Friends of Athens New York

Category: place

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  • 38 S Franklin St

    38 S Franklin St

    HAIGHT-GANTLEY-VAN LOAN HOUSE (1815)

    This private residence is not open for interior tour.

    The Haight/Gantley/Van Loan house is the best known house in Athens. It is referenced in several publications as a particularly fine example of Federal architecture, designed by the architect Barnabas Waterman.

    General Samuel Haight, soldier and merchant, chose the site for its panoramic view of the Hudson River. Before the house was completed, General Haight was called into active service in 1812. His wife, the former Jane Van Loon, a descendant of the first Van Loon patentee, was a woman of great social ambition and desired an oval ballroom like those in fashionable New York City mansions. When General Haight returned from the War of 1812, he found that the rectangular house now included an oval ballroom at the rear! On November 1, 1817, a Grand Open House was held. Etched into a pane of glass looking out on the verandah are the names of Samuel Haight, William Haight (his son), and Lydia Haight, William’s wife.

    Daniel W. Gantley, the “owner” from 1848 to 1905, was a wealthy merchant who, with his wife, Maria Hosmer, and family in tow, made the move from New York City to Athens in 1848. In his youth he had been the youngest passenger in Robert Fulton’s steamboat The Clermont, and according to Van Loan family lore, he had spied this house from the river and decided he would like to live in it someday. Daniel Gantley was loved and revered by several generations in his lifetime. He lived to the ripe old age of 94, and died at his home on March 8, 1881.

    In 1905 Thomas Van Loan of Brooklyn, a coffee and spice import and wholesale merchant—and a descendant of Jan Van Loon—bought the property from the Gantley heirs. In 1912, Thomas persuaded his son, Eugene Van Loan, and Helene, Eugene’s wife, to take up residency on the Athens property. Thomas’ extensive collection of paintings and objets d’art was moved to Athens. Paintings by European and American artists such as Church, Kensett, and Cropsey, among others, hung in tiers on every wall space of the ballroom, the halls, and the bedrooms, Thomas also built an addition for a new kitchen wing to replace the outmoded 19th-century area beneath the ballroom.

    Eugene Van Loan’s children, Mary Helene, Eugene, Jr., and Jane, grew up in this house. Being community-minded, Mrs. Eugene Van Loan opened her home to various civic groups for meetings and for special occasions. The young people of Athens in the 1930s and 1940s remember that the highlights of their Christmas holidays were the dances held in the oval ballroom.

    In 1968 a Coxsackie merchant, Francis Hallenbeck, and his wife, Catherine, purchased the part of the property belonging to Eugene Van Loan, Jr., exclusive of the small Jan Van Loan house (to the east). In 2006 the property, including the mansion, the carriage house, and “the necessary” —the privy —were purchased by Ashton Hawkins and Johnnie Moore who restored this home with care and sensitivity. The current owners continue this project.

    If you are walking through Athens today, the Matthias Van Loon House is a block north at 30 South Franklin St. The Jan Van Loon House – one of the oldest residences in New York State – is just east along Route 385 at 5 Fifth St.

  • 26 S Franklin St

    26 S Franklin St

    BEDELL / NICHOLS HOUSE (1873)

    This private residence is not open for interior tour.

    In 1872, 57-year-old George S. Nichols, custom house officer in New York City sold to Abram Bedell four and a half lots in the village of Athens described as “up to 4th street running 274 feet westerly from Franklin Street.” The following year, Abram Bedell built this Second Empire Victorian house. The mansard roof with its dormer windows is typical of the period.

    When the house was built, 54-year-old Abram Bedell was already retired from the Athens firm Van Schaack & Bedell Glue Manufacturers. When he passed away during 1890, Adam bequeathed to his wife, Sarah W. Sanderson-Bedell, “my present place of residence, consisting of house and lands situated on the westerly side of Franklin Street in the Village of Athens, also household furniture, wearing apparel, silverware and plated ware, watch and jewelry, books, works of art, fuel and provisions and all other consumable stores, chattels and effects belonging to me.” While Sarah also received a bequest of $25,000, the remainder of Abram’s personal estate was divided among his children, Bradbury, Minnie (Mary), and Margaret. Sarah, her two unmarried daughters, and their servant remained in the house into the early 20th century.

    The three Bedell women purchased a house on William Street during 1902 and named it Bradbury after their recently deceased son and brother. Sarah died in 1910, followed by her daughter Mary in 1917. Margaret lived in the house on William Street until her death in 1932 at age 71. She was buried in the family plot with her parents and sister in Athens Rural Cemetery.

