Capitol for a Day
Event Details
Join the Village of Irvington for this free event as it commemorates the one day in 1776 when Irvington’s Odell Tavern served as the Seat of the New New York State Government. Learn about the dangers and the bravery!
Aug 30, 2026
12:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Free – no reservation required
On August 31, 1776, the only intact government of the new State of New York, the Committee of Safety, found temporary safety in Irvington at the Odell Tavern. The Odell Tavern is an intact historic tenant farmhouse that served as a drover’s tavern during the revolution and is within the borders of what is now the Village of Irvington.
As civilians and soldiers fled north to escape the British who had defeated – but not destroyed – the Continental Army on August 27 in Brooklyn, General Washington and the members of the Committee, including Abraham Yates Jr., President, exchanged letters and conducted the desperate business of keeping the new nation and the new State of New York from total defeat. This was the only site in Westchester County that served as the capital of New York State during these desperate days. Fishkill became the Committee’s next safe location.
To build awareness of the village’s unique place in the history of the American Revolution, a free and public educational outdoor family centered immersive experience, will be held in the Village’s Memorial Park. Led by educators and living history interpreters, dramatic readings of Washington’s correspondence and the Committee’s reply from August 31, 1776, will be performed, and the day will include short informational talks about the Odell family, the tenant farmers, the Loyalist Philipse family, the effect of war on civilians including the enslaved, the battles that occurred nearby, the importance of the Hudson River and the Albany Post Road.
Immersion in the 18th century life of families, such as the local Odells and Dutchers, who lived in the dangerous so-called Neutral Ground, will include fiddle music, tavern maidens who became spies for both sides, hands-on demonstrations of crafts – including those of the Lenape Native Americans, period games and dances and other programs. Capital for a Day is one part of a three-part weekend Village commemoration.
All three parts are on or within steps of the Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park (OCA). Community and local youth organizations will have table displays that relate to the history of the village with planned videotaping of short interviews with current residents about the meaning of the 250th to them. A student produced video on the Odell family is expected to be shown. In addition, it is expected that a new brass historic plaque will be placed on the fencing of the private Odell Tavern property and a short ceremony will take place along the OCA during the program.
Features:
George Washington, Ben and Deborah Franklin Meet and Greet
Master Storyteller Jonathan Kruk
5th New York Regiment
Carmel & Young Colonials Fife & Drum Corps
Scouts and Soldiers: Native Americans in the Colonial Militias and Wars
Broom Making
Games Music: The Liberty Three
Patriotic Spycraft
1876 Centennial Garden Party
The Armour-Stiner Octagon House
August 30, 2026
4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Advance Tickets Required
Following the free public experience held in the Village’s Memorial Park on August 30th, a ticketed program marking 100 years after August 31, 1776 will be held at the Armour- Stiner Octagon House. The Octagon House on the adjacent Old Croton Aqueduct stands on what was part of the Odell tenant farm. The program will mark 100 years since the day the centennial of the war was commemorated at this house in 1876. The OCA will have temporary signs mounted about the 100 years between 1776 and 1876 to provide a walking tour of history.
Join us for a once-in-a-lifetime summer soirée at the Octagon House in Irvington, New York, honoring America’s Semiquincentennial and recalling the spirit of the nation’s 1876 Centennial celebrations.
Guests will enjoy period lawn games, live music, Victorian-era historic interpreters, Centennial artifacts, and 1876-inspired food and drink, along with a self-guided exploration of two interior floors of the house.
The afternoon will feature Jonathan Kruk, Master Storyteller, together with historical interpreters portraying George Washington, Martha Washington, and Benjamin Franklin. Stroll the veranda, visit the Foxglove Garden, enjoy light fare by Horsefeathers of Tarrytown, watch a game of Victorian croquet, and encounter delightful surprises throughout the afternoon, including a sleight-of-hand magician and a silhouette artist creating keepsake portraits by hand.
Each guest will receive two complimentary tickets for beer and wine. Period costume is welcome, but not required.
Click here to purchase tickets: https://armourstiner.com/guided-tours/1876-centennial-garden-party/
Tickets are $150 per person, but there is a limited quantity promo discount of 50% off for Irvington residents. Use code at checkout: IRV250. This code is valid for the 1876 Centennial Garden Party only.
Important notes:
Parking will be remote with trolley service provided. There is no parking at the Octagon House nor along West Clinton Avenue
This event is rain or shine
Recommended for ages 12 and up
Neither Bought Nor Conquered
Aug 29, 2026
McVickar House – 131 Main Street
On August 29, the day before Capitol for a Day, the Irvington Historical Society’s new exhibit will open with a free and public event at the nearby historic McVicker House. “Neither Bought Nor Conquered: The Revolutionary War and the Tenant Farmers of Philipsburg Manor” will explore the experience of those who lived in the portion of the “Neutral Ground” that is Irvington today–men and women, free and enslaved. The exhibit will draw on maps, artifacts, documents and new primary source research to paint a picture of life as local loyalties divided in this country’s first civil war. It will be curated by historian Char Weigel.