The 1743 Hendrick Brink House

The first Dutch settlers to New Amsterdam (later named New York) brought with them a distinct style of stone homebuilding exemplified in the early Dutch stone houses of the Hudson Valley. These beautiful and rare homes are seldom restored to their original look, and this 1743 house, home to many Revolutionary War soldiers, is one of these rare survivors. Originally built in Saugerties on the Hudson River, this home was moved and meticulously restored in 2022 to include all the features of modern living and yet retaining its historic materials and unique Dutch features, like the Medieval jambless fireplace and massive, hand-planed beams. We carefully moved and cleaned each stone, beam and floorboard and rebuilt them into the house where it sits today in the historic town of Windham, New York. It stands on five and one half acres, surrounded by state forest on two sides, and no neighbors within sight. In the distance lies the Windham Mountain ski area, now becoming the premier, year-round resort of the Catskills, only about a two-hour drive from the New York City area.

The modern amenities in this two bedroom, three bath, one-of-a-kind historic home include:
-Completely new foam insulation, making for an extremely energy-efficient house.
– An all-new heating and air conditioning system.
-All new appliances.

-170 tons of original stone, moved and relaid to perfectly match the original look.
-Three Dutch-style exterior doors feature the unusual “pancake” iron hinges unique to Dutch New York architecture.
-All the interior doors and moldings have been reproduced to match the 1743 period.
-All the first floorboards are original to the house and measure up to 20 inches wide.
-Hand-split cedar shake roof.
-All windows of leaded glass, with wavy glass in the original Dutch style.
-We hand plastered all the walls to add to the handcrafted authenticity of the finished house.
-A new well supplying over ten gallons per minute of the purest Catskills water.
-Behind the house stands a presently shallow, one-and-a-half acre pond that can be easily excavated to make a great swimming and fishing pond. This is the only natural pond in Windham and has been tested and found to contain two feet of rich topsoil over at least another six feet of deep clay, perfect for making a leak-proof pond. (And the 3,000 cubic yards of topsoil
can be sold to offset the excavation cost.)
-An outcropping of massive, native, moss-covered bluestone boulders amid massive, mature oak trees borders on the north side of the pond, and a mature pine forest lies on the south side.
-Leading into the pond stands a shaded wetland with lush ferns.
-The pond presents itself unusual in that instead of flowing toward Windam and the New York City watershed, it drains toward the Hudson, and therefore does not come under New York City regulations.

Just like other typically historic homes, this one can easily be expanded to include more rooms, and the builder is willing to help make it perfectly match with period-correct design and materials. The restoration of this house was featured in 2022 on the TV show Restoration Road and can be viewed on the Discovery and HBO networks.

Details

Property ID
548271

2
Bedrooms

2.5
Bathrooms

Square Footage
2100

Lot Size
5.5

Year Built
1743

Style
Colonial

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