Updated
- Inventor Samuel FB Morse has spent summers in his field Locust Grove in the Hudson valley in New York.
- The Italian villa with 14,000 square feet, built in 1852, has 45 rooms on six floors.
- He was bought in 1901 by the young family and remained unique.
When Samuel FB Morse did not create Morse code, invented the telegraph or painting portraits, he relaxed on the ground of his area Locust Grove in New York State.
Located about 80 miles outside New York in Powhkeepsia, Locust Grove was built in 1852 on a bluff with a view of the Hudson river below. The Italian villa with 14,000 square feet has a total of 45 rooms on six floors.
Morse, his wife Sarah Elizabeth Griswold Morse, and their four children spent there every summer until his death in 1872 (Morse also had three adult children from her first marriage to Lucretia Walker, who died in 1825.)
The house was then rented to a rich local couple, William and Martha Young, who bought it in 1901 and spent about $ 15,000 to renovate the interior and install modern equipment such as electricity and central heat, according to the official Locust Grove website.
The daughter of young people, Annette, recognized the historical importance of the field and established a non -profit organization which continues to preserve and maintain it. Locust Grove opened its doors to the public in 1979.
While the land is open all year round, house visits are available on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays from April to December. They cost $ 20 per person.
“It is a really unusually preserved house, so people who are interested in art, history and architecture can always find something here,” said Ken Snodgrass, director and curator of Locust Grove Estate, during my tour in 2023.
Take a look inside Locust Grove.
Located in Powhkeepsia, New York, Locust Grove formerly belonged to Samuel FB Morse, the inventor of the Morse code and the Telegraph.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
The estate is located on 200 acres of land. During my spring visit in 2023, I liked walking in the scented gardens to reach the house.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
The house did not look very large from the outside, but my tourist guide, Ken Snodgrass, described Locust Grove as “deceptfully large” with 45 rooms extending over 14,000 square feet.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
Morse worked with the architect Alexander Jackson Davis to design Locust Grove in an Italian style inspired by the Italian villas, with decorative arches and an enveloping veranda.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
The interior of Locust Grove is unique because it is almost exactly as the young family left it, as opposed to other historic houses which were restored by the conservatives, according to Snodgrass.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
Our first stop after the entrance was the dining room decorated with portraits of young family members, which bought the house from the bites in 1901.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
Right next to the dining room was the pantry, where some of the 14 full-time staff members of the area have placed meals in a dimbrède elevator of the basement kitchen.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
The show was used to entertain guests before and after dinner. Youngs also organized dances and concerts here because the furniture was light and easy to reorganize.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
In the tea room, my guide said that Locust Grove residents and guests appreciated tea in the afternoon with a set of silver tea from Tiffany and Co.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
The music room, another entertainment area, offers scans of color of the 1908 original wallpaper color.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
This reception room was used to bask with family and close friends. Martha Young also organized card games here twice a week.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
The Locust Grove Library was decorated in an Italian Gothic style, and I loved the collection of 75 theors at the top of the shelves.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
The second floor contained three family bedrooms and three guest rooms, one of which included a doll house made for the daughter of the young Annette by his uncle in 1895.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
The spacious primary tour room, the largest room in the house, offered a magnificent view of the Hudson and the portraits of young children above the bed.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
I could not believe what size the billiard room was large. He worked as a kind of play play, where the guests played on a billiard table from 1895 and listened to music on a phonograph.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
Our last stop of the tour was the kitchen of the basement, where the staff prepared meals on a wood stove until it was improved with coal in 1910 and gas burners in 1920.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
Between the 14 rooms and five bathrooms in the estate, every day was the day of laundry in Locust Grove.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
Besides the laundry room, the dining room and the servant of servants were generally full of staff members writing letters, repairing clothes or making other household chores.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
After my tour, I visited the museum and the gallery of the domain reception center, which presented artifacts of the development of Morse inventions, as well as some of its paintings.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
I liked to discover the fascinating history of Locust Grove, visit the perfectly preserved interiors and enjoy the superb view of the Hudson valley. I can see why Morse’s family wanted to come back year after year.
Talia Lakritz / Business Insider
businessinsider
