Travelling the Loyalist Trail Talk

Details:

Join the Maurice D. Hinchey Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area and Boscobel House & Gardens for the kick-off to the Hudson River Valley 250 & Beyond event series.

As we mark 250 years of American Independence, explore the human stories behind Revolutionary-era loyalties. Boscobel Executive Director and Curator Jennifer Carlquist will welcome guests at the historic site for an educational talk about what life was like for Loyalists who lived in the Hudson River Valley before, during, and after the American Revolution, including Boscobel’s own Dyckman family. While often dismissed by history as the “losing side,” most Loyalists remained in, or returned to, the United States after the war, becoming as American as their Patriot counterparts. Navigating these sites and their histories offers a richer, more nuanced understanding of America’s founding and the people who lived through it. The Loyalist sites and families discussed will bring to life the uncertainty, risk, and deeply personal, cultural, and economic ties that divided families and communities so profoundly.

Jennifer Carlquist is a 30-year museum professional celebrating historic landscapes, buildings, and interiors; their contents; and contexts; as powerful tools for community engagement. She joined Boscobel as Curator in 2015, creating the award-winning exhibitions Hudson Hewn: New York Furniture Now (2016), Make-Do’s: Curiously Repaired Antiques (2017), and as Executive Director has launched free exhibitions in the Visitor Center, digital tour options on the grounds, an annual Chamber Music Festival, a Community Tree Initiative, and led major site improvements including a 5,000-sq ft seasonal program Pavilion, ADA upgrades, and a Native Meadow.

A recognized field leader, Ms. Carlquist lectures on museum practice and design history, and has served on advisory and grants panels for the Greater Hudson Heritage Network, Preservation League of NYS, Victorian Society Summer Schools, and the Attingham Summer School. She holds a certificate in Museum Management and is a graduate of the Cooper-Hewitt’s M.A. Program in the History of Design and Curatorial Studies, the University of Minnesota.

This talk is made possible thanks to support from the Hudson River Valley Greenway and is part of our larger summer 2026 Revolutionary Salon Series, exploring the stories of Patriots, Loyalists, and the ideas that have shaped our nation. 

Hudson River Valley Greenway

The Maurice D. Hinchey Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area is managed by the Hudson River Valley Greenway, established by the New York State Hudson River Valley Greenway Act of 1991 to create a process for voluntary regional cooperation among 279 active Greenway Communities within 14 counties that border the Hudson River. To view a map of the Hudson River Greenway Area and our partner communities, please click here. The Hudson River Valley Greenway (the “Greenway”), as established in the Greenway Act, is an innovative state-sponsored program created to facilitate the development of a regional strategy for preserving scenic, natural, historic, cultural and recreational resources while encouraging compatible economic development and maintaining the tradition of home rule for land use decision-making. The Greenway Act created two organizations, within the executive department, to facilitate the Greenway process: the Hudson River Valley Greenway Communities Council and the Greenway Conservancy for the Hudson River Valley, Inc.

The Greenway Communities Council (the “Greenway Council”) was established to coordinate with local and county governments the development and enhancement of local land use planning techniques and the creation of a voluntary regional planning compact for the Hudson River Valley. Appropriated funding to the Greenway Council makes available to Greenway Communities planning grants, compact grants and technical assistance through the “Greenway Communities Program”.

The Greenway Conservancy is a public benefit corporation that works with local and county governments, regional, local, private and public organizations, and individuals. The Greenway Conservancy coordinates efforts to establish a Hudson River Valley Trail system, promote the Hudson River Valley as a single tourism destination area, assist in the preservation of agriculture and strengthen state agency cooperation with local governments. The Conservancy Trail Grant Program provides grant funding for trail planning, construction, and interpretation.