Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site

Infobox nrhp
name = Knox Headquarters
nrhp_type = nhl


caption = The Ellison House at Knox's Headquarter's State Historic Site in New Windsor, NY
location = Vails Gate, NY
nearest_city = Newburgh
lat_degrees = 41 | lat_minutes = 27 | lat_seconds = 18 | lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 74 | long_minutes = 03 | long_seconds = 00 | long_direction = W
area =
built = 1754
architect =
architecture = Georgian
designated= November 28, 1972cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1251&ResourceType=Building
title=Knox Headquarters|date=2007-09-11|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = November 09, 1972cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
refnum = 72000901
mpsub =
governing_body = Palisades Interstate Park Commission

Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site, in the town of New Windsor in Orange County, New York, consists of the Georgian house of the Ellison family, built in 1754, and the grounds around it. It is located on Old Forge Hill Road, just south of Route 94 east of Vails Gate. It has been a National Historic Landmark since 1972.

Although most closely associated with Henry Knox, who was using it as his headquarters as the Revolutionary War drew to a close in the early 1780s, it was used as a general's headquarters throughout most of the war, by Nathanael Greene and Horatio Gates.

The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1972.citation|title=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/72000901.pdf National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: General Henry Knox's Headquarters / Knox Headquarters (John Ellison House)] |336 KiB |author=Charles W. Snell |date=May 9, 1972 |publisher=National Park Service and PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/72000901.pdf Accompanying 2 photos, exterior, from 1971.] |429 KiB ]

Today, the house can be toured when the site is open. It is used to educate visitors about how 18th-century families such as the Ellisons actually lived. On holidays and special occasions staff dress in period costume and give special events, such as a Christmas wassail with appropriate food such as cakes and cider. Re-enactors in Continental Army costume frequently demonstrate cannon use on the grounds, as Knox was best known for his command of Patriot artillery.

The Jane Colden Plant Sanctuary along some of the trails in the nearby woods memorializes America's first female botanist, who also resided in the area.

While owned by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation the Ellison House is administered and operated by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, like many other state parks and historic sites in the mid- and lower Hudson region.

ee also

*New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site
*Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site

References

External links

* [http://nysparks.state.ny.us/sites/info.asp?siteID=18 Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site (Official site)]