Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer House and Mill Complex

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Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer House and Mill Complex
Historic American Buildings Survey, Hanns P. Weber, Photographer Mar. 1934, VIEW FROM SOUTHEAST. - Clifford Miller House, State Route 23, Claverack, Columbia County, NY HABS NY,11-CLAV,2-2.tif
View from Southeast, 1934
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LocationNY 23, Claverack, New York
Coordinates 42°13′16″N73°42′39″W / 42.22111°N 73.71083°W / 42.22111; -73.71083 Coordinates: 42°13′16″N73°42′39″W / 42.22111°N 73.71083°W / 42.22111; -73.71083
Area27.5 acres (11.1 ha)
Builtc. 1805
Built by Jacob R. Van Rensselaer
ArchitectPierre Pharoux
Architectural styleColonial Revival, Greek Revival
Restored by James Ivory
NRHP reference No. 82003352 [1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 9, 1982

Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer House and Mill Complex is a historic home and mill complex consisting of 14 interrelated buildings and located at Claverack in Columbia County, New York.

Contents

History

Front (south) elevation, 1934 Historic American Buildings Survey, Hanns P. Weber, Photographer Mar. 1934, SOUTH ELEVATION (FRONT). - Clifford Miller House, State Route 23, Claverack, Columbia County, NY HABS NY,11-CLAV,2-3.tif
Front (south) elevation, 1934

The house was built by Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer, c. 1805, on a portion of what had been the family's 875,000-acre New York estate near Poughkeepsie. [2] The main residence, a two-story brick building set on an English basement, replaced an earlier structure that was the home of Van Rensselaer's father, General Robert Van Rensselaer (a brother of Lt. Gov. of New York Jeremiah Van Rensselaer and Catherine Van Rensselaer, who married Gen. Philip Schuyler, later a U.S. Senator). The Colonial Revival style home was designed by the French architect Pierre Pharoux. [3] The interior features a pair of octagonal chambers and features 12-foot ceilings. [4]

During the Gilded Age, the house was "Greek Revivaled" with the addition of a white balustrade and a grand porch with pillars, as well as a two-story rear addition built in 1929 and today, the home is roughly 6,000 square feet, [4] and has nineteen rooms. [5]

Located behind the house is a former office c. 1840 and two large barns c. 1840. The mill dates to the 18th century and includes additions completed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Also on the property are the remains of early waterworks, a store building or former cooperage, a frame dwelling c. 1830, two additional dwellings, and an Italianate dwelling with four outbuildings dated to about 1884 (carriage house, ice house, shop and tool shed, and small animal barn). [6]

Later ownership

The Miller's 1929 rear addition, 1934 Historic American Buildings Survey, Norman R. Sturgis, Photographer Mar. 1934, VIEW FROM NORTHEAST. - Clifford Miller House, State Route 23, Claverack, Columbia County, NY HABS NY,11-CLAV,2-4.tif
The Miller's 1929 rear addition, 1934

In the latter part of the 19th century, Clifford Miller and his family, bought the home and were responsible for the 1920s addition where they held dances, as well as creating the vast gardens, fish ponds, and landscaping the property with specimen trees. [2] In the late 1950s, the family divided the home up into seven apartments so their children could also raise their families there. In the 1960s, it was sold to a real estate company that parceled off much of the surrounding land for development. [4]

In 1975, film director and Academy Award winning screenwriter James Ivory bought the home and 12 remaining acres for about $105,000. [4] Ivory lived at the home with his partner, both professional and personal, Ismail Merchant, and with screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, who were all principals in Merchant Ivory Productions. [7] They wrote several films in the house and edited some in the apple barn on the property. [5] Since acquiring the home, Ivory has painstakingly restored it to its former glory, [2] and was guided by Jeremiah Rusconi, the Hudson Valley historical expert (and a BAFTA nominee). [4] Ivory hosted several actors from his films at the home, including Christopher Reeve, Madeleine Potter, Julian Sands, Helena Bonham Carter, Gwyneth Paltrow, Thandie Newton, Wallace Shawn, Vanessa Redgrave, Rachel Kempson, Eartha Kitt, and Madhur Jaffrey. [4]

In 1982, the home and surrounding estate was added to the National Register of Historic Places. [1]

Architectural drawings

Drawings of the residence, from the Historic American Buildings Survey at the Library of Congress:

Interior photographs

Related Research Articles

Claverack, New York Town in New York, United States

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James Ivory American film director (born 1928)

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Jeremiah Van Rensselaer

Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, from the prominent Van Rensselaer family, was Lieutenant Governor of New York and a member of Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing New York in the 1st United States Congress.