    In 1904 this house and adjoining land were sold to John Nichols, a relative of George S. Nichols, who had sold the land to Adam Bedell. It appears that the Bedell and Nichols families may have had a shared family connection, or a long friendship. Their relationship certainly started as young men prior to the transfers of this house. Documentation comes from the 1855 census, which lists Abram and George, along with their families, living in a duplex brick dwelling in the Village of Athens.

    The Nichols family came to this country from England and some of the individuals settled in Athens as early as 1800. Being honorable members of the community, they were active in the civic affairs of both the town and village. They were a wealthy family who owned tugboats and engaged in shipping on the Hudson River. At the time John purchased this house, he was earning wages as the superintendent of a steamboat company, perhaps in the family business.

    At the death of John Nichols, his daughter, Edna Nichols Van Deusen, inherited the property. Edna, in turn, passed it on to her daughter, Barbara Van Deusen Euiler. Seventy-seven years of ownership by the Nichols/Van Deusen/Euiler families ended when the house was sold in 1981.

    The current owners have undertaken extensive renovation to house and property while maintaining the slate roof, original boards, Victorian moldings and marble fireplaces.

    If you are walking through Athens today, the Eichorn House is across the street at 27 South Franklin St. Two houses south is the Matthias Van Loon House at 30 South Franklin St.

  • 5 Fifth St

    5 Fifth St

    JAN VAN LOON HOUSE (1706)

    Jan Van Loon’s modest two-room stone house is one of the oldest residences in New York State. The house, with a cellar kitchen, was built near the Indian site Black Rock, where Indians of the Algonquin nation, mostly Mohicans and Delaware, congregated. The present house likely dates from the late 18th or early 19th century with one wall remaining from the original structure. One of two stones salvaged from the original structure bears the inscription “1706, JVL”.

    Jan Van Loon was the earliest European settler in Loonenburgh (now Athens) and was the chief holder of the Loonenburgh Patent, securing title to the land in 1685. Jan’s land holdings included a large bowery, part of which in 1800 was sold by his descendants to Isaac Northrup, who was the founder of the Village of Athens.

    Born about 1650 in Liege, the capital of an independent bishopric, Jan Van Loon was formerly a Netherlander, although no citizen of the Dutch Republic: he was one of the few Netherlanders who, immediately after the final surrender of New Netherlands by the Dutch to the English in 1674, settled in this country. He arrived in New York in 1675. The minutes of the Common Council of the City of New York, dated November 24, 1675, stated that on that day he took an oath of allegiance to the king of Great Britain. In 1676, two months after his naturalization, he married Maria Jansen Van Ilpendam in New York, in the Dutch Reformed Church; the couple moved to Loonenburgh that same year. Maria had been born in New Amsterdam in 1656. Jan was well educated and spoke French as well as Dutch.

    Jan and Maria had four sons, Jan, Albert, Nicholas, and Matthias. Their two daughters, Elsje and Maria, added the names of La Grange and Van Schaack to the family tree. The sons married into the Hallenbeck, Clouw, and La Grange families.

    During 1937, this cherished landmark came close to demolition when the highway passing the stone house was realigned. Albert Van Loan (no longer spelled Van Loon) started a petition to save this historic structure, and thanks to Colonel Frederick Stuart Greene, the head of the Department of Public Works, a revised map with an alternate highway route was drawn to save the site.

    The descendants of Jan Van Loon held title to his residence into the 21st century. In 2001, Eugene Van Loan, Jr., of Bedford, New York, transferred the house, which now stands on a small triangular-shaped parcel of land, to the Greene County Historical Society. The Society signed a long-term lease with the Village of Athens for its use as a visitor center.

    A grant from Athens Generating Corporation, funds from members of the Van Loon family, as well as monies from other contributors allowed the Village to obtain the necessary professional services for the project. The work was administered by the New York State Office of Parks and Recreation.

    Archaeological requirements were completed in 2005, and the structural repairs began in the fall of 2006. Randy Evans and his crew rebuilt or restored the east, west, and south walls, south chimney, fireplace, and long-disappeared bake oven. Due to deterioration, similar stone was required to complete the restoration and was obtained from a building foundation on Howard Hall Road.

    Since the archaeological study turned up items such as clay smoking pipes and Indian flint tools, and as the building was so near Black Rock, one would wonder if the original structure may have been used as a trading post.

