Fort Decker | |
Location | 127 W. Main St. Port Jervis, NY |
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Coordinates | 41°22′43″N74°42′07″W / 41.37861°N 74.70194°W |
Built | 1793 |
NRHP reference No. | 74001291 |
Added to NRHP | June 13, 1974 |
"Fort Decker" is a stone house built in 1793 from the remains of the fort of that name. [1] It is located on West Main Street in Port Jervis, New York, the oldest building in that city, which it predates by several decades.
The original Fort Decker was built by a Frederick Haynes, a Dutch settler, sometime before 1760, during the French and Indian War, as an unofficial defense and trading post. It was one and a half stories high, built of stone and overlapping logs. Haynes left the area for New Jersey around 1775, leaving the fort to his wife's family, the Deckers. The fort is named for Lt. Martinus Decker, [1] great grandson of Jan Gerritsen Decker, the first Decker to live in the Minisink Valley [2] who is buried in Magagkamack Churchyard, about two miles from Fort Decker. [3]
On July 19, 1779, during the Revolutionary War, when the settlement was known as "Peenpack", the fort was burned during a raid by pro-British Indian leader Joseph Brant. When survivors brought news of the disaster to Goshen, the Patriot attempt to retaliate led to a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Minisink, the only major engagement of the war in the upper Delaware Valley.
The current house was built from the remains of the fort in 1793. In 1826, it would house engineers working on the Delaware and Hudson Canal, including John Jervis, whom the city would later be renamed for. It remained in private hands as a residence from then on. In 1903, newspapers reported that the original roof was being removed, and in 1924 the building suffered partial damage from a fire. [1]
As early as the 1880s, there had been interest in using the structure as a museum. This did not become possible until 1958, when the Minisink Valley Historical Society bought it for $1,000 and converted it into a museum. [1] In 1974 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the first of three buildings in Port Jervis to attain that distinction, the others being the Erie Depot and the Post Office.
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798.
Port Jervis is a city located at the confluence of the Neversink and Delaware rivers in western Orange County, New York, United States, north of the Delaware Water Gap. Its population was 8,775 at the 2020 census. The communities of Deerpark, Huguenot, Sparrowbush, and Greenville are adjacent to Port Jervis. Matamoras, Pennsylvania, is across the river and connected by the Mid-Delaware Bridge. Montague Township, New Jersey, also borders the city. The Tri-States Monument, marking the tripoint between New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, lies at the southwestern corner of the city.
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The Battle of Minisink was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought at Minisink Ford, New York, on July 22, 1779. It was the only major skirmish of the Revolutionary War fought in the upper Delaware valley. The battle was a decisive British victory, as the Patriot militia was hastily assembled, ill-equipped and inexperienced.
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Historic preservation in New York is activity undertaken to conserve forests, buildings, ships, sacred Indian burial grounds, water purity and other objects of cultural importance in New York in ways that allow them to communicate meaningfully about past practices, events, and people. Governmental programs for historic preservation range from Federal ownership and active operation of sites to grants and subsidies provided by state government, municipal support of museums and interpretative displays. Nonprofit programs include activities of statewide and local historical associations and museums, and activities of historical societies and museums at the national level. Quasi-governmental organizations, such as the New York State Thruway Authority and Thousand Islands Bridge Authority, play a role as well. Private endeavors, such as investment and other choices made by private landowners to conserve historical features of their properties, are significant but less visible and include groups such as the Historic Districts Council, The New York Landmarks Conservancy and the Preservation League of New York State. During the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site in July 2010, a team of archaeologists discovered a 32-foot-long boat. The craft was at least 200 years old, dating from a time when the Hudson River was partly filled with trash and debris because of a rapidly expanding lower Manhattan.
The Snyder Estate Natural Cement Historic District is located in the Town of Rosendale, New York, United States. It is a 275-acre (111 ha) tract roughly bounded by Rondout Creek, Binnewater and Cottekill roads and Sawdust Avenue. NY 213 runs through the lower portion of the district, paralleling the dry bed of the Delaware and Hudson Canal.
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