creating a sanctuary & retreat center
in the heart
​of the Hudson River Valley
...in  these particular times...which most certainly call for it.

Hello Friends. In the week that followed the surreal election of 2024, I followed an instinct to head up to Hyde Park, New York to take a private tour of an intriguing real estate listing. I am drawn to old churches, schoolhouses & lodges, and always eager to imagine how they might be repurposed and/or reawakened. The Hyde Park Dutch Reformed Church was a delightful surprise, and has whetted my imagination. The nearby FDR Library & Museum is a historical repository of a time when our country longed for a New Deal. Which is where we find ourselves once again, eh? - Randall Stuart
Perched on the east side of the Hudson River Valley, the town of Hyde Park is a surprisingly casual place with plenty of everyday charm. It is there that you'll find the deeply meaningful FDR Library & Museum along with the 'over-the-top' Vanderbilt Mansion & Gardens. A few miles to the south is the Hudson Line train station in Poughkeepsie, Vassar College, and The Culinary Institute of America; and a few miles to the north is Rhinebeck with its marvelous culture & cuisine.

​The property in question - the Hyde Park Dutch Reformed Church - happens to be for sale for the first time in its two centuries history, and includes a one acre parcel of land that is full of opportunity for development as an artists, writers & peacemakers retreat. Taking a bit of inspiration from Mrs. Roosevelt’s nearby Val-Kill Cottage, the grounds most certainly could become a place of repose and restoration.
Within the freehold sits a modest 200 year old historic sanctuary, with an attached parsonage, a renovated schoolhouse, a community hall & industrial kitchen, and (lo & behold) a small historic graveyard. There's a large parking lot that blends into a grand lawn, while the back line of the property is one of those jaw-dropping natural rock walls that reminds one of the times when the Earth actually pushed this place into existence. 

​The historic buildings are extant, and the rest or the campus would be up to the creativity of a new owner, thanks to the implementation of a new zoning overlay for the town's Crossroads Core and main thoroughfare. 
Well, it makes one wonder: 
Wouldn't it be grand to create a retreat in a convenient destination (a 90 minute drive from Manhattan, and accessible by nearby train) to gather the great minds who think in a civilized and creative way? A quiet retreat.

The selling price of the property is reasonable, due to the town's slow recovery from the pandemic, and it's a particular kind of sale: for the parcel would require a steward who understands both its sacred history, and is interested in fashioning a small 'campus'  that could be active from early spring through late autumn, and quiet during the winter months.

​* The existing structures offer several possibilities for the community: the church & meeting hall are ready for ceremonies, discourses, and instrumental concerts.
* Its 'present' use can be realized with simple improvements, while its 'future' use might translate well into
a retirement community or educational center.
* It is neither in a flood plane nor a fire zone, and there's a delightful old-fashioned drive-in motel,
The Roosevelt Inn, mere blocks away. ​
* The parsonage could easily be transformed into a small museum: particularly focused on the history of the land, first occupied by the indigenous Wappinger tribe. ​
Picture
The many possibilities for a Retreat Center.
The acre of available land is ripe for 'phased' new construction: building a multi-use longhouse/barn with a proper workshop, landscaping with a natural walking meditation labyrinth ("The Creative Path Walk"), installing beehives & community gardens, and the addition of ADU residence units for the comfort of the guest artists & peace thinkers who would be invited to visit.
As a lifelong artisan, activist & reverend (who has a history of transforming historic & sacred spaces) Randall Stuart is pleased to have created a successful nonprofit arts & humanities center on the West Coast in a former fellowship lodge [Cerimon House, Portland, Oregon 2009-2020]. The focus of the East Coast project would be a private endeavor: creating a space where great minds are invited to gather in fellowship, silent meditation, nonviolent training workshops & various presentations. A Hyde Park Peace Retreat would be a word-of-mouth place, a space for creating composure in these troubled times.
A new New Deal. ​
​And so, in the spirit of Eleanor Roosevelt's work with the United Nations as the first chair of the Commission on Human Rights, a Hyde Park Retreat would be a place to find agreement, and to "unite notions". Such a place might make a rather small sound while having a surprising impact. It would be quite quiet indeed (....ssssh) while proving to be calmly consequential (...aaaah...).
Note to friends, with thanks:  I wanted you to have a peek at the idea. This narrative is for private viewing, and not to be shared widely for the time-being, until I've had the chance to collect more information, tour the property for a second visit, and secure the financial backing. ...Onwards! Here's to the dreaming of practical dreams.  [June 2025]
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FDR Library & Museum