TOWN SAVES 250-YR-OLD LANDMARK
by Steve Densmore

A nearly 250-year-old Dutch farm house that was days away from demolition appeared saved this week after the Poughkeepsie Town Board voted to schedule a public hearing aimed at granting the stone structure historic status.

Town Councilman Stephan Krakower (R-Ward 5) said the building known as the Abraham Fort house, was spared thanks to an alert town employee and quick action by the town historian and the Town of Poughkeepsie Historical Committee. After the town building department issued a demolition permit for the gabled farm house at 2228 South Ave. on April 19, Krakower said, Chris Moss of the assessing department alerted Town Historian Jean Murphy, who in turn notified the Historical Committee.

After some fast-footed research, the historians determined that the building might be one of the oldest remaining structures in the town, hailing back to the Fort family who were active in the Revolutionary War. Krakower said the Historical Committee subsequently met on May 11 and voted to apply for historic designation for the building, which is located on a portion of the former IBM Country Club. On May 12, Town Building Inspector Timothy Sickles posted a "stop work order" on the building, much of which is shielded from passersby on Route 9 by a tall, stockade fence.

"It was saved in the nick of time," said Krakower, whose ward includes the property. "Sometimes you only appreciate things when they're gone and, in this situation, we have a chance to save it. It's an important piece of local history in the town and this county."

Krakower said the building's demolition was being sought by Ginsburg Development - - who are planning to build a large residential development on the sprawling former IBM Country Club. Unaware of the property's historic significance at first, Krakower said, the development company is now cooperating with efforts to preserve the ancient farm house. "They seem to be very reasonable and willing to work with the town," he said of the developers, who could not be reached for comment prior to press time.

At its meeting Wednesday night, the Town Board voted to hold a June 16 [[[postponed - NEW DATE -July 7, 2004]]] public hearing on the proposed historic designation for the Fort House.

LEGAL NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

WHEREAS, the Historic Preservation Commission of the Town of Poughkeepsie has made a recommendation to the Town Board of the Town of Poughkeepsie for the designation as a landmark of property located at 2228 South Road, Poughkeepsie, New York, bearing Grid No. 134689-6159-01312843-0000; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to Chapter 126 of the Code of the Town of Poughkeepsie, a public hearing must be held concerning said designation; now therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Poughkeepsie does hereby set the 7th day of July, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. at the Town Hall, Town of Poughkeepsie, One Overocker Road, Poughkeepsie, New York as and for the date of a public hearing where all interested parties shall have an opportunity to be heard for or against said designation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to publish notice of said public hearing in the Poughkeepsie Journal and the Poughkeepsie Beat at least fourteen (14) days prior to said hearing and that notice also be given to the property owners designated in said chapter as requiring notice of the action.

Susan J. Miller, Town Clerk
Town of Poughkeepsie
June 16, 2004

RESOLUTION - 7:7-#2 of 2004

WHEREAS, the Town of Poughkeepsie Historic Preservation Commission has submitted application for a designation as a historic landmark property located on 2228 South Road, Poughkeepsie, New York, known as the Abraham Fort House and on occasion known as the Miller House, and

WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town of Poughkeepsie has heretofore received the application, and

WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town of Poughkeepsie has set July 7, 2004 as and for the date of a public hearing, and

WHEREAS, said public hearing was held as advertised, and

WHEREAS, notification to the adjacent property owners as required by statute was completed by the Town Clerk's Office, now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Poughkeepsie does hereby declare that it is the lead agency under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act and designation is at Type II Action, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Poughkeepsie does make the following determination:

Said Board does adopt the report of Peter D. Shaeffer [sic] dated May 26, 2004 which states: "Based on the information on file and current photographs of the exterior, it is the opinion of the State Historic Preservation Office that the Fort House is significant in the area of architecture as a rare surviving example of Colonial Period Architecture in Dutchess County built in 1760 or possibly earlier. The house is constructed of stone and brick. It once was common practice in the Hudson Valley Hudson. The Colonial revival modification including the dormers and the front porch typify the remodeling of ancient farm houses in the early 20th Century, a copy of which reported as being attached hereto as Exhibit A. Also attached is Exhibit B, the Town of Poughkeepsie Historical Preservation Commissions Report and attached hereto is Exhibit C. Ginsberg [sic] Development Report. The town adopts the National and State Register criteria for evaluation and has determined that the quality of significance in the American History Architecture and Culture is present in the site under consideration and does determine that the said site embodies the distinctive characteristics of a Type Period or method of construction and possesses a high artistic value or represents a significant distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction and is a link to the Hudson Valley's rich cultural past, that the house is described as follows:

1750 Colonial Style, two-story house in normal condition with one kitchen, four baths, one half bath, four bedrooms, three fireplaces, full basement, hot water steam hear with oil fuel consisting of 2,095 feet on the first story and 2,095 feet on the second story with an addition added some time in the early 20th century consistent with the practices of the farms of that era.

