Stephen Storm House
Encyclopedia
The Stephen Storm House is located on the NY 217
state highway
just east of Claverack
, New York, United States. It is a Federal style brick house built in the early 19th century.
It combines aspects of that style found in urban and rural houses, and has a richly detailed interior that remains intact. In 1997 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
on the north side of Route 217, one-quarter mile (500 m) east of where it splits from NY 23
. The house is set back slightly from the road, behind a wooden fence. A small stream separates the house from the remaining foundations
of two barns that have since burned down. They are both considered contributing resources
to its historic character. A long driveway forks at the ruins of one barn, with the east fork leading to the house. There limestone
blocks remaining from the days when visitors arrived by carriage flank the end of the long walk to the front entrance.
Around it, the land gently slopes upward to the east. There are similar older houses on larger, semi-wooded lots to the east and west. Across the road is a large cultivated field that rises to the south.
The house itself is a two-story, five-by-one-bay
brick building on a stone foundation topped with a seamed metal roof. A brick wing extends from the northwest corner. Alongside and behind it are a complex of sheds that have been combined into a modern kitchen and workshop.
On the south (front) facade
all windows have louver
ed shutters
. A boxed cornice
marks the roofline. A columned portico
, similar to the one on the Dr. Abram Jordan House
one mile (1.6 km) west on Route 23, shelters the main entrance, itself in a molded
frame flanked by shuttered sidelights and topped with a stone round-arched lintel.
The east and west sides both have one window apiece on each story. In the east end this is complemented by an unusual pointed elliptical window in the garret
. The wing on the north end has been complemented with a newer, two-story wing and several additions.
A narrow central hall is behind the six-paneled main door. Around the doors to the parlors on either side are original wooden moldings. Each step on the three-run staircase has a carved fan design on the side. They are topped with a cherry
Federal-style bannister. At the rear of the hall a small stair leads to the rear wings.
Both parlors have their original finishings, including interior shutters and fireplace. The east one is more ornate, with its door having applied molded leadwork in addition to detailed moldings and carvings. The mantel
has a deep cornice with a central rectangle containing a molded strip and floral center motif. It is flanked by two smaller plain rectangles with a fluted
strip beneath. The fireplace sides have fluted columns, with the square ends of the mantel shelf protruding overhead.
A door to the smaller room to the rear is flanked by pilaster
s. It is topped with a cornice centered on a sunburst
carving, with rosette
s at the ends. It, too, has molded leadwork highlights. The ceiling of this room is molded plaster with an oval molding and center medallion.
There is similar decoration in the western parlor, but without the doorway cornices. Next to its fireplace is an original china closet. The door leads to the west entry to the house.
This vestibule leads to the rear wing of the house. The original kitchen wing has a reconstructed fireplace and original Dutch door
. It has a bedroom in its upper story.
The bedrooms on the second floor are similar in layout and size to the rooms below. They, too, have intricate original detail, although not as extensive. The east bedroom's mantel is flanked by molded pilasters and a deep cornice. There are no interior shutters.
colony from the Brabant
region in the mid-17th century. Originally settling in Brooklyn, descendants worked their way up the Hudson Valley, serving in various public capacities as the region went to English
and later British
and American control. Thomas Storm, Stephen's ancestor, owned a lot of land in what is now southern Dutchess County
, lending his name to Stormville.
Stephen Storm was one of two Storms who settled in Claverack in the late 18th century. He married a local woman, Elizabeth Phillips, in 1807. At the time her father owned the land. The house was built within a few years, although the deed was not recorded
until some years later.
Federal style houses were common at the time. The Storm House pairs a common size for rural applications of the style with some features more frequently found in urban Federal houses, such as the narrow central hall and shallow depth with single-story rear additions. Its interiors are among the most richly decorated of any house from the period in Columbia County
.
