First Columbia County Courthouse
Encyclopedia
The First Columbia County Courthouse is located along NY 23B
near the center of the hamlet of Claverack
, New York, United States. It is a brick building in the Federal style
constructed in 1786 and renovated in the mid-19th century.
At that time Claverack was the seat
of Columbia County
. The courthouse was in use for 20 years until nearby Hudson
replaced Claverack as the county seat. Martin Van Buren
argued cases there, and Alexander Hamilton
may have as well. The Harry Croswell libel case
, in which a local journalist was criminally charged for his criticism of President Thomas Jefferson
, was first tried here.
After its days as a courthouse ended, the building remained in use as a meeting room. It has since been converted into apartments. In 1998 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
, also on the Register. The neighborhood is residential, with many other 18th and 19th century houses. It sits at the front of a 1.5 acres (6,070.3 m²) lot
. There is one other building, a modern garage, and a structure, a gazebo
, on the property. Both of them are of modern construction and thus do not contribute
to its historic character.
brick building on a stone foundation
. It is topped by a gable
d roof clad in seamed metal. Delineating it at the roofline is a broad frieze
with modillions and a molded
cornice
with partial returns.
On the north side is a two-story wing that itself has a two-story frame
wing, offset to the west. A one-story, one-room flat-roofed addition is on the west side.
The south (front) facade
is dominated by its main entrance. It has a portico
with a flat roof and deep cornice supported by two fluted
columns. Sidelights and a transom
frame the entry, which consists of two Doric
posts supporting a lintel with a molded top edge and applied dentils. The four-panel door is framed by flat surrounds and egg-and-dart molding.
On the east there are three windows on the first story and two on the second. The clapboard
-filled gable field has a large fanlight
. The other two elevations are dominated by their respective wings.
Considerable support has been added to the cellar. A load-bearing wall runs along the east side paralleling the hallway. Two old chamfer
ed posts have been placed under the southwest room to shore it up.
ed the land to the county for ₤20. Local mason William Ludlow began construction in July. According to some accounts it took two years to complete, at a cost of ₤3,600. The courthouse was located at the junction of two major routes, the old Indian road across the county that later became the toll Columbia Turnpike (today followed by routes 23
and 23B) and the original Albany Post Road
.
The court had a small jail annex in the rear, and nearby were a pillory
for public whippings
and a hanging tree
for more serious punishments. The pillory is no longer extant; the location of the hanging tree is not known.
While construction was underway, the first sessions were held in 1787, with Judge Peter Van Ness presiding. Attorneys sworn into the new county's bar
included some of the leading lawyers in the state of New York at the time, such as William Peter Van Ness
, Ambrose Spencer
, Thomas P. Grosvenor
and Peter van Schaack
, men who later served as judges and public officials of the new state. Martin Van Buren
of nearby Kinderhook began his career arguing cases in the courthouse on his way to becoming president. It is very likely that Alexander Hamilton
appeared in the building, since he was attorney for his in-laws, who had ongoing litigation in the county over their landholdings in what is now Hillsdale
.
In the early years of the 19th century, a landmark case in American libel law was first heard in Claverack. Harry Croswell, a young journalist based in nearby Hudson who supported the Federalist Party, had been attacking President Thomas Jefferson
and his supporters in a small news sheet called The Wasp. This led to Ambrose Spencer, by then the state's Attorney General, securing an indictment
of Croswell from a grand jury
on two charges of violating the Sedition Act
in 1803.
Spencer prosecuted the case personally, and Croswell was convicted. He appealed the verdict to what was then known as the New York Supreme Court, the state's highest. In a six-hour oration in Croswell's defense, Hamilton argued that truthful statements could not be libelous. The judges deadlocked, and Croswell was never sentenced or retried. The following year, 1805, the state legislature wrote Hamilton's argument into state law.
That same year, the county seat was moved to Hudson, growing rapidly due to its importance as a whaling center. Cases continued to be heard in Claverack for another year while the new courthouse was built there. Many lawyers and judges continued to reside in Claverack since it was a short distance to Hudson and travel between the two communities did not take long.
elements in his renovations, most noticeably the front portico, which echoes that of the Hogeboom house across the street.
Over the rest of the century, a succession of owners, all like Hoffman formerly residents of New York City, moved in. At some point the frame kitchen wing on the rear was added. Some brought other renovations which give the house a mix of urban (the narrow center hall) and rural aspects. It also has the highest levels of ornamentation
of any Federal-era house in the county.
After World War II
, in the late 1940s, a new owner decided to convert the building into a multiple-unit dwelling. This led to extensive changes to the interior floor plan, particularly in the rear wing. The garage was also added at this time. There have been no modifications since then.
