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County in New York, United States
Photo: Daniel Case, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Columbia County is a county in New York's Hudson Valley region.
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Kinderhook. Lindenwald is the retirement home of the 8th president. Van Buren was the first US president born after the nation's independence and, to date, the only Dutch speaking president. House is open for guided tours daily from Memorial Day weekend through the end of October; Saturday and Sunday, November through the first week of December. Grounds open year round dawn to dusk. Visitor center open 9AM to 4:30PM on dates the mansion is open.
The mountain-top villa of Frederic Church, one of the most prominent Hudson River painters and one of the United States' most significant artists. From the hilltop home there are sweeping views of the Catskills, the Hudson River, and the Taconic Hills. Interior of the house is closed for rehabilitation work through July 2007. Grounds are open.
Once the largest Shaker village—at its peak, over 6,000 acres and 100 buildings. Now the village is mostly in ruins or demolished, but the shell of the massive stone still stands. For 2006, open only for special events. Call or check web site for schedule. See other Shaker villages in the northeast United States through the itinerary Touring Shaker country.
Old Chatham. Probably the premier collection of Shaker artifacts. The collection includes items from Shaker communities in New York, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Museum season runs from Memorial Day weekend through fall: open daily 10AM-5PM, closed Tuesdays. Adults $8, children ages 8 to 17 $4. Library open year round by appointment.
One of Chatham's, if not Columbia county's best Mexican restaurants. They feature a full menu of specialty margaritas using fresh ingredients. Be sure to stop by on a Wednesday or Thursday evening from 5-7pm for happy hour which features drink specials on beer, wine, and... you guessed it... margaritas. In addition to fantastic drinks and service, the food is outstanding, it's difficult to choose because everything looks so good!
By car
Taconic State Parkway runs through the county and connects Albany and the I90 east-west portion of the Thruway system to New York City via the Saw Mill River and the Henry Hudson Parkways.
By train
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Albany · International · ALB
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Hudson is a beautiful small former whaling city in Columbia County, part of New York's Hudson Valley.
Kinderhook is a village and a township in Columbia County in the state of New York, about 20 miles (32 km) south of Albany. The village of Kinderhook is a pretty town in a very rural area of New York State.
New Lebanon is in Columbia County, New York, on the border with the Berkshire County, Massachusetts. New Lebanon was the main spiritual home of the Shakers, a Christian sect who practice a celibate and communal lifestyle, pacifism, uniform charismatic worship, and equality of the sexes.
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