In 1867, Frederick Church, a landscaper painter, acquired a parcel of mature woods at the top of a hill in Hudson, New York and began planning a large house for the site, which was constructed between 1870 and 1872. The property was named "Olana" probably by Isabel, Frederick's wife. Over the last forty years of his life, Frederic Church created a 250-acre designed landscape at Olana. New York State purchased the property in 1966, and it was opened to the public.