The Mabee House, on the grounds of the Mabee Farm Historic Site, (part of the

Schenectady County Historical Society The Schenectady County Historical Society, located in Schenectady, New York, was established on July 14, 1905, under the Membership Corporation Laws of the State of New York. The Society is an independent not-for-profit corporation, not a unit of g ...

), is the oldest house still standing in the Mohawk Valley. It is located in the town of

Rotterdam, New York Rotterdam is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Schenectady County, New York, Schenectady County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 30,523 at the 2020 census. The town of Rotterdam is in the south-ce ...

, in the hamlet of

Rotterdam Junction, New York Rotterdam is a town in Schenectady County, New York, United States. The population was 30,523 at the 2020 census. The town of Rotterdam is in the south-central part of the county. It was founded in 1661 by Dutch settlers, who named it after th ...

, along New York State Highway 5S, about west of the city of

Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

. The property includes the original 1705 stone Mabee House, a 1760s brick house, a 1790s inn, a family cemetery and more, sits alongside the banks of the

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk f ...

and was donated to the Schenectady County Historical Society on January 29, 1993. An H-bent frame

Dutch barn Dutch barn is the name given to markedly different types of barns in the United States and Canada, and in the United Kingdom. In the United States, Dutch barns (a. k. a. New World Dutch barns) represent the oldest and rarest types of barns. There ...

, dating from the 1760s, was acquired from the Nilsen family in 1997, moved from Johnstown, N.Y., restored, and re-installed at the Mabee Farm Historic Site. Various educational programs and events are now offered to the public there. In 2007, 27 acres were purchased from a neighboring property and are now the location of the George E. Franchere Education Center, which opened in 2011.

History

The property was first acquired by Daniel Janse Van Antwerpen in 1671. He purchased the property from the

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...

s and received a grant for the patent in 1680 from the English Governor

Edmund Andros Sir Edmund Andros (6 December 1637 – 24 February 1714) was an English colonial administrator in British America. He was the governor of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. At other times, Andros served ...

. Van Antwerpen, a friend, mentor, and neighbor of Jan Pieterse Mabee and wife Anna Borsboom in the Schenectady's

Stockade Historic District The Stockade Historic District is located in the northwest corner of Schenectady, New York, United States, on the banks of the Mohawk River. It is the oldest neighborhood in the city, continuously inhabited for over 300 years. Union College fi ...

, sold the westerly half of the farm property to Jan in 1705/6. The original deed was given to the Schenectady County Historical Society along with 582 other documents and over 1,000 artifacts. The original structures on the farm are the stone house, a frame pre-

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

inn, in which Revolutionary War General

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 18, 1804) was an American general in the Revolutionary War and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler. Born in Alb ...

stayed in 1792 while surveying for the Western Inland Navigation and Lock Company, and the half brick house. The farm's original

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G. ...

s, however, were consumed by fire in the 1870s and 1970s. There is also a family cemetery, which has 21 headstones dating from 1771, and a marker honoring the enslaved people owned by the Mabee family, who lived, worked, and died at the site. ''Note:'' This includes an
''Accompanying photographs''
/ref> George Franchere, the last descendant of that particular Mabee line to own the House and property, donated the site to the

in 1993, with the intention that it would be maintained as a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

and educational center. To that end, numerous family members, staff, and volunteers have worked to preserve the property and its donated artifacts, and to develop educational programs and events that present the history of the family, farming, Schenectady County and the Mohawk Valley to visitors.

Operation as a Historic Site

The Jan Mabee and Anna Borsboom House, Brick building, and Inn, on the of property in Rotterdam Junction, NY were given to the Schenectady County Historical Society by George E. Franchere in 1993, 11 years before he died. In 1996, the Historical Society applied for a matching-funds grant to restore the house, but the grant was denied; the members instead planned a private fundraising campaign. In addition to the west part of the House, which dendrochronology done at Cornell University dates to approximately 1705, making it the oldest known unaltered structure standing in the Mohawk Valley, the site now contains the 1760s Nilsen Dutch Barn, a smaller English barn, and several small outbuildings. In 2007 the Historical Society acquired of property adjacent to the site from Schenectady County to construct the George Eugene Franchere Education Center, a three-level structure which, completed in 2011, now allows the site to operate year-round. The Franchere Center provides space for rotating history and art exhibits, a 150-seat lecture hall, a conference room, gift shop, and also artifact storage, offices for staff, and work space for interns and volunteers. The building also features geothermal pumps which are powered by the solar panels atop the picnic pavilion. Additionally, in 2009 the Historical Society acquired 9 acres from NY State Canal Corporation across (north side) the Mohawk river, to protect its historic viewshed. The site borders the south side of Mohawk River (now also the

New York State Barge Canal New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

), and the Farm's dock serves as the home base for two bateaux, the De Sager and the Bobbie G, specially constructed by the Alplaus Maritime Academy for the Mabee Farm. The

Onrust The ''Onrust'' (; en, Restless) was a Dutch ship built by Adriaen Block and the crew of the '' Tyger'', which had been destroyed by fire in the winter of 1613. The ''Onrust'' was the first ship to be built in what is now New York State, and the ...

was built here from 2006 to 2009 in time for the Quadricentennial of Henry Hudson's voyage to what became

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...

. The Mabee Farm Historic Site is open year-round to visitors for guided tours through the historic structures, and/or for self-guided visits through the exhibits on display in the Franchere Center. The site welcomes over 15,000 annually.

References

2. Mabee Family Papers

External links

Mabee Farm Historic SiteSchenectady County Historical Society

Finding Aid to Mabee Family Papers
Schenectady County Historical Society. {{National Register of Historic Places in New York Houses completed in 1706 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Museums in Schenectady County, New York Historic house museums in New York (state) Open-air museums in New York (state) Farm museums in New York (state) Historical society museums in New York (state) Houses in Schenectady County, New York 1706 establishments in the Province of New York National Register of Historic Places in Schenectady County, New York