Oliver Brewster House

The Oliver Brewster House is a neo-Gothic house at the Willow Avenue in Cornwall, New York in the United States, directly across from the Willow Avenue Elementary School. It originated in the middle of the 19th century actually as a farmhouse and was later, when Cornwall became a popular destination for summer vacationers from New York City, expanded and remodeled for use as a boarding house.

It has remained almost completely intact from this period, in contrast to most other farm houses in the area. In addition, some outbuildings are obtained with respect Farm. The house was the National Register of Historic Places added in 1996.

Description

The house stands on a 1.6 acre lot with trees and bushes, on which a total of seven buildings and buildings are, six of which are considered to be contributing.

The main building is a two story house with five bays, which is verschindelt with narrow boards. The house has two single-storey wing, the three bays in the north- west and two protruding from the main block to the southeast. In the northwestern corner of the gable roof sits a stone brick fireplace. The roof itself has a pulled-down roof eaves, the rafters are exposed. Under the eaves is a molded cornice. The basement is built of stone.

A wooden porch with a flat roof extends over the entire length of the ground floor on the southwest side over the main building and the two side wings. A similar porch on the back ( to the northeast ) is glazed.

The centrally located main entrance consists of a profiled panel wooden door, which is inserted into a recessed hallway. The door frame and the side window frames are made ​​of wood. The entrance gives way to the main hall with the laterally located large rooms. Much of the interior is original, such as the floor, the ceiling panels that open fireplaces with mantels in marble, the sliding doors between the parlor rooms and the staircase to the spindle poles and the balustrade.

Southeast of the house is the first of the contributing elements, a fountain house with hipped roof. Behind it is a two-story carriage house serving as a shed with a gable roof and executed in tongue and groove technique facade and a small outhouse, which also has a gable roof.

The main shed has a hipped roof at the gable. In three of the four bays modern garage doors are installed; in the fourth yoke is a wooden double door with a small door to the store about it. A standing nearby shed is clad with vertical boards and also has a gable roof. On the site eventually is still a modern garage, which is not considered as a single building on the site as contributing.

History

Brewster built the original house from the main tract and southeastern wing consisting, in 1850 on a plot that at that time the De Crissey family belonged, into which he had married. He and his wife began the cultivation of fruit, mainly strawberries, raspberries and other small berry varieties. The two were the first farmers in the Hudson Valley, the cultured Niagara vines here.

Soon afterwards, were New Yorkers who spent the summer in the country, has become an important economic factor in Cornwall. Like other local farmers, such as Wilford Wood and Samuel Brooks, Brewster extended the house to accommodate summer guests. To this end, the north-west wing was built in 1860 grown.

In the 20th century the farm was eventually sold and divided the surface, so that the influx of residential settlers surrounding the plot today. But, apart from the added garage 1.6 acres remained without further change. To date, the property is privately owned.