Hawkwood Mansion

Hawkwood Mansion. The Later Years. , Top Left , This is an undated picture from the collection of the Theuner family. They owned the property for a short time in the 1920's. Note the porch lanterns, probably fueled by acetylene. This was the first house in town to have working lights inside, probably in the early 1900's., Middle Inset , As time wore on, the house deteriorated. The picture, below on the right, from the 1940's, is part of a collection called "Historic American Buildings Survey”, which is a group of select properties from throughout the country and chosen for inclusion by the Library of Congress, The house fell into disrepair by the 1940's, and burned down in the 1960’s. All we have left is what you see in front of you now., Bottom Inset , In 2016, the Town of Ballston commissioned an archeological dig at this site to see what artifacts might remain from the mansion's history About 70 community volunteers participated in the 2 day dig. The project was supervised by an archeologist., Found, were many nails that could go back as far as the 1790's, and many different types of pottery. Some of the pottery shards were dated between 1760 and 1790, the era in which the Town of Ballston was first settled and officially founded., Right Inset , The map shows what we know of the outbuildings that at some time dotted this farmland in the Ballston community The windmill is no longer standing but would probably have helped pump water from the pond to the house for the indoor plumbing installed in the house in the early 1900's. The well and the cistern are visible on the side of the house where the kitchen was located. Both are still there and their structure can be seen by looking through the covers presently being used as protection. As you travel further along the path, the remains of the other outbuildings can be seen as well.