Martin Van Buren
National Historic Site
Press Releases for the 1999 Season

Martin Van Buren National Historic Site
Announces 1999 Summer Events Calendar

On Saturday, May 15th, Martin Van Buren National Historic Site will open for the 1999 visitor season. This year is the 25th year since Congress established the site on October 26, 1974. In addition to regular tours of President Van Buren's home, the park will host events throughout the season. Recognition of the birthday of the park will be at the Friends of Lindenwald annual 19th century crafts fair to be held at the site on August 21. Daily tours are available from 9am to 4pm until the end of October, with tours on Saturdays and Sundays through November.

On Sunday, June 13th, Kinderhook Elks Lodge 2530 will honor the nation's flag with their annual Flag Day ceremony. The winners of the Elks Flag Day Essay Contest will be recognized and awarded prizes. The ceremony, which begin at 2:00pm is great fun for children and adults.

In July, children ages eight to eleven will want to be at the park for the "Thursday Afternoon Fun at Lindenwald" program. Each Thursday at 2:00pm parents can bring their children to Lindenwald for 90 minutes of 19th century games and activities led by park rangers. The program will be conducted on July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29. It is a fun way to learn about the lives of children during Martin Van Buren's time.

August is a busy and fun month at the park. Saturday the 21st Martin Van Buren National Historic Site will officially celebrate its 25th birthday. The celebration coincides with the Friends of Lindenwald annual 19th century crafts fair. Enjoy music, magic, food, farming, and fascinating long-ago crafts. The day's activities will run from 10:00am to 4:00pm. August 25 is National Fee Free Day throughout the nation as the National Park Service recognizes its creation on August 25, 1916.

You can continue to celebrate Martin Van Buren National Historic Site's birthday and the National Park Service's anniversary Saturday evening August 28 with a traditional national park campfire in the North Field of the park beginning at 7:30pm. Never been to a national park campfire? Here's your chance to learn what all the celebrating is about.

During September be sure to stop by our display while you enjoy the 1999 Columbia County Fair. Also that month, the park will host the very successful Songs of September Concert Series. The series is conducted under the tent in the scenic North Field. The concerts are held on successive Sunday afternoons beginning at 2:00pm. The dates for this years series are September 5, 12, 19 and 26. Featured this year will be music by the performers from the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the Syracuse-based band Gypsy Red and favorites Rich Bala and Tom White "The Barefoot Boys".

The autumn brings a series of walks conducted by the ranger staff at the park. The walks will discuss the Lindenwald farm as well as NPS plans to restore portions of it. The walks are scheduled for the Sunday afternoons, October the 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th beginning at 2:00pm. In November, house tours are offered on weekends only. Schools and other groups are welcomed on weekdays however and are encouraged to call the park to reserve space.

The park winds down its visitor season in December by commemorating President Van Buren's 217th birthday and initiating the holiday spirit at our annual Candlelight Evening on Saturday the 4th. Enjoy the crisp night air and the adornments to the house created by the Kinderhook Garden Club. The house will be open for tours during the day and be lit by lamp and candle light in the evening from 6:00pm to 9:00pm.. The next day, the 5th, Martin Van Buren's birthday will be commemorated at the annual graveside ceremony conducted at the Kinderhook Reformed Cemetery beginning at 1:00pm. Join the park in ending the visitor season and the community as it honors Kinderhook's most famous native son.

To receive a copy of the Summer Offerings 1999 stop at the park headquarters, call the site at 518-758-9689, or see the Calendar of Events. The park's email address is MAVA_info@nps.gov. Admission to Martin Van Buren National Historic Site is $2.00. Children 16 and under are admitted free. The site is located on Route 9H, two miles south of the village of Kinderhook, New York. [See the Map]

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C-SPAN To Broadcast American Presidents Episode
Live From Martin Van Buren National Historic Site

Lindenwald, the home and farm of President Martin Van Buren will be the set for a live two-hour broadcast by the C-SPAN cable television network on May 3, 1999. The broadcast is part of C-SPAN's year-long series American Presidents which began in March at George Washington's home Mount Vernon and continues weekly for 41 weeks at each president's home in succession.

