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1766
Beekman Arms and Delamater Inn
Rhinebeck, New York
Beekman Arms and Delamater Inn
6387 Mill St, Rhinebeck, New York 12572 Original Property Opened in 1766 Historic Hotels of America member since 2006- 2022 Historic Hotels of America® Awards of Excellence Nominee Finalists
- 2018 Historic Hotels of America® Awards of Excellence Winners
- The 2025 Top 25 Historic Hotels of America® Most Haunted Hotels List Is Announced
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- The 2024 Top 25 Historic Hotels of America® Where U.S. Presidents Made History List Is Announced
gardens
ghosts
memorabilia
presidential
The Beekman Arms, which is one half of the historic Beekman Arms & Delamater Inn lodgings, is believed to be the oldest continuously running inn in the United States. In 1766, Arent Traphagen relocated his father’s successful tavern, which was constructed of sturdy timber and stone to withstand possible Indian attacks, to the crossroads of “Ryn Beck.” A few years later, it hosted revolutionaries, including George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and Alexander Hamilton. Sold to Asa Potter in 1802, it was the epicenter for political and social life in the community. Here, Hamilton and rival Aaron Burr exchanged the insults that led to their infamous duel and Hamilton’s death. About two centuries later, Hyde Park neighbor President Franklin Delano Roosevelt began every one of his political campaigns from the front porch of the Beekman Arms.
Discover
- Discover the heritage of Beekman Arms & Delamater Inn, whose fascinating story intertwines with the founding of the United States. Touted as "America's Oldest Inn," the Beekman Arms has been in continuous operation since 1766, boasting a front-row seat to history. Men like George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benedict Arnold, and Philip Schuyler dined, drank, and slept here during the American Revolution, when the inn was known as Bogardus Tavern. And later, when the nation was still new, that very same tavern is said to have witnessed the quarrel that led to the fateful duel between Hamilton and Aaron Burr. To wit, a stay at Beekman Arms & Delamater Inn is to be immersed in a piece of American history.
- Uncover the Beekman Arms' humble beginnings as a simple traveler's inn, the Traphagen Tavern. Established in 1704 by William Traphagen, the inn sat at the crossroads of the small Dutch community, then known as Ryn Beck. In 1766, the Beekman Arms as it stands today was brought into existence with the expansion of the original business and its transformation into the Bogardus Tavern. The inn would eventually take on its current name, Beekman Arms, in reference to the Beekman family, who were among the first British landowners to settle in the Hudson Valley upon the building's debut.
- Admire the dueling architectural styles of the Beekman Arms and Delamater Inn. Constructed in 1766, Beekman Arms is a brilliant example of the American colonial style, simple and symmetrical with handsome pillars lining its front. Inside, its strong oak beams and broad plank floors look much like they have for more than 200 years. Meanwhile, the nearby American Carpenter Gothic-style Delamater Inn, with its steeply pitched gabled roof trimmed with gingerbread-houselike bargeboard (alternatively known as vergeboard), offers a whimsical juxtaposition to the stateliness of the Beekman Arms. Designed by renowned architect Alexander Jackson Davis and built in 1844, the Delamater Inn stands as one of the finest examples of American Gothic residences still in existence today and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Be added to the impressive guest list of Beekman Arms & Delamater Inn, a who's who of Founding Fathers, American politicians, U.S. presidents and vice presidents, business tycoons, celebrities, singers, athletes, astronauts, and more. An astounding number of influential figures and famous faces have not only stayed at the historic inn through the years. They also made history there. American revolutionaries like George Washington found solace at the inn throughout the war. Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr fought there, an argument that would lead to Hamilton's untimely demise. American author Thomas Wolfe spent leisurely days there, planting the seeds for what would become his 1935 novel, Of Time and the River. Another frequent guest, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt even concluded each of his four political campaigns for governor and president from the Beekman Arms' front porch.
Explore
- Explore the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District, a history-rich area surrounding the town of Rhinebeck, New York. Sprawling for 22,205 acres (34.6 square miles), the district is the largest of its kind in the contiguous United States and lays claims to some of the most iconic landscapes and consequential historic sites in the country, including several notable estates once home to influential families like the Livingstons, Roosevelts, and Vanderbilts, as well as Hudson River School landscape painters like Frederic Church and Thomas Cole.
- Revisit the extraordinary four-term presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt with tours of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum and the nearby Roosevelt estate. The Library was the first Presidential Library in the U.S., initiated by F.D.R.'s precedent-setting donation of his papers to the government. Springwood, the home where Roosevelt was born and raised, saw many world luminaries during his terms of office, including Winston Churchill, who signed the historic A-bomb agreement there. The estate is also the site of Val-Kill, a favorite retreat for Eleanor Roosevelt and her family and friends, as well as her primary home following F.D.R.'s death in 1945.
