DeWint House

Last updated

De Wint House
DeWint House Tappan.JPG
The DeWint House in 2010
LocationOak Tree Road and Livingston Street, Tappan, New York
Coordinates 41°01′11″N73°56′48″W / 41.01972°N 73.94667°W / 41.01972; -73.94667
Built1700
Architect Daniel DeClark
Architectural style Dutch
NRHP reference No. 66000568
NYSRHP No.08703.000104
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966 [1]
Designated NHLMay 23, 1966 [2]
Designated NYSRHPJune 23, 1980

The DeWint House, in Tappan, New York, is one of the oldest surviving structures in Rockland County and is an outstanding example of Hudson Valley Dutch Colonial architecture. [3] It was built using brick and indigenous stone in 1700 by Daniel DeClark, a Hollander, who emigrated to America in 1676 and bought the land from the native inhabitants in 1682. The date of construction is marked by glazed bricks incorporated into the façade.

Contents

In 1746, West Indies planter and American patriot Johannes DeWint and his spouse Antje Dewint bought the house. His daughter, Anna Maria, and her husband, Major Fredericus Blauvelt, lived in the house.

The DeWint House became a temporary headquarters of George Washington while he was Commander-in-Chief during the American Revolution. Washington was a guest in the south parlor twice in 1780 and twice in 1783. The "Washington Room" in the DeWint House is a National Masonic Historic Site.

Washington's headquarters

Personal flag used by General George Washington as Commander-in-Chief during the American Revolutionary War DeWint House - George Washington's personal flag.jpg
Personal flag used by General George Washington as Commander-in-Chief during the American Revolutionary War

Washington first stayed at the Dewint House from August 8–24, 1780, while inspecting a redoubt on the Hudson River.

Washington returned from September 28 to October 7, 1780, for the nearby trial of British spy Major John André. Washington signed the execution warrant in the house and Andre was subsequently hanged. Andre had been captured in Tarrytown after plotting with Benedict Arnold to surrender West Point to the British. André was held in the Old '76 House in Tappan, a tavern which is now a restaurant. Washington provided meals from his table at the DeWint House to André at the '76 House. A stone on André Hill Road at Gallows Hill marks the site of André's hanging.

Washington and his key staff headquartered at the DeWint House from May 4–8, 1783, while negotiating the final withdrawal of British troops from New York City with British General Sir Guy Carleton. It was said to have been a friendly conference combined with an elegant dinner prepared by Samuel Fraunces, owner of Fraunces Tavern in New York City, who came up to prepare the dinner for Washington and his guest.

From November 11–14, 1783, a terrible snowstorm forced Washington to seek shelter in the DeWint House on his trip to visit West Point and later New York City, where he tendered his resignation.

Grounds and renovation

Carriage house DeWint House - Carriage House - spring view.jpg
Carriage house

The property was in disrepair when it was acquired by the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York in 1932. The site was declared a National Historic Landmark and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. [2] [4] The DeWint House, along with Stony Point Battlefield in Stony Point and the Blauvelt House in New City, are the only places in Rockland County designated as New York State Paths through History [5] sites.

The site has undergone extensive restoration and upgrading. The house's two first-floor rooms have been restored and furnished to reflect the period of Washington's occupancy. A fully functioning replica kitchen, as Washington might have known it while he was a guest of the DeWints, was completed in 1996.

The grounds include a 19th-century carriage house that contains displays of artifacts uncovered at the site during archaeological digs, as wells as items related to Washington, André and Arnold, and the Masons. A large mill stone from a grist mill in nearby Ramapo is displayed on the grounds, and at the rear of the house stand seven small grave markers each bearing one to three initials, which came from a nearby property. It is believed these markers came from a burial ground for slaves on that property.

The house and grounds are open to the public.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockland County, New York</span> County in New York, United States

Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state's third-most densely populated county outside New York City after Nassau and neighboring Westchester Counties. The county seat and largest city is New City. Rockland County is accessible via the New York State Thruway, which crosses the Hudson to Westchester at the Tappan Zee Bridge ten exits up from the NYC border, as well as the Palisades Parkway five exits up from the George Washington Bridge. The county's name derives from "rocky land", as the area has been aptly described, largely due to the Hudson River Palisades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New City, New York</span> Census-designated place in New York, United States

New City is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York, United States, part of the New York Metropolitan Area. An affluent suburb of New York City, the hamlet is located 18 miles (29 km) north of the city at its closest point, Riverdale, Bronx. Within Rockland County, New City is located north of Bardonia, northeast of Nanuet, east of New Square and New Hempstead, south of Garnerville and the village of Haverstraw, and west of Congers. New City's population was 35,101 at the 2020 census, making it the 14th most populous CDP/hamlet in the state of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nyack, New York</span> Village in New York, United States

Nyack is a village located primarily in the town of Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, United States. Incorporated in 1872, it retains a very small western section in Clarkstown. The village had a population of 7,265 as of the 2020 census. It is a suburb of New York City lying approximately 15 miles (24 km) north of the Manhattan boundary near the west bank of the Hudson River, situated north of South Nyack, east of Central Nyack, south of Upper Nyack, and southeast of Valley Cottage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orangetown, New York</span> Town in New York, United States

Orangetown is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States, located in the southeastern part of the county. It is northwest of New York City, north of New Jersey, east of the town of Ramapo, south of the town of Clarkstown, and west of the Hudson River. The population was 48,655 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tappan, New York</span> Census-designated place in New York, United States

Tappan is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Orangetown, Rockland County, New York. It is located northwest of Alpine, New Jersey, north of Northvale, New Jersey and Rockleigh, New Jersey, northeast of Old Tappan, New Jersey, east/southeast of Nauraushaun and Pearl River, south of Orangeburg, southwest of Sparkill, and west of Palisades; Tappan shares a border with each. The population was 6,673, according to the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fraunces Tavern</span> Historic building in Manhattan, New York

