May 22, 1915





RECORD  AND  GUIDE





865





"OLDEST"   LANDMARK   TO   BE   MODERNIZED





As  the Result of the Sale of Historic Site,  DweUing
Will Be Reconstructed to Fill Up-to-date Requirements





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WHAT is probably one of the oldest
houses in the Van Cortiandt, River¬
dale and Fieldston districts, was sold re¬
cently, as already reported, by the Dela¬
field Estate to Willett R. Skillman, who
is to occupy the premises, after exten¬
sive alterations which amount practically
to reconstruction, under the supervision
of Dwight James Baum, architect, Waldo
avenue and 246th street. The house is
located on the Albany post road, just
north of the old southerly line of the
Philipse Manor.

The house antedates the famous Van
Cortiandt mansion in Van Cortiandt
Park, and is so old
that the exact date
of its erection is not
known. Around it
are linked a number
of historical associ¬
ations which make
it one of the most in¬
teresting landmarks,
bind i'n g present
New York with the
past. It is estimated
to have been built
two hundred years
ago and represents
the type of construc¬
tion of a period
when building ma¬
terials and methods
of construction were
almost primitive in
their simplicity. The
structure seems to
have been the guard¬
house at the south¬
erly entrance to the
manor. Tradition has
it that it was oc¬
cupied by the commander of the Ameri¬
can army in the days of the Revolution¬
ary War. during the fighting in the sec¬
tion north of New York City. Another
old story holds that during these excit¬
ing days, George Washington spent a
night under its roof. The present tenant
has been on the premises for thirty-
five years.

The house, in its present condition,
presents an interesting study, represent¬
ing, as it does, in plan and style, an era
even before the Revolution. The main
portion is about twenty-four feet square
and is built of rough stone walls, more
than two feet thick, laid up in lime,
which is, in the main, mud. Originally
its northern division, which is now built
of wood, was a small stone annex.
Owner Since 1829.

This part was razed in 1815 and the
present wooden or higher portion
erected. The property came into the
possession of the Delafield family
in   1829.

All the materials are hand made; the
beams are hand hewn and the nails of
wrought iron. The laths were also made
by hand and consist of long strips split
from rough hewn timbers. The supports
on the first floor are about ten inches
square, those on the second floor, ap¬
proximate four inches by six inches.
The roof rafters are five inches wide by
four inches deep, as comoared with two
inches wide by six inches deep custom-
army in use at the present day.

One of the unique details noted in
connection with the laj'out of the in¬
terior is a slender partition built en¬
tirely of stone separating the old kitchen
from the dining-room. Its thickness
including several coats of whitewash,
laid from time to time, is only five and
one-half inches.    No one has been able





to explain the reason for this type of
interior partition and the only plaus¬
ible cause advanced is that it was con¬
structed to divide the two rooms.
Nothing corresponding to it has been
found in any of the old landmarks
which also represent antiquated types
of building construction.

Heavy Floor Timbers.

The flooring consists of boards about
ten inches wide, and from one and a
half to two inches thick; the wear of
two centuries has caused, at various
points, spots nearly worn through.
From the kitchen there is still a ladder







REVOLUTIONARY    LANDMARK    IN  RIVERDALE   SECTION.

which leads to a small room under the
roof, containing one window, two feet
square. This space was originally used
for slave quarters. The greater part
of the southern side is taken up by a
huge chimney which makes the wall at
this end four feet thick. It opens
into an old Dutch oven ni the kitchen
and a five foot wide fireplace in the
dining-room and in the bedroom above.
There are two fireplace openings of
simple lime-mortar finish with hearths
of huge flagstones which have been so
used that in places they resemble the
rocks worn down by the ceaseless on¬
rush of waters in the bed of a creek. The
chimney is topped by brick, probably
brought   over   from   Holland.

Wrought Iron  Hinges  Used.

Botli on the east and west sides of
the house are porches with square post
columns. These are to be saved and
used when the building is reconstructed.
On the blinds are ancient wrought iron
strap hinges of crude make, probably
the handiwork of the old-time village
blacksmith. These will be duplicated
and added to, as part of the reconstruc¬
tion   work.

As much as possible of the old build¬
ing will be retained and preserved, as
outlined by Mr. Baum. The only ex¬
terior change will be the lowering of
the roof of the wooden or newer sec¬
tion, painting the clap-boards of the
new portion white, a similar treatment
of the downstairs blinds and the adding
of new shutters along the old lines on
the upper portion oi the house. The old
stone work is to be repointed with white
mortar. When completely remodelled,
the house will represent as near as pos¬
sible an old New England prototype.

A small new kitchen wing is to be
added   on   the   south,   with   a   breakfast





porch at the southeast. The present
old kitchen will be utilized as a pantry.
The old stairs of black walnut connect¬
ing the first and second floors are to re¬
main intact, while in the northerly part
of the house a living-room porch is to
be built. All these porches will have
original columns and the new ones re¬
quired will be remodelled after the old.
One of the most interesting features
in connection with this ancient dwelling
house is an unusual growth of vines.
These have become so heavy and strong
through years of steady and uninter¬
rupted growth that they have forced
themselves between the stonework and
can even be seen in
some of the rooms.
In one place, they
have raised a section
of the  roof rafters.

The house, of
course, has the old
Colonial garden,
typical of all the old-
time residences. The
old grape arbor
has also grown to a
remarkable degree;
some of the bushes
have trunks the size
of a full grown tree
and one has fol¬
lowed a fence for
more than a hun¬
dred feet.

Along  the  line  of
the    road    stretches
a row of giant boul¬
ders and a stone wall
about three feet high,
which     is     said     to
have once marked the
soutnern     boundary
of the old    Philipse Manor.    As part of
the   reconstruction   a   low   quaint   white
picket  fence is  to be added to  the  top,
which  will serve  to  make  the  old  gray
wall   even   more   picturesque.     About   a
hundred   feet   from   the   house   there   is
a    famous   spring   which   has   been   in
use   for   a   great     many     years.     It   is
guarded    by    a    huge,    equally    famous,
irog, who has been there in the memory
of    the    oldest    residents.       He    gazes
placidly on every curious onlooker with¬
in   a   reasonably   safe   radius,   and   van¬
ishes  in   the   depths  of  the  pool  at  the
least  approach   of   danger.     In   back  of
the   spring  is  the   old   Dogwood   brook,
so    called    on    account    of    the    great
number   of   dogwood     trees     along    its
banks.

Crude Construction.
The house, with its crude construc¬
tion which has resisted the wear and
tear of the winters of two centuries and
its picturesque surroundings, exemplifies
the charm and mystery which every old
landmark holds for the imaginative
observer. These impressions are inten¬
sified by the picturesque wildness of the
surrounding country and the almost vir¬
ginal character of the woodland stretch¬
ing in every direction, away from the old
building.

The Riverdale section has many other
historic houses still standing, and is full
of Revolutionary lore. Organizations,
which have for their object the preser¬
vation of relics, a few years ago made a
thorough canvass of the section, trying
to locate furniture and other things
which would serve to perpetuate the
memories of past days, and the efforts
were rewarded in many instances. The
old Van Cortiandt mansion, in the park
bearing that name, is used as a museum
for the exhibition of these antiques.