Edward Salyer House
Encyclopedia
The Edward Salyer House is located on South Middletown Road in Pearl River
, New York, United States. It is a wood frame
house built in the 1760s.
Originally it was the main house of a farm that covered much of that neighborhood. It is one of the rare remaining Dutch Colonial
frame houses in the county, and possibly the oldest house in Pearl River. It retains much of its integrity, including original interior finishes and exterior hardware, despite renovations in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1986 it and its well, also original to the property, were listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
Route 20) intersection and one quarter-mile (400 m) north of the New Jersey
state line. It sits near the front, closer to the street than the other houses in the area, of its half-acre (2,000 m²) lot, divided from similar residential properties to the north and south on South Middletown and the west on Kerry Court, a small cul-de-sac
off Gilbert, by rows of tall, mature deciduous trees. The neighborhood is exclusively residential, mostly suburban houses built in the late 20th century, on smaller lots.
There are two other outbuildings on the property, a wellhouse and shed. The lot slopes down significantly toward the west through landscaped gardens and a footpath. A large black walnut
and evergreens are planted among them.
structure on a fieldstone
foundation
18 inches (45.7 cm) thick. The slope of the underlying land exposes eight feet (8 feet (2.4 m)) of the foundation on the west side, giving it the appearance of an extra story. It is sided in clapboard
with narrow corner boards and scale-shaped shingles in the apexes of the gambrel roof, shingled in wood and pierced by corbel
ed brick chimneys at either end and a shed dormer window on the south.
It is oriented perpendicular to the street, with its south facade
serving as the front. A wooden staircase with a slatted balustrade climbs to the main entrance, in the center of the facade. It is flanked by two six-over-six double-hung sash window
s on either side with paneled wooden shutters
. The roof's overhanging eave runs the length of the facade. The symmetry of the front is in contrast with the asymmetrical fenestration on the side elevations, with the first floor's two windows on the east facade occupying the middle and northern bays and the upper story windows in the bays not used below them. A variety of window patterns are in use, including a rare 12-over-12 single-hung sash. Some have original wrought iron
hardware.
On the west profile is a rear entrance, a paneled Dutch door
added later. A one-story frame wing with steep gabled roof and picture windows projects from that side, and it has a wooden patio
on its own west. The basement of the north side is mostly covered by an embankment.
s supporting a full entablature
above a three-paned transom
with molded
wood trim. It opens into a center hall dividing the building. In the front are a parlor and dining room, both with Federal style fireplaces with fluted
pilasters and molded wood trim over brick and stone hearth
s. In the dining room a molded cupboard with glass doors and shelves flanks the fireplace. The rear has a bedroom, study and bathroom.
On the floors are wood planks of random widths and lengths fastened to the joist
s by handwrought nails. The walls are plaster over the early clay and straw insulation
. The door and window surrounds are molded wood, varying in their level of decoration
. A few original wrought iron thumb latches remain in the doors. Some original fabrics can be found.
An enclosed stairway leads up to the second story. There, a wider central hall separates three bedrooms and a bathroom. The floors are also random plank; the ceilings are low, about 6 feet 11 inches (83 inches (2.1 m)). Another set of stairs leads to the attic, where adzed beams and numbered, pegged roof framing are visible along with the change in chimney materials.
The basement level is divided between an unfinished half on the east and the original kitchen and common room on the west. There is evidence of a jambless fireplace in the former kitchen, and the outline of the old beehive oven
on its stone wall behind the fireplace. That has its original wooden Federal mantel
, supported by tapered pilasters. All door and window openings in the thick stone walls taper up as well. Modern pine wainscoting and a herringbone pattern
ed brick floor have been added. The original storage room hosts a modern kitchen facility.
. It is complemented by a frame toolshed at the northeast corner with a gabled roof and clapboard siding.
The toolshed and wellhouse are architecturally sympathetic to the house. As they are of modern construction they are not considered contributing resources
to the Register listing. The well itself dates to the property's early years as a farmhouse and is therefore a contributing structure.
that covered not only portions of what is today Rockland County but also Bergen County, New Jersey
, to the south, also support that assumption, leading to the estimated construction date of 1765. Edward Salyer Sr., believed to have built it and lived there, bought the 30 acres (12.1 ha) in the area as part of the patent's Great Lot 21.
The house has many features of the vernacular architecture
of Dutch settlers
and their descendants in the region. Among these are the gambrel roof with full-width overhanging eave, restrained decor and center hall floor plan. Less common are the Dutch door
with original hardware and single-hung sash window. The house is also one of the few surviving frame houses from that era; most of its contemporaries that remain are built of dressed sandstone
.
Salyer later acquired an additional 72 acres (29.1 ha) from John Suffern, founder of the nearby village that bears his name
. The years of his and his wife's deaths are not known, but at some point Edward Salyer Jr. inherited the land. At some point, the property lost 12 acres (4.9 ha), since at the younger man's sale of the property in 1818 the total holding is recorded at 90 acres (36.4 ha).
