Walsh-Havemeyer House, also known as the Plympton House, is a historic home located at New Windsor in Orange County, New York. It was built about 1835 and subsequently expanded and modified. The house consists of a two-story brick main block with two-story brick wing. The interior retains a number of notable Greek Revival treatments dating to the period of original construction. Also on the property is a frame privy and cast-iron fence. ''See also:'' It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.

History

Brooklyn Museum - Robert Boyd - Ralph Earl - overall

The house sits on the former farm of patriot Robert Boyd, Jr. (1734 — 1804). In June 1775, Boyd built a water-powered

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to th ...

on the south side of the nearby Vale of Avoca. He was a Scottish immigrant to New Windsor before the Revolutionary War, and with his father, Robert Boyd, Sr. (1703 — 1786), continued their trade as blacksmiths. After 1761, they obtained a hundred-acre farm on the northern end of William Chamber's patent. Boyd's gun smithery manufactured bayonets, gun barrels muskets, as he had received a contract from the revolutionary authorities to produce them. He was paid three pounds and fifteen shillings. By February 1776, their gun smithery was remarked as one of the best in the colonies. However, he had difficulty with assistance at the forge, and sent agents abroad to secure more workmen, a mission that proved to be unsuccessful. He was a member of the New Windsor Committee of Safety, along with Samuel Brewster, a blacksmith on Moodna Creek. After the Revolution, he converted the works into a plaster mill and retired. In 1790, George Clinton sold his grist and saw mill in the Vale to Hugh Walsh, who extended his property to Boyd's. The

Havemeyer family The Havemeyer family is a prominent New York family of German origin that owned significant sugar refining interests in the United States. History William Havemeyer (1770-1851) left Germany at age 15 and arrived in New York City after learning t ...

were German entrepreneurs who owned property in New Windsor that they maintained in the summer months.

References

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Houses completed in 1835 Greek Revival houses in New York (state) Houses in Orange County, New York National Register of Historic Places in Orange County, New York Buildings and structures in New Windsor, New York {{OrangeCountyNY-NRHP-stub