SO MOVED: S. Krakower/T. Tancredi

CARRIED: 6-0.

Town Grants Historic Status
by Ian MacFarland

Two Poughkeepsie houses, one of them constructed before the Revolutionary War and the other after World War II, entered the Town's historic landmark registry at the Town Board meeting on Wednesday, July 7.

The Abraham Fort Homestead, located on the property of the Casperkill County Club currently being developed by the Ginsburg Development Corporation, was narrowly saved from demolition in May when the house's historic nature was brought to the attention of developers and town officials. A second house, known as the McComb House, has met with less fanfare but nonetheless was judged to have historic and artistic value as one of the only 15 homes in New York state designed by renowned modernist architect Marcel Breuer. Both historic designations were approved 5-0, with Boardmember Michael Cifone (R-Ward 4) absent.

Abraham Fort was a veteran of the Revolutionary War whose family estate was built in Poughkeepsie sometime around 1760. He and several generations of his family are buried in a cemetery across Route 9, tucked behind a grove of trees on South Gate Drive.

Town residents displayed a tremendous outpouring of support for the historic designation of the Fort Homestead at the public hearing held at the board meeting. Kevin Marrinan of Ginsburg Development Corporation explained that the company received a demolition permit and was just beginning the demolition process when the house's history came to light. Work was then halted on the house, and the main house itself was not damaged, he said. "We continue to be very cooperative with the historical commission," he said, "We do not object to the designation-we support it."

He added that Ginsburg has retained an architectural historian, Walter Wheeler, to investigate the house's history. Wheeler's report will be included in the environmental impact statement for the property, he said, and will become available to the public at that time.

Town Historian, Jean Murphy, noted that the house is recognizably a historic structure written abut in a work of history entitled "Dutch Houses in the Hudson Valley Before 1776." She also said that Ginsburg has been very cooperative in the historic designation process, even offering to board up several engraved original windows to keep them from being destroyed.

Meredith Sawyer, who moved to the Town of Poughkeepsie in 1999, called the Fort Homestead one of many "beautiful jewels to preserve" in the Route 9 area that might help neighborhood residents realize that it has more to offer than just strip malls and traffic. She also argued that the near-destruction of the historic site points to a need for the town to impose a moratorium on new construction until the town's master plan is finalized and approved. That action, she said, needs to happen soon.

Barbara Sweet, a resident of Hyde Park, noted that the Fort Homestead is one of the few Revolutionary War-era houses remaining in the Hudson Valley Greenway area.

Virginia Buechele, a town resident, amateur historian and genealogist, presented the board with 500 signed petitions supporting the designation.

Modernist House Preserved

The McComb House, located at 27 Hornbeck Ridge, was built in 1950 for Peter McComb, a descendant of W. W. Smith, according to Murphy, At that time, she said, the architect Marcel Breuer had just completed one his most notable buildings, the Ferry House Co-Operative at Vassar College.

Dr. Arthur Groten, the house's current owner and occupant, noted that at 54 years old the house just barely qualifies for historic designation. However, he said, the house is one of only 55 in the country designed by Breuer, adding that the state registry of historic places contains only one modernist house. "It would be a crime not to preserve this house." Breuer taught at the Harvard School of Design, where his students included noted architects Philip Johnson and I. M. Pei. His best-known building is the current home of the Whitney Museum in Manhattan.

Citizens group seeks to save landmark

Many thanks for your ''Don't build on golf course'' editorial, which suggested that officials should consider the Fort Homestead for use as a community center.

A local nonprofit citizens group is forming to encourage and work with the town in efforts to preserve, restore, rehabilitate and reconstruct the Fort Homestead as a living history education center.

Our first goal would be to encourage the town to accept the homestead from Ginsburg Development, as they have offered publicly, for a nominal fee. Then we'd work with the town and volunteers to ensure the homestead is placed on the state and national historic registers, and seek grants and benefactors, and conduct fund-raisers. These funds would help preserve and restore the homestead with contractors and volunteers working in conjunction with experts in the field, with the ultimate goal being to open to the public the historic Fort Homestead as a living history center and ensure its preservation for generations to come.

Anyone interested in joining the ''Fort Family Homestead Association'' as a charter member or has services they can offer as a volunteer should contact me at 845-462-1932, e-mail wolf6pack@aol.com , or Virginia Buechele at 845-452-6417, e-mail ginnyflies@usa.net . An organizational meeting will be held in the near future to which the community will be invited.

Together we can make a lasting contribution to our community.

Judy A. Wolf, Poughkeepsie