Hiddenhurst
Encyclopedia
Hiddenhurst is the former estate
of businessman Thomas Hidden, on Sheffield Hill Road in the Town of North East
, New York, United States, south of the village of Millerton
. It is an elaborate frame
house built at the beginning of the 20th century in the neo-Georgian
architectural style
.
Hidden created the estate from portions of four dairy farms
in the area and used it to breed horses. After his death in 1918, most of the property was acquired by another large dairy farm in the area, which demolished most of the horse-related facilities. The house is considered one of the most architecturally significant in eastern Dutchess County
. In 1991 the remaining estate property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. It is also a contributing property
to the Coleman Station Historic District
created two years later.
state line. The lot is sheltered by planted woodlands of copper beech and pine, especially on the north and west sides. It is on a high ridge over Webutuck Creek to the west. The other properties in the area are farms, with much open land offering views into the Harlem Valley to the south and the Taconic Mountains
to the north.
There are two buildings on the property. The main house retains its historic and architectural integrity. To its north is an L-shaped two-story frame
hipped-roof
clapboard
-sided caretakers
' house with a gable
d wing joined by a breezeway
to a garage. It is original to the house but has been extensively altered, and is not considered as contributing
to its historic character. To the north is a swimming pool, also non-contributing as it is of more modern construction.
clapboard-sided structure with a hipped roof
resting on a large plinth
block of undressed ashlar
masonry. This foundation
also supports a wooden veranda that completely surrounds it. It is bounded with a balustrade featured paneled corner columns and balusters with extremely narrow necks compared to their bellies. Trellised entrances supported by paired Corinthian
columns break it on the east and west sides.
At the center of the south (front) facade
, the balustrade is broken by the large projecting entrance portico
. Steps lead up to a deck with paired fluted
columns with Tuscan
capitals
supporting a projecting architrave
with a paneled underside. Above it a Corinthian
entablature
is surmounted by a modillioned block cornice
. A balustrade similar to the one on the veranda runs around the portico roof.
On the facade, the columns are complemented by two fluted Corinthian pilaster
s. Between them is the main entrance, a leaded
half-glass door with quarter pilasters and sidelights topped by an elliptical transom
above a small cornice of ogee
and drillwork molding
with a volute
keystone
. The stained glass in the transom is supported by Adamesque
came
s with haunched panels above. Above this whole entrance is a balcony
with a balustrade similar to the others. A double door framed by a similar treatment to the main entrance below gives access.
French doors in the other two bays round out the fenestration on the first story, with eight-over-one double-hung sash window
s above in projecting moldings. Quoin
s interrupt the clapboard at the corners, with the whole facade topped by a frieze
with egg-and-dart
and dentil molding running continuously around the house, as does the modillioned block cornice at the roofline. The roof, topped by a balustrade of stick balusters and topped finial
posts, is pierced by three brick chimneys and three gable
d dormer windows.
The chimneys are intricately decorated. They rise as blind arch
es with stone impost
s and keystones to a seven-course
corbel
projects in and out. Above it the brick is recessed into a narrow panel, and a narrow capstone
tops the chimney. The dormers have round-arched windows topped with keystones.
The east and west facades are almost identical, with similar treatments to the south. They have the same quoins, frieze and cornice surrounding their three bays, with just two gabled dormers piercing the roof. On the east side the bay corresponding to the service room of the house has slightly different, smaller casement windows instead of a French door. The north (rear) face of the house is similar to the south but with more restrained decoration. A one-story pantry
wing projects, with paneled pilasters at its corners.
and parlor on the east. All are decorated in different styles.
Tuscan columns and pilasters divide the hallway into a vestibule
, central circulation and stair area. A common cornice with bead and reel
molded cornice set off by a simple chair rail and dado
paneling unites all areas. Decoration continues above the cornice ith cyma recta moldings in egg-and-dart and Greek fret and foliated patterns below carved modillions on the cornice. Above the cornice is a triple fascia
. The rooms are entered through portals with sliding doors
. Each is surrounded by a shouldered architrave and topped with a projecting molded cornice surrounded by foliate consoles.