The broadcast from Lindenwald will be the eighth in the series. C-SPAN will use as many as six cameras to provide both interior and exterior views of the home during the live broadcast. Also, the network will incorporate extensive videotape of local sites and scenes associated with President Van Buren. The show will feature call-in questions from around the country about Van Buren and his political career. Staff from the park will participate in the program to try to relate the complex nature of pre-Civil War American government and politics.

President Van Buren purchased the mansion while in the White House and moved back to the town where he was born after losing the election of 1840. The home that he purchased had been built for Judge Peter Van Ness in 1797 and was a place he had visited many times as a young man. In 1850, architect Richard Upjohn, who went on to great notoriety, designed the addition which doubled the size of the house and included the beautiful gothic front porch and the unique Italianate tower. The President remained here until his death in 1862.

Over the past two years, Martin Van Buren and Lindenwald have been the subjects of interest for two other networks. Lindenwald was featured in an episode of A&E's America's Castles series which was filmed in Kinderhook in 1996. The episode was broadcast on A&E for the first time in May of 1997. Also in 1997, PBS filmed at the Kinderhook site for several days in preparation for production of the program The Presidents which has not yet been aired.

Martin Van Buren National Historic Site will open for the visitor season on Saturday May 15. The 1999 schedule of offerings at the park can be obtained at park headquarters on Route 9H two miles south of Kinderhook Village or by calling the park at 518-758-9689. Requests for the schedule can also be made by email at MAVA_info@nps.gov. [See the Map]

MARTIN VAN BUREN NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
RELEASES FY 1999 BUDGET AND
ANNUAL PERFORMANCE PLAN

Acting Superintendent Vivien Rose today announced the release of fiscal year 1999 information, including the appropriated budget, project funds, and fee monies, as well as the performance plan for the year, as required by the "National Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998." These public funds support the twofold mission of Martin Van Buren National Historic Site: to protect and preserve the buildings and landscapes associated with the last years of Martin Van Buren's political career and life, and to provide education and inspiration to thousands of park visitors each year.

Preservation of Natural and Cultural Resources - $214,900 Research, collection, preservation, and education, the four basic activities required to preserve the buildings, collections, and landscape at Martin Van Buren NHS, are supported with appropriated funds. This year, curatorial staff will install a new reproduction rug in the "green room," create a small installation representing the farm laborers on the Van Buren farm, consolidate the Van Buren collection to one storage area, and catalog the park library to Library of Congress standards. An additional $22,000 in project funds is earmarked for the restoration of fireboards purchased by Angelica Van Buren, Martin Van Buren's daughter-in-law, from a French manufacturer in the mid-1850s, and $18,000 will fund a study of the historical uses of the Van Buren farm.

Visitor Services - $204,300 Development of educational materials for school and public groups, house and grounds tours, and special events are funded in this category. Emergency services including law enforcement, first aid, accident investigation, and security are also covered. In 1999, $39,426.67 in fee-sharing revenues will be used to install a wheelchair lift at the north entrance to Lindenwald, making the mansion accessible as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Another $1210 will fund the cost of collecting, accounting for, and supervising the fee collection program. $2200 in project funds will support volunteer activities at the park.

Maintenance and Facility Operations - $251,900 In addition to cyclic maintenance and repair of the historic mansion and south gatehouse, these funds support cleaning and maintenance, grounds and trail work, snow removal, reseeding the north carriage drive, and utilities. $7500 in project funds will be used to move the former employee parking lot off the historic grounds behind Lindenwald.

Administration - $80,900 Management and administrative support for park infrastructure, including public relations, short- and long-range planning, purchasing, computer systems, contracts. $9000 in project funds will ensure that the park's computer system is Y2K compliant. "The Government Performance and Results Act" requires federal agencies to release annual performance plans.

The FY 1999 performance plan and budget is available by writing to: Superintendent, Martin Van Buren NHS, 1013 Old Post Road, Kinderhook, NY 12106, or by calling Martin Van Buren NHS at 518-758-9689. [See the Map]

Other points of contact: Superintendent Michael Henderson, and the MAVA Visitor Services . For reference purposes you can also read the press releases from last year's season at Lindenwald.