A Walking Tour of The Chestnut Street Historic ... - City of Kingston

A Walking Tour ofThe Chestnut Street HistoricDistrictAnd Neighborhood****Sponsored by theFriends of Historic Kingston“Up on the Hill.” As the village ofRondout prospered and grew, some ofits leading citizens began to build homesalong the ridge overlooking the village..Near the highest point, in about 1850,James McEntee built the first home, inthe style now sometime called “HudsonRiver Bracketed.” McEntee had arrivedin Rondout in 1825 as a young man freshfrom working on the Erie Canal, with anew job as resident engineer for theDelaware and Hudson Canal Company.In 1848, after a series of workenterprises, he bought 52 undevelopedacres overlooking the village and laid outa street with building lots. The streetand lots first appeared on a map in 1851.On an 1858 map, it was first calledChestnut Street.Looking down Chestnut Street hillAmong McEntee’s first neighbors wereDr. Abraham Crispell, a physician whohad fought the cholera epidemic of 1849from his office in the Mansion HouseHotel downtown; James Van Deusen,who with his brother, Columbus, madepatent medicines advertised to curealmost everything; and Henry Samson,who came to Rondout after making asmall fortune in leather tanning.By the turn of the century, McEntee’shouse was overshadowed by the largemansion built on part of the McEnteehomestead by Samuel D. Coykendall,President of the Cornell SteamboatCompany. Like some other ll-to-doresidents, Coykendall enjoyed beingclose to work; in the morning, he and hissons walked down the hill to the CornellBuilding (in the evening, they weredriven back up the hill by carriage).James McEnteeBy 1920, postcard views show a “mature”street shaded with graceful maples andelms. Families in the larger homesmaintained gardens, though none moretastefully than that of EdwardCoykendall’s wife, Isabel. From acarefully arbored doorway, visitors couldview the church-spired village below andthe creek and river beyond.Invariably, the houses on the streetchanged with the changes in Rondout’sfortunes and those of its leading familiesand also as the result of new buildingstyle preferences. By 1970, theCoykendall mansion, long vacant, hadbeen torn down to make room for asmall development of ranch style houses;several of the larger houses had becomemultiple-unit dwellings; and some of theshade trees had been lost. Yet, much ofthe streetscape remains as it was at theturn of the century. Most of the homes,many now restored, remain to remind us1

of the domestic life of the people whoran the industries and owned thebusinesses down the hill.The last long block at the western end ofWest Chestnut arose as a separatedevelopment, beginning about 1870.Many of the residents in this block ofmiddle-class homes worked in thetransportation and other enterprisesowned by the residents at the wealthierend of the street.The Self-Guided Tour starts in Kingstonat the fork of Broadway and DelawareAvenue and continues to East Chestnut,Livingston, and Stuyvesant Streets, andthen to the end of West Chestnut. Ittakes about an hour (though probablylonger if accompanied by a guide). Anoptional visit to Montrepose Cemetery isdescribed.Broadway at Delaware. It takes someimagination to envision these busythoroughfares as the rude paths theyonce were, likely in use by nativeAmericans long before Europeans arrivedin the 1600s. River travelers coulddebark at what is now Kingston Pointand come up the path known today asDelaware Avenue toward the fertilesettlements along the Esopus floodplain(near uptown Kingston). Or they couldmake a more sheltered landing upRondout Creek and come up the path weknow as Broadway. On October 15,1777, British General Henry Clinton’stroops came up the road from the “point”on their way to set fire to Kingston. By1819, this road had become the first partof a proposed Ulster and DelawareTurnpike intended to go as far as theDelaware River in Chenango County.The turnpike venture failed, but the“Delaware” part of the name stayed onlocal street maps.In 1820, a house with a tavern sign stoodabout where the present-dayconvenience store is located. Except fora frame house further down Broadway(where St. Mary’s church would be built),there were no other dwellings until yougot