The living room is done in a vaguely Adamesque
style. The room side of the portal echoes in wood the design done in plaster on the hallway side. Plaster paneled sgraffito
walls rise to a restrained cornice and coffer
ed ceiling. The drawing room is finished in an extravagant rococo
mode with extensive pargeting.
On the east side, the dining room cornice matches that in the hall, while the ceiling pargeting is a series of bands of various foliate motifs. Its fireplace features a double mantelpiece and oversized Ionic
columns. The open cantilever
ed spiral staircase is balustraded with simple turnings contrasting with an intricate foliate carving on the step area of the stringer. It rises to a dome with curved triangular coffers separated by olive branch carvings and a stained glass window in the oculus
depicting hollyhock
festoon
s.
Upstairs are the bedrooms. Generally more subdued, they are distinguished by their fireplaces. Each is in a different style, from Classical
to Queen Anne
. The bathroom has its original tile, with decorative bands under bull-nosed caps. The attic, designed as servants' quarters, is plain except for an elliptical room done in varnish
ed matchboard.
in the Coleman Station area in 1903. He then retired
to the 450 acres (182.1 ha) estate
and built the house. He was one of the first wealthy New Yorkers to choose the Millerton area, as opposed to neighboring Sharon, Connecticut
, and other towns in that state's Northwest Highlands
, as a place for a country home. A horse breeder, he found the area an ideal place for that activity, with convenient nearby rail access to the city via the tracks originally built for the New York and Harlem Railroad
.
For the horses, he built a half-mile (1 km) indoor training track and large stable
complex. He also continued to produce milk as well. The house, whose architect is unknown, is considered the most architecturally significant in the Harlem Valley. It epitomizes the earlier stage of the Georgian Revival, with its close adherence to classical
models and proportions.
After Hidden's death in 1918, the house was eventually sold to Sheffield Farms, a large corporate farm
that would become by the middle of the century one of New York City's largest providers of milk. Shortly before Sheffield became part of Sealtest in the 1950s, the stable and track burned down. The estate was subdivided down to the 17 acres (6.9 ha) on which the house sits today .
It remains a private home. In the late 1980s an old brick farmhouse and carriage house that Hidden had kept were demolished by the then-owners, and the original Corinthian capitals on the front portico's entrance columns were replaced with the current Tuscan ones. Other than the changes to the carriage house, those have been the only significant changes to the property.
Estate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
of businessman Thomas Hidden, on Sheffield Hill Road in the Town of North East
North East, New York
North East is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 3,002 at the 2000 census.The Town of North East is in the northeastern part of the county...
, New York, United States, south of the village of Millerton
Millerton, New York
Millerton is a village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 925 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined...
. It is an elaborate 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...
house built at the beginning of the 20th century in the neo-Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
architectural 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...
.
Hidden created the estate from portions of four dairy farms
Dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
in the area and used it to breed horses. After his death in 1918, most of the property was acquired by another large dairy farm in the area, which demolished most of the horse-related facilities. The house is considered one of the most architecturally significant in eastern Dutchess County
Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. The 2010 census lists the population as 297,488...
. In 1991 the remaining estate property 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...
. It is also a contributing property
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 Coleman Station Historic District
Coleman Station Historic District
The Coleman Station Historic District is located around the former New York Central Railroad Coleman's station in the Town of North East, New York, United States, a short distance south of the village of Millerton. It is a rural area including several large farms in the southeastern corner of the...
created two years later.
