Fort Crailo

Hours were posted on the door along with admission pricing and instructions to ring the bell for entry. You can hear the people inside and they did NOT answer the door. Also this is way off the beaten path and not at all wheelchair friendly. I'd almost expect this place to be defunded if this is how they operate. Nice pics of the outside that's well kept. Only reason they got 2 stars.

Crailo today tells the story of the early Dutch inhabitants of the upper Hudson Valley through exhibits highlighting archeological finds from the Albany Fort Orange excavations, special programs, and guided tours of the museum. A few rooms in the house exhibit artifacts from the Dutch settlers of NY state. Two rooms in the house recreate what the house looked when it was being used by the Van Rensselaers. One is a living room of it's day with a very interesting box like bed where people slept upright. The other is the kitchen, which is located in the basement. The tour guide did a very good job at this house and the staff is friendly. For a small museum it does a good showing what life was like for Dutch settlers. The Dutch chairs are also interesting. If necessary the house could also double as a fort. One gunport in seen in the house, in case of an attack on the house. An interesting story told about the site is that Yankee Doodle was most likely written here! In 1758 a surgeon named Dr. Richard Shuckbugh wrote an ode making fun of the New England solders seen in the area. The ode was later put to music and became Yankee Doodle Dandy. Some parts of the house are original, other parts have been remodeled. There is a small gift shop inside. Staff was friendly. Call ahead to see when the best time to come is.

The colonial era harvest season reenactment is a great way for little kids to get historical exposure and prepare for the changing season. There’s free pumpkin paintings and story telling while the workshops are quite fascinating. I really liked watching the blacksmith.

This is an amazing place to visit for anyone who is interested in Colonial history or archaeology. The entire place is devoted to New Netherlands and Dutch colonialism of the area. You get to see archeology from Fort Orange, the first European settlement in the area. In the soil profile you can actually see cobblestones and stones from the moat wall from 1648 at fort orange. This is some of the oldest building works still surviving of fort orange! The building itself is beautifully done with large exhibits in each room (its larger than it looks form the outside). Upstairs there is a mock up of a 17th century Dutch hall and in the basement you can see the stone foundation dating back to around 1660. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, let us take time to read things and take pictures. I also liked how after the tour they let you have the run of the place to examine anything you may have missed. It was also only 5 dollars which is super cheap. The only thing that might be a little bit of a let down for some is that they don't talk a lot about the buildings use as a fort during the 1740s and French and Indian war that much. I didn't have an issue with it since there are a lot of sites in the area (fort William Henry, Fort Ticonderoga) that talk about this period. Learning about the earliest European colonization of the area I found much more interesting and unique for the site. Would definitely come back!

Had an amazing time at the Crailo home this morning. Staff were super friendly and a pleasure to speak with. Our tour guide *forgot his name* was awesome. He was very friendly, knowledgeable and just a great person to chat with about the history or NY, British and most importantly the Dutch.