Masonry Construction Phase

Lore & Background

Built between 1715 and 1724, the Jan Van Hoesen House is one of approximately seven similar brick dwellings to survive into the 21st century. These residences were built in an elongated rectangular form of brick over a timber frame, with variations in windows, doors, and rooms according to the owner's tastes. The style originated in 16th-century Netherlands and was a descendant of medieval longhouses. It was introduced into New Netherland before the mid-17th century but did not become prevalent in Columbia County until about 1715, a period of economic prosperity. According to cultural historian Ruth Piwonka, such brick houses are not merely farmhouses but substantial upper-middle-class residences expressing tastes and prosperity in a northern European manner.

In Their Own Story

The initials 'T' and 'I V H' worked in black clinker brick headers on the easterly gable mark the first occupants: Jan van Hoesen (1687–1745) and his wife Tanneke. The 'T' stands for Tanneke Wittbeck, Jan's wife; the 'V' and 'H' stand for Van Hoesen; and the 'I' represents Jan's given name in Dutch. Jan van Hoesen, who married Tanneke Witbeck in 1711, was a grandson of Jan Franse van Hoesen (1609–1667), a Frisian sailor from Husum, then part of the Duchy of Schleswig in Denmark. The elder Van Hoesen purchased from the Mohicans in 1662 the tract that included present-day Hudson and Greenport. Jan served as a deacon in the Lutheran church at Lunenberg (present-day Athens) across the Hudson River and, along with his wife, was extremely active in Lutheran church affairs. They had eleven children, of whom three sons appear at the locality of this house at the time of the Revolution, and the house remained in the family for several generations.

Reader's Guide

The house's southwesterly gable wall contains a thin engaged chimney flue that enabled fireplaces in the cellar and main floor—a rare surviving example of once-common regional construction. The doorway at the corner leading to a cellar kitchen is original, as are the garret and granary window openings and frames. Wrought-iron fleur-de-lis beam anchors on both gables and iron gutter hangers are also distinctive surviving features. The tin roof is a later replacement for the shingled or possibly tiled original. The present back of the house was originally the front, with five openings of equal width, height, and spacing marked by gauged flat arches made decorative through red vertical stretchers alternating with blackened Winker headers—a rare survivor of such decorative technique. All openings are altered from their original form, either made smaller or changed in function. Modifications from the late 18th century and periods in the 19th century are represented in this structure.

Did You Know?

• The Jan Van Hoesen House is one of approximately seven similar brick dwellings from the period to survive into the 21st century.
• The initials 'T' and 'I V H' on the gable are worked in black clinker brick headers, with 'I' representing the Dutch letter for 'J'.
• The house's southwesterly gable contains a thin engaged chimney flue that served fireplaces in both the cellar and main floor—a rare surviving example.
• The present back of the house was originally the front, with five equally spaced openings marked by decorative gauged flat arches.
• The house was nominated to the New York State Inventory of Historic Resources in January 1976 and placed on the 'Seven To Save' list in February 2009.