Building
Hiddenhurst is a complex of two buildings on a 17 acres (6.9 ha) lot on the norh side of Sheffield Hill, a half-mile (1 km) west of the ConnecticutConnecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
state line. The lot is sheltered by planted woodlands of copper beech and pine, especially on the north and west sides. It is on a high ridge over Webutuck Creek to the west. The other properties in the area are farms, with much open land offering views into the Harlem Valley to the south and the Taconic Mountains
Taconic Mountains
The Taconic Mountains or Taconic Range are a physiographic section of the larger New England province and part of the Appalachian Mountains, running along the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England from northwest Connecticut to western Massachusetts, north to central western...
to the north.
There are two buildings on the property. The main house retains its historic and architectural integrity. To its north is an L-shaped two-story 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...
hipped-roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
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...
-sided caretakers
Property caretaker
A Property caretaker is a person, group or organization that cares for real estate for trade or financial compensation, and sometimes as a barter for rent-free living accommodations...
' house with a 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 wing joined by a breezeway
Breezeway
A breezeway is an architectural feature similar to a hallway that allows the passage of a breeze between structures to accommodate high winds, allow aeration, or provide aesthetic design variation. Often a breezeway is a simple roof connecting two structures ; sometimes it can be much more like a...
to a garage. It is original to the house but has been extensively altered, and is not considered as 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. To the north is a swimming pool, also non-contributing as it is of more modern construction.
Exterior
The house is a two-story, three-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:...
clapboard-sided structure with a hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
resting on a large plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
block of undressed 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...
masonry. This 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:...
also supports a wooden veranda that completely surrounds it. It is bounded with a balustrade featured paneled corner columns and balusters with extremely narrow necks compared to their bellies. Trellised entrances supported by paired Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
columns break it on the east and west sides.
At the center of 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"....
, the balustrade is broken by the large projecting entrance portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
. Steps lead up to a deck with paired 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...
columns with Tuscan
Tuscan order
Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...
capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
supporting a projecting architrave
Architrave
An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.-Classical architecture:...
with a paneled underside. Above it a Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
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 ,...
is surmounted by a modillioned block 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...
. A balustrade similar to the one on the veranda runs around the portico roof.
On the facade, the columns are complemented by two fluted Corinthian 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. Between them is the main entrance, a leaded
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
half-glass door with quarter pilasters and sidelights topped by an elliptical 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...
above a small cornice of ogee
Ogee
An ogee is a curve , shaped somewhat like an S, consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite senses, so that the ends are parallel....
and drillwork molding
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...
with a volute
Volute
A volute is a spiral scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals...
keystone
Keystone (architecture)
A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
. The stained glass in the transom is supported by Adamesque
Adam style
The Adam style is an 18th century neoclassical style of interior design and architecture, as practiced by the three Adam brothers from Scotland; of whom Robert Adam and James Adam were the most widely known.The Adam brothers were the first to advocate an integrated style for architecture and...
came
Came
A came is a divider bar used between small pieces of glass to make a larger glazing panel, sometimes referred to as leaded glass. This process is then referred to as "leading". Cames are mostly made of soft metals such as lead, zinc, copper or brass. They generally have an H-shaped cross section,...
s with haunched panels above. Above this whole entrance is a balcony
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
with a balustrade similar to the others. A double door framed by a similar treatment to the main entrance below gives access.
French doors in the other two bays round out the fenestration on the first story, with eight-over-one 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 above in projecting moldings. Quoin
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
s interrupt the clapboard at the corners, with the whole facade topped by a 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...
with egg-and-dart
Egg-and-dart
Egg-and-dart or Egg-and-tongue is an ornamental device often carved in wood, stone, or plaster quarter-round ovolo mouldings, consisting of an egg-shaped object alternating with an element shaped like an arrow, anchor or dart. Egg-and-dart enrichment of the ovolo molding of the Ionic capital is...
and dentil molding running continuously around the house, as does the modillioned block cornice at the roofline. The roof, topped by a balustrade of stick balusters and topped finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
posts, is pierced by three brick chimneys and three 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 dormer windows.
