Abraham Dickerson Farmhouse
Encyclopedia
The Abraham Dickerson Farmhouse is a Registered Historic Place
in Orange County
, New York
's Town of Montgomery
. It is located on West Searsville Road, which was originally its entrance driveway.
Dickerson emigrated to the Hudson Valley
from Long Island
during the 1760s. He married Anna Mould, daughter of a prominent local family, bought land and built the house and a sawmill
on the nearby Dwaar Kill
, a tributary
of the Wallkill River
. The sawmill stopped running at the end of the century, and eventually a member of another prominent local family, the Van Alsts, bought the house in 1829. Renovations undertaken during this time were in the Greek Revival
style then popular.
The rear ell of the house was designed to be a dancing parlor, and both the Dickersons and Van Alsts held many functions there on Saturday nights. When it was used as a boardinghouse in the 1920s, the dances were still well-attended enough that tenants were required to make sure it was available every week.
After that time, the house fell into disuse and was abandoned. It was renovated in the late 1970s and added to the Register in 1995.
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in Orange County
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Town of Montgomery
Montgomery (town), New York
Montgomery is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 20,891 at the 2000 census. It was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 at the Battle of Quebec....
. It is located on West Searsville Road, which was originally its entrance driveway.
Dickerson emigrated to the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
from Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
during the 1760s. He married Anna Mould, daughter of a prominent local family, bought land and built the house and a sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
on the nearby Dwaar Kill
Dwaar Kill (Wallkill River)
The Dwaar Kill is a tributary of the Wallkill River in Orange and Ulster counties in the U.S. state of New York. It is the Wallkill's second-longest tributary after the Shawangunk Kill, whose course it parallels somewhat to the east....
, a tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the Wallkill River
Wallkill River
The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly to Rondout Creek in New York, near Rosendale, with the combined flows reaching the Hudson at Kingston....
. The sawmill stopped running at the end of the century, and eventually a member of another prominent local family, the Van Alsts, bought the house in 1829. Renovations undertaken during this time were in the Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
style then popular.
The rear ell of the house was designed to be a dancing parlor, and both the Dickersons and Van Alsts held many functions there on Saturday nights. When it was used as a boardinghouse in the 1920s, the dances were still well-attended enough that tenants were required to make sure it was available every week.
After that time, the house fell into disuse and was abandoned. It was renovated in the late 1970s and added to the Register in 1995.