Old House (Cutchogue) facts for kids
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The Old House
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | Village Green, Cutchogue, New York |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1699 |
| Architectural style | English domestic |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000573 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | November 5, 1961 |
The Old House is a very old and special home located in Cutchogue, in Suffolk County, New York. You can find it right on State Route 25. It's famous because it's one of the best examples of old English house designs still standing in America. It helps us understand how people lived and built homes a long time ago.
Contents
About The Old House
What It Looks Like
The Old House is a two-story building made from wood. It measures about 36 feet long and 20 feet wide. The outside walls are covered with overlapping wooden boards called clapboards. It has a roof with two sloping sides that meet at the top, which is called a gabled roof.
The main front of the house faces south. It has a simple entrance in the middle. On both sides of the door, there are three-part windows that open outwards, called casement windows. You'll find these windows on both the first and second floors. The back of the house also has three similar windows, which are careful copies of the original ones.
Inside, the house has four rooms, with two rooms on each floor. A large brick chimney stands in the middle, separating the rooms on each floor. It also divides the attic into two parts. Narrow, winding staircases on one side let you go up to the higher floors.
The kitchen on the ground floor has a very large fireplace. It's over 9 feet long and 3 feet deep! Later, probably in the 1700s, smaller fireplaces were built inside the main ones. The extra space around them was covered with wooden panels. It's thought that any walls not covered in wood were finished with plaster.
Its Long History
When Was It Built?
For a long time, people thought The Old House was built by John Budd. They believed it was built on land near a pond called Budd Pond. John Budd's daughter, Anna, and her husband, Benjamin Horton, were given a house in 1658 as a wedding gift. They then moved it to the village of Cutchogue. Benjamin's brother, John, later inherited the house and sold it to Joseph Wickham in 1699. These events are well-recorded.
However, a special study in 2003 used dendrochronology to find out the exact age of the house. Dendrochronology is a scientific method that dates wood by studying the growth rings in trees. This study showed that the house was built around 1699. The Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council, which owns the house, had another study done in 2017. It confirmed the same build date.
Later Years
Parker Wickham (1727–1785) owned and lived in The Old House. He was a Loyalist during the American Revolution. This means he supported the British government during the war, rather than the American colonists who wanted independence. He was later asked to leave New York State.
The house was damaged by a big storm called the Hurricane of 1938. This storm blew away many trees around the house, making it easy to see from the street. This brought the house to public attention. It was repaired in 1940 and again in 1968.
In 1961, The Old House was named a National Historic Landmark. This is a special title given to places that are very important to the history of the United States.
Today, The Old House is part of the Cutchogue Village Green. Other historic buildings there include the 1840 Old Schoolhouse, the 1704 Wickham Farmhouse, a barn, and a 19th-century carriage house. There's also the Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library and the Old Burying Ground, which dates back to 1717. The Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council owns and takes care of all these buildings. They offer guided tours during the summer.
See also
- List of the oldest buildings in New York