    If you are walking through Athens today, the Haight-Gantley House is just west at 38 South Franklin St.

  • 18 N Church St

    18 N Church St

    FIRST REFORMED CHURCH (1826)

    As early as 1811, prayer meetings and Sunday school were held at the corner of Market and Franklin streets, at the home of Ebenezer King, a schoolmaster. The early church fathers’ initial direction was not Reformed but Presbyterian, and articles of incorporation for a Presbyterian church were filed at the Greene County Courthouse in 1814. However, since the Reformed Dutch vastly outnumbered the Presbyterian Scottish in the area, it was felt that a Reformed church would be more in line with the needs of the community.

    On November 22, 1824, a meeting was held at Ebenezer King’s schoolroom to discuss the building of a church. Reverend Isaac N. Wycoff of the Leeds Reformed Church was requested to officiate as chairman, and the Reverend Gilbert R. Livingston of the Coxsackie Reformed Church to act as secretary of the meeting. The total of the subscriptions promised amounted to $1,635.

    This house of worship was built between 1825 and 1827, at a cost of $2,213.52. Later additions to the building included the “old” Sunday School Room, built in 1886. The latter is now labeled “old” because in 1975 a new Sunday School Room, office and study were added. It is a classic example of an early-19th-century colonial brick structure with a splendid slate-clad steeple topped with an original weather vane.

    The twelve stained-glass windows in the sanctuary are of exceptional quality. The one to the left of the altar was placed in memory of Emilie Dernell-Lang, sister of Herman Dernell. Altered brick on the outer walls signify that the windows were at one time squared at the top, not arched as they are now These early windows probably had plain glass panes. In the past, the church interior was open with a vaulted ceiling and a plainer balcony.

    A parcel of land divided by a 20-foot alley was given by Isaac Northrup, founder of the Village of Athens, to be equally divided among the Presbyterians/Dutch Reformed, and the Episcopalians. The Reformed church chose the northern half. Since Northrup had influence in naming the streets in Athens, it seems likely he chose the name Church Street.

    The first minister, the Reverend David Abeel, was installed immediately after his graduation from the New Brunswick Seminary, class of 1826. His salary was $15 a month. After three months his salary was increased to $33 a month with a later salary increase. He served the church from 1826 through 1828. In that year, at age 24, he left this pastorate to become the first foreign missionary to Asia; he also became the founder of the Amoy Mission. This Reformed church in Athens was the only church in this country in which Abeel served as pastor.

    It was during the pastorate of the Reverend Cornelius Van Cleef (1828-1833) that one of Athens greatest religious revivals took place, with 60 being received into the church at one rime. In the mid-19th century, General George S. Nichols, a much esteemed Athenian, was a member of this congregation. At the close of the Civil War he was made a brigadier general.

    The congregation became very large and people were traveling long distances to attend services. In 1833 there was an appeal to build a chapel west of the village near High Hill. The chapel was built in 1837 and sat on the hill with a few old cemetery stones in the Coleburg Cemetery to the west.

    Some years later, the First Reformed Church conveyed the chapel to the consistory of the Second Reformed Church of Athens, with the condition that it would remain a Dutch Church. Services continued at High Hill until 1903, and then in 1904 the congregation disbanded. On June 26, 1908, an auction was held at the Sager Hotel located on Lime Street, High Hill, to sell the building. Several years later the chapel was destroyed by fire.

    During 1901 the Sunday school of the First Reformed Dutch Church purchased a large building north of the village (12 Brick Row) that for a short time was used as a “mission.” Also during 1901, in celebration of the church’s 75th anniversary, the interior was redecorated and the roof received new slate.

    The Carnegie Corporation of New York pledged half of the cost of a new organ in 1913. The cost was not to exceed $2,500. This instrument was installed in the front, rather than in the back balcony where the previous organ was located. A new organ was dedicated in 1998.

    If you are walking through Athens today, the Decker House is adjacent at 16 North Church St.

  • Mt Hope Cemetery

    Mt Hope Cemetery

    The oldest continuously used burial ground in the Village of Athens is Mount Hope Cemetery, occupying the northerly side of Market Street at the top of what is known locally as “Glue Factory Hill.” Today covering roughly five acres, Mount Hope is home to some of the most beautiful and historic gravestones in the community and is the final resting place of many figures significant in the history of both the Village of Athens and the upper Hudson Valley.

