The DeFreest Homestead is a historic house and barn located in the Rensselaer Technology Park in North Greenbush, New York, United States. The homestead and surrounding land are owned and managed by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. It was the original home of Philip DeFreest, one of the first Dutch settlers to arrive in the mid-18th century. The land includes historic buildings typical of a working Dutch farm: a farmhouse restored in 1984 to house the park's administrative offices, and a Dutch barn.
The DeFreest House was built around 1765, partially constructed of European brick used as ballast in Dutch fur trading ships that sailed up the Hudson. Between 1630 and 1850, Dutch barns dominated the landscape in the Hudson Valley. They were distinguished by their H-shaped structural frame. The DeFreest barn was constructed around 1820 of thick, 50-foot beams of hemlock more than a hundred years old when hewn, and wood re-used from earlier structures on the site.[3] The house and surrounding homestead were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
The DeFreest Homestead has been the interest of honorary trustee C. Sheldon Roberts (RPI class of 1948), and wife, Patricia. Roberts was one of the founders of Fairchild Semiconductor.[3]
A donation from the Roberts family allowed for a renovation to make the historic barn into a modern classroom for local schoolchildren.[3]
Patricia Roberts recalls, “I can remember first seeing the DeFreest House at the end of a muddy path and realizing that it must be saved in order to preserve our past but also, as importantly, to become the centerpiece of the Technology Park. We also recognized that the nearby Dutch barn could serve a similar purpose by preserving some of its history and giving it a new purpose — to become a launch pad for our children’s future.”[3]
^. Archived from the original on 2008-12-22. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
^ abcd. Renssselaer Alumni Magazine. 2004. Archived from the original on 2008-10-18. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to DeFreest Homestead.
May 01, 2024
defreest, homestead, historic, house, barn, located, rensselaer, technology, park, north, greenbush, york, united, states, homestead, surrounding, land, owned, managed, rensselaer, polytechnic, institute, original, home, philip, defreest, first, dutch, settler. The DeFreest Homestead is a historic house and barn located in the Rensselaer Technology Park in North Greenbush New York United States The homestead and surrounding land are owned and managed by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute It was the original home of Philip DeFreest one of the first Dutch settlers to arrive in the mid 18th century The land includes historic buildings typical of a working Dutch farm a farmhouse restored in 1984 to house the park s administrative offices and a Dutch barn Defreest HomesteadU S National Register of Historic PlacesShow map of New YorkShow map of the United StatesLocationRPI Tech Park U S 4 and Jordan Rd Troy New York USACoordinates42 40 32 N 73 41 39 W 42 67556 N 73 69417 W 42 67556 73 69417Area22 acres 8 9 ha Builtc 1765 2 NRHP reference No 77000978 1 Added to NRHPAugust 2 1977 The DeFreest House was built around 1765 partially constructed of European brick used as ballast in Dutch fur trading ships that sailed up the Hudson Between 1630 and 1850 Dutch barns dominated the landscape in the Hudson Valley They were distinguished by their H shaped structural frame The DeFreest barn was constructed around 1820 of thick 50 foot beams of hemlock more than a hundred years old when hewn and wood re used from earlier structures on the site 3 The house and surrounding homestead were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 The DeFreest Homestead has been the interest of honorary trustee C Sheldon Roberts RPI class of 1948 and wife Patricia Roberts was one of the founders of Fairchild Semiconductor 3 A donation from the Roberts family allowed for a renovation to make the historic barn into a modern classroom for local schoolchildren 3 Patricia Roberts recalls I can remember first seeing the DeFreest House at the end of a muddy path and realizing that it must be saved in order to preserve our past but also as importantly to become the centerpiece of the Technology Park We also recognized that the nearby Dutch barn could serve a similar purpose by preserving some of its history and giving it a new purpose to become a launch pad for our children s future 3 References edit nbsp Hudson Valley portal National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service July 9 2010 RPI Tech Park Tour Archived from the original on 2008 12 22 Retrieved 2009 03 18 a b c d Making A Difference Preserving Rensselaer s Dutch Heritage Renssselaer Alumni Magazine 2004 Archived from the original on 2008 10 18 Retrieved 2009 03 17 nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to DeFreest Homestead Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title DeFreest Homestead amp oldid 1185769890, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
