“The Van Wycks were an aristocratic family originally from Holland who were a prominent part of Dutchess County history. Members of the Van Wyck family served in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and also held both local and national political positions.

In 1732, Cornelius Van Wyck (1694–1761), a surveyor, built a house with three rooms on 959 acres (approximately 3.88 km²) of land he had purchased from Catheryna Rombout Brett, the daughter of Francis Rombouts, who was one of the grantees of the original patent to the land in the area issues by King James II of England. Later (before the year 1757) the house was extended and the original structure became the east wing of the enlarged house. Since then, the building has remained a Dutch colonial construction featuring a characteristic central hall with two identical doors” (Wikipedia).

As you look at the Homestead you notice that a section of the house is lower and smaller than the rest. This is the original house built about 1732 with a number of changes made after that. The larger section was added in the 1750s.

The small structure on the left in the second picture (below) is the old well (covered by a more recent structure). The water is about 25 feet down.

The house is now a museum, which unfortunately was closed when we were there.

Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.