1 Third St

Witherill / Stalker House (c 1824)

This private residence is not open for interior tour.

Constructed of brick laid out in a Flemish pattern, this two-and-a-half story house is late Georgian in design. The original construction dates to circa 1824. The front portico was a Victorian addition similar to other porches and porticos in Athens.

The front door and the four panes of glass above it are replacements but it is believed they are quite similar to the originals. The original six-over-six windows have also been replaced. The interior has the original plaster walls, wide-board floors, and the original woodwork and moldings. No original mantels or hearths still exist, but moldings and cut-outs in the floor suggest they were present.

The Hudson-Athens Ferry started operation in 1778, attracting individuals and industry to the west bank of the Hudson River. By 1805, when the village was incorporated, a number of elegant structures were built, each reflecting the wealth of the early settlers. Others would follow.

Elijah Spencer was one of the early settlers purchasing this property in 1824. It is unknown if the structure existed at that time, but based on the projected building date and his short ownership of nine months, it seems reasonable to think that perhaps he was the craftsman, or at least the entrepreneur.

The Spencer family resided in Athens at least as early as 1815; there is a record of their infant daughter’s funeral held at the Athens First Episcopal Church. Elijah was one of the trustees of a Reformed Protestant Dutch church in Athens, who met on May 27, 1826, to incorporate under the name Dutch Reformed Church of the Village of Athens. Elijah’s wife, Freelove Pratt, was baptized in the Reformed church as an adult during 1826, followed by their child, Edward, on October 7, 1827.

It seems likely that the next owner of the property, Benjamin Haxton, was the first resident. Benjamin purchased the property from Elijah Spencer in January 1825 and owned it for the next ten years before selling to a William H. Spencer. The following year Benjamin sold his small farm at the south end of the village to the rector of Trinity Church.

There have been many owners of this house over the years, including Sylvester Nichols, Athens justice of the peace, whose ownership spanned the years 1860 to 1865; Herman F. Dernell, the important ice-tool manufacturer, who owned the property from 1869 to 1913; and Dernell’s sister, Minnie Every, whose ownership ran from 1913 to 1939. For many years Orin Q. Flint, the first president of the Greene County Historical Society, had his law and insurance office here. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Stalker, who were the owners from 1994 to 1999, placed the house on the Greene County Historical Register.

If you are walking through Athens today, head left to Route 385, then turn left to find two additional houses on this tour within 100 yards – the Nichols / Daley / Albright house at 7 South Washington and the Dernell / Clark House at 10 South Washington.