close to the Creek.An early local map shows Broadway as“the Strand road” (meaning the road toor from the strand, a Dutch word for“beach” or “landing”). In 1850-51, woodplanks were laid down for what wasthen called the Union Plank Road. By1875, now known as Union Avenue, theplanks were up and a horse-drawntrolley carried people between Rondoutand uptown Kingston.262 Broadway. About 1870, near thepeak of Rondout’s prosperity, the Cashierof the First National Bank of Rondout,Charles Bray, moved into this substantialhouse. In 1875, the house was depictedin Beer’s Atlas of Ulster County withfashionably dressed men and womenstrolling along this part of Union Avenue.Rondout and Kingston had combinedunder a single city charter and, by 1885,Bray was serving as Mayor.The home of Charles Bray in 1875The plans for Bray’s house may havebeen taken or adapted by a localcarpenter from published designs bystyle-makers such as Alexander JacksonDavis, Andrew Jackson Downing, orCalvert Vaux. These building designersfound ideas in picturesque Europeanmodels and adapted them for American2

materials and convenience. The mostprevalent model for larger homes in the1850-1880 period was the Italian villa orcountry house, and the Bray house, likeothers built in Kingston in this period,shows the influence of what architecturalhistorians would someday call the“Italianate.” In the Bray house, theItalianate is evident in the smalloctagonal window under the front gable,the bay window on the side, and theunusual balcony on the front dormer.The decorations around the windowsmay have been the builder’s owninspiration. Far from looking like a villain Italy, this house shows howoptimistically American a few Europeanideas could be made to look.The same local limestone used to buildthe early Dutch houses in uptownKingston is used here to support anornamental cast-iron fence.261 Broadway. Across the street, themansard roof is associated with anotherpopular style of the period, the FrenchSecond Empire. Other elements of thehouse seem Italianate. The irontethering post in front may be a lateraddition, but it reminds us that thesounds and smells of horses, carriages,and wagons were once an important partof life in this neighborhood.251 Broadway. Also built about 1870,this Italianate town house has anornamental cornice and bracketscovering the front of the building.249 Broadway. Probably built in the1880s, this front-gabled frame houserepresents the less expensive house ofthe period and is a modest example ofwhat has been called “Folk Victorian.”The plan was probably from a standardpattern book for houses. The gable trimand decorative porch spandrels possiblycame pre-cut from a local mill. Thegarage is a later addition.NW Corner of Broadway andChestnut. Recently rehabilitated, thisbrick house appears on an 1851 map andhas had several additions. Decorativeverge board under the roof line and afront porch have unfortunately beenremoved.254 and 250 Broadway. Built about1900, these two houses represent twoapproaches to the style known asColonial Revival. During thePhiladelphia Centennial Exposition of1876, Americans were reminded of thebest of their earlier, classical styles inarchitecture (Georgian, Federal, andGreek Revival), encouraging a newinterest in classical ideas and motifs thatbecame the predominant new style forhouses by 1900. 254 Broadway, with asemicircular window in the front gableand front porch with single columns,exemplifies the typical in frame houseconstruction in this style. The Terpeningfamily, local ice cream makers, oncelived here. 250 Broadway seems arevival of the Federal style of 1810-30with its matched dormers, spaced dentilmolding in the cornice, and balancedconfiguration. The Italianate is seen inthe side bay window. (The front porchhas been modified.)NE Corner of Broadway andChestnut. Not all the houses built inthis neighborhood have survived and afew houses replace earlier ones. Untilabout 1900, a sizable house stood on thisnow vacant lot. Behind it, on EastChestnut, stood another house, no longerexisting, owned by Captain David Abbey,who piloted steamboats on the river forThomas Cornell.Bluestone Sidewalks. Like other olderneighborhoods of Kingston, ChestnutStreet retains its distinctive bluestonesidewalks and curbstones. Thebluestone likely arrived in a horse and3

