McVickar House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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McVickar House
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South elevation and east profile, 2009
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | Irvington, NY |
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| Nearest city | White Plains |
| Built | 1853 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 03001398 |
| Added to NRHP | January 14, 2004 |
The McVickar House is a special old house located at 131 Main Street in Irvington, New York. It was built in the mid-1800s. The house is made of wood and shows off the Greek Revival style. It also has some pretty decorative touches added later. In 2004, it became a recognized historic place on the National Register of Historic Places.
A minister named John McVickar built this house. He was an Episcopalian minister who moved to Irvington to be near his friend, the famous writer Washington Irving. John McVickar wanted to start a school, which later became the Church of St. Barnabas nearby. His son, who was the church's first pastor, lived in this house. It is the second oldest house on Main Street in the village.
Later, the house was owned by Consolidated Edison, an electric company. They rented it out until the 1990s. Today, after a lot of careful work to fix it up, the McVickar House is home to the Irvington Historical Society. They use it as their office and as a museum. You can even see a piece of the first transatlantic telegraph cable there!
Explore the McVickar House
The McVickar House stands on the north side of Main Street. It's located between North Broadway (U.S. Route 9) and Dearman Street. Most buildings around it are shops and offices from the 1900s. Just north of the house is the Church of St. Barnabas, which is also a historic site.
Other historic places are further down Main Street. The street slopes west towards the Hudson River. The path over the Old Croton Aqueduct crosses Main Street two blocks away. This aqueduct is a National Historic Landmark. The Irvington Town Hall, the village's main building, is also nearby.
What Does the House Look Like?
The house sits on a plot of land about 59 feet wide and 100 feet deep. Behind it is an electrical power station, but this part is not included in the historic listing. In front, there's a small garden next to the sidewalk. A metal fence separates the garden from the street.
The house itself is a two-and-a-half-story building. It's made of wood and sits on a stone foundation. This foundation allows for a lower level, called an English basement, at the front. The outside walls are covered with the original wooden clapboard siding. The roof is made of metal and slopes down on the sides. A single brick chimney sticks out from the east end of the roof.
Wooden steps with pretty railings lead up to the front porch. The porch has a sloped roof and runs along the entire front of the first floor. Right next to these steps, another set of steps goes down to the English basement. This lower level currently has a small clothing store. The porch roof is held up by square pillars. These pillars have decorative supports at the top and a fancy edge. A railing connects the pillars on the porch deck.
All the windows are "six-over-six" style, meaning they have six small glass panes in the top and six in the bottom. The windows on the front of the house have louvered shutters on each side. On the northwest corner, there's a smaller, enclosed porch. Its roof is supported by simple square columns. The edges of the main roof are decorated with fancy saw-cut designs.
Inside, a wooden door with a decorative frame leads into the entrance hall. The inside of the house has been updated over time. However, some original parts remain. The most notable is the staircase in the entrance hall. It has a beautiful mahogany newel post (the main post at the bottom of the stairs), a round railing, and turned balusters (the small posts that support the railing).
In the front living room, the fireplace still has its original wooden mantelpiece (the shelf above the fireplace). The back of the house has been changed, with some doors and walls removed. Upstairs, you can find another original newel post. Some of the original plaster walls are also still there. The basement has also been changed, but it might have been where the kitchen and dining room were originally.
A Look Back in Time
The Rev. John McVickar had a long career. He was a military chaplain and even acted as president of Columbia University twice. He taught the first course on economics in the U.S. In 1852, he retired to what was then called Dearman and built this house. He wanted to create a chapel school. His friends, Washington Irving from the nearby Sunnyside estate, and John Jay, helped him. The school was built on a 30-acre piece of land just north of the house.
McVickar convinced his son William to come to Dearman to lead the school. The school didn't last long in that spot. It eventually moved north and became the start of what is now Bard College. John McVickar stayed as the minister of the Church of St. Barnabas. His son William lived in the Greek Revival house until the church built its own house for the minister.
Around 1868, after William McVickar passed away, the house got its extra decorative details. This was a popular style at the time, especially in the Hudson Valley. This mix of the Greek Revival style with the added decorations gives the house a special Victorian look.
William McVickar's daughters inherited the house. They sold it to their brother John a few months later. In 1870, he sold it to a local grocer. The house had a few different owners until 1957. That's when Consolidated Edison, the electric company, bought it. They wanted to build the power station behind the house. They divided the house inside and rented it out to different people until 1992.
After that, the house became neglected. It had old shingles covering its original wooden siding. In the early 2000s, people realized how important its history was. The house was then carefully fixed up to become the home of the Irvington Historical Society. Con Edison sold the house to the village. The restoration cost half a million dollars. This included a new roof, siding, windows, and new heating and plumbing systems.
The Irvington Historical Society moved into the house in 2005 after the work was finished. The basement became a children's center. The first floor is now the main exhibit hall. Upstairs, the rooms are used for offices, storage, and work areas.
The museum has many interesting items. One special item is a piece of the first transatlantic telegraph cable. This was given by the family of its builder, Cyrus West Field, who died in Irvington. The museum is open two afternoons each week.
