General John Hathorn Stone House
Encyclopedia
The General John Hathorn
Stone
House is located on Hathorn Road in the town of Warwick, New York
, United States
, just off NY 94
a mile south of the village
of Warwick. It was built by Hathorn in 1773 but expanded considerably in the mid-19th century.
It is on a 14-acre (5.6-ha) lot
, the remainder of the original 300 acres (120 ha) Hathorn and his family farmed. In 2001 it and an early-19th-century outbuilding were listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
-story house is built of coursed
rubblestone and uncoursed ashlar
. The foundation is stone and the roof is asphalt
shingle
. A wooden porch
spans the front, with its roof continuing the line of the main roof. Low dormer windows line the second story. Two frame wings come out from the rear and side, Large letters set into the brick on the west gable
spell out "E., I & H, 1773", a reference to Hathorn and his wife and the year of the house's construction.
Much of the interior retains furnishings from the Victorian era
, when the house was extensively redone. Behind the house is a mid-19th-century Greek Revival
building that has been used for several purposes during the course of its existence.
, had been on the surveying
team that established the present land border between New York
and New Jersey
, which had been the subject of a lengthy conflict between the two colonies for much of the 18th century. He settled in Warwick and opened a store and iron
forge
in 1770, and built the house after marrying Elizabeth Welling, daughter of his local host, in 1772. The inscription of their initials and the year of construction in the side of the house is a tradition more commonly associated with Germanic building traditions
, a sign of how influential settlers of that background were in the Hudson Valley.
During the Revolutionary War
he rose from the rank of captain to colonel
, and was promoted to major general
afterwards. According to local lore, George Washington
spent the night at Hathorn's house on two occasions. Hathorn commanded the local militia, entrusted with guarding the Ramapo
approach to the Hudson Valley
. He was one of the few survivors of their defeat by Joseph Brant
at the Battle of Minisink Ford. The front of the house holds a niche
where he hid for a week from an attempt on his life by local Loyalists
and their Indian
allies.
After the war he began a more successful political career, first in the New York State Assembly
, where he rose to become speaker
, then in the state senate
and finally in the House of Representatives
in the early 19th century. Upon his death in 1825 his family kept the house for nine more years, then sold it to the Sanford family, who combined it with the lot holding the neighboring Jeremiah Morehouse House
. They added the rear building, the wings and the porch in addition to doubling the house's original size. In 1923 they sold it to another family, and it has passed through several owners since then. In that year, and again in 2000, Hathorn's descendants held a reunion
at the house.
Today the road, a former section of Route 94, is named for Hathorn. A nearby restaurant is also known as Chateau Hathorn.
As of March, 2009, a Permaculture practice and education initiative has been implemented on the site. Using the 9 acres (36,421.7 m²) across the street from the Hathorn Stone House, Hathorn Farm has created a "beyond organic" garden that maximizes rainwater and grows only heirloom and organic produce.
The Hathorn Stone House will be home to Hathorn Farm's education initiative featuring Permaculture and a 72-hour Permaculture Design Certification course. Most of the practical implementations of Permaculture were unknowingly implemented in the days of the founding fathers, as many of the capitalistic absurdities of today were not yet in existence. The current owners of the farm look to return the land and farm, not only to embrace the days of Revolution against the bloody Red Coats for taxation without representation that we experience in 2009, but to educate Warwickians about the age-old teachings of homesteading that are comprehensively taught with the curriculum of Permaculture Design Certification.
With running water now available after an ongoing court feud with the Village of Warwick, where the court ordered a temporary restraining order against the Village, a feud dating back over 100 years, the owners of the homestead directing the Permaculture course can graciously greet their guests for their unprecedented educational Permaculture course set for commencement on October 10, 2009.
John Hathorn
John Hathorn was an American politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.-Life:...
Stone
Stonemasonry
The craft of stonemasonry has existed since the dawn of civilization - creating buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone from the earth. These materials have been used to construct many of the long-lasting, ancient monuments, artifacts, cathedrals, and cities in a wide variety of cultures...
