Jacob Sloat House
Encyclopedia
The Jacob Sloat House, originally called Harmony Hall, is located on Liberty Rock Road in Sloatsburg
, New York, United States. Built in the late 1840s, it is a wooden house that shows the transition from the waning Greek Revival
style
to the newer Picturesque
and Italianate
modes.
It was built late in the life of Jacob Sloat, a descedant of village founder Stephen Sloat who had made a fortune as a textile merchant earlier in the century. He was close friends with Jasper Cropsey, who historians believe may have helped him design the house. After leaving his family at the beginning of the 20th century, the house passed through a variety of owners and uses, including two restaurants and a home for the elderly. It is currently the property of the Town of Ramapo
, which intends to develop it into a historic house museum and cultural center. In 2006 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
south of the other houses on the street, accessible by a narrow winding route called Oak Street, atop a gentle rise leading up from the Ramapo River
a mile to the east. A few vestiges of the original siting, such as the large lawn, some of the trees, and parts of the former roads to nearby Orange Turnpike (now NY 17
) remain. Two large Norway spruce
trees screen the front.
It is supported by an ashlar
granite
foundation
, from which it rises three stories in the front. Aluminum siding
covers the original pine clapboard
. The house is topped by a slightly-pitched
gable
d roof.
Two wings in the rear give the house an asymmetrical L-shaped footprint. A full-length veranda with six anta
e runs along the first story of the eastern (front) facade; a wooden wheelchair ramp
now connects to it as well. The windows are tall and narrow.
Inside, the main block has a central-hall plan, with a large parlor to the south and a smaller dining room
to the north, since further partitioned. The original veranda has been enclosed to create additional rooms; one of its antae is still visible. The second floor is more intact, with its central hallway between bedrooms running north-south, perpendicular to its counterpart below. The basement is fully finished, with three large rooms whose function is not clear divided by another central hall.
The on the two main floors is mostly intact from the original construction. All wall plaster
, decoration
and woodwork
remain. Of particular note are the twin fireplace
s in the parlor, with veined marble
mantel
s and cast iron
grates.
style, then declining in importance for houses, and newer trends like the Picturesque
and Italianate
styles. The former is more noticeable on the outside; the latter on the inside.
Like a Greek Revival home, Sloat's was built on high ground that overlooked his lands and the source of his wealth, his mills and the river. The lawn and plantings around it, in turn, reflect the contemporary theories of Andrew Jackson Downing
, who disliked Greek Revival houses as wasteful and false, advocating instead cottages that looked like comfortable places to live, in harmony with their natural surroundings rather than attempting to dominate them.
The strictly symmetrical fenestration
is a hallmark of Greek Revival classicism as is the center-hall plan. The liberal use of ornament and marble on the inside suggest the influence of Italian design.
and gimlet
-pointed wood screw, his family later claimed. These helped his business take off, and the New York and Erie Railroad's route through the area extended his reach to new markets in later decades.
He began building the house in 1846, starting with the foundation. After waiting for it to settle, giving rise to rumors that he was financially strapped, he completed the framing
and the rest of the house, in time to move his family in two years later.
There is no architect of record. Sloat, who admired Downing's works and ideas, may have undertaken much of it himself. He may also have been helped by his friend, the Hudson River School
painter Jasper Cropsey, who dabbled in architecture. Cropsey frequently traveled through Sloatsburg in the mid-1840s, and visited Sloat frequently. Around 1850 he made an early pencil sketch of the house from the northeast.
The house remained in the Sloat family until the early 20th century. A 1912 postcard of the village shows it being used as the Henry Inn. It later became the Ramapo Inn, a popular local eatery until the mid-1930s. The next decade, it became an Italian restaurant, and in the mid-1950s was once again converted
into a boardinghouse, the Martin Home for Women.
In the 1980s it was modified slightly into an elder care
home that was closed by the state in 2003. The town purchased the abandoned home with the intent of converting it into a local historical museum. In 2007 it received a grant for major restorations
that will help recreate the house as it was during the Sloat family's years of ownership.
Sloatsburg, New York
Sloatsburg is a village in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located east of Orange County, New York and sits at the southern entrance to Harriman State Park. The population was 3,117 at the 2000 census...
, New York, United States. Built in the late 1840s, it is a wooden house that shows the transition from the waning Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
style
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...
to the newer Picturesque
Picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
and Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
modes.
It was built late in the life of Jacob Sloat, a descedant of village founder Stephen Sloat who had made a fortune as a textile merchant earlier in the century. He was close friends with Jasper Cropsey, who historians believe may have helped him design the house. After leaving his family at the beginning of the 20th century, the house passed through a variety of owners and uses, including two restaurants and a home for the elderly. It is currently the property of the Town of Ramapo
Ramapo, New York
Ramapo , formerly known as New Hempstead and then Hampstead, is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States located north of New Jersey; southeast of Orange County, New York; south of the Town of Haverstraw and west of the Town of Clarkstown and the Town of Orangetown...
, which intends to develop it into a historic house museum and cultural center. In 2006 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 house stands on a two-acre (8,000 m²) lotLot (real estate)
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner. A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property in other countries...
south of the other houses on the street, accessible by a narrow winding route called Oak Street, atop a gentle rise leading up from the Ramapo River
Ramapo River
The Ramapo River is a tributary of the Pompton River, approximately 30 mi long, in southern New York and northern New Jersey in the United States.-Course:...
a mile to the east. A few vestiges of the original siting, such as the large lawn, some of the trees, and parts of the former roads to nearby Orange Turnpike (now NY 17
New York State Route 17
New York State Route 17 is a state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate regions of New York in the United States...
) remain. Two large Norway spruce
Norway Spruce
Norway Spruce is a species of spruce native to Europe. It is also commonly referred to as the European Spruce.- Description :...
trees screen the front.
