Virtual Tour

Caution

Before we begin, please take note that you are about to enter a home that was built in the mid-1700's. Please watch your head when passing through the doorways as they are much lower than modern doorways. Please watch our step as the old wood floors are uneven and rather slippery. Unfortunately, there are no functioning bathrooms in the Homestead. If you need to use the bathroom, there are port-a-pots around the corner and public bathrooms near the baseball fields.

Many of the artifacts in the Homestead are very fragile. We ask that you not touch them. We are particularly concerned with the maps sitting out on the tables. Please look at them, but don't unfold them or turn them over as they are starting to fall apart. Lastly, the basement and the second floor are off limits. Any questions? Ok... let's begin....

The Well....

Before we enter the house, I want to point out the old well that would have provided water for everyone who lived here. There was no running water in the house until probably the early 1900's. That means every day someone had to pull buckets of water from this very well... Don't worry, the water that was pulled wasn't used for a daily bath... In America's colonial days, getting clean meant sponging off, usually just face and hands. People took baths once or twice a year.

Notice the four red barns behind us. The smallest barn is different from the others in that it has plaster walls inside. This barn is believed to be the housing that was provided to the slaves that worked here. According to the 1790 census, there were two slaves living here. Slavery was legal in New York until 1827.

Also notice the old stone building adjacent to the house. This is likely the original and oldest home at this site. It's stones have been covered with Stucco and whitewash. The earliest builders here probably used the stones they pulled from the fields they were clearing to build the house. After all, those field stones had to go somewhere.

Now lets go inside the house.

The Old Kitchen....

The eastern kitchen is the oldest room in the house. This room was rented to a care-taker by the Village until 2006. As a result, it has not been open to the public for as long as anyone can remember. You have to look beyond the modern additions to the room, like the flooring, the radiators, the Formica counter tops, and the florescent lights to realize this is actually a very old room. Please observe the hand-hewned beams over head. Please observe the large fireplace. The old stones have been plastered over, but they are behind this white wall. This fireplace would have been the center of activity at the farm. Back then, fires rarely went out. The fires were also very dangerous, which is why they were located away from the main house. Notice the brick oven which was used for baking. The oven was likely added to the fireplace in the early 1800's. Cooking and baking in colonial times was very difficult and time consuming. Managing the fire was a critical aspect of cooking. You can't press a button and set the temperature to 375 degrees. You had to have a lot of skill to get a fire to the correct temperature. Imagine the heat this fireplace would have generated. Please observe some of the tools that were were needed to manage the fire and cooking.

Finally, please observe the table that has been set for the meal.

The "Map Room"....

The next room has been used for many purposes over the years. Storage? Dining room? Bedroom? We have turned this room into a "map room" so visitors can see the evolution of our community. The oldest map is near the door you just came through. It shows Sawpit in 1779. As you work your way to the right, the maps get more recent. We also have some early pictures of Port Chester. The most recent picture is this aerial photo taken in 1995. On the tables are subdivision maps from the turn of the last century. Between 1890 and 1930 the population of Port Chester went from around 7000 to 24,000 people. Nearly every farm (including this one) and estate were subdivided during this time.

The Dining Room....

This room has been set up as an early American dining room. You'll notice the more refined furniture. If we could remove the 1970's fake paneling, we could expose the hearth that likely dominated this room for over a century until it was boarded up.

The "New" Kitchen...

When the large house was added around 1750, the large central chimney would have allowed for three fireplaces. As we noted in the last room, one fireplace was boarded up as fireplaces became less of a necessity and more of a luxury. The opening in this room was very different in the 1700's. It would have been much larger and would have been used for cooking. The original stones are actually behind these bricks. Anyone who wants can look up the chimney and see the old stones.

While we are now in the "newer" part of the house, this is the first time we can see the old floor boards. Notice the width. Notice the square nails that would have been made by a local blacksmith.

On display in this room are some of the old spinning wheels that would have been used to turn wool into yarn.

The Office...

Remember, this was a working farm that not only fed the family, but generated income. This office was likely a very busy place as income had to be accounted for, salaries had to be paid, suppliers had to be paid. The owner of this home was not only a farmer, but also the owner of a sloop used to bring produce to market.

The Living Room....

Here we see the third fireplace associated with the central chimney. Like the others, this fireplace has changed substantially over the years. It would have been much larger. The refined wood paneling shows the wealth of family. The fireplace insert must have been a nice addition in the late 1800's. It is much cleaner and more efficient. Keep in mind how much wood must have been needed to heat this house in the winter. An entire barn full of wood. It's no wonder they would have switched to coal or oil and closed off many of the fire places.

The Main Entrance...

Notice the stairs. Notice the entrance to the basement. While this was a nice home, it was a functional farm. There is no grand entryway. No grand hallway.

Thank you for joining us on our tour.