House is located on Hathorn Road in the town of Warwick, 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, just off NY 94
New York State Route 94
New York State Route 94 is a state highway entirely within Orange County in southern New York. The western terminus is at the New York-New Jersey state line, where it continues as NJ 94 for another to Columbia, New Jersey. Its eastern terminus is located at U.S. Route 9W in New Windsor....
a mile south of the village
Warwick (village), New York
Warwick is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 6,412 at the 2000 census. The 2010 census population was 6,731...
of Warwick. It was built by Hathorn in 1773 but expanded considerably in the mid-19th century.
It is on a 14-acre (5.6-ha) lot
Lot (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...
, the remainder of the original 300 acres (120 ha) Hathorn and his family farmed. In 2001 it and an early-19th-century outbuilding 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...
.
Building
The six-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:...
-story house is built of coursed
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
rubblestone and uncoursed ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
. The foundation is stone and the roof is asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
shingle
Roof shingle
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
. A wooden porch
Porch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...
spans the front, with its roof continuing the line of the main roof. Low dormer windows line the second story. Two frame wings come out from the rear and side, Large letters set into the brick on the west 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...
spell out "E., I & H, 1773", a reference to Hathorn and his wife and the year of the house's construction.
Much of the interior retains furnishings from the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
, when the house was extensively redone. Behind the house is a mid-19th-century 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...
building that has been used for several purposes during the course of its existence.
History
As a young man Hathorn, a native of today's DelawareDelaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, had been on the surveying
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
team that established the present land border between 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...
and 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...
, which had been the subject of a lengthy conflict between the two colonies for much of the 18th century. He settled in Warwick and opened a store and iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
forge
Forge
A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals...
in 1770, and built the house after marrying Elizabeth Welling, daughter of his local host, in 1772. The inscription of their initials and the year of construction in the side of the house is a tradition more commonly associated with Germanic building traditions
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...
, a sign of how influential settlers of that background were in the Hudson Valley.
During the Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
he rose from the rank of captain to colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
, and was promoted to major general
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
afterwards. According to local lore, 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...
spent the night at Hathorn's house on two occasions. Hathorn commanded the local militia, entrusted with guarding the Ramapo
Ramapo Mountains
The Ramapo Mountains are a forested chain of the Appalachian mountains in northeastern New Jersey and southeastern New York in the United States...
approach 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:...
. He was one of the few survivors of their defeat by Joseph Brant
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. He was perhaps the most well-known American Indian of his generation...
at the Battle of Minisink Ford. The front of the house holds a niche
Niche (architecture)
A niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras;...
where he hid for a week from an attempt on his life by local Loyalists
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
and their Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
allies.
After the war he began a more successful political career, first in the New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
, where he rose to become speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
, then in the state senate
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
and finally in the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in the early 19th century. Upon his death in 1825 his family kept the house for nine more years, then sold it to the Sanford family, who combined it with the lot holding the neighboring Jeremiah Morehouse House
Jeremiah Morehouse House
The Jeremiah Morehouse House is located on Hathorn Road in Warwick, New York, United States, just off NY 94. It is a wooden house that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006....
. They added the rear building, the wings and the porch in addition to doubling the house's original size. In 1923 they sold it to another family, and it has passed through several owners since then. In that year, and again in 2000, Hathorn's descendants held a reunion
Family reunion
A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family get together. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year....
at the house.
Today the road, a former section of Route 94, is named for Hathorn. A nearby restaurant is also known as Chateau Hathorn.
As of March, 2009, a Permaculture practice and education initiative has been implemented on the site. Using the 9 acres (36,421.7 m²) across the street from the Hathorn Stone House, Hathorn Farm has created a "beyond organic" garden that maximizes rainwater and grows only heirloom and organic produce.
The Hathorn Stone House will be home to Hathorn Farm's education initiative featuring Permaculture and a 72-hour Permaculture Design Certification course. Most of the practical implementations of Permaculture were unknowingly implemented in the days of the founding fathers, as many of the capitalistic absurdities of today were not yet in existence. The current owners of the farm look to return the land and farm, not only to embrace the days of Revolution against the bloody Red Coats for taxation without representation that we experience in 2009, but to educate Warwickians about the age-old teachings of homesteading that are comprehensively taught with the curriculum of Permaculture Design Certification.
With running water now available after an ongoing court feud with the Village of Warwick, where the court ordered a temporary restraining order against the Village, a feud dating back over 100 years, the owners of the homestead directing the Permaculture course can graciously greet their guests for their unprecedented educational Permaculture course set for commencement on October 10, 2009.