Dr. Abram Jordan House
Encyclopedia
The Dr. Abram Jordan House, also known as the Wedding Present House, is located along the NY 23
state highway
in Claverack
, New York, United States. It is a brick Federal style
house, with some Greek Revival
decorative
touches, built in the 1820s as a wedding present from a local landowner to his daughter and son-in-law.
It typifies the application of that style in the eastern upper Hudson Valley
. In 1999 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
of less than 2 acre (0.809372 ha) along the north side of Route 23, just north of the Van Wyck Lane intersection. It is set back
slightly from the road, on a slight rise. To its west are other older houses on large lots, two of which, the Stephen Miller House
across the street and Van Rensselaer Lower Manor House
a few hundred feet to the west, are also listed on the National Register. To the east the land descends slightly into an area of more densely developed and newer residential subdivisions on either side of the road. There are three other buildings on the property, all of them considered contributing
to its historic character.
The building itself is a two-story, five-by-two-bay
structure on a stone foundation
sided
in brick painted white topped with a low gable
d roof covered in seamed metal panels. A boxed cornice
and plain frieze
mark the roofline. Two white brick chimneys rise at the ends. A single-story brick service wing, with attached frame
extension, projects from the north.
All the windows have green louver
ed shutters
. The south (front) facade
is dominated by the centrally located main entrance on the first floor. It is sheltered by an open gable porch supported by columns. The entrance itself is flanked by sidelights and pilaster
s and surmounted by an ornate fanlight
and segmented arched lintel. Above it is a detailed tripartite window within an arch partially cut into the frieze and cornice above it. It is flanked by pilasters supported another segmented arch lintel.
The identical east and west elevations feature fully pediment
ed gable fields, rising slightly above the roofline to create a parapet
effect. Quarter windows are within on both elevations. The east side's lower stories feature windows similar to those on the rest of the house; the west side's are smaller. There are no windows on the portion of the north (rear) facade not connected to the wing.
The six-paneled main entrance door opens on a wide central hall with finely crafted staircase featuring carved stair ends and maple balustrade and newel
s . There are large rooms on each side, both with an original carved mantelpieces, moldings
and ornamental plaster ceilings and walls. This floor plan is duplicated on the second floor, which has had more modifications to its interior but retains the same original wide-plank wooden flooring found on the first story.
Most of the rear kitchen wing has been modernized. An original cooking fireplace and baking oven remains in the frame portion, which also has other older finishes. It is possible that this may have been a separate building at one time.
Behind the house is a brick smokehouse. It is one story high, with a gabled roof extended to cover the entrance. The two barns to the northeast have extensive Greek Revival ornamentation.
In 1845 the two barns were built, and the house updated in the Greek Revival
style which had become popular in the interim. That resulted in the pediments along the gables. There have been no major changes to the property since then.
New York State Route 23
New York State Route 23 is an east–west state highway in the eastern portion New York in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with NY 26 in the Central New York town of Cincinnatus to the Massachusetts state line in the Berkshire Mountains, where it continues east as...
state highway
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...
in Claverack
Claverack-Red Mills, New York
Claverack-Red Mills is a census-designated place in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 913 at the 2010 census....
, New York, United States. It is a brick Federal style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
house, with some 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...
decorative
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
touches, built in the 1820s as a wedding present from a local landowner to his daughter and son-in-law.
It typifies the application of that style in the eastern upper 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:...
. In 1999 it was listed on 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...
.
Property
The house is on a lotLot (real estate)
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner. A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property in other countries...
of less than 2 acre (0.809372 ha) along the north side of Route 23, just north of the Van Wyck Lane intersection. It is set back
Setback (land use)
In land use, a setback is the distance which a building or other structure is set back from a street or road, a river or other stream, a shore or flood plain, or any other place which needs protection. Depending on the jurisdiction, other things like fences, landscaping, septic tanks, and various...
slightly from the road, on a slight rise. To its west are other older houses on large lots, two of which, the Stephen Miller House
Stephen Miller House
The Stephen Miller House, also known as the Van Wyck-Miller House, is located along the NY 23 state highway in Claverack, New York, United States...
across the street and Van Rensselaer Lower Manor House
Van Rensselaer Lower Manor House
The Van Rensselaer Lower Manor House, also called Klavarack, is located along the NY 23 state highway on the east side of Claverack, New York, United States. It is a combination of two 18th century houses, one stone and the other frame, later connected with a hyphen and then combined into one...
a few hundred feet to the west, are also listed on the National Register. To the east the land descends slightly into an area of more densely developed and newer residential subdivisions on either side of the road. There are three other buildings on the property, all of them considered contributing
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to its historic character.
The building itself is a two-story, five-by-two-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
structure on a stone foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
sided
Siding
Siding is the outer covering or cladding of a house meant to shed water and protect from the effects of weather. On a building that uses siding, it may act as a key element in the aesthetic beauty of the structure and directly influence its property value....
in brick painted white topped with a low gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof covered in seamed metal panels. A boxed cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
and plain frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
mark the roofline. Two white brick chimneys rise at the ends. A single-story brick service wing, with attached frame
Framing (construction)
Framing, in construction known as light-frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members, usually called studs, which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping...
extension, projects from the north.
All the windows have green louver
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
ed shutters
Window shutter
A window shutter is a solid and stable window covering usually consisting of a frame of vertical stiles and horizontal rails...
. The south (front) facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
is dominated by the centrally located main entrance on the first floor. It is sheltered by an open gable porch supported by columns. The entrance itself is flanked by sidelights and pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s and surmounted by an ornate fanlight
Fanlight
A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...
and segmented arched lintel. Above it is a detailed tripartite window within an arch partially cut into the frieze and cornice above it. It is flanked by pilasters supported another segmented arch lintel.
The identical east and west elevations feature fully pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
ed gable fields, rising slightly above the roofline to create a parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
effect. Quarter windows are within on both elevations. The east side's lower stories feature windows similar to those on the rest of the house; the west side's are smaller. There are no windows on the portion of the north (rear) facade not connected to the wing.
The six-paneled main entrance door opens on a wide central hall with finely crafted staircase featuring carved stair ends and maple balustrade and newel
Newel
A newel, also called a central pole, is an upright post that supports the handrail of a stair banister. In stairs having straight flights it is the principal post at the foot of the staircase, but it can also be used for the intermediate posts on landings and at the top of a staircase...
s . There are large rooms on each side, both with an original carved mantelpieces, moldings
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
and ornamental plaster ceilings and walls. This floor plan is duplicated on the second floor, which has had more modifications to its interior but retains the same original wide-plank wooden flooring found on the first story.
Most of the rear kitchen wing has been modernized. An original cooking fireplace and baking oven remains in the frame portion, which also has other older finishes. It is possible that this may have been a separate building at one time.
Behind the house is a brick smokehouse. It is one story high, with a gabled roof extended to cover the entrance. The two barns to the northeast have extensive Greek Revival ornamentation.
History
Local landowner Peter Mesick had the house built in 1822 as a wedding present for his daughter Catherine, who wed Jordan that same year. At that time the house was strictly Federal style in form, with its rigid symmetries and restrained classically-inspired decorations. The smokehouse was built at the same time.In 1845 the two barns were built, and the house updated 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 which had become popular in the interim. That resulted in the pediments along the gables. There have been no major changes to the property since then.