wagon after being prepared in yardsalong the Rondout. The quarries werelocated in Hurley and other nearbycommunities.11 East Chestnut. Built about 1906, thisis an early example of the Tudor stylethat was widely popular by the 1920s.This style shared common roots with theCraftsman style, which emphasizedsimplicity and the value of hand-work(evident in the carpentry details in thishouse’s interior). Tudor often included,as this house does, stucco walls withdecorative half-timbering, steeply pitchedroofs, and a gabled doorway. The firstresidents were Dr. George Chandler andhis family. Chandler, a founder ofKingston Hospital, was rather moreremarkably also the founder of the NewYork State Police.17 East Chestnut. Also built about 1906in a Colonial Revival style, an earlyresident was Grove Webster, who owneda livery stable in Rondout. Websterserved terms as county Sheriff and asKingston’s Mayor. The carriage house inthe rear may have been built earlier byCaptain Abbey.Edgar Newkirk house in 1875 with cupola10 East Chestnut. This substantialresidence, of which the rear is seen fromEast Chestnut, was probably built byEdgar B. Newkirk in about 1860.Newkirk was Cashier of the RondoutNational Bak and a land developer inRondout. In Beers’ 1875 atlas, the Italianvilla style house is shown with aprominent cupola along with gazebo,birdhouse and weeping willows. A laterowner was Dr. David Kennedy, a patentmedicine manufacturer (“Dr. Kennedy’sFavorite Remedy”) who was also Mayorof Kingston in 1892-95. A later resident,Jay Klock, published the Kingston DailyFreeman.Emmanuel Lutheran Church was builtin 1870 for a German-speakingcongregation. The spire was added in1880. For many years, the churchconducted a school in its adjacentbuilding. The bell in the tower is one ofseveral that have run for the pasthundred years from churches in theneighborhood.Vacant Lot across from the Church.Here was the home of John Dillon,partner in McEntee and Dillon. Theiriron works in Rondout, located on theStrand, made some of the cast-ironstorefronts for commercial buildings onlower Broadway and the Strand. Dillon’swife, Julia, acquired a reputation as askilled painter of still life and was acousin and close friend of anotherChestnut Street painter, Jervis McEntee.18 Livington. Until recently, thisunusual clapboard and shingle housewith three front-facing gables had neverbeen painted. Built about 1885 forGuilford Hasbrouck, who owned a bootand shoe business in Rondout, the househas a number of elements of the QueenAnne style. Hasbrouck was a grandsonof Abraham Hasbrouck, the farmer andsloop owner on whose land much ofcommercial Rondout was built.29-31 and 33-35 Stuyvesant. Builtabout 1890, these houses show theQueen Anne style influence in their useof decorative shingles and ornamentalcarving under the gables.4

End of Stuyvesant Street. Before therecent creation of the 9-W bypasshighway, Stuyvesant Street continueddown the hill into the neighborhood ofPonkhockie.34 Stuyvesant. An early resident wasAbsalom Eltinge Anderson, who hadsucceeded his father, Absalom LentAnderson, as Captain of the Hudson’sbest-known steamboat, the “MaryPowell.” Obscured by asphalt shinglesfor a number of years, the clapboardexterior has been carefully restored bythe present owners. The interior hasalso been restored to the 1885 period.34 Stuyvesant Street with historic 1885 colors32 and 28 Stuyvesant. These SecondEmpire style brick town houses wereprobably built in the 1870s. In 1895,Conrad Hasbrouck lived at 28. A brotherof Guilford, Conrad owned a hardwarebusiness on the Strand.18-24 Stuyvesant. P. J. Flynn, asuccessful merchant of “groceries,provisions, and liquors” down the hill,lived here with his large family as earlyas 1885. This splendid example of theSecond Empire, built about 1865, has anot uncommon cupola with its ownmansard roof. Noteworthy are thedormers with double windows, thedecorative lintels about paired-archwindow panes, and the coupled supportcolumns on the front porch. Untilrecently, fancy ironwork decorated thecrest of the cupola and main roof.Porch and window details at 18-24 Stuyvesant8-12 Stuyvesant. The original frontporch (which had been removed) andother features of this Queen Anne stylehouse have been partly restored. In1895, Michael F. Larkin, Jr., owner of agrocery and liquor store at 30 FerryStreet, lived here.Site of Chambers Street. Until the1880s and possibly later, Chambers Streetcame through to Stuyvesant just beforethe vacant lot on the corner ofBroadway. (The house that was formerlyon the vacant lot burned down during anattempt at restoration.)Looking Up WestChestnut.Chestnut Streetfirst appears on amap in 1851,though unnamedat that time.