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Nicholas
Gesner
House |
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| Site No. 25 |
95 Closter Road, Palisades, NY |
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| Links | A small one-story, lofted, three bay, frame and clapboard house was built on the John Henry Gesner property as early as 1770. It has a gable roof with slightly flaring projecting eves and a brick end-chimney. This was plausibly constructed by the the elder son of John H. Gesner. A large kitchen fireplace with a brick oven opening at the rear, indicating pre-1800 construction. This pre-Revolutionary War section would become the south wing of a three-section house, connected by an inconveniently narrow set of steps.[1] | ||||
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Nicholas
Gesner House, c. 1770 & 1793 The
large White Oak was supposedly planted in 1821 by Gracey , wife of
Nicholas Gesner. |
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In 1789, Nicholas moved into the abandoned dwelling on his fathers property with his bride and started construction of the main section by 1893. By 1896 had purchased from his father for £100 the Gesner lands on the New York side of the New York-New Jersey boundary. |
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Nicholas
Gesner House, c. 1770 & 1793 |
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The
main section, generally accepted to be 1893, would be a larger 1½ story,
three bay, clapboard structure on a raised foundation. The simple gable
roof over the garret is bracketed by two brick end chimneys with crowns.
Five square posts support a full-width shed-roofed verandah. The wide pine
floorboards on the second floor indicate that garret was raised prior to 1800, making a two-story house.
This extremely simple vernacular farmhouse typifies Gesner's personality.[1]
To the north, the third section, level with the main section, is a one-story, clapboard, gable-roof wing with a bracketed hood over the gable-end windows. It nicely complements the old south wing.[1] Inside, the hall ran the depth of the house, but was shortened to give the parlor greater dimension. Fireplaces grace the kitchen, dining room and living room.[1] To the rear, the original simple barn is thought to be the oldest extent barn in Rockland County. |
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People Who Lived There |
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1770-1781 |
pos. John H. Gesner, Jr (1749-1833) & Annie (Antje) Onderdonk | ||||
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~1789 |
Nicholas Gesner (1756-1858) & Gracey Post (1764-1848) | ||||
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1858-1897 |
William Sparkes (1816-?) & Mary Jane Lawrence (1818-?) | ||||
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1897-1947 |
Munson Family | ||||
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1947-present |
Herbert Kellogg Family | ||||
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Reference Maps |
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Serviss (1874) |
W. Sparkes | ||||
| Wm Sparks | |||||
| W. Sparkes | |||||
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References |
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[1]
Historic Houses of Palisades, NY, 2nd edition 2002. |
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Compiled by E. W. April, 2002
