Presiding over a glorious sixty-eight acre lake in the Catskill Mountains, Lake Delaware Farm offers a rare opportunity to acquire a piece of true American legacy, continuously in use by the same notable family since the eighteenth century. The Lake House allows a glimpse into the lifestyle of one of our nation's most notable founding aristocratic families. In 1686, the English crown granted one hundred sixty thousand acres to Robert Livingston. Livingston Manor and the family seat of Clermont made up much of what is now Dutchess and Columbia counties along the Hudson River. The family thrived there for centuries. With the Hardenbergh patent of 1708, Queen Anne bestowed two million acres in the Catskill Mountains on seven loyal subjects. By 1740, the Livingstons of Clermont had acquired one fifth of the Hardenberg Patent which was distributed to the children of Robert Livingston The Judge. Gertrude Livingston received twenty thousand acres the year she wed Morgan Lewis, who served in Washington's army during the Revolution and was Governor of New York. He was dear friends with the likes of Lafayette, Alexander Hamilton and General Washington, whom his brother-in-law Chancellor Robert Livingston swore in as President. The centerpiece of Gertrude's acreage was the magnificent Lake Delaware, where she and Lewis built the original Lake House circa 1787. The landscape of this sixteen hundred plus acre parcel is exquisite, with rolling hills, meadows, old growth forests and open vistas. The valley is elevated far above sea level providing a refreshingly cool climate. One approaches The Lake House via a long winding driveway lined with fine historic rock walls interrupted by delicate iron gates. The Lewises styled their home on classical architecture. The entry portico of the home, with its four massive Doric columns, runs the entire length of the front facade. Inside, the center hall is an unusual carved spiral stairway with two sun filled eighteenth Century parlors on either side. From the center hall rooms spill out into later nineteenth Century additions with handsome details throughout- fine paneling and ceiling tracery in the dining room, marble fireplace mantels and intricate inlaid floors. There are eight bedrooms in total, all boasting bathrooms en-suite plus a bunk room on the attic floor with its own bathroom featuring double showers and sinks. Additionally there is a large eat-in kitchen, grand back stairway with arched side openings , family room , butler's pantry , mud room , laundry room and bar onthe ground floor as well as an elevator . The home hasthe warm feelof agrand country inn - impressiveinits scale yet comfortableby contemporary standards . One canfeelthe presenceof generationsof distinguishedfamily members - thesignersofthe Declarationof Independence ,thedecoratedmilitary men,the Senators , Justices,andGilded Agebarons thathave calledthis placehome overthecenturies . Asimpressiveasthe houseis,it 'stheLakeitselfthatcastsaspelonallwhovisit . Fresh ,bracingandcrystal clear,the lakeinvitesoneto diveinortakeyourpickof vesselsinthehistoricboathouseandrowtoyourheartscontent . OnThegroundsstands theruins o f elaborateformal gardensdesignedbyrenownedlandscape architectFletcherSteelewithextraordinaryviewsoverthevalley.Romanticstructuralelementsandalovelystatueofa seatedDiana beckoningyoutoimaginethegardensin theiroriginalsplendor.Surroundedbycharmingtowns,farmsandaweinspiringnatural landscape,thepropertyatitspeak encompassedthousands ocacreswithamansionworkingfarms stablesandevena privatechapel evokingtheromanceofanEnglishmanor.The estateholdsthesecetsofhistoryoftheHudsonValleyNewYorkStateandtheRevolutionthatgavebirthtotheConstitutionoftheUnitedStates.Richinhistoryandcharacter,LakeDelawareremainsacaptivatingechoofaristocraticrurallifeidealforabucoliccompoundorawoncedecadeinvestmentopportunity.