(What became East Chestnut was thencalled “Suydam Street.” The rest of thestreet would later be designated WestChestnut.) In 1851, only one housestood on the street, that of James S.McEntee, who in 1848 had purchased 52acres, including all of the hill or ridgedown to Broadway. In prior years, theland, which originally had been part of avillage “commons,” had belonged toCornelius Van Buren and was either5

farmland or unused. McEntee, anengineer, may have laid the street outhimself; about this time (1850-51), hewas also supervising the building of theUnion Plank Road (on what is nowBroadway). He also subdivided the landalong Chestnut Street into the lots onwhich the present houses are built.McEntee’s development ended whereAugusta Street intersects West Chestnuttoday; the farther end of Chestnut wasdeveloped separately.“The Weinberg.” The ridge along whichWest Chestnut runs was sometimesknown in the 19 th century as “theWeinberg” (Dutch for “wine hill”).Perhaps (no one today remembers) thiswas because of the wild grapevines thatinfested the trees on the side of the ridgetoward the Rondout. In the summer,looking up from McEntee Street on thedownhill side of Chestnut, some vinesare still in evidence.12 West Chestnut. Built in 1900 (thecornerstone can be seen from the street),this solidly upper-class home attests tothe prosperous economic status of theresidents who lived on this end of WestChestnut (which we might well think ofas an affluent, close-in suburb ofRondout). Its 14 rooms, six bathrooms,six fireplaces, and maid’s quarters werehome in 1905 to Amos Van Etten, alawyer with an office on Ferry Street, hiswife, at least three children, and a live-inmaid. A later resident, Howard Lewis, anexecutive with American Motors,commuted to and from the city in hisNash.15 West Chestnut. In 1875, when thisSecond Empire style house was new, itwas the home of Hiram Roosa, who soldinsurance and real estate from his officein the Mansion House. In 1875, agazebo stood on the downhill side. Abay-window on the front left and anopen porch on the front right of thehouse have been replaced by the presentclosed porch. A later resident, GeorgeCoykendall, lived here before moving toa more impressive house at 77 WestChestnut.18 West Chestnut. This imposing stonehouse in the Colonial Revival style wasbuilt about 1904 by George Hutton, oneof several brick manufacturers who livedon West Chestnut. The Hutton brickyardwas started by William Hutton, George’sfather (see 32 West Chestnut). ColonialRevival style houses in stone are unusual.The dormer with a broken pediment ischaracteristic of houses in this style builtabout 1900. Like other homes on thisside of the street, an elaborate gardenwas maintained in the rear with hiredgardeners.19 West Chestnut. One of the firstpeople to buy a house lot from JanesMcEntee must have been John Gill, alocal builder, who lived here andprobably built this distinctly Italianatehome. Notable are the arched windows,low-pitched roof, bay windows, andstone quoins at wall corners and inwindows. From about 1885 until wellinto the 20 th century, this house was thehome and office of Dr. Abraham P.Chalker, a homeopathic physician.6

