During our exploration of the Hudson River Valley, we stumbled across the Van Cortlandt Manor.  It is really a nice little revolutionary war era manor.  The guides were really friendly, and given the few tourist there… they gave you their full attention and was willing to take the time to answer all of your questions.  Mr. Van Cortlandt was a large land owner in the Hudson River Valley and was able to keep his house through the revolutionary war.  There was some vandalism from the British troops, but overall, the house stood intact.