Richard Austin House facts for kids
The Richard Austin House is a historic home located in the village of Ossining, New York. It was built in the 1870s and is made of wood. In 1989, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's an important building in American history.
When the house was built, Ossining was changing from a small country town into a place where people lived and traveled to work in New York City. The Austin House is special because it still looks much like it did back then, both inside and out, even though two small additions were built later. Today, it is home to the Ossining Historical Society, which runs a museum inside the building.
Quick facts for kids |
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Richard Austin House
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East profile and north elevation, 2009
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | Ossining, NY |
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| Nearest city | White Plains |
| Area | 0.5 acres (2,000 m2) |
| Built | 1878 |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 88001527 |
| Added to NRHP | September 20, 1988 |
Contents
The House and Its Surroundings
The Richard Austin House sits on a half-acre (about 2,000 square meters) piece of land. It is at the corner of Croton Avenue and Bradshaw Drive in eastern Ossining. Nearby, you'll find Roosevelt School, which is a public elementary school. Across the street is a church. Most of the other houses in this area were built more recently. The land around the house is mostly flat.
Tall, old trees line the property along Croton Avenue, providing shade. A driveway leads to a small parking area behind the house. In the front yard, there's a flagpole. You can also see an old farm wagon and a historic mile marker from the Albany Post Road on display. These items are interesting, but they are not part of the original historic listing. However, there is an old well in the backyard, now covered, that is believed to be from when the house was first built. This well is considered a historic part of the property.
Outside the House
The main part of the house has two and a half stories. It is a rectangular building with a pointed roof and is made of wood. It sits on a foundation of brick and stone. An addition, also made of wood, is attached to one side, making the house look like an "L" shape. There is also a separate garage with a pointed roof.
The outside walls of the house are covered with horizontal wooden boards called clapboard. Along the front of the house, there is a wooden porch (called a veranda). It has decorative wooden posts and a flat roof. Stone steps and a ramp lead up to the porch. A similar porch is located at the back of the house.
The windows on both floors have two panes of glass in the top and two in the bottom. They have decorative wooden frames above them and wooden shutters on the sides. The windows in the attic are smaller and have a rounded top. The roof is covered with slate shingles. It has wide overhangs and three brick chimneys.
The garage building has a brick foundation. It has small windows in the basement and large double doors with windows.
Inside the House
The main entrance has a fancy wooden frame and double doors with decorative panels and windows. When you step inside, you find the original layout of the house. There's a central hallway with stairs leading upstairs. To one side is the living room, and across from it is the dining room. The kitchen is at the back. Doors at the end of the hall lead to the back porch.
The living room's main feature is its original fireplace. It has a stone base and a brick frame. The wooden mantelpiece above it has decorative carvings, including a floral pattern.
Both the living and dining rooms have decorative wooden trim along the bottom of the walls and where the walls meet the ceiling. The dining room's fireplace is now covered. A special feature in the dining room is an arched doorway with decorative brackets. The kitchen has low wooden paneling on the walls. A door in the kitchen leads to a part of the garage that has been turned into living space.
A beautiful staircase with carved wooden posts and railings leads to the second floor. On the second floor, there are four bedrooms. This floor has simpler trim than the first floor. The main bedroom has its own bathroom and a closet with original drawers. A door in the hallway leads to stairs down to the kitchen. Another door opens onto the roof of the back porch.
The attic is mostly unfinished, except for one room. The basement has a concrete floor and wooden supports. Double doors lead from outside into the basement.
The garage's first floor has been changed a lot to be used as living space. Some original parts, like the walls and tin ceilings, can still be seen.
History of the House
Ossining, originally called Sing Sing, started as a port town on the Hudson River. Farmers would bring their crops here to ship them to New York City. They traveled on roads like the Croton Turnpike (now Route 133) and the Albany Post Road (now U.S. Route 9). Ossining became the first official village in Westchester County in 1813.
Over the next few decades, Ossining grew. The Post Road was moved, creating the center of the village we see today. Later, the famous prison was built. In 1837, the Old Croton Aqueduct was built through downtown to bring water to New York City. This aqueduct is now a National Historic Landmark. This period of growth ended with the building of the Hudson River Railroad in 1849.
With the railroad, Ossining was only an hour away from New York City by train. This made it possible for people to work in the city but live in the quieter countryside. The number of people living in Ossining nearly doubled in the first six years after the railroad opened. Even the Civil War in the 1860s didn't stop this growth. By 1880, the population was almost three times what it was in 1850.
During this time, Richard Austin, a local lawyer, saw how much the area was growing. His family had lived in the area since 1820. He and his family bought empty land and sold it to people who wanted to build homes. Records show that Austin, his father, and his grandfather were involved in many land deals over 70 years.
In 1878, Richard Austin lived downtown near his work. He decided to build a new family home on two acres (about 8,000 square meters) of land. This land was just outside the village limits, in an area where farms were slowly becoming middle-class neighborhoods. There were already more than 20 houses within a half-mile of the site.
Austin chose to build his house in the Gothic Revival style, which was popular for country homes. This style was inspired by the writings of Andrew Jackson Downing, who lived further up the Hudson River. He believed that simple, rustic cottage designs fit better with nature than the older Greek Revival style.
Even though the Austin House was built a bit later than the peak of this style, it still has the features Downing liked. It has a balanced shape with pointed gables and a wide front porch. Decorations are used, but they are simple and found on important parts of the house, like the porch brackets and the main entrance. This simple decoration was another quality Downing valued.
The Austin family lived in the house for 15 years. By the time they sold it in 1893, Ossining had fully become a suburb. After the Austins, other private owners lived in the house. One owner added the two-and-a-half-story back addition in 1911. In 1920, a barn on the property was moved and turned into a home. By 1930, the garage addition had been built.
Since then, there haven't been many major changes to the house. In 1970, the Ossining Historical Society bought the house. They moved there from their old location at Washington School, which is also a historic property. The society uses the house as its offices and a museum, which you can visit by making an appointment.
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