Jacob P. Mesick House
Encyclopedia
The Jacob P. Mesick House is located on Van Wyck Lane in Claverack
, New York, United States. It is a wooden house in the Greek Revival
architectural style
built in the mid-19th century.
It is a strong example of that style in the region that has remained intact since its construction, with its original front facade
restored in the early 20th century. Jacob Mesick, its builder and first resident, was a prosperous local farmer who later went into politics. The house has remained in family hands. In 1997 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
to its historic character. Shaw Bridge
(now closed), also listed on the Register, is to the north along the street, crossing Claverack Creek
a short distance east of NY 23
/9H
, the main north-south through route through Claverack. The land, with many mature trees giving the feel of a woodland, crosses the creek to an area of cultivated fields in the east.
The house itself is a two-story, five-by-five-bay
clapboard
-sided
frame
structure on a stone foundation
topped with a hipped roof
pierced by four brick chimneys. A molded
frieze
runs around the entire building at the roofline. A projecting two-story gable
d portico
is on the northern three bays of the west (front) elevation. Opposite, on the east (rear), is a one-and-a-half-story wing.
On the east facade
, the entrance portico's pediment
is supported by four square columns based on a wooden deck. A plain frieze is topped by a balustrade on the second-story balcony. The entablature
is sided in shingles and has a single fanlight
. The centrally located front entrance, at the south end of the portico, is matched by a door to the balcony above. All windows on the house have louver
ed shutters
with a molded lintel.
The south elevation has a small, low gabled single-bay porch on the east bay of the first story, where the secondary entrance is. It is supported by turned posts with a guardrail. There is also another single-story porch on the south elevation of the east wing, sheltering another entrance. Narrow windows are located just below the overhanging eaves above. The north elevation has a similar full-width single-story porch. Its entrance is finely crafted, deeply recessed and framed by flat pilaster
s supporting a molded entablature. The paneled door is itself flanked by sidelights and topped with a transom
.
The Colonial Revival
main entrance, a paneled door also with sidelights and transom, opens into a wide center hall with stair. The walls have their original French print wall covering. On either side the large parlors, and the small rooms behind them, retain all their original finishes as well. An archway connects the front and back rooms on the north.
In the kitchen wing is a large cooking fireplace and oven, original to the house. The modern kitchen is to its rear, with an iron heating kettle above a firebox (the pump for this system has been removed). Above it are servants' quarters which, like the bedrooms on the second floor of the main block, have most of their original finishings and trim intact.
The outbuildings are located near the main house. South of it is a modern garage. To the east are the other two, a pole barn and barn/apartment. All are of modern construction.
Mesick built a prosperous farm on the lot, which led to the house's construction around 1840. It is one of the few Greek Revival buildings in Claverack, showing the adaptation of that style into the local architectural tradition. Its level of decoration
, symmetry and massing are strong and distinctive aspects of the Greek Revival style.
Later in his career Mesick served in the state assembly
. From him it passed to his son, the grandson. It remains in the family.
During the later 19th century, the original colonnade was replaced with a full-length front porch. In the early 20th century, the original entrance was restored in keeping with the Colonial Revival
movement of the era. Later, slight modifications include the archway added on the first floor and the removal of the original oven and firebox pump from the kitchen in the mid-century.
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 wooden house 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...
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...
built in the mid-19th century.
It is a strong example of that style in the region that has remained intact since its construction, with its original 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"....
restored in the early 20th century. Jacob Mesick, its builder and first resident, was a prosperous local farmer who later went into politics. The house has remained in family hands. In 1997 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...
.
Building
The Mesick House is on a rise above Van Wyck Lane, at the west end of a 79 acres (32 ha) parcel with several other buildings on it, none of them contributingContributing 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. Shaw Bridge
Shaw Bridge
Shaw Bridge, also known as Double-Span Whipple Bowstring Truss Bridge, is a historic bridge in Claverack, New York, United States. It carried Van Wyck Lane over Claverack Creek, but is now closed to all traffic, even pedestrians. It is "a structure of outstanding importance to the history of...
(now closed), also listed on the Register, is to the north along the street, crossing Claverack Creek
Claverack Creek
Claverack Creek is a tributary to Stockport Creek in Columbia County, New York, in the United States. Its source is in the town of Claverack at the hamlet of Mellenville, and its mouth is at its confluence with Kinderhook Creek to form Stockport Creek, in the town of Stockport.-History:The lower...
a short distance east of NY 23
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...
/9H
New York State Route 9H
New York State Route 9H is a state highway located within Columbia County, New York, United States. It runs from US 9, NY 82, and NY 23 at its southern end in Bell Pond to its northern end in Valatie, also at US 9....
, the main north-south through route through Claverack. The land, with many mature trees giving the feel of a woodland, crosses the creek to an area of cultivated fields in the east.
The house itself is a two-story, five-by-five-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:...
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
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....
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...
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:...
topped 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...
pierced by four brick chimneys. A 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...
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...
runs around the entire building at the roofline. A projecting two-story 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 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...
is on the northern three bays of the west (front) elevation. Opposite, on the east (rear), is a one-and-a-half-story wing.
On the east 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 entrance portico's 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...
is supported by four square columns based on a wooden deck. A plain frieze is topped by a balustrade on the second-story balcony. The 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 sided in shingles and has a single 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...
. The centrally located front entrance, at the south end of the portico, is matched by a door to the balcony above. All windows on the house have 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...
with a molded lintel.
The south elevation has a small, low gabled single-bay porch on the east bay of the first story, where the secondary entrance is. It is supported by turned posts with a guardrail. There is also another single-story porch on the south elevation of the east wing, sheltering another entrance. Narrow windows are located just below the overhanging eaves above. The north elevation has a similar full-width single-story porch. Its entrance is finely crafted, deeply recessed and framed by flat 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 supporting a molded entablature. The paneled door is itself flanked by sidelights and topped with a 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...
.
The Colonial Revival
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
main entrance, a paneled door also with sidelights and transom, opens into a wide center hall with stair. The walls have their original French print wall covering. On either side the large parlors, and the small rooms behind them, retain all their original finishes as well. An archway connects the front and back rooms on the north.
In the kitchen wing is a large cooking fireplace and oven, original to the house. The modern kitchen is to its rear, with an iron heating kettle above a firebox (the pump for this system has been removed). Above it are servants' quarters which, like the bedrooms on the second floor of the main block, have most of their original finishings and trim intact.
The outbuildings are located near the main house. South of it is a modern garage. To the east are the other two, a pole barn and barn/apartment. All are of modern construction.
History
The land was originally part of the Van Buren family holdings. It later passed to the van Rensselaers, and from them Jacobus Delamater bought it in 1785. He, in turn, sold it to Mesick in 1831.Mesick built a prosperous farm on the lot, which led to the house's construction around 1840. It is one of the few Greek Revival buildings in Claverack, showing the adaptation of that style into the local architectural tradition. Its 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...
, symmetry and massing are strong and distinctive aspects of the Greek Revival style.
Later in his career Mesick served in the 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...
. From him it passed to his son, the grandson. It remains in the family.
During the later 19th century, the original colonnade was replaced with a full-length front porch. In the early 20th century, the original entrance was restored in keeping with the Colonial Revival
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
movement of the era. Later, slight modifications include the archway added on the first floor and the removal of the original oven and firebox pump from the kitchen in the mid-century.