Nathan Wild House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Nathan Wild House
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | 3007 Main St., Valatie, New York |
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| Area | 3.7 acres (1.5 ha) |
| Built | 1826 |
| Architectural style | Italianate, Federal |
| NRHP reference No. | 91000612 |
| Added to NRHP | May 30, 1991 |
The Nathan Wild House is an old and important building in Valatie, New York. A man named Nathan Wild, who was very well-known in the area, built it in 1826. The house started as a Federal-style building. Over the years, it grew bigger as Nathan Wild's textile mills became very successful. Because of its history and special design, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
What the Nathan Wild House Looks Like
The Nathan Wild House is on Main Street in Valatie, about 18 miles (29 km) south of Albany, New York. It sits on a large piece of land, about 3.7-acre (1.5 ha), which covers a whole block. The front of the house faces the road.
When it was first built, it was a two-story house made of wood, in the Federal style. Later, parts were added in the Italianate architecture style. Several new sections were built onto the house after 1826. A large room for dancing, called a ballroom, was added before 1873. It was built off the west side of the house.
There is a porch at the front of the house. A small back porch was added to the main part of the house around 1850. Inside, many of the original details have changed because the house was updated a lot around that time. The house has not changed much since it was written about in a book called History of Columbia County, New York in 1873.
History of Nathan Wild and His House
Nathan Wild and his brother James moved to the United States shortly after 1800. They came from a city called Manchester. Nathan first worked at the Slater Mill Historic Site in Rhode Island. After that, he moved to Columbia County. There, a company hired him to build a cotton mill.
By the 1820s, making cotton and wool was very important to the economy in Columbia County. Four years later, Nathan Wild built a new mill. This mill used the first power looms in New York State. A power loom is a machine that weaves cloth using power, not just by hand.
Almost 20 years later, another mill was built on the same land. Together, these mills were called the Wild's Mill Complex. They had 12,800 spindles (parts that spin thread) and 175 workers. The last building from this mill complex was taken down around 1986.
In 1826, Nathan Wild built the house where he lived with his wife and their nine children. His textile business grew, and he became very wealthy. He was also one of the people who helped start the village of Valatie. Because of his success and growing family, he added more rooms to the house and changed its design.
The house looks mostly the way it does today because of changes made in the 1870s. The Wild family owned the house until 1978. The Nathan Wild House is important because of its history and its design. Its style reminds us of the time when mills were very important in Valatie.
The house was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Around the year 2000, people were thinking about adding it to a larger list that included the Wild's Mill Complex. Today, the Nathan Wild House has been fixed up and is a private home again. For several years, it was used as a bed and breakfast.
