides guest books. Among the early signers were ornithologists Frank Chapman and William Brewster, conservationist John Muir, leader of the Arts and Crafts movement Gustav Stickley, and his friends Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Ford, who gave him a series of three Ford cars. The young journalist Theodore Dreiser interviewed Burroughs at Slabsides.
The trail outside the cabin which Aldo served as the lawn when it is not full of vegetation from all the recent rain.
The trail signs
Looking down the trails outside the cabin
The rock formations outside the cabin on the trails
One last look back at the cabin before I left that morning
Walking along the trails outside back to the car
Walking along the trails bank to the car
Walking along the trails
Walking along the trails
The parking lot before I left that day
It was a wonderful private tour with Joan, who is the President of the organization. She explained who John Burroughs was, his significance in writing and his life. It was a very interesting tour.
The pathways were so beautiful and there is a full series of trails to follow throughout the property to explore.
The Beacon Historical Society at 61 Leonard Street at Christmas time
The outside of the building in the Summer
The sign for the Beacon Historical Society at Christmas time
The outside sign in the Summer
The Mission of the Society:
(From the Society pamphlet
The Beacon Historical Society was founded in 1976 to preserve, collect and interpret the rich history of the City of Beacon and its predecessor Villages of Fishkill Landing and Matteawan.
History of the Society:
(From the Museum website)
Established in 1976, the Beacon Historical Society showcases Beacon’s history through exhibitions, collections, programs, books and an informative monthly newsletter. The Beacon Historical Society is proud to serve as Beacon’s repository of rare photographs, paintings and prints, Hudson River ship models, objects and ephemera from local factories and Main Street businesses, records of local cemeteries and Civil War veterans, maps of Beacon, Fishkill Landing and Matteawan.
I recently did a walking tour of Downtown Beacon, NY and was impressed by the numbers of restaurants, bars and stores in the downtown area. It is an impressive downtown with very few empty stores and impressive and lively street life. On my first trip to the Beacon Historical Society I learned this was not always the case.
I recently visited this small historical society packed with information on the history not just of the City of Beacon but the surrounding Hudson River area. The museum gives an in depth view of the industrial history of the area and the highs and lows of many of the river communities. These small communities have seen a renaissance over the last decade especially during COVID and many of the older towns have seen new life being breathed into them.
The first exhibition I looked at was the Photographer Patrick Prosser exhibition (being shared with the Howland Cultural Center) ‘Work in Decay: The City of Beacon NY’.
Photographer Patrick Prossner was born and raised in Beacon and a graduate of Beacon High School and SUNY New Paltz with BFA. His work on this project started in 1982 photographing the decay of his home town (Author’s Bio on BHS website).
The photographer moved to the area in the early 1980’s during a time when Beacon’s mills and factories were closing and the downtown was boarded up. It shows what the downtown business district looked like and the changes that were made to shape it today.
The sign for the exhibition
Pictures of the former industrial zone
The pictures showed a once vibrant industrial community and the changes once these factories closed.
The changes in the surrounding area
The exhibition really shows the transformation of these towns from the once industrial hubs to the artsy communities filled with galleries and bars that many of them have become.
Downtown Beacon today filled with art galleries, shops and small restaurants
The former mill is now a luxury hotel and restaurant overlooking the same waterfall that used to power the mill
These small communities factories have now become hotels, lofts and in some cases new cottage industries have moved in. Time transforms areas and what is old becomes new again.
The first floor gallery
The second exhibition that I walked through was the ‘From Haverstraw to Beacon: Inside the Brickyards the built New York City’, an extensive look at the brickyards and the clay deposits that once lined the Hudson River that build most buildings in the City in the end of the Eighteenth, Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries.
The exhibition sign
The map of the location of the brickyards along the Hudson River. This depended on the location of the clay deposits.
Transportation of freight and people for both recreation and business was described in this display of different boats down the Hudson River.