Fraunces Tavern is a museum and restaurant in New York City, situated at 54 Pearl Street at the corner of Broad Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. The location played a prominent role in history before, during, and after the American Revolution. At various points in its history, Fraunces Tavern served as a headquarters for George Washington, a venue for peace negotiations with the British, and housing federal offices in the Early Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blauvelt State Park</span> State park in Rockland County, New York

Blauvelt State Park is a 644-acre (2.61 km2) undeveloped state park located in the Town of Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, near the Hudson River Palisades. The park's land occupies the site of the former Camp Bluefields, a rifle range used to train members of the New York National Guard prior to World War I. The park is located south of Nyack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palisades, New York</span> Hamlet in New York, United States

Palisades, formerly known as Sneden's Landing, is a hamlet in the Town of Orangetown in Rockland County, New York. It is located north of Rockleigh and Alpine, New Jersey; east of Tappan; south of Sparkill; and west of the Hudson River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palisades Interstate Park Commission</span> United States historic place

The Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC) was formed in 1900 by Governors Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Foster Voorhees of New Jersey in response to the quarrying operations along the Palisades Cliffs of New Jersey. The Palisades, a National Natural Landmark that are also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in Northeastern New Jersey and Southeastern New York in the United States. After its formation, the PIPC quickly moved to acquire the lands at the base of the Palisades to stop quarrying operations in both New York and New Jersey. The commission consists of ten commissioners, five appointed by each governor, and was ratified by an Act of Congress in 1937 when its interstate compact was approved. Today, the Commission owns and operates more than 125,000 acres of public parkland in New York and New Jersey including 21 state parks, 8 historic sites, and the Palisades Interstate Parkway. These parks are visited by more than 7 million people annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Fraunces</span>

Samuel Fraunces was an American restaurateur and the owner/operator of Fraunces Tavern in New York City. During the Revolutionary War, he provided for prisoners held during the seven-year British occupation of New York City (1776-1783), and claimed to have been a spy for the American side. At the end of the war, it was at Fraunces Tavern that General George Washington said farewell to his officers. Fraunces later served as steward of Washington's presidential household in New York City (1789–1790) and Philadelphia (1791–1794).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stony Point Battlefield</span> United States historic place

Stony Point Battlefield is a historic site in Rockland County, New York; the location of the 1779 Battle of Stony Point during the American Revolutionary War. It is a National Historic Landmark and has a museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York State Route 303</span> State highway in Rockland County, New York, US

New York State Route 303 (NY 303) is a north–south state highway in eastern Rockland County, New York, in the United States. It begins at the New Jersey state line in the hamlet of Tappan and runs generally northward for 10.92 miles (17.57 km) to an intersection with U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) in Clarkstown. The route has connections to the Palisades Interstate Parkway and the New York State Thruway, the latter carrying Interstate 87 (I-87) and I-287. NY 303 was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, and only minor realignments have occurred since that time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reformed Church of Tappan</span> Historic church in New York, United States

The Reformed Church of Tappan in Tappan, Rockland County, New York is a historic church. It is a contributing property to the Tappan Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The '76 House</span> Historic commercial building in New York, United States

The '76 House, also known as the Old '76 House, is a Colonial-era structure built as a home and tavern in Tappan, New York, in 1754 by Casparus Mabie, a merchant and tavern-keeper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major John André Monument</span> United States historic place

Major John André Monument, also known as the Site of Major John André's Hanging and Burial, is a historic monument located at Tappan in Rockland County, New York; it's only a few yards away from the New Jersey border. It is a gray granite monument erected in 1879 and approximately 40 inches square and 58 inches tall. It is located in a circular plot approximately 31 feet in diameter. It commemorates the site of the hanging of Major John André on October 2, 1780.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blauvelt House (New City, New York)</span> Historic house in New York, United States

The Blauvelt House is a historic house and farm complex located at 20 Zukor Road in New City, Rockland County, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tappan Historic District</span> Historic district in New York, United States

Tappan Historic District is a national historic district located at Tappan in Rockland County, New York. It encompasses 26 contributing buildings and three contributing sites. The district consists of 30 properties that reflect the historic commercial and residential core of the late 18th and 19th century village of Tappan. The Reformed Church of Tappan, The Old 76 House, Borcher's Stable and The Burton Store are located within the district boundaries.

The recorded history of Rockland County, New York begins on February 23, 1798, when the county was split off from Orange County, New York and formed as its own administrative division of the state of New York. It is located 6 miles (9.7 km) north-northwest of New York City, and is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. The county seat is the hamlet of New City. The name comes from rocky land, an early description of the area given by settlers. Rockland is New York's southernmost county west of the Hudson River. It is suburban in nature, with a considerable amount of scenic designated parkland. Rockland County does not border any of the New York City boroughs, but is only 9.5 miles (15.3 km) north of Manhattan at the counties' two respective closest points

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sparkill Creek</span> River in New Jersey, United States

Sparkill Creek, is a tributary of the Hudson River in Rockland County, New York and Bergen County, New Jersey in the United States. It flows through the Sparkill Gap in the Hudson Palisades, which was created by a fault line which provided the only sea-level break in the Palisades.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. 1 2 "De Wint House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 11, 2007. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011.
  3. "The DeWint House". DeWintHouse.Com.
  4. Cecil McKithan (January 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: De Wint House" (pdf). National Park Service. and Accompanying 3 photos, exterior, from 1975, and 1 period drawing.  (768  KiB)
  5. "New York Path Through History | Explore New York's Rich Heritage". I LOVE NEW YORK. Retrieved November 14, 2019.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to DeWint House at Wikimedia Commons