The Hudson Valley boasts the highest concentration of significant historical locations found anywhere in America. In many respects, our nation's story began along the banks of the mighty Hudson, flowing through the currents of centuries. From the Revolutionary War to the Industrial Revolution and beyond, this region claims a rich heritage. Romanticism sprang from its hilltops and gardens, battles were fought on village greens, and the most recent revolution of ecological conservation sweeps down from lush forests and glens. The Hudson River Valley has been so important in our national history that the U.S. Congress declared it to be a National Heritage Area, calling it the "landscape that defined America."