The chimneys are intricately decorated. They rise as blind arch
Blind arch
A blind arch is an arch found in the wall of a building which has been infilled with solid construction so it cannot serve as a passageway, door, or window. The term is most often associated with masonry wall construction, but is also found in other types of construction such as light frame...
es with stone impost
Impost (architecture)
In architecture, an impost is a projecting block resting on top of a column or embedded in a wall, serving as the base for the springer or lowest wedge of an arch....
s and keystones to a seven-course
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:...
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...
projects in and out. Above it the brick is recessed into a narrow panel, and a narrow capstone
Coping (architecture)
Coping , consists of the capping or covering of a wall.A splayed or wedge coping slopes in a single direction; a saddle coping slopes to either side of a central high point....
tops the chimney. The dormers have round-arched windows topped with keystones.
The east and west facades are almost identical, with similar treatments to the south. They have the same quoins, frieze and cornice surrounding their three bays, with just two gabled dormers piercing the roof. On the east side the bay corresponding to the service room of the house has slightly different, smaller casement windows instead of a French door. The north (rear) face of the house is similar to the south but with more restrained decoration. A one-story pantry
Pantry
A pantry is a room where food, provisions or dishes are stored and served in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen. The derivation of the word is from the same source as the Old French term paneterie; that is from pain, the French form of the Latin panis for bread.In a late medieval hall, there were...
wing projects, with paneled pilasters at its corners.
Interior
Inside the house follows a double pile central hall plan. On the first floor the dining room and service area are on the west with the drawing roomDrawing room
A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained. The name is derived from the sixteenth-century terms "withdrawing room" and "withdrawing chamber", which remained in use through the seventeenth century, and made its first written appearance in 1642...
and parlor on the east. All are decorated in different styles.
Tuscan columns and pilasters divide the hallway into a vestibule
Vestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
, central circulation and stair area. A common cornice with bead and reel
Bead and reel
"Bead and reel" is an architectural motif, usually found in sculptures, moldings and numismatics. It consists in a thin line where beadlike elements alternate with cylindrical ones....
molded cornice set off by a simple chair rail and dado
Dado (architecture)
In architectural terminology, the dado, borrowed from Italian meaning die or plinth, is the lower part of a wall, below the dado rail and above the skirting board....
paneling unites all areas. Decoration continues above the cornice ith cyma recta moldings in egg-and-dart and Greek fret and foliated patterns below carved modillions on the cornice. Above the cornice is a triple fascia
Fascia (architecture)
Fascia is a term used in architecture to refer to a frieze or band running horizontally and situated vertically under the roof edge or which forms the outer surface of a cornice and is visible to an outside observer...
. The rooms are entered through portals with sliding doors
Sliding Doors
Sliding Doors is a 1998 British-American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Howitt and starring Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah, and featured John Lynch, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Virginia McKenna. The music was composed by David Hirschfelder...
. Each is surrounded by a shouldered architrave and topped with a projecting molded cornice surrounded by foliate consoles.
The living room is done in a vaguely Adamesque
Adam style
The Adam style is an 18th century neoclassical style of interior design and architecture, as practiced by the three Adam brothers from Scotland; of whom Robert Adam and James Adam were the most widely known.The Adam brothers were the first to advocate an integrated style for architecture and...
style. The room side of the portal echoes in wood the design done in plaster on the hallway side. Plaster paneled sgraffito
Sgraffito
Sgraffito is a technique either of wall decor, produced by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colors to a moistened surface, or in ceramics, by applying to an unfired ceramic body two successive layers of contrasting slip, and then in either case scratching so as to produce an...
walls rise to a restrained cornice and coffer
Coffer
A coffer in architecture, is a sunken panel in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault...
ed ceiling. The drawing room is finished in an extravagant rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
mode with extensive pargeting.
