The Senate House State Historic Site is located on Fair Street in
Kingston, New York, United States. During the
Revolutionary War, New York's
First Constitutional Convention met there and on April 20, 1777, adopted the
first New York State Constitution. After one month, the Senate fled the British troops who were advancing from Manhattan. The Senate House and much of Kingston was burned in retribution. It has served as a museum from the late 19th century. Currently it is owned and operated by the
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
In 1971 it was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
, the first building in Kingston listed. At that time it was a
contributing property to the small Clinton Avenue Historic District. Four years later, in 1975, the original district was replaced with the larger
Kingston Stockade District
The Kingston Stockade District is an eight-block area in the western section of Kingston, New York, United States, commonly referred to as Uptown Kingston. It is the original site of the mid-17th century Dutch settlement of Wiltwyck, which was ...
, which retained the Senate House and all the other properties of the original district.
The house first belonged to Wessel Wesselse Ten Broeck, born about 1636, who emigrated to New Amsterdam from Wessen, in
Westphalia
Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants.
The territory of the regio ...
in 1659. It is generally described as having been built in 1676, but can be certainly dated to some time before his death in 1704.
[Helen Wilkinson Reynolds, Dutch Houses in the Hudson Valley Before 1776, Payson and Clarke Ltd. for the ]Holland Society of New York
The Holland Society of New York was founded in New York City in 1885 to collect information respecting the settlement and history of New Netherland. Its main objective is to find and preserve documentation about the inhabitants' lives and times s ...
, 1929. Reprinted by Dover Publications Inc. 1965. pp. 219-221 The ground floor of the house consists of three rooms, lined up along the street, with an entrance hallway between two of the rooms. As is typical of early Dutch houses in the
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...
, the house is of stone, with the exception of the rear wall which is brick, laid in
Flemish bond
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall.
Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by siz ...
. At the back is a kitchen wing, added early, but somewhat later than the original construction.
See also
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List of New York State Historic Sites
This is a list of New York (state) historic sites. It includes 40 state-designated historic sites and parks managed by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Twenty-two sites also are National Historic Landmarks ...
*
List of the oldest buildings in New York
This article attempts to list the oldest buildings in the state of New York, including the oldest houses and any other surviving structures. Some dates are approximate and based on architectural studies and historical records; other dates are bas ...
*
References
External links
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Senate House State Historic Siteat NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Wildernet information about Senate HouseRachel DuMont, A Brave Little Maid of the Revolution. A true story of the burning of Kingston; for girls and boys, and older people (1884)
{{Protected areas of New York
National Register of Historic Places in Ulster County, New York
Historic American Buildings Survey in New York (state)
New York (state) historic sites
Museums in Ulster County, New York
Tourist attractions in Ulster County, New York
History museums in New York (state)
New York (state) in the American Revolution
American Revolutionary War sites
Houses completed in 1676
Kingston, New York
Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in New York (state)
Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)
1676 establishments in the Province of New York