Sloat House
Encyclopedia
The Sloat House is located at the corner of NY 17
and Sterling Avenue in Sloatsburg
, New York, United States. It is a stone house, dating to the mid-18th century, with a frame
front addition built in the 1810s.
It was the home for many years of members of the Sloat family, for whom the village is named. George Washington
may have visited it during the Revolutionary War
, and John D. Sloat
, later the first American Military Governor of California, was born here. It also served as a meeting place for local politicians and officials during the Revolution and some decades afterward. In 1974 it became the first property in the village listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
, except for the north wall which is rough stone. It has two original Dutch door
s, with their hinges. There is also an enclosed porch.
The 34 by main wing is two and a half stories, faced in stone with a brick front, both painted white. It has a porch
running the full length of all five front bays
. The main entrance leads into a ground floor with four large rooms, each with its own original fireplace
and wooden mantel
. The six chimneys in both wings pierce gable
d roofs shingled
in asphalt
. The house has a full cellar
as well.
Three outbuildings remain on the property: a small barn, a large stable and a wellhouse. All three are remnants of the farming operations, and are considered contributing resources
to the Register listing.
in the upper Ramapo River
valley. The current wing may actually have been this house or part of it, since it is very primitive.
Traditionally, histories of the area have dated the house's original wing to 1755, when Stephen Sloat received the land as a wedding gift from his father-in-law. An early frame
front was probably on the front of the house through the Revolution
, which had an impact on both the house and the Sloat family.
In 1774, a local meeting at the house, the General Meeting of Committees of Orange County
, chose two delegates, Henry Wisner and John Haring, to the Provincial Convention of the First Continental Congress
. Five years later, in 1779, George Washington
spent at least one night at the house, according to one historian.
Tragedy struck the Sloats in 1781 when their son John, a captain in the local militia, was accidentally shot and killed in the doorway by one of the sentries his father had hired. The marks left in the doorway by the shots remain. The infant son Sloat left behind grew up to be John D. Sloat
, a celebrated U.S. Navy
commodore
and the first governor of California.
Isaac Sloat, John's brother, later built the front of the house around 1813-14. He ran it as a public house
, also hosting annual meetings of town supervisor
s and judges from Orange and Rockland counties through 1821. His son Stephen ran the house as an inn along the Orange Turnpike, renowned for its food but serving no alcohol. At this point the large barn was also built. Stephen's brother Jacob developed a mill along the creek and later built his own house
in the village.
In 1905 the Sloat descendants sold the house to Benjamin Moffatt Jr., an English immigrant
who later became president of the nearby Sterling iron works. It remained in the Moffatt family throughout the 20th century and is still a private residence.
New York State Route 17
New York State Route 17 is a state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate regions of New York in the United States...
and Sterling Avenue in Sloatsburg
Sloatsburg, New York
Sloatsburg is a village in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located east of Orange County, New York and sits at the southern entrance to Harriman State Park. The population was 3,117 at the 2000 census...
, New York, United States. It is a stone house, dating to the mid-18th century, with a 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...
front addition built in the 1810s.
It was the home for many years of members of the Sloat family, for whom the village is named. George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
may have visited it during the Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, and John D. Sloat
John D. Sloat
John Drake Sloat was a commodore in the United States Navy who, in 1846, claimed California for the United States.-Life:...
, later the first American Military Governor of California, was born here. It also served as a meeting place for local politicians and officials during the Revolution and some decades afterward. In 1974 it became the first property in the village 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 house has two blocks, built at different times. The older rear section, the kitchen wing, is one-and-a-half stories high and 22 by. It is faced in clapboardClapboard (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...
, except for the north wall which is rough stone. It has two original Dutch door
Dutch door
A Dutch door , or stable door , or half door , is a door divided horizontally in such a fashion that the bottom half may remain shut while the top half opens...
s, with their hinges. There is also an enclosed porch.
The 34 by main wing is two and a half stories, faced in stone with a brick front, both painted white. It has a porch
Porch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...
running the full length of all five front bays
Bay (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:...
. The main entrance leads into a ground floor with four large rooms, each with its own original fireplace
Fireplace
A fireplace is an architectural structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows gas and particulate exhaust to escape...
and wooden mantel
Mantel
Mantel is a municipality in the district of Neustadt in Bavaria in Germany....
. The six chimneys in both wings pierce 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 roofs shingled
Roof shingle
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
in asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
. The house has a full cellar
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
as well.
Three outbuildings remain on the property: a small barn, a large stable and a wellhouse. All three are remnants of the farming operations, and are considered contributing resources
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 the Register listing.
History
There may have been a house on the site in the late 1730s, when Isaac Van Deursen became the first European settlerEuropean colonization of the Americas
The start of the European colonization of the Americas is typically dated to 1492. The first Europeans to reach the Americas were the Vikings during the 11th century, who established several colonies in Greenland and one short-lived settlement in present day Newfoundland...
in the upper Ramapo River
Ramapo River
The Ramapo River is a tributary of the Pompton River, approximately 30 mi long, in southern New York and northern New Jersey in the United States.-Course:...
valley. The current wing may actually have been this house or part of it, since it is very primitive.
Traditionally, histories of the area have dated the house's original wing to 1755, when Stephen Sloat received the land as a wedding gift from his father-in-law. An early 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...
front was probably on the front of the house through the Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, which had an impact on both the house and the Sloat family.
In 1774, a local meeting at the house, the General Meeting of Committees of Orange County
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
, chose two delegates, Henry Wisner and John Haring, to the Provincial Convention of the First Continental Congress
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen North American colonies that met on September 5, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. It was called in response to the passage of the Coercive Acts by the...
. Five years later, in 1779, George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
spent at least one night at the house, according to one historian.
Tragedy struck the Sloats in 1781 when their son John, a captain in the local militia, was accidentally shot and killed in the doorway by one of the sentries his father had hired. The marks left in the doorway by the shots remain. The infant son Sloat left behind grew up to be John D. Sloat
John D. Sloat
John Drake Sloat was a commodore in the United States Navy who, in 1846, claimed California for the United States.-Life:...
, a celebrated U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
commodore
Commodore (USN)
Commodore was an early title and later a rank in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard and a current honorary title in the U.S. Navy with an intricate history. Because the U.S. Congress was originally unwilling to authorize more than four ranks until 1862, considerable importance...
and the first governor of California.
Isaac Sloat, John's brother, later built the front of the house around 1813-14. He ran it as a public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, also hosting annual meetings of town supervisor
Town supervisor
Town Supervisor is an elective legislative position in New York towns. Supervisors sit on the town board, where they preside over town board meetings and vote on all matters with no more legal weight than that of any other board member .Towns may adopt local laws that allow them to provide for an...
s and judges from Orange and Rockland counties through 1821. His son Stephen ran the house as an inn along the Orange Turnpike, renowned for its food but serving no alcohol. At this point the large barn was also built. Stephen's brother Jacob developed a mill along the creek and later built his own house
Jacob Sloat House
The Jacob Sloat House, originally called Harmony Hall, is located on Liberty Rock Road in Sloatsburg, New York, United States. Built in the late 1840s, it is a wooden house that shows the transition from the waning Greek Revival style to the newer Picturesque and Italianate modes.It was built late...
in the village.
In 1905 the Sloat descendants sold the house to Benjamin Moffatt Jr., an English immigrant
English American
English Americans are citizens or residents of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England....
who later became president of the nearby Sterling iron works. It remained in the Moffatt family throughout the 20th century and is still a private residence.