Clermont Estates Historic District

Along two miles of the Hudson River bluff in Germantown, this district preserves seven country estates and three support buildings for Clermont. All were carved from Clermont, the lower part of Livingston Manor, in 1845 after the death of Edward P. Livingston, when his five children divided the land and built their own country seats. Later generations added more estates. The main houses, among them Northwood, Holcroft, Oak Lawn, Midwood, Southwood, Chiddingstone and the Motherhouse, display Greek Revival, Renaissance Revival, Colonial Revival, Second Empire and Eclectic designs. Woodland, English-style lawns, bridle paths and carriage roads survive, along with Gothic barns, gatehouses, tenant houses and Colonial Revival dog kennels. The estates served as summer homes for families whose income came largely from New York City banking and real estate. The nomination values the district because the group remains almost as built about a century earlier and is tied together by Livingston family ownership and development.