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 • Fort Family • Nelson Family • Dickerson Family • IBM Ownership • Miller Family • Mills Family The Fort Homestead Association is a nonprofit 501(c)3 tax exempt organization. Donations are tax deductible under Section 170 IRS Code. Provisionally Chartered by the Regents of the University of the State of New York. |
HISTORY The original homestead was constructed sometime between between 1742 and 1759 by either Christopher Van Bommell (who owned the land until 1759) or Johannis A. Fort (who bought the land from Van Bommell). There have been many additions to the origin two-room house throughout the years to accommodate the various families and organizations that have owned the house. Ownership of the property remained in the hands of the Fort Family descendents until the late 19th century. The Nelson Family purchased the property from the Forts. The Dickerson Family purchased the Fort Homestead in 1911 and from then until 1944 the homestead was a working 300-acre farm. From 1944 to 1957, IBM owned the property. During this time, Thomas Watson, Sr. refurbished the homestead and he and his wife furnished the house with many of their own personal authentic period furniture. The Miller Family purchased the homestead from IBM in 1957 and called it the "Colonial House." In 1991, ownership of the homestead reverted to IBM. IBM rented the homestead and other nearby residences to employees (including the family of Janet Mills) and used it for other occassions. The property was sold to Casperkill I LLC, a development company (Ginsburg Development), in 2004. Excerpt from Dutch Houses in the Hudson Valley Before 1776, by Helen Wilkinson Reynolds [Introduction by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Published under the auspices of the Holland Society of New York by Dover Publications Inc. NY - originally published 1929 - Reprint by Dover 1965] House of Johannes A. Fort
The house on the east side of the state road (formerly King's Highway), about 4 miles south of the city of Poughkeesie and now owned by Frank Dickerson, was known years ago as the Fort homestead. The land it stands on was sold in 1759 by Christopher VanBommel* to Johannes Abraham Fort ("late of Ulster County") and was built either by the Van Bommel Family between 1742 and 1759 or by Johannes A. Fort about 1760. The walls are of stone, the west front being faced with brick and the gable filled with the same. While the dormers and the porch are recent the interior still contains early wood-trim. The original floor plan consisted of two rooms on either side of the central hall but the two on the north are now thrown into one. A pane in one of the windows of the dining-room is cut: Jane Fort 1778, and another pane bears the inscription: Henry Dawkins, engraver. The Fort family was established in upper Albany County by 1700, where the name occurs as Laford, La Fort, Fort and VanderVort. Johannes Fort, born at Niscayuna, drifted down to Kingston and married there in 1749 Rebecca Ostrander. He it was who in 1759 removed to this farm of three hundred acres in the precinct of Poughkeepsie. Johannes Fort's son Abraham (b. 1750 d. 1822) who was locally prominent in the War of the Revolution, succeeded his father in the house. And it was Major Abraham Fort's wife, Jane, daughter of Peter Monfort of Sprout Creek, who cut her name on the window pane. On the hillside across the road from the house is the Family Burying ground, where Major Fort and his wife are buried. * What Dutch Houses in the Hudson Valley Before 1776 does not tell is the Tid Bit that it was Christofer VanBommel and his son, Peter [See Dutchess Co. Deed reproduced on this website] who sold to Johannis Abraham Fort in 1759. Other research indicates Johannis Fort's wife, Rebecca Ostrander, was the daughter of Elizabeth VanBommel & Hendrick Ostrander; Elizabeth VanBommel, the daughter of Peter VanBommel. From correspondence with Ostrander Family descendants, it appears that the father and son grantor's [sellers] in the deed were the Uncle and 1st cousin respectively of Rebecca (Ostrander) Fort, wife of the grantee [purchaser] Johannis Abraham Fort.Below is a list of ownership as recorded in deeds and researched by Ginny Buechele.
Henry Dawkins1, a famous engraver and known counterfeiter, is also associated with the Fort Homestead. The Fort family entertained many distinguished guests of the Hudson Valley at their house during and after the Revolutionary War. In 1778, Henry Dawkins was a guest at the Fort's and engraved his name, along with the name of the lady of the house, Jane Fort, into a window pane. This pane is still present.
Some family trees: |
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