Gill-Chalker house at 19 West Chestnut30 West Chestnut. The late 1960s splitlevelranch style house was built on thesite of the George Washburn house,which burned down in recent times.Washburn was another prosperous brickmanufacturer. His house, built about thesame time as the George Hutton housenext door, was an elaborate specimen ofthe Colonial Revival and was pictured ona local postcard about 1913.WellesLane.Owners ofhouses atthis end ofWestChestnutgenerallyhad carriage houses (which later became“garages”) in the rear or downhill side ofthe house. The Chalker family kept ahorse and wagon in the buildingpresently behind 19 West Chestnut onWelles Lane, a street built specifically toreach the carriage houses back of thehouses on this side of West Chestnut(even before Orchard Street was laidout). In the 1915-18 period, theWashburns still kept a horse or two intheir garage on Orchard Street at a timewhen Mr. Washburn was driven to workdaily in his red Pierce-Arrow. (See alsothe carriage houses on Augusta Street.)Henry Samson house at 32 West Chestnut32 West Chestnut. Probably the builderand first resident of this house wasHenry Samson, who purchased the landfrom James McEntee in 1857. The houseappears on French’s Ulster County mapof 1858 as one of only four houses onthe street. The architect of thisdistinctively Italianate or Italian villa stylehouse is unknown, but it has beencompared to similar houses by IthielTowne of New Haven and to those ofCalvert Vaux (see 99 West Chestnut).The square cupola, widely overhangingeaves with decorative brackets, andarched windows with elaborate crownsare all “classically” Italianate. The use oflocal bluestone as the primary materialmakes this house further remarkable.Henry Samson made his fortune in theonce prosperous (if environmentallydisastrous) industry of leather-tanning inthe Catskills. When he was about 50, hemoved to Rondout from Samsonville, acommunity that he had built for histannery. In Rondout, he became a partof civic life and the General of a localmilitia before it went off to the Civil War.In the latter part of the 19 th century,when the house was called “EvergreenManor,” this was the home of WilliamHutton, a prominent lumber dealer andbrick maker.27, 35, 39, 45, and 49 West Chestnut.All built in the 1865-1875 period, thesefive houses share the prevalent Italianate7

style. All have variations of the archedwindows with some elaboration. Threehave bay windows. (The brick house at45 has a Second Empire mansard roofbut is otherwise Italianate.) The porchon the frame house at 35 formerly hadfancier trim. The brick house at 39 had alarge porch that has been removed. Thehouse at 45 originally had a wide frontporch.The early residents were all associatedwith the Rondout building andtransportation industries or otherRondout businesses. At 27, E. W. Knappowned a wholesale drug business. At35, Francis M. Hoysradt was a foremanwith the Delaware and Hudson CanalCompany. At number 39, JansenHasbrouck, Jr. owned a hardwarebusiness. At 45, Peter Phillips worked, indifferent years, as a boat inspector and assuperintendent of shipping for the canalcompany. At 49, John A. Larter was thecanal company’s Paymaster. A morerecent resident, Thomas Feeney, builtboats on the creek, a business that todaycontinues as a barge repair company.44 and 48 West Chestnut. These twobrick houses were built at about thesame time (about 1885) and haveapparently always shared the samecircular driveway. Number 44 was thehome of Charles Cantine, a lawyer inRondout. Another early resident wasCharles Shultz, a brick manufacturerwhose yard was north of the Huttonbrickyard on the Hudson. An earlyresident and possible builder of number48 was another brick maker, Frank VanDeusen. The cast-iron hitching post nearthe street in front of 44 dates to the 19 thcentury.44 and 48, the homes of brick makers60 West Chestnut. The second housebuilt on West Chestnut (and the oldestremaining), this was the home of Dr.Abraham Crispell by 1858. A physicianwho began his practice in 1849 during alocal cholera epidemic, Dr. Crispell laterserved in hospitals during the Civil War.The original house with its Italian villastyle cupola appears in Beers’ atlas of1875. The cupola can be seen from thesides of the house looking toward therear (not easy to do in the summer). In1919, Robert J. Dwyer, a partner inDwyer Brothers, ship chandlers inRondout, modified the house, creating anew façade in an Italian Renaissancestyle including Palladian windows. ASpanish tile roof has since been replaced.The new version of the house appearedin an ad in the May, 1925 issue of Houseand Garden.8