It is supported by an 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...
granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
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:...
, from which it rises three stories in the front. Aluminum siding
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....
covers the original pine 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...
. The house is topped by a slightly-pitched
Roof pitch
In building construction, roof pitch is a numerical measure of the steepness of a roof, and a pitched roof is a roof that is steep.The roof's pitch is the measured vertical rise divided by the measured horizontal span, the same thing as what is called "slope" in geometry. Roof pitch is typically...
gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof.
Two wings in the rear give the house an asymmetrical L-shaped footprint. A full-length veranda with six anta
Anta
An anta is an architectural term describing the posts or pillars on either side of a doorway or entrance of a Greek temple - the slightly projecting piers which terminate the walls of the naos.In contrast to pillars, they are directly connected with the walls of a temple...
e runs along the first story of the eastern (front) facade; a wooden wheelchair ramp
Wheelchair ramp
A wheelchair ramp is an inclined plane installed in addition to or instead of stairs. Ramps permit wheelchair users, as well as people pushing strollers, carts, or other wheeled objects, to more easily access a building....
now connects to it as well. The windows are tall and narrow.
Inside, the main block has a central-hall plan, with a large parlor to the south and a smaller dining room
Dining room
A dining room is a room for consuming food. In modern times it is usually adjacent to the kitchen for convenience in serving, although in medieval times it was often on an entirely different floor level...
to the north, since further partitioned. The original veranda has been enclosed to create additional rooms; one of its antae is still visible. The second floor is more intact, with its central hallway between bedrooms running north-south, perpendicular to its counterpart below. The basement is fully finished, with three large rooms whose function is not clear divided by another central hall.
The on the two main floors is mostly intact from the original construction. All wall plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
, 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...
and woodwork
Woodworking
Woodworking is the process of building, making or carving something using wood.-History:Along with stone, mud, and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by early humans. Microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals show that many were used to work wood...
remain. Of particular note are the twin fireplace
Fireplace
A fireplace is an architectural structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows gas and particulate exhaust to escape...
s in the parlor, with veined marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
mantel
Mantel
Mantel is a municipality in the district of Neustadt in Bavaria in Germany....
s and cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
grates.
Aesthetics
The Jacob Sloat House, or Harmony Hall as Sloat called it, exhibits a combination of features from the Greek RevivalGreek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
style, then declining in importance for houses, and newer trends like the Picturesque
Picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
and Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
styles. The former is more noticeable on the outside; the latter on the inside.
Like a Greek Revival home, Sloat's was built on high ground that overlooked his lands and the source of his wealth, his mills and the river. The lawn and plantings around it, in turn, reflect the contemporary theories of Andrew Jackson Downing
Andrew Jackson Downing
Andrew Jackson Downing was an American landscape designer, horticulturalist, and writer, a prominent advocate of the Gothic Revival style in the United States, and editor of The Horticulturist magazine...
, who disliked Greek Revival houses as wasteful and false, advocating instead cottages that looked like comfortable places to live, in harmony with their natural surroundings rather than attempting to dominate them.
The strictly symmetrical fenestration
Window
A window is a transparent or translucent opening in a wall or door that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material like float glass. Windows are held in place by frames, which...
is a hallmark of Greek Revival classicism as is the center-hall plan. The liberal use of ornament and marble on the inside suggest the influence of Italian design.
History
Jacob Sloat (1792–1857), a grandson of Stephen Sloat, who first settled the area in 1763, built his mills on the Ramapo in the mid-1810s. During the next decade, he invented the cap spindleSpindle (tool)
In machine tools, a spindle is a rotating axis of the machine, which often has a shaft at its heart. The shaft itself is called a spindle, but also, in shop-floor practice, the word often is used metonymically to refer to the entire rotary unit, including not only the shaft itself, but its bearings...
and gimlet
Gimlet
A gimlet is a hand tool for drilling small holes, mainly in wood, without splitting. It was defined in Joseph Gwilt's Architecture as "a piece of steel of a semi-cylindrical form, hollow on one side, having a cross handle at one end and a worm or screw at the other".A gimlet is always a small...
-pointed wood screw, his family later claimed. These helped his business take off, and the New York and Erie Railroad's route through the area extended his reach to new markets in later decades.
He began building the house in 1846, starting with the foundation. After waiting for it to settle, giving rise to rumors that he was financially strapped, he completed the framing
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...
and the rest of the house, in time to move his family in two years later.
There is no architect of record. Sloat, who admired Downing's works and ideas, may have undertaken much of it himself. He may also have been helped by his friend, the Hudson River School
Hudson River school
The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by romanticism...
painter Jasper Cropsey, who dabbled in architecture. Cropsey frequently traveled through Sloatsburg in the mid-1840s, and visited Sloat frequently. Around 1850 he made an early pencil sketch of the house from the northeast.
The house remained in the Sloat family until the early 20th century. A 1912 postcard of the village shows it being used as the Henry Inn. It later became the Ramapo Inn, a popular local eatery until the mid-1930s. The next decade, it became an Italian restaurant, and in the mid-1950s was once again converted
Adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
into a boardinghouse, the Martin Home for Women.
In the 1980s it was modified slightly into an elder care
Elderly care
Elderly care or simply eldercare is the fulfillment of the special needs and requirements that are unique to senior citizens. This broad term encompasses such services as assisted living, adult day care, long term care, nursing homes, hospice care, and In-Home care.-Cultural and geographic...
home that was closed by the state in 2003. The town purchased the abandoned home with the intent of converting it into a local historical museum. In 2007 it received a grant for major restorations
Building restoration
Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...
that will help recreate the house as it was during the Sloat family's years of ownership.