Oliver and Martha Clarke Welcome You

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 this program is $5 per person. Grant Cottage Porch Programs are made possible by a grant from the Adirondack Trust Community Fund.