The long-time caretakers of Grant Cottage, Oliver Pendleton Clarke (O.P.) and his wife Martha Josephine Kelsey Clarke (Josie) began their life on Mt. McGregor in the fall of 1889. They would spend the rest of their lives on the mountain dedicating themselves to preserving Grant Cottage and the memory of U.S. Grant’s final battle there in 1885.
In 1889, O.P. was a high-ranking official in the New York State Department of the Grand Army of the Republic (a Union veteran organization), an attorney specializing in pension law and author. Disabled as a result of his prisoner-of-war experience at Andersonville, Georgia during the Civil War, he accepted the job of caretaker in the hope his health would improve. Josie was an amateur painter and botanist who grew to love the Cottage and mountain as much as her husband did. Reenactors Steve Trimm (O.P.) and Melissa Trombley-Prosch (Josie) will share reflections on their life together on Mt. McGregor in the setting of Memorial Day, 1907.
The suggested donation for Grant Cottage Porch Programs is $5 per person. These programs are made possible thanks to a grant from the Adirondack Trust Community Fund. Our events are supported with funding from the New York State Park and Trail Partnership Program (NYSPTPP) and New York’s Environmental Protection Fund. The NYSPTPP is administered by Parks & Trails New York, in partnership with the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
