Crailo State Historic Site (2024)

Crailo is the museum of the Colonial Dutch in the Hudson River Valley. Originally a part of the vast landholding called the Manor or Patroonship of Rensselaerswyck, the Crailo farm was named after the Van Rensselaer's estate in the Netherlands, variously spelled Crayloo or Cralo in the 17th century, and meaning "crows' wood" in Dutch.

Hours of Operation

• Hours of Operation2024 Season

  Crailo opens for the seasonon Wednesday, May 15 and runs through October 31, 2024.

  Days open: Wednesday – Sunday, Hours: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00p.m.

  In general, guided tours ofthe museum begin at 11:00 a.m. and are offered on the hour, with the last tourat 4:00 p.m.

  Please note: Pre-registered group and special eventsmay alter tour schedules, so calling the site prior to your visit inrecommended!

  Crailo grounds and riversidepark are free and open to the public, dawn through dusk.

Fees & Rates

Most New York State Parks charge a vehicle use fee to enter the facility.Fees vary by location and season. A list of entry fees and other park use feesis available below. For fees not listed or to verify information, pleasecontact the park directly.

• Tours Admission
• Adults / $5.00

  Seniors & Students / $4.00

  Children (12 & under) / Free

• SCHOOL GROUPS (ON-SITE) / K – 12th Grade
• Fee per student: $1.00 (Please note: there is a minimum fee of $20 per group)

  Teacher & Required chaperones: Free

  Chaperones: 2 Chaperones for every 10 students required

  Extra adults (beyond required # chaps): $4.00 per person

  HearthCooking Program added to tour: Fee is an additional $3.00 per student. Please note: themax amount of students for Hearth Cooking is 20

• OTHER GROUPS (ON-SITE)
• K—12 Groups (Scouts, Camp, etc)

  Fee per child: $1.00 (Please note: there is a minimum fee of $20 per group)

  Group leader / Guide / Required chaperones: Free

  Chaperones: 2 chaperones for every 10 kids required

  Extra adults (beyond required #): $4.00 per person

  Maximum #people per each Crailo guide: 12

  Hearth Cooking Program added to tour: Fee is an additional $3.00 per person. Please note: the max amount of participants for Hearth Cooking is 20

• Other Groups
• (Any group outside K – 12) older Youth Groups, College- Age Groups, Seniors, Organizations, Etc.

  Fee per person: $4.00 (Please note: there is a minimum fee of $20 per group)

  Group leader / Guide: Free

  Maximum # people per each Crailo guide: 12

  Maximum amount people in house museum: 56 (busload)

  Hearth Cooking Program added to tour: Fee is an additional $3.00 per person. Please note: the max amount of participants for Hearth Cooking is 20

• Special Needs Group
• PARKS GROUP ACCESS PASS is available! For more information and application, please visit:

  https://parks.ny.gov/documents/admission/GroupAccessPassApplication.pdf

  Fee per person without Group Access Pass(including chaperones): $1.00

  Maximum # people per each Crailo guide: 12

• OUTREACH (OFF-SITE)
• Schools (K– 12)

  Fee per student: $1.00

  Minimum fee for presentation: $30.00

  For schools, generally 1 classroom = 1 presentation

  Combining classrooms not permitted (please ask)

  Other Groups (other than K-12 or Schools):

  Fee per presentation: $30.00

  All outreach programs limited to a 30 minute drive from Crailo SHS **

Tours 2024 Season

Crailo opens for the seasonon Wednesday, May 15 and runs through October 31, 2024.

Days open: Wednesday – SundayHours: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00p.m.

In general, guided tours ofthe museum begin at 11:00 a.m. and are offered on the hour, with the last tourat 4:00 p.m. Tours are an hour long. Ofcourse, this can vary, depending on the visitor.

Please note: Pre-registered group and special eventsmay alter tour schedules, so calling the site prior to your visit inrecommended!

Crailo grounds and riversidepark are free and open to the public, dawn through dusk.

A Dishonorable Trade: Human Trafficking in the Dutch Atlantic World

Photo Credit: Detail of a 17th century Dutch Colonial Map
Sugar Works and Plantation, Pernabuco, Brazil
John Bleau c.1640
Courtesy of the John Carter Brown Library, Brown University

This temporary exhibit on the Dutch slave trade in the seventeenthcentury highlights both the Dutch trade network in the Atlantic and the effectthis commercial enterprise had on the lives of Africans who became forcedlaborers in foreign lands. One section (and exhibitspace) of the exhibit isdevoted to the trade, while a second section and space) centers upon the peoplewho were enslaved.

The exhibit explores the interconnectedness of the African, Caribbean,South American, North American and European trade networks of the Dutch WestIndia Company and highlights the activity between Curacao and New Netherland.New Amsterdam and the van Rensselaer family are also included, which serves tohighlight regional participation in the larger, worldwide system.

Research and the development of the exhibit was spearheaded by both animportant grant from the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery,Abolition and Resistance and an immersive study session at the Yale PublicHistory Institute of Yale University during the summer of 2013. Three Crailostaff members worked with Yale History professors, Gilder Lehrman Center staff,the American History Workshop staff, The Smithsonian Museum of African AmericanHistory and Culture staff, and experts in the interpretation of the history ofslavery and civil rights.

Other contributors and facilitators included artists, curators andeducators from national art museums, who proposed creative approaches withwhich to interpret the history of people whose own words and objects are oftenmissing from the historical record, and two Yale University graduate studentswho's invaluable research assistance contributed immeasurably to the exhibit'scontent. We remain grateful for the opportunity to have worked with thesetalented people and for their contributions to both the exhibit and thesubsequent interpretation we use at the museum to engage people in thisimportant and expanding field of history.

The exhibitA Dishonorable Trade: Human Trafficking in theDutch Atlantic Worldwas displayed at Crailo State Historic Sitefrom 2015 to 2018, after which it traveled and was exhibited at other venues,including the Empire State Plaza. It has now returned to Crailo and will be onexhibit through mid-November 2024.