Greeley House (Chappaqua, New York) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Greeley House
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East profile and north (front) elevation, 2012
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | Chappaqua, NY |
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| Area | 0.3 acres (1,200 m2) |
| Built | 1864 |
| MPS | Horace Greeley TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 79003212 |
| Added to NRHP | April 19, 1979 |
The Greeley House is a historic home in Chappaqua, New York. It stands at the corner of King and Senter streets. Built around 1820, it became the home of famous newspaper editor and presidential candidate Horace Greeley. He lived here from 1864 until his death in 1872. In 1979, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is a special place recognized for its history.
The house started as a small farmhouse in the 1820s. It was made bigger in the mid-1800s. Horace Greeley, who ran the New-York Tribune newspaper, moved to Chappaqua before the American Civil War. He lived there with his family, mostly during the summer. Greeley was against slavery. A group of people who disagreed with his views once threatened his wife at their first home. So, Greeley bought this farmhouse. It was close to his 100-acre farm where he tried new ways of farming.
After the Civil War, Greeley built a new, larger home called "Hillside House." But he and his wife died soon after the 1872 United States presidential election. Greeley had run for president against Ulysses S. Grant in that election. His children then lived in Hillside House. They helped start the suburban way of life that Chappaqua is known for today. Greeley's other two houses later burned down. This left the Greeley House as the only one still standing.
The Greeley House itself almost got torn down in the early 1900s. It was in very bad shape. But it was fixed up in 1940 and became a restaurant and gift shop. After another repair project in the early 2000s, it now serves as the offices for the New Castle Historical Society.
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Exploring the Greeley House
The Greeley House sits on a small piece of land. It is at the edge of downtown Chappaqua. This area is a small community within the town of New Castle, New York. The Saw Mill River and a train line are nearby to the west.
Around the house, you'll find different buildings. To the west are shops and parking lots. To the north and east are a church and newer homes. The local fire station is to the southeast. A community center is across Senter Street.
What the House Looks Like
A white wooden picket fence with a gate surrounds the house. The house itself is made of wood. It has two stories and a brick foundation. Its outside walls are covered in clapboard siding. The roof has shingles and two brick chimneys. A two-story section sticks out from the back of the house.
The front of the house has a two-story porch. Wooden steps lead up to it from one side. A ramp helps people get onto the porch from the other side. Square wooden pillars hold up the second-floor balcony. The main door is on the west side. It has glass panels on either side.
All the windows have six-over-six panes. They are protected by storm glass. The windows have wooden sills and are surrounded by louvered wooden shutters. The roof has a simple design with overhanging eaves.
Inside the House
When you go inside, the house has a hallway on one side. The front room was once the parlor. This was where visitors were entertained. The dining room was in the back. The kitchen, with a small pantry, is also in the back. A small music room is on the north side.
Behind the music room are the stairs to the second floor. A small bedroom, which was for the maid, is above the pantry. Two larger bedrooms make up the rest of the second floor.
History of the Greeley House
The house has gone through four main stages. It started as a simple farmhouse around 1820. Horace Greeley made it bigger when he moved in. His daughters kept the house after he died. But they mostly lived elsewhere. Since they sold it, the house has been fixed up twice. It almost got torn down in the mid-1900s.
Early Days: Before the Greeleys (1820–1853)
A farmer named Haviland built the house around 1820. It was a typical, plain farmhouse for the time. The main part of Chappaqua was about a mile away. That area was centered around the Quaker meetinghouse.
In the mid-1800s, the New York and Harlem Railroad was built nearby. This train line changed Chappaqua's economy. Farmers could now easily send their crops to New York City. Slowly, the train station area became the new center of Chappaqua.
Horace Greeley and His Farm (1853–1872)
The railroad also brought city people to Chappaqua. In the early 1850s, the Haviland house was made larger. It also got a fancy porch and balcony. In 1853, Horace Greeley, the editor of the New-York Tribune, bought land nearby. He eventually owned a 78-acre farm. Greeley used it as an experimental farm. He tested new farming methods and wrote about them in his newspaper. People sometimes made fun of him for this. But much of his advice was actually good.
Greeley first planned for the farm to be a summer home. His wife, Mary, wanted a property with a spring and evergreen trees near the railroad. The Chappaqua farm fit most of her wishes. Greeley built another house, called the "House in the Woods," for his family. Henry David Thoreau, who cared about nature, visited Greeley there. The Tribune even published one of Thoreau's essays.
During the American Civil War, Greeley kept writing against slavery in his newspaper. A group of angry people once threatened his "House in the Woods." In 1864, Greeley bought the Haviland house, which is the Greeley House we know today. It was in a more visible spot on the main road. The Greeleys continued to make it bigger, adding a music room. They still lived there only in the summers. Greeley himself could only visit on weekends because of his busy job.
After the war, Greeley kept farming and trying new methods. In 1870, he had so many apples that he made more apple cider than he could sell. Later that year, he built the first concrete barn in the nation on his farm. This barn was later turned into a house called Rehoboth, which is also a historic site.
Greeley began building a new family home, Hillside House. It was finished in 1872. But before he could move in, he was chosen to run for president. He ran against Ulysses S. Grant in the 1872 United States presidential election. Greeley held a big picnic at his farm after accepting the nomination. His wife, Mary, died a few days before the election. Grant won the election easily. These events made Greeley very sick, and he died a few weeks later. He is the only major presidential candidate to die before all the votes were counted.
Greeley's Daughters and Changes (1873–1926)
Horace Greeley's two daughters were now orphans. But they came back to Chappaqua in the summer of 1873. Their cousin, Cecilia Cleveland, wrote about that summer. She loved the house and its mix of city comforts and country peace. She described an early suburban lifestyle. This way of living would become very popular in Westchester County.
After that summer, the daughters moved into Hillside House. In 1875, the "House in the Woods" burned down. In 1890, Hillside House also burned down. This left the old farmhouse as the only one of Horace Greeley's three homes still standing.
In the early 1900s, Greeley's daughter Gabrielle and her husband started selling parts of the farm. The old train station was too small for the growing community. Gabrielle donated land for a new station. It opened in 1902 and is also a historic site. She asked that the area in front of it be a park to honor her father.
Gabrielle and her husband also built a memorial chapel for their daughter, Muriel, who died young. It was finished in 1906. Eight years later, a sculpture of Horace Greeley was put in the park near the train station.
Restoration and Modern Use (1927–Present)
Gabrielle sold the Greeley House in 1926. This ended 62 years of Greeley family ownership. The rest of the farm was sold to a developer the next year. It was divided into the commercial downtown area we see today. Chappaqua changed from a quiet country place to a modern suburb. People lived in natural settings but traveled daily to jobs in the city.
During the Great Depression in the 1930s, the house was not cared for. It fell into disrepair. By 1940, it looked like it might be torn down. But two local residents saved it. They hired an architect to fix it up that year. One of them, Gladys Capen Mills, lived upstairs and ran a gift shop downstairs. For a while, the kitchen was also a restaurant.
In 1959, a local family bought the house. They made the gift shop bigger to use the whole house. They also added the flat-roofed section to the back. They ran their business there until 1998. After they closed, the New Castle Historical Society bought it. In the early 2000s, two architects oversaw another restoration. They made the house look more like it did when Horace Greeley lived there. It has been the society's offices ever since.
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