Clermont Manor
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The Clermont estate is a New York State Historic Site in southwestern Columbia County, New York, USA. It protects the former estate of the Livingston family, who lived on the site with seven successive generations over a period of more than 230 years.
The name Clermont derives from "clear mountain" in French and was inspried by the view of the Catskill Mountains across the Hudson River from the estate.
The estate was established by Robert Livingston following the death of his father, the first Lord of Livingston Manor, in 1728; while most of the manor was inherited by the eldest son Philip Livingston, 13,000 acres (52 km²) in the southwest corner, later named Clermont, was willed to Robert.
In October 1777, British Major General John Vaughan, who led a raiding party up the Hudson River, came to Clermont and burned Livingston's home because of his prominent role in the American Revolution. Margaret Beekman Livingston rebuilt the family home between 1779 and 1782. Her son Robert R. Livingston became the estate's most promiment residence as he served as a member of the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and negotiator of the Louisiana Purchase. He also was a partner with Robert Fulton, creating the first commercially successful steamboat, also called the Clermont.
The house is now a New York State Historic Site and was designated a United States National Historic Landmark in 1973. It is located in the town of Clermont in Columbia County, New York, though its mailing address is in the nearby town of Germantown.
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