Wheeler Hill Historic District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Wheeler Hill Historic District
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | Wheeler Hill Rd., Wappinger, New York |
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| Area | 320 acres (130 ha) |
| Architect | Post, George B.; Downing, Andrew J |
| Architectural style | Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Late Victorian, Federal, Italianate, Colonial |
| NRHP reference No. | 91000678 |
| Added to NRHP | June 14, 1991 |
The Wheeler Hill Historic District is a special area in Wappinger, New York. It's recognized by the government for its history. It's located on a ridge overlooking the beautiful Hudson River. This area is known for its large, old estates.
You'll see roads with old stone walls and grand entrances with stone pillars and iron gates. The district includes 49 important buildings, 15 historic sites, and four structures. These include the estates of Obercreek, Elmhurst, Edge Hill, Henry Suydam, William Crosby, and Carnwath. They were built between 1740 and 1940.
The district also has two 18th-century buildings that were used for river trade. These are the Lent / Waldron Store and the Stone House at Farmer's Landing. The Wheeler Hill Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Today, most of the district has homes. However, Carnwath and Obercreek are open for people to visit.
Contents
Exploring the Historic Estates
Edge Hill: A Home for Artists and Families
Edge Hill was one of the first country estates built here. In 1846, Henry Suydam bought a farmhouse and land to create his country home. Henry Suydam was from an old New York merchant family. His brother, James Augustus Suydam, was a famous artist.
Henry Suydam himself was also an artist. His works have been shown at the National Academy of Design. He also wrote a book about his mother's family and the Zion Episcopal Church.
The main house at Edge Hill was built in 1810. It was updated in the 1840s in the popular Greek Revival style. The estate covered 75 acres. Henry Suydam's daughter, Emily, married Dr. Clarence Satterlee. The Satterlees lived at Edge Hill in the 1860s and 1870s. In 1891, Dr. Satterlee sold Edge Hill to William R. Sands. William's brother, Samuel Sands, had already built the nearby Elmhurst estate.
Elmhurst: A Banker's Retreat
Samuel S. Sands built the "Elmhurst" estate in 1865. Sands was a successful banker and stockbroker. He joined the New York Stock Exchange in 1854. He worked with many important financial families, like the Astors.
Samuel Sands passed away at Elmhurst in 1892 when he was 66 years old. Later, in the mid-1900s, the United Church of Christ used the property. They held services outdoors because there was no church building. The property also housed a conference center and later an art sanctuary called The Chapel of Sacred Mirrors.
Carnwath: From Private Estate to Public Park
Carnwath was built in 1850 for William and Lydia Willis. They were related to the Mesier family from nearby Wappingers Falls. The estate was named after a manor home in Scotland. William Willis was a retired hardware merchant from New York City.
After the American Civil War, Willis sold Carnwath Manor and its 200 acres to General George Barclay. Willis then built another estate called Obercreek. In 1870, General Barclay sold Carnwath to his son-in-law, Francis Robert Rives. Wheeler Hill Road was even known as Rives Avenue for a time.
Rives built the Carriage House in 1873. It was used to store some of the best carriages and horses in the country. Later, his son, Reginald, inherited the estate. Reginald was elected supervisor of Wappinger in 1900. Around 1910, the property was sold to Isaac Untermyer. He was a famous lawyer.
By the 1920s, the Augustinians bought Carnwath. They built a dormitory and a chapel in the mid-1950s. In 1999, the Town of Wappinger bought the property to turn it into a park. They hope to restore the Carnwath Manor, Carriage House, and other buildings.
Carnwath is also home to the Sports Museum of Dutchess County. This museum was opened in 2005 by Hillary Clinton. The Frances Reese Cultural Center and the Carnwath Chapel are currently open to the public. They include the sports museum, a gift shop, a video room, and a snack bar. The Friends of Carnwath group helps maintain the estate and hosts events there.
Obercreek: A New Home and Organic Market
William H. Willis built Obercreek in 1856. This was their new home after they sold Carnwath. Since the Willis family was related to the Mesiers, the estate was passed down through these families. It eventually went to the Reese family.
Today, part of the Obercreek estate is open to the public every weekend. It hosts an organic market and events related to the newly restored Obercreek CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).
William Crosby Estate: A Mystery of the Past
In the mid-1800s, the Crosby House was owned by G.C. Satterlee. The Satterlees were connected to the Suydam family, who owned the Suydam House, through marriage. The former Crosby Estate is located on the east side of Wheeler Hill Road. Today, it is the site of several private stone homes and a neighborhood called Tall Trees.
The original Crosby House stood until the early 1900s. Then, a fire destroyed it. According to local residents, a servant was left in charge of the mansion while the family was in Europe. The servant supposedly burned the house down. Pieces of the house and personal items can still be found on the site today.
Farmers Landing: A Busy River Port
After Francis Rombout, who first owned this land, passed away, his partner Gulian Verplanck received the northern part of the land. By 1750, William Verplanck, a descendant, built a stone home and a mill in Fishkill Plains. He also built a small stone building on the Hudson River. This building was used to sell and ship wheat and other crops to cities. This spot later became known as Farmers Landing.
The house at Farmers Landing is also known for being hit by a cannonball. This happened when a British Naval ship was on its way to burn the City of Kingston during the American Revolutionary War. Today, it is a private home on Old Troy Road. You can see it from the MTA Hudson Line railroad.
A few steps below the house are the remains of an old dock. Before the waterfront at New Hamburgh was improved, this was the main landing spot for people and goods going to Wappingers Falls. In those days, a busy shipping business used sloops (boats) to travel between here and New York City. They carried farm products from the area. Passenger sloops also carried people. The Clermont, one of the first steamboats, also stopped here on its trips from New York to Albany.
When the Hudson River Railroad was built and larger steamboats became common, it was no longer profitable to use Farmers Landing for shipping. So, it was no longer used as a freighting place.