In 1817 Storm bought the 150 acres (60.7 ha) opposite the house for his farming operations from Jacob R. Van Rensselaer
, a descendant of the area's original Dutch manorial family who still had considerable landholdings in the area and was active in local politics as a state assemblyman
, serving as speaker
of that body and later New York's Secretary of State
. Storm himself would serve as an assemblyman for a single term in the early 1820s.
In 1839, Storm moved to nearby Hudson
and sold the house to an Andrew Pulver after his wife died. The Pulver family raised the rear addition's roof, the only significant change made since its construction. They lived there until Andrew died around 1900. Other owners of note include John Delafield, a Livingston family
descendant and resident of Montgomery Place
, who considered preserving
the house during the 1970s.
New York State Route 217
New York State Route 217 is a long state highway in Columbia County, New York, United States. It connects NY 23 in Claverack to the Taconic State Parkway in Ghent by way of the village of Philmont...
state highway
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...
just east of Claverack
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 Federal style brick house built in the early 19th century.
It combines aspects of that style found in urban and rural houses, and has a richly detailed interior that remains intact. 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...
.
Property
The property is a 3.6 acres (1.5 ha) 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...
on the north side of Route 217, one-quarter mile (500 m) east of where it splits from 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...
. The house is set back slightly from the road, behind a wooden fence. A small stream separates the house from the remaining foundations
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:...
of two barns that have since burned down. They are both considered contributing resources
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to its historic character. A long driveway forks at the ruins of one barn, with the east fork leading to the house. There limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
blocks remaining from the days when visitors arrived by carriage flank the end of the long walk to the front entrance.
Around it, the land gently slopes upward to the east. There are similar older houses on larger, semi-wooded lots to the east and west. Across the road is a large cultivated field that rises to the south.
The house itself is a two-story, five-by-one-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:...
brick building on a stone foundation topped with a seamed metal roof. A brick wing extends from the northwest corner. Alongside and behind it are a complex of sheds that have been combined into a modern kitchen and workshop.
On 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"....
all windows 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...
. A boxed 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...
marks the roofline. A columned 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...
, similar to the one on the Dr. Abram Jordan House
Dr. Abram Jordan House
The Dr. Abram Jordan House, also known as the Wedding Present House, is located along the NY 23 state highway in Claverack, New York, United States...
one mile (1.6 km) west on Route 23, shelters the main entrance, itself in 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...
frame flanked by shuttered sidelights and topped with a stone round-arched lintel.
The east and west sides both have one window apiece on each story. In the east end this is complemented by an unusual pointed elliptical window in the garret
Garret
A garret is generally synonymous in modern usage with a habitable attic or small living space at the top of a house. It entered Middle English via Old French with a military connotation of a watchtower or something akin to a garrison, in other words a place for guards or soldiers to be quartered...
. The wing on the north end has been complemented with a newer, two-story wing and several additions.
A narrow central hall is behind the six-paneled main door. Around the doors to the parlors on either side are original wooden moldings. Each step on the three-run staircase has a carved fan design on the side. They are topped with a cherry
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
Federal-style bannister. At the rear of the hall a small stair leads to the rear wings.
Both parlors have their original finishings, including interior shutters and fireplace. The east one is more ornate, with its door having applied molded leadwork in addition to detailed moldings and carvings. The mantel
Fireplace mantel
Fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and can include elaborate designs extending to the ceiling...
has a deep cornice with a central rectangle containing a molded strip and floral center motif. It is flanked by two smaller plain rectangles with a 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...
strip beneath. The fireplace sides have fluted columns, with the square ends of the mantel shelf protruding overhead.
A door to the smaller room to the rear is flanked by 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. It is topped with a cornice centered on a sunburst
Sunburst
Sunburst is a type of finish for musical instruments such as electric and acoustic guitars and electric basses. At the center of a sunburst-finished surface is an area of lighter color that darkens gradually towards the edges before hitting a dark rim...
carving, with rosette
Rosette (design)
A rosette is a round, stylized flower design, used extensively in sculptural objects from antiquity. Appearing in Mesopotamia and used to decorate the funeral stele in Ancient Greece...
s at the ends. It, too, has molded leadwork highlights. The ceiling of this room is molded plaster with an oval molding and center medallion.
