Edward Salyer House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Edward Salyer House
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South (front) elevation and east profile, 2008
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | Pearl River, NY |
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| Nearest city | Paterson, NJ |
| Area | 0.5 acres (2,000 m2) |
| Built | 1765 |
| Architect | Edward Salyer |
| Architectural style | Colonial, Dutch Colonial |
| NRHP reference No. | 86002178 |
| Added to NRHP | September 4, 1986 |
The Edward Salyer House is a historic home located in Pearl River, New York. It was built in the 1760s using a special way of building called timber framing, which uses strong wooden frames.
This house was once the main building of a large farm. It is one of the few remaining Dutch Colonial style wooden houses in the area. It might even be the oldest house in Pearl River! Even though it has been updated over the years, it still has many original parts. These include its old interior designs and outdoor metal pieces. In 1986, the house and its original well were added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means they are important historical sites.
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What Does the Edward Salyer House Look Like?
The Edward Salyer House is on the west side of South Middletown Road. It sits closer to the street than other houses nearby. The property is about half an acre (2,000 square meters). Tall trees separate it from other homes. The area around it is mostly residential, with many newer houses built in the late 1900s.
There are two other small buildings on the property. These are a wellhouse and a shed. The land gently slopes down towards the back, where there are pretty gardens and a path. You can also see a large black walnut tree and other evergreen trees.
Outside the House
The house itself is two and a half stories tall. It has five windows across the front and five along the side. It sits on a strong fieldstone foundation that is about 18 inches (46 cm) thick. Because the land slopes, about eight feet (2.4 m) of the foundation shows on the west side. This makes it look like the house has an extra story there.
The outside walls are covered in clapboard siding. The pointed parts of the gambrel roof have special scale-shaped shingles. The roof has brick chimneys at each end and a small dormer window on the south side.
The front of the house faces south, away from the street. A wooden staircase leads up to the main entrance in the middle. On each side of the door are two windows with six panes of glass on the top and six on the bottom. These windows have wooden shutters. The roof hangs over the front of the house. While the front is very even and balanced, the sides have windows placed in different spots. Some windows are very old, with 12 panes on top and 12 on the bottom. Some even have their original wrought iron parts.
On the west side, there's a back entrance with a special Dutch door that was added later. A small, one-story wooden room with large windows sticks out from this side. It also has a wooden patio. The basement on the north side is mostly covered by a small hill.
Inside the House
The main entrance is set back a bit and has wide decorative columns called pilasters. These support a fancy frame above a three-paned window. When you step inside, you enter a central hallway that divides the house. In the front, there's a living room and a dining room. Both have Federal style fireplaces with decorative columns and wooden trim. In the dining room, a cupboard with glass doors and shelves sits next to the fireplace. Towards the back of the house, you'll find a bedroom, a study, and a bathroom.
The floors are made of wide wooden planks of different lengths. They are held down by old, handmade nails. The walls are made of plaster over old insulation made from clay and straw. The frames around the doors and windows are made of molded wood, and some are more decorated than others. A few doors still have their original wrought iron thumb latches. You can even find some original fabrics inside!
An enclosed staircase leads up to the second floor. Here, a wider central hallway separates three bedrooms and another bathroom. The floors are also made of wooden planks. The ceilings are a bit low, about 6 feet 11 inches (2.1 m) high. Another set of stairs goes up to the attic. In the attic, you can see the old wooden beams that were shaped with a tool called an adz. You can also see how the roof frame was put together with numbered wooden pegs.
The basement is split into two parts. The east side is unfinished. The west side has the original kitchen and a common room. In the old kitchen, you can still see where a fireplace used to be. You can also see the shape of an old beehive oven built into the stone wall behind the fireplace. This fireplace has its original wooden fireplace mantel from the Federal period. All the door and window openings in the thick stone walls get narrower as they go up. Modern pine wainscoting (wood panels on the lower part of the wall) and a herringbone patterned brick floor have been added. The old storage room now holds a modern kitchen.
Other Buildings on the Property
At the southwest corner of the house is a wellhouse. This is a modern wooden building that protects the original well. The well is four feet (1.3 m) wide and 20 feet (6.1 m) deep. Its sides are made of fieldstone stacked without mortar. There is also a wooden toolshed at the northeast corner. It has a gabled roof and clapboard siding, just like the house.
The toolshed and wellhouse look like the main house. However, since they were built more recently, they are not considered "contributing resources" to the National Register listing. The well itself, though, is very old and dates back to the farm's early days. Because of this, the well is considered a contributing structure.
History of the Edward Salyer House
Records from 1769, when the border between New York and New Jersey was being set, mention the house. This suggests it was fairly new at the time. Other old records from the Kakiat Patent, a large land grant from the colonial era, also support this idea. This is why experts believe the house was built around 1765. Edward Salyer Sr. is thought to have built the house and lived there. He bought 30 acres (12 ha) of land in the area.
The house has many features typical of homes built by Dutch settlers and their families in the region. These include the gambrel roof with its wide overhanging edge, simple decorations, and a central hallway. Less common features are the Dutch door with its original metal parts and the single-hung windows. This house is also one of the few wooden houses from that time that still stands. Most other houses from that era were built from sandstone.
Edward Salyer later bought another 72 acres (29 ha) from John Suffern, who founded the nearby village of Suffern. Edward Salyer Sr. passed away on April 10, 1819, at 59 years old. His son, Edward Salyer Jr., later inherited the land. At some point, the property lost 12 acres (4.9 ha). When Edward Salyer Jr. sold the property in 1818, it was recorded as 90 acres (36 ha).
Tunis Cooper bought the house in 1818 and then sold it to Cornelius Demarest in 1837. Around this time, the fancy Federal style details were likely added inside the house. The Demarest family also added some Greek Revival features around 1840. These included new door and window frames, to make the house look more modern. They sold the house in 1851.
After that, the house had many different owners throughout the rest of the 1800s. At one point, tall columns were added to the front to create a veranda (a covered porch). The inside layout of the house did not change during this time.
In 1960, the Conques family bought the home. They restored its original look by removing the columns. Inside, they updated and modernized the kitchen. In 1980, they built the wellhouse and the toolshed. There have been no other major changes to the property since then.
See also