Tunis Cooper, the new owner, in turn sold it to Cornelius Demarest in 1837. By this point the Federal style interior detailing had probably been added. The Demarests added some Greek Revival
elements of their own, such as the door and window surrounds, around 1840, in a similar attempt to bring the house in keeping with contemporary trends. They sold it themselves in 1851.
From then on, it passed through a series of owners for the rest of the 19th century. At one point full length columns were added to front to create a veranda. No changes were made to the interior layout.
In 1960 the Conques family acquired the home. They restored
its original appearance by removing the columns. Inside they upgraded and modernized the kitchen. In 1980 they built the wellhouse and toolshed. There have been no other significant changes to the property since then.
Pearl River, New York
Pearl River is a hamlet , in the Town of Orangetown Rockland County, New York, United States located east of Nauraushaun; north of the state of New Jersey; south of Nanuet and west of Blauvelt...
, New York, United States. It is a wood frame
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
house built in the 1760s.
Originally it was the main house of a farm that covered much of that neighborhood. It is one of the rare remaining Dutch Colonial
Dutch colonization of the Americas
Dutch trading posts and plantations in the Americas precede the much wider known colonization activities of the Dutch in Asia. Whereas the first Dutch fort in Asia was built in 1600 , the first forts and settlements on the Essequibo river in Guyana and on the Amazon date from the 1590s...
frame houses in the county, and possibly the oldest house in Pearl River. It retains much of its integrity, including original interior finishes and exterior hardware, despite renovations in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1986 it and its well, also original to the property, were 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...
.
Buildings and grounds
The house is located on the west side of the street, two lots south of the Gilbert Avenue (Rockland CountyRockland County, New York
Rockland County is a suburban county 15 miles to the northwest of Manhattan and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area, in the U.S. state of New York. It is the southernmost county in New York west of the Hudson River, and the smallest county in New York outside of New York City. The...
Route 20) intersection and one quarter-mile (400 m) north of the New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
state line. It sits near the front, closer to the street than the other houses in the area, of its half-acre (2,000 m²) lot, divided from similar residential properties to the north and south on South Middletown and the west on Kerry Court, a small cul-de-sac
Cul-de-sac
A cul-de-sac is a word of French origin referring to a dead end, close, no through road or court meaning dead-end street with only one inlet/outlet...
off Gilbert, by rows of tall, mature deciduous trees. The neighborhood is exclusively residential, mostly suburban houses built in the late 20th century, on smaller lots.
There are two other outbuildings on the property, a wellhouse and shed. The lot slopes down significantly toward the west through landscaped gardens and a footpath. A large black walnut
Black Walnut
Juglans nigra, the Eastern Black walnut, is a species of flowering tree in the hickory family, Juglandaceae, that is native to eastern North America. It grows mostly in riparian zones, from southern Ontario, west to southeast South Dakota, south to Georgia, northern Florida and southwest to central...
and evergreens are planted among them.
Exterior
The building itself is a two-and-a-half-story five-by-five-bayBay (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 fieldstone
Fieldstone
Fieldstone is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally...
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:...
18 inches (45.7 cm) thick. The slope of the underlying land exposes eight feet (8 feet (2.4 m)) of the foundation on the west side, giving it the appearance of an extra story. It is sided in clapboard
Clapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
with narrow corner boards and scale-shaped shingles in the apexes of the gambrel roof, shingled in wood and pierced by corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
ed brick chimneys at either end and a shed dormer window on the south.
It is oriented perpendicular to the street, with its south 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"....
serving as the front. A wooden staircase with a slatted balustrade climbs to the main entrance, in the center of the facade. It is flanked by two six-over-six double-hung sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s on either side with paneled wooden 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 roof's overhanging eave runs the length of the facade. The symmetry of the front is in contrast with the asymmetrical fenestration on the side elevations, with the first floor's two windows on the east facade occupying the middle and northern bays and the upper story windows in the bays not used below them. A variety of window patterns are in use, including a rare 12-over-12 single-hung sash. Some have original wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
hardware.
On the west profile is a rear entrance, a paneled Dutch door
Dutch door
A Dutch door , or stable door , or half door , is a door divided horizontally in such a fashion that the bottom half may remain shut while the top half opens...
added later. A one-story frame wing with steep gabled roof and picture windows projects from that side, and it has a wooden patio
Patio
A patio is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a residence and is typically paved. It may refer to a roofless inner courtyard of the sort found in Spanish-style dwellings or a paved area between a residence and a garden....
on its own west. The basement of the north side is mostly covered by an embankment.
Interior
The recessed main entrance is surrounded by wide pilasterPilaster
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 supporting a full entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
above a three-paned transom
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
with molded
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...
wood trim. It opens into a center hall dividing the building. In the front are a parlor and dining room, both with Federal style fireplaces with fluted
Fluting (architecture)
Fluting in architecture refers to the shallow grooves running vertically along a surface.It typically refers to the grooves running on a column shaft or a pilaster, but need not necessarily be restricted to those two applications...
pilasters and molded wood trim over brick and stone hearth
Hearth
In common historic and modern usage, a hearth is a brick- or stone-lined fireplace or oven often used for cooking and/or heating. For centuries, the hearth was considered an integral part of a home, often its central or most important feature...
s. In the dining room a molded cupboard with glass doors and shelves flanks the fireplace. The rear has a bedroom, study and bathroom.
