Colonial Dutch Houses (1690-1750)

Colonial Dutch Houses (1690-1750). . , Dutch boeren (farmers) began settling the fertile lowlands southeast of Albany in the mid 1600s, establishing cultural strongholds along the Hudson River and its tributaries. For more than a century after the English takeover of New Netherland in 1664, these settlers held fast to their Dutch identity - building homes that reflected not only their architectural customs, but their traditional way of life. Built in 1737, the Luykas Van Alen House is a surviving relic of this steadfast resistance to cultural assimilation., What Makes a House Dutch? , Medieval Traditions , To construct their homes, Dutch settlers drew from building methods and housing concepts that originated in Northern Europe during the medieval period. Typical of rural dwellings in the Netherlands, the Luykas Van Alen House consisted of just two rooms and an open garret space when built. A hallway and third room were added around 1750, a sign of changing times, The British are Coming, By the mid 1700s, the remote Dutch enclaves of the Hudson Valley were coming under greater English influence. The wider, gambrel-style roof replacedthe steep gable roof to make room for second-floor bedrooms, as new ideas about domestic comfort and privacy upended the Dutch communal lifestyle - and signaled the start of a new cultural era in New York., Distinctive Framing. , The key identifying feature of a Dutch house is the anchor-bent framing system, formed of load-bearing, H-shaped units This inner framework was then covered in wood, stone or brick laid invarying patterns, Owners' Marks, Colonial Dutch householders often included their initials or the year of construction on the home's exterior. On the south gable wall of the Luykas Van Alen House, "1737" is written in iron numerals, Dutch Stoops , A fixture of homes in the Netherlands, stoops were placed in front of entry doors with side benches for seating., Dutch Doors , Divided into upper and lower sections, these doors were handy for letting light and fresh air in while keeping animals and dirt out, Casement Windows , Hinged to open in or out, rather than up and down., Iron Hardware , Including hinges, locks, shutter keeps, tie rods and Dutch-style door handles, known as klopperdincks (pictured here)., Steeply Pitched Roofs , Featuring chimneys at each end and gable elbows to direct rainwater away from the house.