New York - Rhinebeck is only a two-hour drive from Manhattan but the opposite of the world's
financial and media capital: quiet, pastoral and sleep.
Its population of fewer than 8,000 belies a long history of connections to the famous and powerful.
George Washington, hero of the American Revolution and the country's first president (1789-97), once spent a night in Rhinebeck, and legendary millionaire John Jacob Astor IV lived there until his death in the 1912 sinking of the cruise ship Titanic.
Franklin Roosevelt, the longest-serving president (1933-45) who led the country through the Great Depression and World War II, had his estate just outside Rhinebeck.
Most recently, teen actress Emma Roberts, niece of
Hollywood icon Julia Roberts, is a Rhinebeck native.
The town itself has played a part in films and television shows, attracting producers for its idyllic setting. It seems to be a magnet for romantic comedies, such as 2008's 27 Dresses, starring Katherine Heigl as a woman who goes to Rhinebeck to attend a
wedding in which she is a bridesmaid.
Despite being overrun all week with reporters trying to cover Saturday's wedding of
Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former President Bill Clinton (1993-2001), few details have emerged in Rhinebeck about the closely guarded ceremony. In a town used to residents seeking discretion, nobody seems to be talking.
