Oliver Brewster House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Oliver Brewster House
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Main block and southeast wing in 2007
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | 66 Willow Ave., Cornwall, New York (state) |
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| Nearest city | Newburgh |
| Area | 4 acres (1.6 ha) |
| Built | c. 1850 |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| MPS | Historic and Architectural Resources of Cornwall |
| NRHP reference No. | 96000149 |
| Added to NRHP | March 8, 1996 |
The Oliver Brewster House is a cool old home in Cornwall, New York. It's built in the Gothic Revival style, which means it looks a bit like a medieval castle or church. You can find it on Willow Avenue, right across from Willow Avenue Elementary School.
This house was first built around 1850 as a farmhouse. Later, Cornwall became a popular place for people from New York City to spend their summers. So, the house was made bigger and changed into a boardinghouse. A boardinghouse is like a small hotel where people can rent a room for a while.
What the House Looks Like
The Oliver Brewster House sits on a four-acre piece of land. It's called a "flag lot" because it's set back deeper from the street. This means it has more space around it than some other houses. The property has seven buildings and structures. Six of these are important parts of why the house is listed on the National Register.
The main house has two floors. It is covered with narrow wooden boards called clapboard. It also has two smaller, one-story sections, or wings, on its sides. The roof has a pointed shape called a gable and hangs over the edges. You can see the wooden beams, called rafters, under the roof.
A flat, raised wooden porch runs along the front of the house. It has fancy columns and decorations. There used to be a similar porch at the back, but it has been closed in with glass.
The main front door is in the middle of the house. It's a wooden door with panels and glass on the sides. Inside, there's a main hallway with big rooms on each side. Many original parts of the house are still there. These include the floors, fancy ceiling designs, and marble fireplaces. There are also pocket doors that slide into the walls between rooms. The original staircase is still there too, with its main post and railing.
Other Buildings on the Property
Near the main house, there are several other old buildings. One is a small building called a wellhouse that used to cover a well. Behind it is a two-story carriage barn. This barn was used to store horse-drawn carriages. There is also a small privy, which is an old-fashioned outdoor toilet.
The main barn on the property has a special roof shape called a jerkin roof. Three of its four openings now have modern garage doors. The last opening has a wooden double door with a loft door above it. There's also a shed nearby. The property has one newer building, a modern garage, which is not considered an original part of the historic site.
History of the Oliver Brewster House
Oliver Brewster built the house around 1850. At that time, he had just married into the De Crissey family, who owned the land. Oliver and his wife started a farm there. They grew fruits like strawberries, raspberries, and other small berries. They were also the first in the Hudson Valley area to grow a special type of grape called the Niagara grape.
Later, many people started coming to Cornwall for summer vacations. Like other farmers in the area, Oliver Brewster decided to make his home bigger. This way, he could take in summer boarders. Around 1860, he added the northwest wing to the house for this purpose.
The Oliver Brewster House has remained a private home ever since. It has stayed mostly the same over the years, which is special because many other farmhouses in the area were changed a lot. Several of the original farm buildings are also still standing. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 8, 1996. This means it's recognized as an important historical place.
