The original Boscobel, built for wealthy Loyalist States Morris Dyckman and his family, was located in the tiny hamlet of Montrose, New York. But that’s not where the present-day home now sits; after decades of neglect, the home was fated to meet the wrecking ball. After a last-ditch effort to save the structure, a local group managed to salvage pieces of the old home and rebuild the structure 15 miles north of its original location.

Today this 68-acre campus is home to lush gardens, a woodland trail, and the house itself, which has an exemplary collection of decorative arts from the Federal period. A guided tour of the house, followed by a picnic in the gardens overlooking the Hudson River, is a great way to spend a day.

Four generations of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller’s family lived at Kykuit, perched atop the highest point in the town of Sleepy Hollow. (Rockefeller family scions still live in the surrounding Pocantico Hills estate, which measures over 3,400 acres.) On tours of Kykuit, you can see the main floor of the house, its galleries, and sculpture gardens, which hold works by Alexander Calder and Isamu Noguchi, among others. Tours are offered regularly, and there’s a Metro-North discount available, too.

One of the U.S.’s most stunning examples of Gothic Revival mansions, Lyndhurst is located on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River. Since its construction in 1838, the estate has been home to three prominent NYC families: former NYC mayor William Paulding, merchant George Merritt (who gave the estate its name, after the many Linden trees on the property), and railroad tycoon Jay Gould. Each owner expanded and reshaped the property to their own tastes, and today, it’s home to a massive collection of art, antiques, and furniture, many of which were designed by architect Alexander Jackson Davis.

Many notable craftsman contributed to the design of this stunning Queen Anne-style home, including Joseph Burr Tiffany, who worked on the interiors, and Calvert Vaux, who designed the grounds. Its original owner, Thomas Holy Suckley, built the home in the 19th-century, and it was occupied by his heirs until 1991. Fun fact: the last resident of the house was a confidant of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and the letters they exchanged are preserved at the house today, and can be seen as part of guided tours to the mansion.

In the 1890s, financier Ogden Mills and his wife, Ruth, commissioned McKim, Mead & White to expand her ancestral home in Staatsburgh, which the couple used as a summer residence. In just one year, the renowned firm had transformed the 25-room Greek Revival home into a palatial 65-room Beaux Arts estate reminiscent of 17th- and 18th-century French mansions. The couple’s daughter donated the house and the surrounding 192 acres of property to the State of New York in 1938, and today the house and its many splendid American Renaissance features including the opulent dining room are open to the public for tours.

American author Washington Irving purchased what was then a two-room Dutch stone house in Tarrytown in 1835. In subsequent years, the Sleepy Hollow author expanded the house in a major way, adding Gothic and Spanish-inspired windows, and Tudor-style clustered chimneys. He also beautified the landscape, adding a pond, hills, a meandering stream, and a waterfall. Aside from seeing many of the original furnishings in the home, visitors today can hear about Irving’s inspiration and relive some of his stories during experiential tours at the house—and yes, there’s one that incorporates the story of the headless horseman.

Martin Van Buren, America’s eighth president, lived in this charming home, also known as Lindenwald, until his death in 1862. His son then hired Trinity church architect Richard Upjohn to convert the home into a stylish Italian villa, but that didn’t stop it from falling into disrepair. It was restored by the National Parks Service in the 1970s, and today the estate is open for free tours from April through November. There are about 100 pieces of furniture still preserved from Van Buren’s time, and there’s a 51-panel wallpaper imported from France that depicts a hunting scene. (And don’t miss a portion Van Buren’s farm, which is still thriving today.)

This Poughkeepsie mansion, designed by Federal Hall architect Alexander Jackson Davis, was first home to Morse code co-developer Samuel Morse. By the turn of the century, the Italianate-style home was purchased by William and Martha Young, a wealthy couple who modernized and expanded the mansion. The 180-acre estate has been well-preserved, and today, it’s home to a sizable collection of Hudson River School paintings; visitors can also experience the property’s rolling hills, vegetable garden, and lovely views of the Hudson River.

The 32nd President of the United States was born in this clapboard house, otherwise known as Springwood, in 1882; but after a major expansion, the humble structure was transformed into a grand Colonial Revival style mansion and the exterior replaced with stucco. During his presidency, FDR visited the home so often that it was called “the Summer White House,” and after his death in 1945, he was buried in the adjacent rose garden. You can see the historic residence on guided tours, which showcase photos of the most famous guests at the mansion and paintings from the president’s personal collection. The country’s first national presidential library, which was commissioned by FDR, is also located here.