Dyckman House

Coordinates: 40°52′02″N 73°55′23″W / 40.86722°N 73.92306°W / 40.86722; -73.92306
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Dyckman House
Dutch Colonial
NRHP reference No.67000014[1]
NYCL No.0309
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 24, 1967[1]
Designated NHLDecember 24, 1967[2]
Designated NYCLJuly 12, 1967

The Dyckman House, now the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum, is the oldest remaining farmhouse on

204th Street in Inwood, Manhattan.[2]

History and description

Dyckman was the grandson of Jan Dyckman, who came to the area from

West 210th Street, which he had built in 1748, and which was destroyed in the American Revolutionary War.[4]

Historic American Buildings Survey
photo from 1934

The current two-story house is constructed of

gambrel roof and spring eaves. The porches are typical of the Dutch Colonial style, but were added in 1825. The house's interior has parlors and an indoor winter kitchen in the basement, thus serving as heating for the first floor. The rooms have floors of varying-width chestnut wood.[3][5][6][7] The house's outdoor smokehouse-summer kitchen, in a small building to the south, may predate the house itself.[4][5]
The back of the house holds a short hedge that resemble a maze.

The house stayed in the family for several generations until they sold it in 1868, after which it served as a rental property for several decades.[8] By the beginning of the 20th century, the house was in disrepair and in danger of being demolished, and in 1915, the Dyckman family bought it back.[5]

In 1915–16, two sisters of the Dyckman family, Mary Alice Dyckman Dean (Mrs Bashford Dean) and Fannie Fredericka Dyckman Welch,[8] began a restoration of the farmhouse under the supervision of architect Alexander M. Welch, Fannie's husband.[3] In 1916, they transferred ownership of the house to the City of New York, which opened it as a museum of Dutch and Colonial life, featuring the original Dyckman family furnishings.[6]

The farmhouse – which is not only the

New York City Landmark and a National Historic Landmark since 1967.[2][9][10]

In 2003, the house underwent a major restoration, after which it re-opened to the public in the fall of 2005.[11]

In popular culture

  • The Dyckman House was featured in
    A&E Network production Guide to Historic Homes of America.[12]

Gallery

  • Front porch
    Front porch
  • Rear porch
    Rear porch
  • West end of the house, seen from the rear
    West end of the house, seen from the rear

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d "Dyckman House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 11, 2007.
  3. ^ .
  4. ^ a b c d "Dyckman House Museum" on the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation website
  5. ^ .
  6. ^ .
  7. . (Reprinted by Scholarly Press, 1976; often referred to as WPA Guide to New York City.)
  8. ^ a b Historical plaque located near the house. Accessed: May 30, 2014
  9. ^ ""Dyckman House", by Patricia Heintzelman" (pdf). National Park Service. October 14, 1975. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  10. ^ "Dyckman House—Accompanying Photos, exterior and interior, from 1967 and 1975" (pdf). National Park Service. September 1978. National Register of Historic Places Inventory{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  11. ^ Dyckman Farmhouse on the Cultural Landscape Foundation website
  12. A&E Network
    .

External links