The display of understanding the brick business
Display of the different companies and processes of making bricks
The display of people that make up the industry
The process of mining, making, drying and creating the bricks that would end up in New York City
Some of the bricks and the companies from the New York market that were created in the region
Another display on the companies
More of the companies and processes to making bricks
The exhibition was a very interesting look at what was once a dominant industry in the area but like any industry as the clay ran out and building materials changed, the industry diminished in the area and that way of life changed. With it as well was the transformation of the area.
The former brick factories
The Brockway Brick Company that built Macy’s original building in Manhattan
There were smaller exhibitions as well all over the two floors of displays. First there was a handmade dollhouse on the first floor that is a favorite of the elementary school students.
The handmade dollhouse on the first floor
On the seconded floor is a display is the socially prominent Van Nydeck family. The family donated their family tree and many family heirlooms and portraits.
Part of the Schenck Van Nydeck family tree
The Van Nydeck family heirlooms
There was also artwork and artifacts from the surrounding community on display all over the museum.
The painting is by a local artist and the pottery is locally made
The window is a Tiffany window from a local church that the Historical Society saved for the museum
The first floor gallery
The docent told me after I toured the exhibition that there are more exhibitions being planned for the future.
Touring Downtown Beacon, NY:
After the trip through the Historical Society, I ventured and walked Downtown Beacon. The neighborhood has certainly changed since the early eighties.
Downtown Beacon today
Downtown Beacon today with Mount Beacon in the distance
The beautiful floral arrangements in the downtown today
Open: Sunday 1:00pm-4:00pm/Monday-Friday Closed/Saturday 1:00pm-4:00pm/Walking tour of the historical Town of Hurley on the fourth Sunday of each month from May to October.
The Hurley Heritage Society and Museum at 52 Main Street.
The sign that welcomes you to the museum.
The first thing you will notice is the section of the blue stone road that is displayed in the museum’s yard.
You can still see the grooves in the road that were left by the stone wagons that once traveled through the town.
The Front Hall has an exhibition of Revolutionary items and Native American everyday objects.
The showcase of Native American artifacts, located in the upstairs hall, features a timeline of projectile points(spearheads) from the earliest prehistoric times to 1350 AD. Many early tools and stone tools used by the River Indian Tribes are displayed with explanations and documented dates. The history of early pottery tells how and why the Indian settlers crafted utensils from local clay pits and kilns (from the museum website).
Hurley played a pivotal role in the American Revolution. Following the burning of Kingston (then New York State’s Capital) by British troops on October 16, 1777, General George Clinton made Hurley’s Main Street a military outpost. Immediately after the burning of Kingston, the Capital was moved to Marbletown until November 18, when it was relocated to Hurley. The Safety Council (which represented the combined legislative and executive functions of the state government) met in the Van Deusen House (from the museum website).
The Dutch Room:
The Dutch Room showcases how a living area might have looked in the Dutch and Colonial period in the 17th and 18th centuries. All curated items—Dutch bible, antique chairs, tables and cupboards, baby cradle, canvas floor cloth, butter churn, Dutch oven, pewter and china dishes—are typical of ones used by Hurley’s early Dutch settlers (from the museum website).
The Dutch Room
The inside of the museum offers you a glimpse of the past of the town of Hurley and in the time of the Dutch settlers.
The front Hallway Gallery is the old Dining Room.
The old Dining Room of the home has a wood burning fireplace for cooking with an old-fashioned toaster and pots for making stew. To the side is a butter churner and a spinning wheel for making clothes.
Off to one side of the room shows life at that time.
The historic kitchen with wooden shoes and a sausage machine next to the butter churner. The armoire is filled with linens.
The kitchen utensils and cooking materials.
The table had a cake mold and a cabbage shredder. The cabinet was filled with pewter and dishes. Home life in a Dutch home was a lot of work.
On display was a Dutch Bible and a felt hat and other items of Dutch life in the Hudson River Valley.
The History of Post Offices:
In the other room has an exhibition of post offices of the local area and their history and development.
