Locust Lawn Estate facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Locust Lawn
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Front elevation, 2019
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | Gardiner, NY |
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| Nearest city | Poughkeepsie |
| Area | 24 acres (9.7 ha) |
| Built | 1738 |
| Architect | Cromwell; Schoonmaker, Hendrick |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| NRHP reference No. | 74001313 |
| Added to NRHP | May 17, 1974 |
Locust Lawn is a historic farm complex located in Gardiner, near New Paltz. It sits right by the Plattekill Creek. This special place shows us what farm life was like in the 1800s.
The main building at Locust Lawn is a large house built by Colonel Josiah Hasbrouck. It was designed in a style popular during the time of President Thomas Jefferson. What's really cool is that this house still doesn't have modern heating, plumbing, or electricity! It looks much like it did long ago.
The site also includes the older Evert Terwilliger House. Locust Lawn has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974, meaning it's an important historical site. It was given to Historic Huguenot Street in 1958 and later transferred to the Locust Grove Estate in 2010. You can visit Locust Lawn by making an appointment.
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The Grand Home of Josiah Hasbrouck
In 1805, Josiah Hasbrouck returned home after serving in the U.S.Congress (the government group that makes laws). He wanted to build a grand home for his family. This home would show their important place in the growing community of New Paltz.
New Paltz was founded in 1678 by Huguenots. These were French Protestants who came to America for religious freedom. Josiah Hasbrouck was a descendant of Jean Hasbrouck, one of the original founders of New Paltz. Besides being in Congress, Josiah also served in the local militia during the American Revolutionary War. He also worked in the New York State Assembly and as a town leader.
Josiah and his wife, Sara Decker, bought the Terwilliger family farm a few miles south of New Paltz. At that time, it was a small farm with a mill and a simple stone house built 67 years earlier. Over the next few years, Josiah bought more land. The farm eventually grew to about 1,200 acres. He also started building his amazing new house, which was finished in 1814.
Inside the Hasbrouck Mansion
The Hasbrouck house is three stories tall. It has a grand arched doorway in the center and windows arranged perfectly on both sides. At the back of the house, there's a smaller kitchen wing.
Inside, the rooms on the first and second floors are also arranged in a balanced way. They open up from a wide hallway in the middle. The walls in the first-floor hallway were painted to look like marble in 1814, and they still look that way today!
Josiah and Sarah's family lived in this home until 1885. Then, they locked up half of the house with all their belongings inside. They rented out the other half to farmers who worked the land. Things stayed this way for almost 75 years.
In 1958, the house was given to Historic Huguenot Street. Today, you can see many of the Hasbrouck family's original items inside. They are set up just as they were when Josiah, Sarah, and their children lived there.
The Historic Evert Terwilliger House
The farm that Josiah Hasbrouck bought in 1805 was first settled by Evert Terwilliger in 1738. Evert was a Dutch man who married Sara Freer. Sara was the daughter of Hugo Freer, one of the French-speaking Huguenot founders of New Paltz.
Evert and Sara's son, Jonathan, made the house bigger in 1764. This house is a great example of the stone houses built in this area by Dutch settlers in the 1700s. It is one and a half stories tall.
The house originally had an entrance on the short side, like many Dutch houses. A porch runs along the front of the house, looking out over the Plattekill Creek. This creek and the waterfalls nearby were used by the Terwilliger family to power a grist mill (for grinding grain) and a saw mill (for cutting wood).
Historic Huguenot Street acquired the house in 1973. This was made possible with help from the Terwilliger Family Association, which had just formed. The Terwilliger Family Association still helps to keep the house in good condition today.
See also
