Literary pilgrimages
By MICHAEL VIRTANEN, Associated Press
Published September 17, 2006
In upstate New York, you can walk the halls and gardens of some of America's literary greats, and perhaps get a glimpse of what inspired them.
Steepletop, the home of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay southeast of Albany, opened part of its grounds to the public three years ago and is one of several destinations in the area associated with literary figures from the 19th and early 20th centuries. All are located in scenic areas where you can also hike, enjoy fall foliage and visit other local attractions.
Washington Irving's manor home, Sunnyside, is on the banks of the lower Hudson River, in the neighborhood where his Headless Horseman rode in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. At the Quarry Farm in Elmira, in New York's Southern Tier, Mark Twain summered for two decades and wrote about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
James Fenimore Cooper's mark is all over Cooperstown, settled by his father in what has become known as "Leatherstocking Country," from Cooper's novels of the colonial wilderness, including The Last of the Mohicans.
The cottage where Robert Louis Stevenson, author of the seagoing adventure Kidnapped, spent an Adirondack winter has been preserved at Saranac Lake.
In the nearby Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, Edith Wharton's estate, the Mount, has three acres of formal gardens and a sprawling classical revival house. Wharton, author of the Victorian novel The Age of Innocence, designed both house and gardens and wrote on the subject near the turn of the century.
- MICHAEL VIRTANEN, Associated Press
STEEPLETOP, Edna St. Vincent Millay
The poet's farmhouse and immediate grounds are closed except for special events or by appointment, but 10 of her poems are posted along a half-mile trail leading to her grave site. The trail, which is open year-round, is marked by a sign on East Hill Road, off State Route 22. You can park at the trail head. Located in Austerlitz, N.Y., on the Taconic Ridge, 30 miles southeast of Albany; www.millaysociety.org.
QUARRY FARM, Samuel Clemens
The Elmira, N.Y., summer home of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and his family in the 1870s and 1880s. The house and farm, which belong to Elmira College and serve as a residence for Twain scholars, are closed to the public except for special events. But a building known as the Study - built by Clemens' brother- and sister-in-law so he would have a place to write undisturbed - was moved to campus in 1952 and is open weekends through October (daily May through Labor Day). Free admission. The Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies - www.elmira.edu/academics/distinctive-programs/twain-center/Programs or (607) 735-1941 - sponsors conferences and lectures.
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON COTTAGE
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde author lived here in the winter of 1887-88 to treat pulmonary illness. Open July to Columbus Day, Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m.-noon and 1 p.m.-4 p.m., and by appointment. Adults, $5. 44 Stevenson Lane, Saranac Lake, N.Y.; www.saranaclake.com/famattractions.shtml or (518) 891-1462.
SUNNYSIDE, Washington Irving
Washington Irving, who wrote Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, lived here from many years. Open daily except Tuesdays; last tour an hour before closing. West Sunnyside Lane, Tarrytown, N.Y., off Route 9; www.hudsonvalley.org/sunnyside/index.htm or (914) 591-8763. Adults, $10. The Croton Aqueduct Trail connects Sunnyside with Lyndhurst, a 67-acre 19th-century estate.
FENIMORE ART MUSEUM, James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper, author of The Last of the Mohicans, spent part of his youth on the family estate on the shores of Otsego Lake and was buried in Cooperstown in 1851. He also lived as a gentleman farmer at Fenimore Farm, now the Fenimore Art Museum, which has an exhibit on the family. Open daily; adults, $11. 5798 State Route 80, a mile north of Cooperstown, N.Y., on the west side of Otsego Lake; www.fenimoreartmuseum.org/ or (607) 547-1400. Also in Cooperstown is the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
THE MOUNT, Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton designed and built the Mount in 1902, based on principles outlined in the 1897 book she co-authored, The Decoration of Houses. Open daily, early May through Oct. 29. Adults, $16. Guided mansion tours given on the hour, garden tours twice daily. 2 Plunkett St., Lenox, Mass.; www.edithwharton.org/ or (413) 637-1899.