The museum was able to replicate old post office of Hurley by saving pieces of it and brought them to the museum. This if the old front of the Hurley Post Office.
This is the original sorting station from the of post office.
The history of the Hurley Post Office.
Visitors entering the exhibition room are transported into the reconstructed interior of a vintage post office. A dozen display panels circling the room guide the visitor through the seven (yes, seven) iterations of the hamlet of Hurley post offices and through the upheaval caused by reservoir construction of the Ashton, West Hurley, Glenford, and Spillway post offices (from the museum website).
The artist Winslow Homer’s Hurley-An Arist’s View art exhibition:
The pieces of his work are shown took place when the artist lived in the area.
Winslow Homer, one of America’s greatest painters and illustrators, visited Hurley, NY, during summers of the 1870s to sketch and paint views of American pastoral life. It has been a not-so-well-kept secret that that Homer’s famed Snap the Whip is a Hurley scene. Now, recent research has unearthed a trove of his artworks that were inspired by Hurley homes and landscapes (from the museum’s website).
The exhibition on the Eagle’s Nest Community:
EAGLE’S NEST: EXPLORING THE MYTHS AND REALITY explores the history and lore of the Eagle’s Nest, a multi-racial community that resided on Hurley Mountain dating to the 19th century. The Eagle’s Nest exhibit looks at who settled and lived on Eagle’s Nest – not just the myth and hearsay, but a look at the archival records and documentation.
The Walking tour of the town every forth Sunday:
Every last Saturday, the museum has a walking tour of its historic downtown. The town is steeped in history and played a role after the burning of Kingston, NY by the British. It seemed that people escaped to Hurley to get away from the ruin.
The docents run an hour tour of the downtown historical area and give the history of the businesses and buildings that made up this historical town. With the threat of rain and dark clouds above us, our tour guide, Michael, took us on a modified version of the longer tour that was very interesting.
Two different docents gave two different approaches towards the tour and both were excellent. Try not to miss this when it happens at the end of each month from May to October.
The Start of the tour with our tour guide Richard:
The video:
Now a quiet picturesque town, the tour takes you past the historic houses, the Dutch Reformed Church and through their old Dutch cemetery where the remains of many of the first families of the area now reside.
The start of the walking tour
It is an hour-long tour packed with information and interesting stops along the way.
The Van Deusen House when it was the temporary Capital of New York State
The Van Deusen House-the former headquarters of New York State after the burning of the Captial of New York State-Kingston, NY.
The Pietrus Crispell house has served as the Parsonage since 1839.
The Dutch Reformed Church and the Parsonage.
The tour continued
Talking more about the historic downtown
We toured the Hurley Dutch Reformed Church and the parthage next door. We got to see the inside of the church and the pews of the main room. There were dedications to former ministers along the walls. The services are said to be interesting and engaging.
The Dutch Reformed Church of Hurley, NY at 11 Main Street.
The pews inside the Dutch Reformed Church of Hurley, NY
The Rooster Weathervane of the Dutch Reformed Church.
The Rooster Weathervane is a tradition of the church. The tour guide said that it was replaced by a cross which is a more Christian symbol of the church.
One of the older houses of Downtown Hurley. Built in 1715 it operated as the Half Moon Tavern in the18th century.
The Old Guard House
The Guard House where a British spy was held until his hanging in retaliation for the Nathan Hale hanging in New York City. It seems that a British spy did the same type of treason as the British felt Nathan Hale had done and hung him in the town the same way as retaliation for his crime.
The Old Burying Ground sign
Touring the Historical Cemetery in Hurley, NY:
The Video of the Tour
The sign at the entrance of the Old Burial Ground in Hurley, NY.
The Old Burial Grounds was the most beautiful part of the tour. The cemetery sits on a bluff overlooking the Catskill Mountains and offers the most beautiful view on a sunny blue day. It makes you less afraid of cemeteries after touring this well-kept burial ground. The tombstones are well maintained for their age, and you can see the family plots of the first families of the area.
