St. James Episcopal Church Graveyard Tours

Tour this 200-year-old churchyard by lantern light and come face-to-face with some of the iconic people who are buried there! Characters dressed in costumes appropriate to their times tell their stories through interactive dialogue.

This year’s “cast” includes Gertrude Lewis Livingston Lowndes (1805–1883), a member of the Livingston family, New York’s premier family dynasty at the time; Emma Victoria Pitkin Marshall (1866–1946), who was once known as the “Poet Laureate” of Dutchess County; Catherine Kennedy Harper (1830–1901), an Irish immigrant who gained employment in Staatsburg as nanny and nurse to the two daughters of Maturin and Ruth (Baylies) Livingston, Ruth and Elizabeth; Augustus T. Cowman (1814–1854), the son of Captain John Cowman, who sailed ships for John Jacob Astor (going twice to China); and Rev. John McVickar (1787–1868), who was appointed Rector of St. James’ Church in 1811 and in 1818 was elected Professor of Moral Philosophy, Rhetoric and Belles-Lettres at Columbia University, where he delivered the first course of lectures on Political Economy ever given in America.

Appropriate for ages 5 and older. 

Tours will begin every half-hour from 6:30–8 p.m. For those with mobility challenges, a golf cart will be available for no extra cost for the 6:30 and 8 p.m. tours. Call the parish office at (845) 229-2820 for details.

Click here to purchase tour tickets.