In the Dutchess County Spotlight

The Home of FDR is added first-person costumed interpretive tours this season to good reviews from visitors. This new living history program allows visitors to experience the tours like never before:  through the perspectives of Roosevelts' staff.  The final tour of the season is set to be offered on Saturday,  October 20.

The one-hour tour is named "History Speaks".  Through the Roosevelts' Butler, Cook, Maid and one of FDR's Secret Service Agents, visitors are teleported back to 1939. The costumed interpreters guide the tour group, as they discuss the inner workings of the Roosevelt household. They stay in character during the entire tour.

They'll play out the hosting of a special visit of England's King George IV and Queen Elizabeth to Hyde Park in 1938. This was a significant part of both US and British history. It was the first time a reigning British Monarch had visited the United States.

Sarah Olson, Superintendent of the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, commented, "We're excited to offer the public a unique way to engage with our national history, at a dramatic moment in Franklin Roosevelt's presidency."

See Springwood, the life-long home of the 32nd President of the United States through new eyes, even if you've visited before! When you step into the Roosevelts' home, a 35-room Georgian Revival style mansion that began as a farmhouse, you step back into history. The home is kept in much the same condition as it was when FDR lived there. Springwood is the only home to be occupied by an American president from his birth to his death. It's where FDR entertained world-renowned guests such as Winston Churchill, King George and Queen Elizabeth, and royalty exiled from Nazi-occupied Europe.

The estate includes stable, extensive grounds with walking trails, and the famous Rose Garden where FDR was laid to rest after his death on April 12, 1945. Eleanor and their two dogs, including Fala, are also buried there. FDR deeded his beloved home to the American people as a part of the National Park System, and it opened to the public in 1946.

"History Speaks" happens on Saturday, October 20 throughout the day. Call for reservations at 845-229-5320. Regular admission fee of $14 applies.

If you don't have a car, you can take the train up from Grand Central stations and then connect with the free daily shuttle, the Roosevelt Ride, to get back and forth to the four National Park service sites in Hyde Park. You can also visit the retreats of Eleanor Roosevelt, Val-Kill, and of FDR, Top Cottage, and the Gilded Age Vanderbilt Mansion. For more information, go to www.NPS.gov/HoFR