The Old Burial Ground with a view of the Catskill Mountains in the background.
The family plots in the cemetery.
The cemetery after it received a lawn cut from the town.
The view from the burial grounds with the Catskills in the background.
Revolutionary War Hero Colonial Charles DeWitt gravesite.
The dogs that will greet you when you exit the cemetery.
These two friendly dogs wanted to join the tour with us by the cemetery.
The house that General George Washington was given a reception during the war.
The General was entertained at this spot during the war with people grateful for his service.
The house General George Washington visited when he was in Hurley NY. This is is Abe Houghtaling House, where a reception was held for General George Washington when he visited Hurley on 1782.
The side view of the house.
The “Stone Road” pieces outside the museum.
There are two sets of street tracks to see at the museum.
The “Blue Stone Road” pieces outside the museum.
We finished the tour outside the museum with a talk about the museum. I highly recommend going to the museum on the fourth Sunday of the month from May to October (must be nice when the leave change colors) while the tours are still running and take this very interesting historical tour of this small town. it is packed with information and interesting sites to see.
Frankenstein and his bride from the recent Scarecrow Festival at the museum.
Christmas time in Hurley and at the society are really charming. I stopped by the society (it is closed for the season) to see how they decorated the building and the whole town was decorated for the Christmas holidays with garland, wreaths and decorated trees. The local church was decked out in wreaths and lights and the whole town looked like a wood carving from Currier & Ives.
The outside of the Hurley Historical Society at Christmas time.
The Society at Christmas time all decked out with decorations.
I decided to take the same walking tour as above on my own to see the town of Hurley during Christmas time.
I started at the sign at the Historical Society sign.
The Old Guard House at Christmas time.
The Reformed Church at Christmas time.
Downtown Hurley at Christmas time.
The Gazebo decorated for the holidays.
I doubled back and walked to the other side of the downtown towards the cemetery. The historic homes in the downtown were decked out with garland and wreaths and the downtown looked very picturesque.
One of the historic homes in Downtown Hurley.
Another one of the historic homes in the downtown area.
Another home on the tour route.
Before I left Downtown Hurley, the Hurley Fire Department added to the festive environment by having their fire truck drive by for their “Santa Around Town” event. It was kind of sad considering there was only myself and another person walking around, and their first stop was a grocery store down the road with two cars in the driveway. Maybe more people were planning on showing up later that afternoon.
The Hurley Fire Department at “Santa Around Town” in Downtown Hurley.
It was a relaxing afternoon in Hurley before I moved on to other parts of the Hudson River Valley for the afternoon.
The 2025 Tootsie Exhibition (in conjunction with the Hurley Public Library):
The Official Trailer to the film
When I visited the museum in August of 2025, the museum in conjunction with the Hurley Public Library was honoring the filming of the movie ‘Tootsie’, which had been filmed at an historic farmhouse just down the road from the museum along with the Hurley Mountain House sports bar just down the road from the museum. Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange and Charles Durning were in Hurley for three weeks filming the Upstate New York scene.
The ‘Tootsie’ exhibition
The display
The pictures and articles from the filming
The articles from the filming
Pictures from the day of the film shooting from locals Cindy Gill Lapp, who was a teenager when she visited the set (pictures above with Mr. Hoffman) and Viola Opdahl, who owned the historic house.
After the tour of the museum, there was a special screening of the movie ‘Tootsie’ at the Hurley Public Library with local resident, Cindy Gill Lapp who talked about her times visiting the set with her friends from high school.
Cindy Gill Lapp talking about visiting the set of ‘Tootsie’ in 1981
Ms. Gill Lapp with Dustin Hoffman on the set
Then a group of twenty of us stayed to watch the movie at the back room of the library. It was a really nice special event.
After the movie was over, I stopped down at Stewart’s Shops at 6 Main Street, down the street from the museum for a snack. It is one of only three places near the museum to eat.
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