New York State Route 23B
New York State Route 23B is an east–west state highway located in western Columbia County, New York, in the United States. The route is a former section of NY 23 that runs for from NY 9G southwest of Hudson to NY 9H in Claverack...
near the center of the hamlet of Claverack
Claverack-Red Mills, New York
Claverack-Red Mills is a census-designated place in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 913 at the 2010 census....
, New York, United States. It is a brick building in the Federal style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
constructed in 1786 and renovated in the mid-19th century.
At that time Claverack was the seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Columbia County
Columbia County, New York
Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 63,096. The county seat is Hudson. The name comes from the Latin feminine form of the name of Christopher Columbus, which was at the time of the formation of the county a popular proposal...
. The courthouse was in use for 20 years until nearby Hudson
Hudson, New York
Hudson is a city located along the west border of Columbia County, New York, United States. The city is named after the adjacent Hudson River and ultimately after the explorer Henry Hudson.Hudson is the county seat of Columbia County...
replaced Claverack as the county seat. Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
argued cases there, and Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
may have as well. The Harry Croswell libel case
People v. Croswell
The People of the State of New York v. Harry Croswell , commonly known and cited as People v. Croswell, is an important case in the evolution of United States defamation law...
, in which a local journalist was criminally charged for his criticism of President Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, was first tried here.
After its days as a courthouse ended, the building remained in use as a meeting room. It has since been converted into apartments. In 1998 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Building
The old courthouse is on the north side of Route 23B, at the west corner of Old Lane, across the road from the Stephen Hogeboom HouseStephen Hogeboom House
The Stephen Hogeboom House is located on NY 23B in Claverack, New York, United States. It is a frame Georgian-style house built in the late 18th century....
, also on the Register. The neighborhood is residential, with many other 18th and 19th century houses. It sits at the front of a 1.5 acres (6,070.3 m²) lot
Lot (real estate)
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner. A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property in other countries...
. There is one other building, a modern garage, and a structure, a gazebo
Gazebo
A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal, that may be built, in parks, gardens, and spacious public areas. Gazebos are freestanding or attached to a garden wall, roofed, and open on all sides; they provide shade, shelter, ornamental features in a landscape, and a place to rest...
, on the property. Both of them are of modern construction and thus do not contribute
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to its historic character.
Exterior
The courthouse itself is a two-story, five-by-four-bayBay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
brick building on a stone foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
. It is topped by a gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof clad in seamed metal. Delineating it at the roofline is a broad frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
with modillions and a molded
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
with partial returns.
On the north side is a two-story wing that itself has a two-story frame
Framing (construction)
Framing, in construction known as light-frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members, usually called studs, which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping...
wing, offset to the west. A one-story, one-room flat-roofed addition is on the west side.
The south (front) facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
is dominated by its main entrance. It has a portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
with a flat roof and deep cornice supported by two fluted
Fluting (architecture)
Fluting in architecture refers to the shallow grooves running vertically along a surface.It typically refers to the grooves running on a column shaft or a pilaster, but need not necessarily be restricted to those two applications...
columns. Sidelights and a transom
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
frame the entry, which consists of two Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
posts supporting a lintel with a molded top edge and applied dentils. The four-panel door is framed by flat surrounds and egg-and-dart molding.
On the east there are three windows on the first story and two on the second. The clapboard
Clapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
-filled gable field has a large fanlight
Fanlight
A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...
. The other two elevations are dominated by their respective wings.
Interior
The narrow center hall has two rooms of equal size on either side. It once ran the depth of the building but has since been truncated. The brick wing has been extensively remodeled for conversion into an apartment. In its brick wall the space of the old fireplace, now covered over, can still be seen. It has no cellar. The frame addition has also been remodeled.Considerable support has been added to the cellar. A load-bearing wall runs along the east side paralleling the hallway. Two old chamfer
Chamfer
A chamfer is a beveled edge connecting two surfaces. If the surfaces are at right angles, the chamfer will typically be symmetrical at 45 degrees. A fillet is the rounding off of an interior corner. A rounding of an exterior corner is called a "round" or a "radius"."Chamfer" is a term commonly...
ed posts have been placed under the southwest room to shore it up.