There is similar decoration in the western parlor, but without the doorway cornices. Next to its fireplace is an original china closet. The door leads to the west entry to the house.
This vestibule leads to the rear wing of the house. The original kitchen wing has a reconstructed fireplace and original Dutch door
Dutch door
A Dutch door , or stable door , or half door , is a door divided horizontally in such a fashion that the bottom half may remain shut while the top half opens...
. It has a bedroom in its upper story.
The bedrooms on the second floor are similar in layout and size to the rooms below. They, too, have intricate original detail, although not as extensive. The east bedroom's mantel is flanked by molded pilasters and a deep cornice. There are no interior shutters.
History
The Storm family emigrated to the New NetherlandNew Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
colony from the Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
region in the mid-17th century. Originally settling in Brooklyn, descendants worked their way up the Hudson Valley, serving in various public capacities as the region went to English
English colonial empire
The English colonial empire consisted of a variety of overseas territories colonized, conquered, or otherwise acquired by the former Kingdom of England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries....
and later British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
and American control. Thomas Storm, Stephen's ancestor, owned a lot of land in what is now southern 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...
, lending his name to Stormville.
Stephen Storm was one of two Storms who settled in Claverack in the late 18th century. He married a local woman, Elizabeth Phillips, in 1807. At the time her father owned the land. The house was built within a few years, although the deed was not recorded
Recording (real estate)
The vast majority of states in the United States employ a system of recording legal instruments that affect the title of real estate as the exclusive means for publicly documenting land titles and interests. This system differs significantly from land registration systems, such as the Torrens...
until some years later.
Federal style houses were common at the time. The Storm House pairs a common size for rural applications of the style with some features more frequently found in urban Federal houses, such as the narrow central hall and shallow depth with single-story rear additions. Its interiors are among the most richly decorated of any house from the period in Columbia County
Columbia County, New York
Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 63,096. The county seat is Hudson. The name comes from the Latin feminine form of the name of Christopher Columbus, which was at the time of the formation of the county a popular proposal...
.
In 1817 Storm bought the 150 acres (60.7 ha) opposite the house for his farming operations from Jacob R. Van Rensselaer
Jacob R. Van Rensselaer
Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer was an American lawyer and Federalist politician.-Life:...
, a descendant of the area's original Dutch manorial family who still had considerable landholdings in the area and was active in local politics as a state assemblyman
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...
, serving as speaker
Speaker of the New York State Assembly
The Speaker of the New York State Assembly is the highest official in the New York State Assembly, customarily elected from the ranks of the majority party....
of that body and later New York's Secretary of State
Secretary of State of New York
The Secretary of State of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York.The current Secretary of State of New York is Cesar A...
. Storm himself would serve as an assemblyman for a single term in the early 1820s.
In 1839, Storm moved to nearby Hudson
Hudson, New York
Hudson is a city located along the west border of Columbia County, New York, United States. The city is named after the adjacent Hudson River and ultimately after the explorer Henry Hudson.Hudson is the county seat of Columbia County...
and sold the house to an Andrew Pulver after his wife died. The Pulver family raised the rear addition's roof, the only significant change made since its construction. They lived there until Andrew died around 1900. Other owners of note include John Delafield, a Livingston family
Livingston family
The Livingston family of was a prominent family which migrated from Scotland to the Dutch Republic to the Province of New York in the 17th century. Descended from William, 4th Lord Livingston, its members included signers of the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States...
descendant and resident of Montgomery Place
Montgomery Place
Montgomery Place, near Barrytown, New York, United States, is an early 19th-century estate that has been designated a National Historic Landmark. It is also a contributing property to the Hudson River Historic District, also a National Historic Landmark....
, who considered preserving
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
the house during the 1970s.