The Hudson Valley region is under-recognized and is on the brink of discovery. The Valley contains numerous sites which are known throughout the world. Among these are Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt’s homes in Hyde Park; the FDR Presidential Library; The U. S. Military Academy at West Point; Sunnyside, home of author Washington Irving; Olana, the estate of Frederic Church, best known of the Hudson River school of painters; Mohonk Mountain House, the last of the grand mountain hotels; The Culinary Institute of America; General Washington’s Headquarters (Newburgh), where he spent more time than at any other single Revolutionary War site; The Cantonment of New Windsor, the last encampment of the Continental Army; the soon-to-be Museum of the Purple Heart in Newburgh, where General Washington initiated the award.

Despite the presence of such sites, the public has not tended to see them linked into a regional unity. This is now being remedied. The U.S. Congress has recently recognized The Hudson River as one of our first and most important Heritage Rivers. Our museum, centrally located in the Hudson Valley, plans to serve as a link to the area’s historical sites, by supporting the establishment of a tourist shuttle, to be based at Stewart. The possibilities of developing an integrated tourism program are immense.

The Cold War / Peace Museum Organizing Committee looks forward to muutually beneficial relationships with local and regional citizens and business groups in the region, including educational intitutions, chambers of commerce, and the Mid-Hudson Pattern for Progress.