Slingerlands in Albany County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Coughtry Homestead
Photographed by Trudi Jacobson, November 4, 2024
1. Coughtry Homestead Marker
Family owned since 1774. This dwelling built by John McCoughtry, Jr. c. 1785. Used as woodworking shop. Original integrity intact.
Erected 2004 by New Scotland Historical Association.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1785.
Location. Marker is missing. It was located near 42° 39.168′ N, 73° 54.263′ W. Marker was in Slingerlands, New York, in Albany County. It was on Hilton Road 0.4 miles south of Krumkill Road, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 145 Hilton Rd, Voorheesville NY 12186, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker was in Upstate New York, in the Capital District, and in the Albany Metropolitan Area. It was also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it was in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it found itself in what was once New Netherland and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At
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Additional commentary.
1. Coughtry Homestead Then and Now
The modest building identified by this marker was associated with one of the families that helped give New Scotland its name. The Coughtrys, whose surname was originally rendered McCaughtie or McCaughtrie, emigrated from Galloway, Scotland, in 1774 and were among the early Scottish families to settle here. John Coughtry Sr. leased land from the Van Rensselaer manor, and his son John Coughtry Jr. built this timber-frame farmhouse about 1785–1789. Around 1790 John's brother Alexander occupied the house. When their father died in 1813, Alexander inherited the “North Farm,” containing the homestead, while his brother William received the
Photographed by Trudi Jacobson, November 4, 2024
2. Coughtry Homestead Marker
In 1944 the property passed to another branch of the Coughtry family when Isaac L. Coughtry sold it to his third cousin, Howard Charles Coughtry. Howard built a newer house nearby, and the eighteenth-century dwelling subsequently served as an outbuilding and woodworking shop. His son Robin Coughtry, who was raised on the family homestead, learned woodworking from his father and became a master cabinetmaker and home builder.
When the New Scotland Historical Association erected this marker in 2003, the old house was still intact and in good condition. A later Joint Historic Preservation Commission study called it the only known surviving eighteenth-century structure in New Scotland directly associated with the town's early Scottish settlers and noted that, unlike many buildings of similar age, it had retained much of its original fabric. By 2018, however, the structure had deteriorated badly. Robin Coughtry offered it to the Historical Association, but restoration was judged financially and possibly physically impracticable. By 2025 its roof had fallen in and its walls were collapsing, and the Commission reluctantly raised no objection to a demolition permit. Historic Dutch hinges were to be salvaged for the Historical Association, and the site was to be searched for additional artifacts.
Sources
Bennett, Allison P. More Times Remembered: Chronicles of the Towns of Bethlehem and New Scotland. 1986. “Memories of the Coughtry Homestead.” Reproduced in the Town of New Scotland Joint Historic Preservation Commission report on the Coughtry Homestead, 2025.
Coughtry, David E. Coughtry Family History: From the Middle Ages to 1900. 1999, particularly pp. 58–63, 68, 74–75. Cited in the Town of New Scotland Joint Historic Preservation Commission report on the Coughtry Homestead.
New Scotland Historical Association. “Coughtry Homestead.” Historic Sites & Landmarks.
New Scotland Historical Association. “The Coughtry Family and Life in the 1880s.” The Sentinel, vol. 26, no. 1, Fall 2017.
New Scotland Historical Association. “The Coughtry Family and Life in the 1900’s.” The Sentinel, vol. 26, no. 2, Winter 2017.
New York State Library, Manuscripts and Special Collections. Rensselaerwyck Manor Papers, SC7079, Index to Leases M–Z. Entries for John McCoughtry and John McCoughtry Jr.
Town of New Scotland Joint Historic Preservation Commission. “Coughtry Homestead,” historic-resource/demolition review and supporting documentation, 2025.
— Submitted September 3, 2026, by Trudi Jacobson of Slingerlands, New York.
Credits. This page was last revised on October 22, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 4, 2024, by Trudi Jacobson of Slingerlands, New York. This page has been viewed 449 times since then and 34 times this year. Last updated on September 7, 2026, by Trudi Jacobson of Slingerlands, New York. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 4, 2024, by Trudi Jacobson of Slingerlands, New York. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