On the east side, the dining room cornice matches that in the hall, while the ceiling pargeting is a series of bands of various foliate motifs. Its fireplace features a double mantelpiece and oversized Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
columns. The open cantilever
Cantilever
A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...
ed spiral staircase is balustraded with simple turnings contrasting with an intricate foliate carving on the step area of the stringer. It rises to a dome with curved triangular coffers separated by olive branch carvings and a stained glass window in the oculus
Oculus
An Oculus, circular window, or rain-hole is a feature of Classical architecture since the 16th century. They are often denoted by their French name, oeil de boeuf, or "bull's-eye". Such circular or oval windows express the presence of a mezzanine on a building's façade without competing for...
depicting hollyhock
Hollyhock
Alcea , commonly known as hollyhocks, is a genus of about 60 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae. Most species are native to southwest and central Asia, although a few are native to southeast Europe or Egypt...
festoon
Festoon
Festoon , a wreath or garland, and so in architecture a conventional arrangement of flowers, foliage or fruit bound together and suspended by ribbons, either from a decorated knot, or held in the mouths of lions, or suspended across the back of bulls heads as...
s.
Upstairs are the bedrooms. Generally more subdued, they are distinguished by their fireplaces. Each is in a different style, from Classical
Classical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
to Queen Anne
Queen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
. The bathroom has its original tile, with decorative bands under bull-nosed caps. The attic, designed as servants' quarters, is plain except for an elliptical room done in varnish
Varnish
Varnish is a transparent, hard, protective finish or film primarily used in wood finishing but also for other materials. Varnish is traditionally a combination of a drying oil, a resin, and a thinner or solvent. Varnish finishes are usually glossy but may be designed to produce satin or semi-gloss...
ed matchboard.
History
Thomas Hidden, a New York City businessman who had made his fortune in paint manufacture and real estate, assembled all or part of four dairy farmsDairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
in the Coleman Station area in 1903. He then retired
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
to the 450 acres (182.1 ha) estate
Estate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
and built the house. He was one of the first wealthy New Yorkers to choose the Millerton area, as opposed to neighboring Sharon, Connecticut
Sharon, Connecticut
Sharon is a town located in Litchfield County, Connecticut, in the northwest corner of the state. It is bounded on the north by Salisbury, on the east by the Housatonic River, on the south by Kent, and on the west by Dutchess County, New York...
, and other towns in that state's Northwest Highlands
Northwest Highlands
The Northwest Highlands are the northern third of Scotland that is separated from the Grampian Mountains by the Great Glen . The region comprises , Assynt, Caithness and Sutherland. The Caledonian Canal, which extends from Loch Linnhe in the west, via Loch Ness to the Moray Firth in the north...
, as a place for a country home. A horse breeder, he found the area an ideal place for that activity, with convenient nearby rail access to the city via the tracks originally built for the New York and Harlem Railroad
New York and Harlem Railroad
The New York and Harlem Railroad was one of the first railroads in the United States, and possibly also the world's first street railway. Designed by John Stephenson, it was opened in stages between 1832 and 1852 between Lower Manhattan to and beyond Harlem...
.
For the horses, he built a half-mile (1 km) indoor training track and large stable
Stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...
complex. He also continued to produce milk as well. The house, whose architect is unknown, is considered the most architecturally significant in the Harlem Valley. It epitomizes the earlier stage of the Georgian Revival, with its close adherence to classical
Classical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
models and proportions.
After Hidden's death in 1918, the house was eventually sold to Sheffield Farms, a large corporate farm
Corporate farming
Corporate farming is a term that describes the business of agriculture, specifically, what is seen by some as the practices of would-be megacorporations involved in food production on a very large scale...
that would become by the middle of the century one of New York City's largest providers of milk. Shortly before Sheffield became part of Sealtest in the 1950s, the stable and track burned down. The estate was subdivided down to the 17 acres (6.9 ha) on which the house sits today .
It remains a private home. In the late 1980s an old brick farmhouse and carriage house that Hidden had kept were demolished by the then-owners, and the original Corinthian capitals on the front portico's entrance columns were replaced with the current Tuscan ones. Other than the changes to the carriage house, those have been the only significant changes to the property.