    Origins and History

    The earliest part of the cemetery was established in the late 18th century as a community burial site for the residents of a small agrarian community then known as Loonenburg. This early settlement was located in what is today the “upper village” centered around the historic Zion Lutheran Church on State Route 385. With the incorporation of the Village of Athens in 1805, the congregants of Trinity Episcopal Church (then the largest and most affluent religious congregation in town) took over management of the burial ground and expanded it, also allowing the local Quaker community to use an adjoining parcel as a small Friends cemetery. With the passage of a state law in 1847 it became feasible for communities across the state to organize non-denominational cemetery associations. These new associations could buy, subdivide, and manage community land as “rural cemeteries” that served the practical function of a burial place while also cultivating an attractive, parklike setting for the benefit of the living. Several community members accepted a donated parcel from Nathan Clark in 1849 and organized Mount Hope Cemetery – expanding the old Episcopal and Friends burial grounds as part of the modern cemetery you see today. A glue factory which once operated just west of the caretaker’s garage was purchased and removed in the 1890s to make the annex and horseshoe drive where the cemetery’s only mausoleum currently stands along Market Street.

    Viewing the Cemetery

    Mount Hope Cemetery contains a variety of different styles and forms of monuments and markers that broadly represent the most common forms of gravestones typical throughout the 19th century. Some of the earliest markers are small brownstone tablets, made from a rock quarried in the Connecticut River Valley and used widely throughout New England for gravestones in the 18th and early 19th centuries. These austere markers are contrasted by beautiful but fragile marble tablets used primarily in the first half of the 19th century and prized for their detail and stark contrast against the landscape. Many of the marble tablets seen in Mount Hope were carved by local artisans who practiced the stonecutting trade in Hudson and Catskill servicing a market throughout the region. These marble and brownstone markers were largely superseded by granite markers following the American Civil War, as new techniques and technology made the cutting and polishing of granite more economical and widely available. Prized for their durability, granite markers retain the same clarity and finish as they day they were cut, taking the form of tablets, obelisks, pediments, and even ornate boundary markers like the fencing on the extravagant Clark family plot. Broadly, these markers represent the evolution of the affluence and taste of Village residents over the 19th and 20th centuries, while also embodying the essential desire to leave a lasting and durable testament to their life and work. 

    By the North Church St. entrance to the Athens Rural Cemetery you can find a small slate marker with the Dutch name Coonradt Aaron Flaake, Sept 6, 1713-May 4, 1789, aged 76 yr. 4 mo.. In 1778, Flaake was the first to operate a ferry, which consisted of two canoe shaped boats. He rowed passengers and wagons while the horses swam to Hudson from the landing at the foot of Market Street.

    Community Engagement

    In recent years, the cemetery has been a focal point for community events, such as the annual Mount Hope Cemetery Historical Walk, supported by the Athens Community Foundation.  The walk features local actors portraying historical figures buried in the cemetery. These events highlight the cemetery’s role as a repository of local history and a venue for community storytelling.

    Preservation Efforts

    The cemetery’s records are preserved  at the Vedder Research Library, which houses a full inventory by Sharon Palmateer and a map by L. Stacey. These resources aid genealogical research and maintain the cemetery’s historical integrity.

    Many thanks to historian Jonathan Palmer for providing this descriptive text.

  • 2 N Water St

    2 N Water St

    THE STEWART HOUSE (Est. 1883)

    Hotel / Restaurant (Dinner, Lunch Seasonally) Check Hours

    In 1877, Athens was at the height of prosperity, when William and Ida Stewart purchased a plot on Water Street and began work on their new boarding house, which first welcomed guests in 1883. Simultaneously, the Stewarts started a family, having three children, tragically losing two of them at young ages. Their daughter, Harriet, or “Hattie”, was raised alongside the growing business. She become a keen business woman, taking over operations as an adult.

    Hattie left behind many original documents including payroll sheets, the tab log, and hotel reservation lists. The occasional diary entry, post card, or love letter reveal that Hattie was likely more interested in the success of her business than fulfilling a traditional domestic role. Some records suggest she eventually married an Abram Post, though no evidence of a marriage license has been found. She is revered as the earliest suffragette in Athens.

    As Hattie’s successful run came to an end, another young Athens couple was ready to take over. Bill & Marion Garbasz ushered in a new era for the property in 1949 when they re-established it as The Athens Hotel. Marion’s cooking put it on the map as an outstanding dining destination, and it was a haven for club meetings, milestone events and celebrations. Locals hold fond memories of the Garbasz days, which came to an end in 1986. 