History
The building was used as a courthouse for the first twenty years of its existence. During that time, it saw many notable lawyers of the day and the beginning of one landmark case. Afterwards, it was used as a meeting house and house, with one owner making significant renovations to it. A century after that, more renovations were made, particularly inside, to convert it into apartments.1786–1806: Courthouse
Columbia County was formed in 1786, with Claverack as its seat. That same year a resident, Gabriel Esselstyne, deedDeed
A deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, or affirms or confirms something which passes, an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions sealed...
ed the land to the county for ₤20. Local mason William Ludlow began construction in July. According to some accounts it took two years to complete, at a cost of ₤3,600. The courthouse was located at the junction of two major routes, the old Indian road across the county that later became the toll Columbia Turnpike (today followed by routes 23
New York State Route 23
New York State Route 23 is an east–west state highway in the eastern portion New York in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with NY 26 in the Central New York town of Cincinnatus to the Massachusetts state line in the Berkshire Mountains, where it continues east as...
and 23B) and the original Albany Post Road
Albany Post Road
The Albany Post Road was a post road - a road used for mail delivery - in the U.S. state of New York. It connected the cities of New York and Albany along the east side of the Hudson River, a service now performed by US 9.The rough route was as follows:...
.
The court had a small jail annex in the rear, and nearby were a pillory
Pillory
The pillory was a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse, sometimes lethal...
for public whippings
Judicial corporal punishment
Judicial corporal punishment refers to the infliction of corporal punishment as a result of a sentence by a court of law. The punishment can be flogging, caning, birching, whipping, or strapping...
and a hanging tree
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
for more serious punishments. The pillory is no longer extant; the location of the hanging tree is not known.
While construction was underway, the first sessions were held in 1787, with Judge Peter Van Ness presiding. Attorneys sworn into the new county's bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
included some of the leading lawyers in the state of New York at the time, such as William Peter Van Ness
William Peter Van Ness
William Peter Van Ness was a United States federal judge.-Early Life and education:Born in Ghent, New York, Van Ness was the son of Judge Peter Van Ness . Peter Van Ness was a wealthy lawyer and farmer, and was the owner of the property on which William P. Van Ness constructed a mansion in 1797...
, Ambrose Spencer
Ambrose Spencer
Ambrose Spencer was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:He attended Yale College from 1779 to 1782, and graduated from Harvard University in 1783...
, Thomas P. Grosvenor
Thomas P. Grosvenor
Thomas Peabody Grosvenor was a United States Representative from New York....
and Peter van Schaack
Peter van Schaack
Peter van Schaack was an American lawyer, born in Kinderhook, New York. His ancestors were settlers. He studied law at Columbia University under Willam Smith....
, men who later served as judges and public officials of the new state. Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
of nearby Kinderhook began his career arguing cases in the courthouse on his way to becoming president. It is very likely that Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
appeared in the building, since he was attorney for his in-laws, who had ongoing litigation in the county over their landholdings in what is now Hillsdale
Hillsdale, New York
Hillsdale is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 1,744 at the 2000 census.- History :The region was taken from the Town of Claverack in 1782. The Town of Hillsdale was established in 1788....
.
In the early years of the 19th century, a landmark case in American libel law was first heard in Claverack. Harry Croswell, a young journalist based in nearby Hudson who supported the Federalist Party, had been attacking President Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and his supporters in a small news sheet called The Wasp. This led to Ambrose Spencer, by then the state's Attorney General, securing an indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
of Croswell from a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
on two charges of violating the Sedition Act
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts were four bills passed in 1798 by the Federalists in the 5th United States Congress in the aftermath of the French Revolution's reign of terror and during an undeclared naval war with France, later known as the Quasi-War. They were signed into law by President John Adams...
in 1803.
Spencer prosecuted the case personally, and Croswell was convicted. He appealed the verdict to what was then known as the New York Supreme Court, the state's highest. In a six-hour oration in Croswell's defense, Hamilton argued that truthful statements could not be libelous. The judges deadlocked, and Croswell was never sentenced or retried. The following year, 1805, the state legislature wrote Hamilton's argument into state law.
That same year, the county seat was moved to Hudson, growing rapidly due to its importance as a whaling center. Cases continued to be heard in Claverack for another year while the new courthouse was built there. Many lawyers and judges continued to reside in Claverack since it was a short distance to Hudson and travel between the two communities did not take long.
1807–present
The courthouse continued to occupy a place of respect within the community after the courts left. Its high ceilings made it ideal for public meetings, and it was also used for education and dances. In 1843 the county sold it. The new owner, Peter Hoffman, a Brooklyn merchant who had retired upstate, introduced some Greek RevivalGreek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
elements in his renovations, most noticeably the front portico, which echoes that of the Hogeboom house across the street.
Over the rest of the century, a succession of owners, all like Hoffman formerly residents of New York City, moved in. At some point the frame kitchen wing on the rear was added. Some brought other renovations which give the house a mix of urban (the narrow center hall) and rural aspects. It also has the highest levels of ornamentation
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
of any Federal-era house in the county.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in the late 1940s, a new owner decided to convert the building into a multiple-unit dwelling. This led to extensive changes to the interior floor plan, particularly in the rear wing. The garage was also added at this time. There have been no modifications since then.