Staatsburgh tour focuses on scandals

STAATSBURG, N.Y. » Celebrity scandals at the turn of the 20th century will be the focus of a special tour at Staatsburgh State Historic Site on Sunday, July 29.

The tour, “Gilded Age Scandals,” will be at 1 p.m. Reservations are required by calling (845) 889-8851, ext. 336. Admission is $10; seniors and students pay $8.

The tour will focus on the scandalous behavior and intrigues of the very rich during the Gilded Age. Staatsburgh’s owners, Ruth and Ogden Mills, were models of respectability, but the transgressions of some of their peers shocked and titillated Edwardian Society. Stories of sex, mayhem and money were not only whispered in the drawing rooms but published in the newspapers of the day.

Visitors taking the tour will hear about celebrity murders, heiresses for sale, and scandals that reached as high as the king of England and the president of the United States.