The Van Deusen House

The Van Deusen House. An 18th Century Bethlehem Farmstead. , This vernacular stone house was constructed c. 1793 by family members of Johannes “John” Van Deusen, the proprietor of these former farmlands. The Town of Bethlehem was established that very same year, during the first decade of America’s independence from the British Empire, when the surrounding environment was primarily wilderness. , Today, less than two dozen 18th century homes remain within town borders, with only a handful made from quarried stone. This home’s exterior walls are almost two feet thick, chinked with mud and horsehair. The side facing you now was originally the rear of the building, suggesting Van Dyke Road was originally routed behind the current structure. , After a period of vacancy and disrepair, the Van Deusen House was acquired and restored by LiveWell Group in connection with its development of The Spinney at Van Dyke, and it now occupies a central role in the daily management and well-being of this community. , Who was John Van Deusen?. Born in 1717, John Van Deusen descended from one of Colonial America’s earliest Dutch settlers. He shares lineage with two United States presidents (Martin Van Buren and Franklin Delano Roosevelt) and a cousin that married a third (James Monroe). In 1745, he married Maritje “Maria” Winne, whose family also came here from the Netherlands. , A carpenter by trade, Van Deusen spent his early adult years in Fort Frederick (City of Albany) and likely honed his woodworking skills for British troops during the French and Indian Wars (1756-1763). In 1766, he ventured outside the fortified city to try his hand at farming. After the war concluded, doing so was much safer and appealing to anyone seeking to leave the increasingly unsanitary conditions at Fort Frederick for the surrounding rural landscape. , Upon his death, just before or soon after the house’s construction, Van Deusen left the estate to his son Peter, whose son-in-law Richard “Derrick” Hilton ran the farm. A descendant of 17th century English settlers and a veteran of the American Revolution (as was his father-in-law), Hilton and his wife Maria ensured continual occupation of the farm by the Van Deusen family for almost 100 years. , Why Build from Stone?. During Colonial times in the Hudson Valley, stone houses symbolized great wealth and status. They were costly, labor-intensive and impractical, especially with so much timber available from clearing land to grow crops. Since the Van Deusen and Hilton families were not wealthy, the decision to build with stone likely indicates proximity to the Helderberg Escarpment’s limestone resources. , At times, the original 620 square-foot structure was home to at least nine people, even though only one of the two original living spaces had a fireplace. This room served as a parlor, kitchen and principal bedchamber, while the unheated room was used as an additional bedchamber. Prior to wood frame additions constructed in the 1940s, both the basement and second floor were used for food storage. , Agriculture in the 18th Century. At its largest, Van Deusen’s farm spanned almost 200 acres. Like most farmers in this area, he did not own the land outright. Instead, the property was subject to annual rents through a feudal tenant system established by the Van Rensselaer family on both sides of the Hudson River in the 1630s. Van Deusen paid his annual rent in crops, fowl and one day’s service to the Van Rensselaer patroon. The main crop grown here was wheat, but Bethlehem growers also produced rye, barley, oats, corn, beans and tree fruit well into the 20th century. , Farmers primarily settled by water in the 1700s, and the Van Deusen site is within 500 feet of the Phillipin Kill, which drains into the Hudson River approximately 4.5 miles downstream. This attracted Indigenous and European groups alike through time, despite poorly drained soil that was unreliable for good crop yields. The first structure on Van Deusen’s farm was likely a barn, to thresh and store wheat to pay rent, provide baking flour and as a cash crop for the construction of the house. Other farm structures included movable hay barracks consisting of four poles, side walls and a thatched roof that could be easily raised or lowered to cover grain. , Farm Labor and Enslavement. Dutch settlers brought enslaved Africans to the banks of the Hudson River as early as the 1620s, a practice that lasted in New York State until 1827. Early census records show that the Van Deusen-Hilton family enslaved Black farm laborers on this site. , Artifacts recovered near the residence provide further evidence of enslavement. Ruins of a floorless summer kitchen were located during the archaeological survey, providing evidence of efforts which were made to keep enslaved or hired workers separate from family members. Marked or pierced coins, like the one pictured here, were also found during a magnetic survey of the farm site. This practice is known for use in history by enslaved persons as adornments for protection or ritual purposes. , Sometime before 1810, Derrick and Maria Hilton abandoned the practice, perhaps due to the enactment of New York’s Gradual Emancipation Law of 1799. , A Farm of Four Families. . Van Deusen/Hilton family (c. 1766-1852) . Bradt family (c. 1853-1877) . Ostrander family (c. 1878-1892) . Leonard/Salisbury/Bragdon family (c. 1892-2007) , ( image captions ) , , The Van Deusen House in 1941, prior to renovations done by Ralph Irving Leonard with timber harvested from the farm in the 1950s and early 1960s. (Image courtesy of Barbara Carkner) , adornments for protection or ritual purposes. , , Inscriptions etched in stone typically denote construction dates or property transfers. The markings found on the Van Deusen House’s eastern face suggest construction in or around 1793. Once part of an ancient ocean floor, stones used for this home are almost two feet thick and approximately 400 million years old. , , A member of Hartgen Archeological Associates, Inc. unearthing a small assemblage of cultural material, consisting mainly of pearlware and whiteware dating to c. 1832, during the data retrieval of the Van Deusen House in December 2021. , , A 1767 map of Rensselaerswyck, the former Dutch colonial patroonship, shows the vicinity of the Van Deusen House, as depicted on the banks of the Phillipin Kill. , , Historical and marine artist Len Tantillo’s depiction of an early Dutch farmhouse, barn and hay barrack in the Manor of Rensselaerswyck provides a sense of how this landscape might have looked in antiquity (Image courtesy of L. Tantillo). , , British half penny, minted during the reign of William III (1694-1702). Markings drilled into currency or other objects of value have been shown to indicate use by enslaved individuals as personal