Mrs. Frederick W. Vanderbilt.
In the era before the automobile, Vanderbilt’s entire stable of carriage horses usually arrived at Hyde Park from New York each year about May 1. Here they were stabled until about December 1, when they were returned to the city for the winter season in a special railroad car.
The vegetable gardens supplied fresh produce for mansion and townhouse. The quality of the produce must have been excellent, for year after year top honors at the Dutchess County Fair went to the estate superintendent for the 10 best varieties of vegetables grown by a professional gardener—and this in competition with entries from other great estates in the county.
The gardens and greenhouses supplied flowers for the mansion, and when the Vanderbilts were in residence at their townhouse in New York, fresh flowers were shipped there twice each week. Flowers were also sent twice a week to the hospitals in Poughkeepsie for distribution among the patients. In addition, the Vanderbilt, Roosevelt, and Rogers greenhouses supplied the lilies, palms, and other flowers to decorate the four churches of Hyde Park for Easter services.
All electricity for the estate was generated at the powerhouse, located on Crum Elbow Creek near the White Bridge. Wood for the fireplaces was cut on the estate, and the icehouses were filled from the ponds.
The Vanderbilts and the People of Hyde Park
The great estates along the Hudson played an important role in the economy of the small communities nearby. Employment was provided for many residents, and the wealthy owners took a benevolent interest and provided a guiding hand in the affairs and welfare of the villages. The Vanderbilts may be cited as typical examples, and in the finest tradition.
Mrs. Vanderbilt knew personally almost every person living in Hyde Park. Her employees, as well as the doctors and ministers of the community, kept her informed of events taking place there. They told her of those in difficulty; Mrs. Vanderbilt then visited the family named. If there was illness, she called in a doctor and nurses; if there was poverty, she sent coal and groceries. Those suffering from tuberculosis she sent to Saranac Lake and took care of all expenses herself.
