Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1897-08-27
WAS BUILT IN 1912.
A MANSION WITH A LONG AND RE-
MARKABLE HISTORY.

Dutch Proprietor.
The Sheldon museum in Middlebury
has recently added 10 Its collection of
historic curlos a Holland brick taken
from a building erected at Greenbush,
Rensselaer, county, n. y, in 1912. j.
NJ. Peck was the donor Of the brick, and
to him we are indebted for copy of a
trade paper containing description of
the old mansion and fort We may add
incidentally that the house was sold at
auction on the 4th inst, and is likely TO
be pulled down. Carpentry and Build
ing says of the house:
one of the Oldest buildings IN the
United States is old Fort Cralo, at
Greenbush, Rensselaer, county, y. Y,
erected by Killian Van Rensselaer, of
Amsterdam, Holland, about 1912 OF 1913,
to hold possession of a large tract of
land given to him by the king of Hol-
land. Van Rensselaer,. so it is said, was
dealer in diamonds at Amsterdam. and
by getting into the good graces of the
king he was presented with tract of
land - miles square on each side OF the
Hudson river, embracing large portion
Of the city of Albany and surrounding
country. The old building is located on
very commanding site on the east bank
of the Hudson, and at the extreme
southern edge of the village of Greer
bush-in fact, Just over the line in East
Greenbush. The structure is of brick
that were made in Holland and will
measure 60 feet north and south and
about - feet east and west. The high
Dutch gable roof is pierced with quaint
dormers. The upper attic next To the
peak is dark and spooky, with the dust
and cObwebs of two and one-half cen
..1s, 4 .
The first and second stories of the AN
cent building are low, but there is some
thing about the quaint old rooms and
cozv old window seats that induces the
visitor to linger. and dream Of the time
when old Rip Van Winkle climbed the
distant Catskills. which are plainly Wis
ible from the southwest windows. RumOr
has it that pretty Gertrude Won Twiller,
daughter of Van Rensselaer'S overseer,
went out of its front door at twilight
many, many years ago, and was insanity
seized by band of proving Indians and
carried away to the dense forest at the
back of the house and was never heard
of again. During the French and Indian
wars, and at the time of the revolutionary
war. the building was used as quarters
tor soldiers and barricaded to protect
refugees from the adjoining farms and
plantations. The northwest room on
the second floor is known as the Lsfay-
cite room. as that celebrated general oc-
cupied it for 3 briet period. Washington
and many of the leading men of his time
have probably been comfortably quar-
tered under Its ospitable roof.
In the centre of the west hallway there
is a trap door that leads into the great
cellar extending under the whole house
/ u utin lannn1s mi n
this mysterious trap door. One is. that
during the disturbances of the seven
teenth and eighteenth centuries, this eel.
lar was used as a place of confinement
for desperate Indians and freebooters,
who were dropped into the cellar through
this heavily battened door. Once within
such prison, with its heavy walls and
barred windows, no person could posi-
/ bly, escape. The timbers supporting the
/ first floor are Is inches square, of white
oak cut from the adjoining forest at the
/ time of the eIecTiOn of the building. The
cellar walls are three feet thick and of
field stone picked up far and near. The
Holland brick are only l ! inches thick, 1
| inches wide and inches long, of a rich
terra Gotta color.
On the front of the building is a brass
tablet placed IN position by The AlbaLy
/ BiCentennial commission in lSSG. which
states that the building i. supposed to
be the ol3est house in the United States,
and was the headquarters of General
AbercrOmbie in lob. and that the song
Yankee Doodle was composed bv
Major Shuckburg at the old well at the
rear of the house near the cantonment.
The aforesaid well is at the southeast
corner of the grounds in very neg.
lected and dilapidated condition, covered d
with a few boards to prevent the chill
dren and animals in the neighbOl hood
from falling in. The story runs that a
call was issued for raw recruits by Gen.
eral Abercrombie. and that such a mis-
cellaneous collection of various sized men
responded TO the call that Major Shuck-
burg. who was humorous individual,
composed the song while quenching his
thirst at the old well.
About three years ago the oil house
was deserted. or rather vacated, and
since that time no family has been IN
possession of its many capacious rooms
The boys of the neighborhood have
stoned out its windows. relic.seekers
have carried away mantels and stair
ratings; doors have been torn from theiI
hinges, even the shingles have been
stripped from the roof and to-day what
was once OLe VI lHe strongest ana DeSl
equipped private dwellings on this con
tinent is only shadow of It's former
self. An attempt was made by society
to redeem the old house from vandalism
and ruin, but it did not prove a success
and the old historical building was
finally abandoned to the mercy of the
elements, and it is only question of a
short time when only the site Will re.
main. On eitt er side of the front door
and at the north side are square blocks
of brown stone pierced for musket
The empty rooms are as silent as the
grave, while the happy birds fit through
the old garret and sing merry songs on
its chimneys and roofs. Chimneys OF
enormous proportions are located
throughout the building, while the fire
places will take quarter of cord OF
wood and ask for more. lG42-lS9G, what
a reminder of the past. The whole
North American continent cannot show
such wonderful building. Time, the
great leveler, is busy with the old house
and If there Is a person with bur a sDarl