On the floors are wood planks of random widths and lengths fastened to the joist
Joist
A joist, in architecture and engineering, is one of the horizontal supporting members that run from wall to wall, wall to beam, or beam to beam to support a ceiling, roof, or floor. It may be made of wood, steel, or concrete. Typically, a beam is bigger than, and is thus distinguished from, a joist...
s by handwrought nails. The walls are plaster over the early clay and straw insulation
Building insulation materials
Building insulation materials are thermal insulation used in the construction or retrofit of buildings.The materials are used to reduce heat transfer by conduction, radiation or convection and are employed in varying combinations to achieve the desired outcome .-Categories:Insulation may be...
. The door and window surrounds are molded wood, varying in their level of decoration
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...
. A few original wrought iron thumb latches remain in the doors. Some original fabrics can be found.
An enclosed stairway leads up to the second story. There, a wider central hall separates three bedrooms and a bathroom. The floors are also random plank; the ceilings are low, about 6 feet 11 inches (83 inches (2.1 m)). Another set of stairs leads to the attic, where adzed beams and numbered, pegged roof framing are visible along with the change in chimney materials.
The basement level is divided between an unfinished half on the east and the original kitchen and common room on the west. There is evidence of a jambless fireplace in the former kitchen, and the outline of the old beehive oven
Beehive oven
A beehive oven is an early type of oven. It gets its name from its domed shape, which resembles that of an old-fashioned beehive, and was in common use in the Americas and Europe from the Middle Ages to the advent of the gas and electric ovens. Beehive ovens were common in households used for...
on its stone wall behind the fireplace. That has its original wooden Federal mantel
Fireplace mantel
Fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and can include elaborate designs extending to the ceiling...
, supported by tapered pilasters. All door and window openings in the thick stone walls taper up as well. Modern pine wainscoting and a herringbone pattern
Herringbone pattern
The herringbone pattern is an arrangement of rectangles used for floor tilings and road pavement.The blocks can be rectangles or parallelograms...
ed brick floor have been added. The original storage room hosts a modern kitchen facility.
Outbuildings
At the southwest corner of the house is a wellhouse, a modern frame structure. It shelters an original well four feet (1.3 m) wide and 20 feet (20 feet (6.1 m)) deep, sided in fieldstone stacked without mortarMortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
. It is complemented by a frame toolshed at the northeast corner with a gabled roof and clapboard siding.
The toolshed and wellhouse are architecturally sympathetic to the house. As they are of modern construction they are not considered contributing resources
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 the Register listing. The well itself dates to the property's early years as a farmhouse and is therefore a contributing structure.
History
Records from surveys done to establish the colonial boundary near the end of the New York-New Jersey Line War in 1769 note the house, and suggest that it was relatively new. Contemporary records related to the Kakiat Patent, a colonial land grantLand grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate – land or its privileges – made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service...
that covered not only portions of what is today Rockland County but also Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...
, to the south, also support that assumption, leading to the estimated construction date of 1765. Edward Salyer Sr., believed to have built it and lived there, bought the 30 acres (12.1 ha) in the area as part of the patent's Great Lot 21.
The house has many features of the vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
of Dutch settlers
Dutch colonization of the Americas
Dutch trading posts and plantations in the Americas precede the much wider known colonization activities of the Dutch in Asia. Whereas the first Dutch fort in Asia was built in 1600 , the first forts and settlements on the Essequibo river in Guyana and on the Amazon date from the 1590s...
and their descendants in the region. Among these are the gambrel roof with full-width overhanging eave, restrained decor and center hall floor plan. Less common are the Dutch door
Dutch door
A Dutch door , or stable door , or half door , is a door divided horizontally in such a fashion that the bottom half may remain shut while the top half opens...
with original hardware and single-hung sash window. The house is also one of the few surviving frame houses from that era; most of its contemporaries that remain are built of dressed 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,...
.
Salyer later acquired an additional 72 acres (29.1 ha) from John Suffern, founder of the nearby village that bears his name
Suffern, New York
Suffern is a village in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of the State of New Jersey; east of Hillburn; south of Montebello and west of Airmont...
. The years of his and his wife's deaths are not known, but at some point Edward Salyer Jr. inherited the land. At some point, the property lost 12 acres (4.9 ha), since at the younger man's sale of the property in 1818 the total holding is recorded at 90 acres (36.4 ha).
Tunis Cooper, the new owner, in turn sold it to Cornelius Demarest in 1837. By this point the Federal style interior detailing had probably been added. The Demarests added 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...
elements of their own, such as the door and window surrounds, around 1840, in a similar attempt to bring the house in keeping with contemporary trends. They sold it themselves in 1851.
From then on, it passed through a series of owners for the rest of the 19th century. At one point full length columns were added to front to create a veranda. No changes were made to the interior layout.
In 1960 the Conques family acquired the home. They restored
Building restoration
Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...
its original appearance by removing the columns. Inside they upgraded and modernized the kitchen. In 1980 they built the wellhouse and toolshed. There have been no other significant changes to the property since then.