- See Rhinebeck through the eyes of one of its longest-established families, the Suckleys, who built a Queen Anne-style mansion on the Hudson in 1888, which today stands as the most significant example of Victorian architecture in the Hudson Valley. Now known as the Wilderstein Historic Site, the estate was home to three generations, including Margaret (Daisy) Suckley, a distant cousin and confidante of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Through the years, they amassed a large collection of furniture, paintings, photographs, books, and more, which can be viewed during a guided tour of the home. Among the most notable artifacts are letters between Daisy and F.D.R., which illuminate the president's private thoughts. A fast friend and frequent companion of the president during his administration, Miss Suckley not only helped President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to establish his namesake library but also gifted him Fala, his beloved black Scottish terrier.
- Follow in the footsteps of two of New York's most influential families, the Livingstons and the Vanderbilts, with a visit to their palatial estates. Prominent Hudson Valley landowners since the 17th century, the Livingstons can count signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution in their number, as well as, more recently, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush. Today, along with the Georgian-style Clermont Manor, which was home to seven generations of Livingston families across more than two centuries (including Margaret Beekman Livingston, a member of the family for whom Beekman Arms is named), travelers can also visit other Livingston estates like the Federal-style Montgomery Place and the Beaux-Arts-style Staatsburgh State Historic Site. Another stunning example of Beaux-Arts architecture that is not to be missed is the Vanderbilt Mansion. With its opulent furnishings and ornate ceilings, this 54-room Gilded Age icon offers a glimpse into the life of one of the wealthiest families in American history.
Experience
- Climb to the top of an 80-foot-tall derrick fire tower and take in spectacular views of the Hudson Valley's second-best old-growth forest below and the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains beyond. Along with making the climb up the fire tower, visitors can also take advantage of this picturesque destination by hiking or biking any of the forest's 12 miles of trails. To take in the spectacular scenery from two wheels, pick up a rental mountain bike from the Rhinebeck Bicycle Shop.
- Step into a landscape painting with a visit to the cradle of American art. Glimpsed by British expatriate Thomas Cole as he traveled by steamship up the Hudson River in the autumn of 1825, the pastoral landscapes of the Catskills and the Hudson Valley were the muses behind the country’s first artistic movement: the Hudson River School. Today, travelers can be inspired by the same majestic vistas that launched the mid-19th-century art movement with a trip along the Hudson River School Art Trail. Not only can art enthusiasts visit Cedar Grove, the former home and studio of Thomas Cole in Catskill, New York, but they can also retrace the footsteps (and brushstrokes) of some of the movement’s most famous artists and paintings. Along with the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, art enthusiasts can visit Frederic Church's OLANA and breathtaking settings captured in Hudson Valley School works in places like Kaaterskill Wild Forest, many of which are located roughly 30 to 40 minutes from Beekman Arms & Delamater Inn. Though not officially part of the Hudson River School Trail, admirers of the style will also want to pay a visit to Locust Grove, the estate of Samuel F. B. Morse. While largely remembered for his invention of the single-wire telegraph and co-development of Morse code, his first and, arguably, greatest love was actually art. One of the founders of the National Academy of Design and a portraitist for the likes of Marquis de Lafayette and former Presidents James Monroe and John Adams, Morse was also heavily influenced by the Hudson River School.
- Take flight over the Hudson Valley at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. Founded in 1958, this aviation destination is the country's first flying museum of antique aircraft and home to more than 80 vintage aircraft from the Pioneer Era, World War I, and the Golden Age of Aviation. To see aviation history brought to life, visitors can watch the aerodrome's aircraft take to the skies from June through October during airshows each weekend. Guests can even have a genuine barnstormer experience, complete with a helmet and goggles, with a ride in a 1929 D-25 biplane (offered on select days from May through October).
Taste
- Taste one of the Hudson Valley's most iconic culinary delights: the apple cider donut. Invented in New York during the middle of the 20th century, these autumnal treats are the perfect way to savor the bounty of the region. Sweet yet spicy, with ingredients like apple cider, warming spices, and a coating of cinnamon sugar, apple cider donuts are the definition of cozy. With more than two dozen cideries and 30 apple orchards peppered throughout the Hudson Valley, there is no shortage of places to pick up a dozen. However, the best spots to find apple cider donuts near Rhinebeck are Rose Hill Farm, a pick-your-own orchard and cidery, and Adams Fairacre Farms, a farm market with locations throughout the region.
- Have a pint and a full order of history at the Tavern at The Beekman Arms. This storied watering hole and restaurant is said to have played host to the quarrel that led to the fateful duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr and, as a result, Hamilton's untimely demise. With its open-hearth fireplace, handsome oaken beams, and wide plank floors, the tavern remains largely unchanged from its pre-Revolutionary War days, lending a setting that diners will not soon forget. The restaurant is open daily for lunch and dinner, as well as a Sunday brunch, with seating in several dining rooms or the garden greenhouse.
- Satisfy your sweet tooth with a visit to Samuel's Sweet Shop. Located mere steps from Beekman Arms & Delamater Inn, this boutique candy and coffee shop was established in 1994 by Ira Gutner, who left a successful career in New York City's Garment District to pursue his dream. Today, this sweet stop boasts a number of celebrity co-owners, including actors Paul Rudd and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and offers everything from coffee drinks and fresh pastries to chocolate-covered Swedish fish and clodhoppers (a tasty combination of pretzels, graham crackers, peanut butter, and milk chocolate).
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