Killian K. Van Rensselaer

Killian Killian Van Rensselaer was an American lawyer and Federalist politician who served in the United States Congress as a Representative from the state of New York.

Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer was an American lawyer and Federalist politician who served as Speaker of the New York State Assembly from 1812 to 1813, and Secretary of State of New York, from 1813 to 1815.

Robert Van Rensselaer was Brigadier General during the American Revolutionary War, a member of the New York Provincial Congress from 1775 to 1777 and later a member of the New York State Assembly in the 1st, 2nd and 4th New York State Legislatures.

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Van Rensselaer Lower Manor House United States historic place

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Dr. Abram Jordan House United States historic place

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Stephen Storm House United States historic place

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William Henry Ludlow House United States historic place

William Henry Ludlow House is a historic home located at Claverack in Columbia County, New York, next to the Ludlow-Van Rensselaer House. It was built in 1786 and is a Georgian-style residence. It is a ​2 1⁄2-story, five-bay center-entrance, brick dwelling. The south facade features a finely crafted Palladian window. Also on the property are four large stone gate posts and an original mile marker. There are 10 fireplaces. Outbuildings include the original summer kitchen, root cellar, ice house and a new carriage house. The house underwent a historically-correct restoration in 2011.

Ludlow-Van Rensselaer House United States historic place

Ludlow-Van Rensselaer House is a historic home located at Claverack in Columbia County, New York, next to the William Henry Ludlow House. It was built about 1784 and is a 2-story, five-by-one-bay center entrance, brick dwelling with a gable roof. It has a 2-story gable-roofed rear wing. The entry features a finely crafted portico composed of Ionic order columns supporting a wide entablature and shallow pitched roof.

Conyn Van Rensselaer House United States historic place

Conyn-Van Rensselaer is a historic home located on Stone Mill Road in the town of Claverack, New York. It is a gambrel-roofed structure of brick, two and a half stories high, and was eventually owned by A. H. Van Rensselaer, a descendant of Hendrick Van Rensselaer. It has recently undergone extensive restoration. The property also contains barns and outbuildings.

Kirks Mills Historic District United States historic place

Kirks Mills Historic District is a national historic district located at Little Britain Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The district includes 12 contributing buildings in the village of Kirks Mills. They are Jacob Kirk's Mansion House, Brick Mill / Kirk's Mill, the brick miller's house, stone and log barn converted to a residence in 1975, Joseph Reynold's House (1825), Eastland Friend's Meeting and Tenant House, Ephriam B. Lynch House (1880s), Harry Reynolds House, Manuel Reynolds House, Eastland School House (1838), and Log House. The Jacob Kirk's Mansion House is a three-story, brick dwelling with a two-story ell. It features a full porch on the front and right sides. Kirk's Mill is a ​2 1⁄2-story brick building with a slate gable roof. It was remodeled to a residence about 1940.

Johannes Van Rensselaer was a member of the prominent colonial Van Rensselaer family.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 Giovannini, Joseph (April 3, 1986). "MERCHANT AND IVORY'S COUNTRY RETREAT". The New York Times . Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  3. ↑ Desjardins, Simon; Pharoux, Pierre; and Gallucci, John A. Castorland Journal: An Account of the Exploration and Settlement of Northern New York State By French Émigrés in the Years 1793 to 1797. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hass, Nancy (September 11, 2015). "James Ivory's Home Befits His Extraordinary Life". The New York Times . Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  5. 1 2 Larson, Sarah (May 19, 2017). "James Ivory and the Making of a Historic Gay Love Story". The New Yorker . Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  6. ↑ Larry E. Gobrecht (July 1982). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer House and Mill Complex". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation . Retrieved 2010-07-03.See also: "Accompanying 28 photos".
  7. ↑ Owens, Mitchell (August 9, 2019). "How James Ivory's Love of Architecture Impacts Cinema History The Academy Award–winning film director/producer tells AD about his longtime passion for design—the subject of a stunning new documentary". Architectural Digest . Retrieved 15 September 2019.
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