The DeWint House, or De Wint House, at Tappan

Tappan, New York

Tappan is a hamlet in the Town of Orangetown, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Old Tappan, New Jersey; east of Nauraushaun and Pearl River; south of Blauvelt and west of Palisades and Sparkill...

, 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...

 is one of the oldest surviving structures in Rockland County, New York and is an outstanding example of Hudson Valley Colonial Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

. It was built using indigenous sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

 in 1700 by Daniel DeClark, a Hollander, who emigrated to America in 1676. The date is marked in glazed bricks along the façade.

In 1746, West Indies planter Patriot

Patriot (American Revolution)

Patriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...

 Johannes DeWint bought the house

House

A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...

. His daughter, Anna Maria, and her husband, Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 Fredericus Blauvelt, lived at the house.

The DeWint House became a temporary headquarters

Headquarters

Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...

 of Commander-in-Chief

Commander-in-Chief

A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...

 George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

 during the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

. General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 George Washington was a guest in the south parlor

Parlour

Parlour , from the French word parloir, from parler , denotes an "audience chamber". In parts of the United Kingdom and the United States, parlours are common names for certain types of food service houses, restaurants or special service areas, such as tattoo parlors...

 twice in 1780 and twice in 1783. The "Washington Room" at the DeWint House is a National Masonic Historic Site.

1780 (August 8-24) Washington stayed at the Dewint House while inspecting a redoubt

Redoubt

A redoubt is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, though others are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldiers outside the main defensive line and can be a permanent structure or a...

 on the Hudson

Hudson River

The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...

.

1780 (September 28 to October 7) Washington returned for the trial

Trial

A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...

, signing the execution warrant

Execution warrant

An execution warrant is a writ which authorizes the execution of a judgment of death on an individual...

 and subsequent hanging

Hanging

Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...

 of British spy

Espionage

Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...

, Major John André

John André

John André was a British army officer hanged as a spy during the American War of Independence. This was due to an incident in which he attempted to assist Benedict Arnold's attempted surrender of the fort at West Point, New York to the British.-Early life:André was born on May 2, 1750 in London to...

, captured in Tarrytown

Tarrytown, New York

Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, about north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line...

, who was involved with Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...

 in the plot to surrender West Point to the enemy. Major John André was held in the old '76 House

The Old 76 House

The 76 House was built with the founding of Tappan in 1686 and was expanded by the Mabie family to include additional tavern space in 1755. The earliest town meetings where held in this Dutch tavern and it remains the oldest example of Dutch public architecture in America...

 in Tappan, a tavern

Tavern

A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....

, which is now a restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

. General George Washington provided meals from his table at the DeWint House to Major John André at the '76 House. A stone on André Hill Road at Gallows Hill marks the site of André's hanging.

1783 (May 4-8) – Washington and his key staff headquartered at the DeWint House while negotiating the final withdrawal of British troops from New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 with British General, Sir Guy Carleton

Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester

Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, KB , known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Irish-British soldier and administrator...

, who twice served as Governor of the Province of Quebec

Province of Quebec (1763-1791)

The Province of Quebec was a colony in North America created by Great Britain after the Seven Years' War. Great Britain acquired Canada by the Treaty of Paris when King Louis XV of France and his advisors chose to keep the territory of Guadeloupe for its valuable sugar crops instead of New France...

, from 1768–1778. It was said to have been a friendly conference combined with an elegant

Elegance

Elegance is a synonym for beauty that has come to acquire the additional connotations of unusual effectiveness and simplicity. It is frequently used as a standard of tastefulness particularly in the areas of visual design, decoration, the sciences, and the esthetics of mathematics...

 dinner. Samuel Fraunces

Samuel Fraunces

Samuel Fraunces was the owner/operator of Fraunces Tavern in New York City. During the American Revolution, he provided for prisoners held during the British occupation, and may have been a spy for the American side...

 (owner of Fraunces Tavern

Fraunces Tavern

Fraunces Tavern is a tavern, restaurant and museum housed in a conjectural reconstruction of a building that played a prominent role in pre-Revolution and American Revolution history. The building, located at 54 Pearl Street at the corner of Broad Street, has been owned by Sons of the Revolution in...

 in New York City) came up to prepare the dinner for Washington and his guest.

1783 (November 11-14) – a terrible snowstorm

Winter storm

A winter storm is an event in which the dominant varieties of precipitation are formed that only occur at low temperatures, such as snow or sleet, or a rainstorm where ground temperatures are low enough to allow ice to form...

 forced Washington to the DeWint house on his trip to visit West Point and later to New York City where he tendered his resignation

Resignation

A resignation is the formal act of giving up or quitting one's office or position. It can also refer to the act of admitting defeat in a game like chess, indicated by the resigning player declaring "I resign", turning his king on its side, extending his hand, or stopping the chess clock...

.

The property

Property

Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...

 was acquired by the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

 in 1932.

The site was declared a National Historic Landmark

National Historic Landmark

A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places

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 1966.

The site has undergone extensive restoration

Building restoration

Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...

 and upgrading. The house's two first-floor rooms have been restored and furnished to reflect the period of Washington's occupancy. A fully functioning replica

Replica

A replica is a copy closely resembling the original concerning its shape and appearance. An inverted replica complements the original by filling its gaps. It can be a copy used for historical purposes, such as being placed in a museum. Sometimes the original never existed. For example, Difference...

 kitchen

Kitchen

A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation.In the West, a modern residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a refrigerator and kitchen cabinets arranged according to a modular design. Many households have a...

, as General George Washington would have known it while he was a guest

Hospitality

Hospitality is the relationship between guest and host, or the act or practice of being hospitable. Specifically, this includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers, resorts, membership clubs, conventions, attractions, special events, and other services for travelers...

 of the DeWints, was completed in 1996. An adjacent 19th-century carriage house contains displays of artifact

Artifact (archaeology)

An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...

s uncovered at the site during archaeological digs, as wells as items related to Washington, André and Arnold, and the Masons.

A stone mill is displayed nearby and at the rear of house stand 7-initialed headstones which came from a nearby property. It is believed these headstones marked where the slaves of that home were buried.

Today The DeWint House, (20 Livingston Avenue - Tappan, New York – 10983 - 845.359.1359), Carriage House and the surrounding grounds are open to the public without fee, 10AM – 4PM daily except for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...

 and Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

.

Sources

• Revolutionaryday.com
• Co.rockland.ny.us
• Hudsonrivervalley.com
• Nynjctbotany.org
• Travelhudsonvalley.org
• Fortklock.com
• De Windt House, Livingston Avenue & Oak Tree Road, Tappan, Rockland, NY: 7 drawings, 16 photos and 1 data page, at Historic American Building Survey