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Hudson Valley
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Olana was built by reknown painter Frederic Church, and became not only his home, but also his studio. Church was part of the Hudson Valley School The Catskills Mountains were one of the last areas to be settled along the Washington Irving wrote of the Catskill Mountains:
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battlefield where Brigadier General Anthony Wayne led a successful midnight assault on July 16, 1779 against a British Garrison. The lighthouse is the oldest on the Hudson River, having been constructed in 1826. In 1925, it was closed to the public, and was reopened again in 1995, after extensive reconstruction. The view from the lighthouse is exquisite as you look out over the river and the entrance to the Hudson Highlands. It is here that the river picks 
up many bends in it's flow, as it travels alongside the mountains. The lighthouse keeper resided at the structure, either within it, or in a small cottage next door. The job was of extreme importance, and required that the keeper keep the lights burning and ring the foghorn during bad weather to warn ships traveling along the waterway. Nancy Rose held the lighthouse keeper position for over 47 years, from 1857 until her death in 1904, assuring the safety for sailors along the river that she loved.
Painters, a group of artists that from 1825 until 1875 painted Hudson Valley and Catskills Mountain landscapes with a european flair. Church traveled often, visiting Persia, South America and Mexico. On his trips he would acquire fine, intricate pieces of artwork that he would incorporate in his home on the Hudson. After his death in 1900, his son Louis inherited the home. He and his wife kept the home up at great expense. In 1964, Olana was purchased by the State of New York, keeping the doors open for art historians and casual viewers to enjoy.
Hudson River. Rugged terrain, and varied mountain weather provided difficulties for not only settlers, but also for troops, during the French-Indian and Revolutionary Wars. Along the eastern border of the Hudson River is a large wall of stone, 
named "Great Wall of the Manitou" in honor of Indian Gods. It is at the spot in the mountains that the Indians believed their Gods resided. In 1894, the Constitution of New York was amended to add that 300,000 acres of the Catskills be preserved as unspoiled wildlands. The mountains offer a bounty of activities, including hiking, bicycling, skiing and fishing. For a slower, more relaxed trip, visitors can check into one of the many bed and breakfast inns located throughout the area and stroll through the quaint little towns, taking in the many little museums and shops.
and rugged; part softened away into all the graces of cultivation. As we slowly floated along, I lay on the deck and watched them through a long summer's day; undergoing a thousand mutations under the magical effects of atmosphere; sometimes seeming to approach, at other times to recede; sometimes melting into hazy distance, now burnished by the setting sun, until in the evening they printed themselves against the glowing sky in the deep purple of an Italian landscape." 