    After more than 100 years in business, the property closed to the public but remained in the spotlight. Movie buffs will recognize the building from the 1988 film Ironweed, based on William Kennedy’s novel, starring Jack Nicolson and Meryl Streep. It can also be spotted in several scenes of Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds in 2005.

    The new millennium brought several rounds of ownership changes and re-openings before The Stewart House landed in the hands of Lon and Lois Ballinger in late 2017. Entrepreneurs by nature, the Ballingers were at the helm of iconic Webster Hall in New York’s East Village for over thirty years. Lois recalls a love at first sight feeling on their first tour of the Athens property. She knew, along with the help of designer Tim Albright, they could restore it to its full, gorgeous and lively potential. In May of 2018, The Stewart House reopened once again – this time with a focus on elevated authentic style, subtle yet attentive hospitality, locally sourced food and quality live music.

  • 22 S Washington St

    22 S Washington St

    MORTON/REINSDORF HOUSE (1860)

    Built circa 1860 using the Second Empire style, this house was first occupied by William H. Morton (1805-1888) and family. William married Maria Wait (1808-1892), a native of Massachusetts, and they had thirteen children. Their growing family, which included six by 1850, and Wiliam’s success in the shipbuilding business most likely led them to their new home.

    William’s parents emigrated from Nantucket to Hudson, where William was born. The following year they moved to Athens, where William prospered as a businessman. William served as a land agent for his uncle Isaac Northrup, who is considered the founder of the Village of Athens.

    In 1828, at age 23, William began his life’s career as a successful businessman in the shipbuilding trade. Four years later, along with two other investors, he purchased property on the Athens riverfront, which included an active four-year-old dry dock and marine railway. During the next few years there were a number of changes in ownership and partners. By 1854 things stabilized, with William as one of the two principal owners. The firm of Morton & Edmonds prospered, and in 1872 was sold to Mathias Van Loon and Peter Magee.

    On April 25, 1877, the New York-Catskill-Athens Steamboat Company Limited was organized by William and four other men. The company ran a number of boats, including the City of Catskill, which was launched May 29, 1880, and was recorded as one of the biggest and finest boats built on the upper Hudson.

    During the Civil War, William served as postmaster at Athens. He also served twice as Athens Village clerk, and in 1846 served as town supervisor. His service to the community gained him the distinction of having the William H. Morton Steamer Company, a fire company in Athens, named after him. William and wife Maria were laid to rest in Athens Rural Cemetery, fittingly so, since during his lifetime the cemetery received much of its neatness and beauty from his care and skill.

    As William was a prominent figure, it seems plausible that his important relative, Levi P. Morton, visited him in this house. Levi was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1879-1881), vice president of the United States (1889-1893), and the 31st governor of New York State (1895-96).

    Ownership of the house passed from William and Maria to their son-in-law, Henry Van Loan. It remained in the hands of Morton descendants until 1961, when it was purchased by Walter and Lucille Reinsdorf. Beginning in 1969, restoration of the house by the Reinsdorf family was ongoing for a number of years.

  • 64 Second St

    64 Second St

    DIMMICK HOUSE (1810)

    This workingman’s or artisan’s house, circa 1810, is a good example of the type of vernacular, timber-framed Federal architecture that would have been popular in Athens, but is one of the few that remains largely intact today. The small portico with Doric columns that was added to this simple story-and-a-half house reflects the popularity of the Greek Revival style in Athens in the period between 1830 and 1845.

    The structure started out as a center hall with a room on either side. The original beehive oven with cooking hearth remains, but was “Rumfordised” – made shallower and more efficient – sometime in the early 1800s. There are a total of five fireplaces in the house. A shed was added to the rear of the house soon after building, creating a saltbox configuration.

    In the early to mid-1900s – perhaps even as early as the late 1800s – a fish market operated out of the lower back of the house, with an entrance on Warren Street. The basement entrance seems to have been added for this purpose. At some point the entire original first floor was restructured as an open room with horizontal wide-board wainscoting. This was how it was used when it was occupied by the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church as a parish house in the mid-1960s. However, the floor plan has now reverted to the center hall layout.

    In 1989 this property was purchased by Randall Evans and Carrie Feder of the Athens Architectural Workshop, building restorers and preservationists who were crucial to restoring this property as well as the neglected Albertus Van Loon House at 85 North Washington St.

    If you are walking through Athens today, the Titus/Conine/Palmateer House is diagonally across the street at 35 Second St.