American Revolutionary War officer and
Associate Justice Henry Brockholst Livingston bought the "Wittemount" estate from a man by the name of De Witt in 1782. Brockholst Livingston developed the land on the estate more than had been done before. In 1797, he gave the property the new title “The Locusts” (not to be confused with
Locust Grove) for its
black locust trees. Livingston removed a log cabin from, and added a red brick mansion to, the property. Livingston resided on the estate for some years before selling it to Major George William Augustus Provost. Dinsmore added extensive gardens, farmland, and greenhouses to the estate. In the 19th century, the property was the subject of at least one American School painting.
Helen Dinsmore Huntington, daughter William B. Dinsmore Jr. (1844–1906), inherited the property which was called "Staatsburg on Hudson". Huntington had the mansion demolished and replaced it with the current home in 1941. As part of the interior decoration, she had
Albert Bierstadt's 1869 landscape painting
Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains removed from its frame and glued to an interior wall in the new house. After divorcing her husband of 26 years,
Vincent Astor, she married Lytle Hull. During that time, many famous musicians, such as
Cole Porter,
Leonard Bernstein, and
Elsa Maxwell, visited the estate for galas held to support her philanthropic projects.
Bob Guccione, founder and publisher of
Penthouse Magazine, owned the property, utilizing it as a weekend country house. At the time, the property was referred to as “The Willows”. In 2004, the estate was foreclosed before being bought by
Uma Thurman and André Balazs. == References ==