Town of
Hillsdale
NEW YORK

July 31, 2010, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Click here to download the ticket form.

Stroll Historic Cold Water Street and Tour Some of the Oldest Houses in the Hamlet

Stroll a street with 19 Historic Register properties and tour at least five of them. Enjoy talks about the street and houses. Tour to include:

• an 1867 Gothic Revival built by Levi Zeh, a prominent citizen
• an 1855 Greek Revival, expanded in the 1860’s to be a home to two related families
• an 1825 house built in the Federal period with Classical features
• an 1828 Federal home build onto a late 1700’s farmhouse, and
• an 1892 Queen Anne style building used as a law office continuously since built

– Show your ticket at selected Hillsdale restaurants on the day of the tour for a special house tour discount.  On the day of the tour tickets holders can receive discounts at the Hillsdale House, Mt Washington House, Hillsdale Country Diner (all 10% off),  The Swiss Hutte (10% off lunch only),  Neumann Fine Art (20% off) and Passiflora.

The tour will take place from 11 am to 3 pm. Tickets to the tour are $20 each, ($25 if purchased on the day of the tour). Click here to download a ticket order form.

Ticket sales and “will call” will be on the grounds of the former Masonic Temple at 57 Cold Water Street, a masonry Classical Revival building, built in 1928. Here visitors will also be able to purchase a cold drink, ice cream and home baked goodies.

Parking for the event will be off White Hill Lane in a lot in front of Herrington’s.

Tour Historic Hilldale

Visitors to the Second Annual Hillsdale Historic House Tour won’t have to drive for miles following hand-drawn maps to visit historic houses. Instead they’ll stroll a single tree-shaded street, explore some of the oldest buildings in the hamlet and enjoy the stories of long-time residents and local history aficionados.

Coldwater Street, connecting Maple and Anthony Streets in the hamlet of Hillsdale, is just two-tenths of a mile long, but lining it are three of the oldest houses in the hamlet and 16 other buildings that helped qualify the hamlet for National Historic Register status.

For the July 31 house tour, at least three of the houses will be open to visitors, as will a building that has been a law office continuously since it was built in 1892.

The law office, a Queen Anne style building, was built by lawyer Charles M. Bell. Each time the building has been sold to another lawyer the furnishings, law library, maps and other records have stayed with the building. Visitors will be able to view some of the old maps and photographs that still hang on the walls of the offices.

Farther down the street visitors will tour an 1828 Federal home built onto the front of what is believed to be a late 1700’s farmhouse. Low ceilings and plain doorframes in the older section contrast with high ceilings, a grander staircase and more detailed wood work in the Federal section.

Also on the tour will be one of the oldest houses in the hamlet, built in 1825, the Federal period, with Classical features. The house retains much of its distinctive original features. Around 1860 a rounded front porch was added – something that can be found on historic houses of many styles in Hillsdale.  The 1867 Gothic Revival on the tour retains many original features on the outside while the interior has been updated for modern life.

The 1855 Greek Revival on the tour appears from the street to be a large single family home with four floor to ceiling windows framing a center door with sidelights. Once visitors step through the front door, however, they will see that it is actually a two family house. According to family history, the house was expanded in the 1860’s to create a home for a widowed daughter. It is still possible to detect on the baseboards where interior doors connected the two sections.

A Hillsdale resident who grew up in the house and whose family has owned it for over 100 years, will be present to talk about the house, the family and the street. His wife, from another longtime Hillsdale family, will also be on hand to answer questions and talk about local history.

At the end of the street visitors can visit the gardens of what was originally the parsonage of the Presbyterian church, built in 1858 in the Greek Revival style.

Across the street is another former parsonage. Built in 1842 in the Greek Revival style as the parsonage for the Methodist Episcopal Church, it was substantially altered in the 1880’s. Tour visitors will step on to the porch added at that time to view an exhibit of Hillsdale artifacts and hear talks by the owner who has extensively researched Hillsdale history.

A brochure created for the tour will detail all the historic buildings on the street, which include excellent examples of Gothic Revival, a Second Empire mansard roof house, and a double house, a classic example of working class architecture built in the late 1800’s.

Additional information is available at 518-325-1498.

The Hillsdale Historic House Tour is being sponsored by the Hillsdale Preservation Committee.  Proceeds will help the committee to continue its work to protect the historic character of the town of Hillsdale.