Historic Cherry Hill

One of the most interesting & informative tours I’ve ever taken!Tour guide Holly was beyond superb- very knowledgeable, extremely informative in her manner & presentation. An utter delight. Who thought learning could be that much fun..

Cherry Hill Historic Site is a unique historic mansion in Albany, NY. It is a Georgian style manor that was built in the 18th century. The house belonged to the Van Rensselaer family and originally sat on hundreds of acres of land owned by the family. Several generations of the family owned the house until the 1960’s, when it was donated and turned into a museum. The house has many of the original furnishings in it from many different generations of the Van Rensselaer family. The house tour was very informational and the guides provided the details of how the house was changed and was used over the years. The guides also told the stories of the slaves and servants who lived in the house as well. Much of the tour focused on Catherine Van Rensselaer who owned the house in parts of the 19th and 20th centuries. Interestingly enough a murder did occur at Cherry Hill in the 1800’s when a drifter named Jesse Strang killed John Whipple, who lived in the house. Call ahead or check the website for tours and hours. The mansion is easy to find and there is a small parking area in front of the house. Tickets are available for purchase at the door. Currently, the mansion is running an exhibit called “The World Of James Knapp: Exploring Black Life in 19th Century Albany Through Art, Objects, and Spaces.” If you’re interested in the history of the Albany Capital Region area this is a good place to check out

I’d give this landmark a solid five stars I went on a school field trip with my students. The tour guides were very professional and extremely knowledgeable about the whole history of the house and land. They gave us a tour and told us about the murder that happened there and all of the historical significance behind it. I truly hope to go back in a minute that I can because it was a very memorable experience

Lively tour and reenactment of a murder that took place here almost 200 yrs ago. I was so pleased that it was based on history and not just a spook show. The staff and volunteers were awesome! Will definitely go back for another tour.

I was given a nice tour inside the mansion by a nice tour guide Mariya. I have seen amazing painted portraits of the family members that lived in the mansion. They had servants. One of them was a young black girl who once ran away from the mansion when she was 16 years old. Anyways, I had a nice experience being there, and hope you all have the same thing. 😄