Abraham Hasbrouck House

Historic Marker Reads:
Hasbrouck House
Built 1712, by Abraham, the
Patentee, once soldier in
English Army, friend of
Gov. Andros. Kitchen scene
of cock fights.

Abraham Hasbrouck - The Patentee

Sometime soldier, full time farmer, Abraham Hasbrouck above all was a personal friend of then Governor Andros, Royal Governor of the Colony of New York, from whom the 12 Patentees received the 39,000 acre grant of land later known as New Paltz. Chiefly because of the relationship between Governor Andros and Abraham Hasbrouck, the "finer" details were easily arranged.

Born in 1650 near Calais, France, Abraham and his brother Jean and sister were moved to the German Palatinate town of Mannheim by their father in about 1660. The family remained in Mannheim until the sons emigrated to New Netherlands; first Jean in 1672 then Abraham in 1675, via Amsterdam. It is speculated that at some point prior to this Abraham had a short career in the English Army where he met and befriended Edmund Andros, later to become Governor of the Colony of New York, and grantor of the land to Abraham and friends.

Abraham arrived in the New World via Boston, then to New Amsterdam (now known as New York City), then up the Hudson River to Wiltwyck (now known as Kingston), to the neighboring hamlet of Niew Dorpf (Dutch for New Settlement), to join his brother Jean. While in Wiltwyck he married 23 year old Maria Deyo in 1676 who he most probably met on the voyage across the Atlantic. Maria's father, Christian Deyo, was also one of the original 12 patentees of New Paltz. Her sister Anna Deyo married Abraham's brother Jean.

It's known from contemporary records that Abraham Hasbrouck acted as the Military Head of the enclave. Fortunately, his services were not called upon during the years of establishing the settlement. The Huguenot formed early and cordial relationships with the remnants of the native populations remaining before moving to the area, and steadfastly maintained those good relationships. It is also known that at least for a time he served as Justice of the Peace for the settlement.

The House

Abraham Hasbrouck finally built his stone home in 1694, consisting of a main room, a cellar room/kitchen and an upstairs loft. The fireplace was located in the cellar kitchen on the north wall and was relied upon to heat the entire structure. To help the flow of heated air small trap doors were built into the floors that, upon opening, allowed the heated air to rise up into the main room.

Legend has it that during the time that Daniel Hasbrouck, Abraham's son, owned the house his wife would use the trap door to keep a careful eye on her sons as they held rowdy and sometimes drunken cock fights in the downstairs cellar kitchen. New Paltz was a frontier town far beyond the edges of civilization located in the dark and dangerous woods, so life was hard and play was harder and louder, despite the Calvinistic morals of the sect.

As Abraham Hasbrouck's family grew the house went through two major additional building phases. In both additions it was expanded toward the south along the road following the gently sloping hill. In the process, it was transformed into what has become known as a specific type of vernacular architecture unique to the Hudson Valley; a Hudson Valley Dutch Three Room. In reality there were six rooms, the three on the ground floor, the original cellar kitchen, the extensions of the cellar and the full length loft. By 1717 the house was completely finished and was in the configuration that is seen today.

Interesting features of the construction of the house are first, the massive beams (unique to Dutch architecture), and second, how the additions to the house follow the land rather than a fixed structure. As you move from the north of the house to the south transitioning through the doors from one room to the next the floor lowers, yet the ceiling remains level. The effect is that when you enter the south most and newest room, (if you dare call 1712 new!), you are in a rather grandly scaled room with high ceilings. The design was not on purpose but was instead a complete result of practicality. The loft needed to remain level for easy movement of stored items, but the floors of the ground level needed to follow the descent of the hill to save on labor during construction.

Something else you will notice is that, unlike most other rough houses of the period you may visit, the ceilings in the New Paltz houses, the Abarham Hasbrouck House included, are high even in the most cramped rooms. In the lowest room, the north and oldest room, the bottom face of the beams are over six feet in elevation, with the ceiling resting a foot and a half above that on the top of the beams.

The Huguenot Historical Society has furnished the home and is interpreting it as a mid 18th century middle class dwelling. Many of the furniture pieces are Hasbrouck family heirlooms. Contained within the house are some exceptionally fine examples of period furnishings including a Ulster Kas, (or cupboard). Visitors are shown the three ground level rooms as well as the cellar kitchen.

The house was inherited by Abraham's son, Daniel, in 1717 upon Abraham's death. Abraham's wife, Maria, continued to live in the house until her death in 1741. Daniel passed the house on to his son Isaiah, who married Maria Bevier, great-granddaugter of Louis Bevier the Patentee. Their youngest daughter inherited the house and was the last family member to own it.

After the ownership of the house leaving the family in the 19th century the house continued to be occupied by renters. It was finally purchased by Mr. Iver Evers in 1918 who worked at restoring it to its early 18th century condition with only minor nods to the modern age. Chief among his projects was the stripping and refinishing of the wood surfaces and the installation of a Dutch Cupboard Bed taken from the Jean Hasbrouck House. Currently, the Hasbrouck Family Association works with the Huguenot Historical Society to insure the continued security and maintenance as well as preservation of the home.