Hill-Hold Museum
A Farm for Two Centuries. This stone farmhouse was built in 1769. This museum reflects the life of the Bull-Jackson family spanning over 200 years.
Hill-Hold Museum has circa 1830 Furnishings, a one room School House, a historic 1870 barn, Goosetown Gift Shop, picnic benches, and parking.
Visit Hill-Hold museum and see what life was like on a Hudson Valley farm in the 1830s. This was still the era of candlelight, fireplace heat, homegrown food, and homespun clothing. The stone farmhouse was built in 1769 with wide plank floors, handsome paneling, and huge fireplaces.
It was the home of a prosperous farmer, Thomas Bull, and his family. Original furnishings range from a prized old mahogany sideboard to made-on-the-farm pieces. Most of the rural family’s needs – food, clothing, fuel came directly from the farm.
The Hill-Hold farm served the Bull-Jackson family for more than two hundred years. Now visitors are welcome to tour the farm. As we wander through Orange County, reveling in its rolling farmland scenery, we can go back to when the early Americans brought the gracious living and energetic husbandry to this unique part of the Hudson Valley.
Gift Shop:
The Goosetown Gift Shop at Hill-Hold features books, gifts, toys, craft items, and souvenirs. The shop is operated by the Friends of Hill-Hold, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, which aids in the operation of Hill-Hold and Brick House museums.
Brick House Museum
Brick House, built in 1768, is one of the great family homesteads of the Hudson Valley. It was home to seven generations of the Hill family.
Brick House Museum is on the same grounds as Orange County Farmers Museum. Parking is available.
Built by Nathaniel Hill in 1768, Brick House was, undoubtedly, one of the handsomest dwellings between New York and Albany. Seven generations of the Hill family have occupied Brick House.
In the 1830’s, parts of the interior were refurbished. A large wing was added at the rear. Still a later generation in 1928 added central heat and modern plumbing. Through its more than two centuries of occupancy, the Brick House has retained its beautiful rural setting, but it has evolved from a gentlemen’s farm to a country estate.
Today’s visitors will find the Brick House not restored to another era, but still retaining many of the changes and improvements that seven generations have created. Original Chippendale furnishings are still in place. The result is a very unusual and special kind of museum, as lived in by Charles B. Hill, Jr. and his family.