Dr. Crispell's house at 60 West Chestnut in187555 and 63 West Chestnut. Built about1900, these houses represent two generalapproaches to the Colonial Revival, thesymmetrical (55) and the asymmetrical(63). Henry Crispell built the house at55. As the son of Dr. Abraham Crispell,he had grown up in the house across thestreet. After working for Van DeusenBrothers, wholesale druggists, he openedhis own firm. J. Twnsend Johnson,owner of a hardware store in Rondout,built the house at number 63.National Bank and partner in a shipchandler firm in Rondout. Dwyer’sfather had walked the barge-towingmules along the D&H canal.This house seems to combine theformality of the Colonial Revival with theadventurousness of the Queen Annestyle. The gambrel roof in front,repeated over the three-story front porch,seems intended as a tribute to the Dutchcolonial heritage.65 West Chestnut. Absalom EltingeAnderson, who succeeded his father asCaptain on the Hudson’s best-knownsteamboat, the “Mary Powell,” is believedto have lived for several years in anearlier house on this site. The presenthouse is a later variation of the ColonialRevival that suggests Craftsmaninfluence. Successive owners haveincluded Alva Staples, a brickmanufacturer; B. Morss Tremper, awholesale grocer; and John Hiltebrant, aboat builder.James Van Deusen house at 70 West Chestnut70 West Chestnut. The large housewith the tower and a rich display ofwindows was known as “Cloverly” whenit appeared in De Lisser’s PicturesqueUlster in 1896, not long after it was built.James L. Van Deusen, partner in a firmthat made “Van Deusen’s Ready Remedy”and other patent medicines, built thishouse to replace an earlier house on thissite that he and his wife had built in the1860s. (The original carriage house,behind the main house, survives.) Afterhe died, his son-in-law, Frederick B.Hibbard, General Passengere Agent inRondout for the Hudson River Day Line,lived here. Later residents include JamesDwyer, President of the RondoutGeorge Coykendall house at 77 WestChestnut77 West Chestnut. About 1897 GeorgeCoykendall, then President of the StonyClove Railroad, moved up from 15 WestChestnut to this impressively constructedhouse of red brick and sandstone.Almost across the street stood the evenmore imposing home of his brother,Samuel, wife Mary, and their children(see Evidence). At 77, the round tower9

and use of bricks of different color arecharacteristic of the Queen Anne style.The iron post by the curb appears to bethe only surviving gas lamp post inKingston. The carriage stone in thedriveway seems to be in its originalposition. The garage in the rear, a recentaddition, was designed to match thematerials and style of the house.Site of the First House on WestChestnut. Built about 1850, the JamesMcEntee “homestead,” which includedthe main house, a barn and several otheroutbuildings stood across the streetopposite Girard’s house with the mainhouse probably back near the westernend of Dietz Court.The McEntee family homesteadBorn in 1800 , James McEntee seems toembody the century’s energy andrestlessness. At 19, he was an “axeman,”helping to survey land for the ErieCanal. After working on several othercanals, McEntee, still a young man, wasappointed Resident Engineer for the newDelaware and Hudson Canal from theHudson to Port Jervis. Several yearslater, he became one of the first to minecoal in Pennsylvania. He later ownedand operated the Mansion House Hotelin Rondout, built docks for the locallighthouses, quarried cement stone, andlaid out railroad tracks for the HudsonRiver Railroad. On at least one occasion,he captained a steamboat. In 1845-46,he supervised the building of the islanddock in the Rondout for the canalcompany.McEntee’s home, a large Italianate houseof light brown stucco, sheltered aninteresting family. In addition to Jervis,the family included Girard, who at 13went off to serve as a drummer boy inthe Civil War, and Maurice, who servedon one of the iron-clad ships during theWar and later was a reporter for theRondout Freeman and a writer ofchildren’s stories. Daughter Sarah earneda medical degree in New York City andhad a practice in Kingston. Augustamarried Calvert Vaux who, with RobertOlmsted, designed Central Park inManhattan and Prospect Park inBrooklyn. For Vaux, who had comefrom England, the house on ChestnutStreet became a second home. Lucymarried John Andrews, an Army captainwho promptly took her away to hisassignment at Fort Apache, Arizona.The main house on the McEnteehomestead was home for Dr. Sarah inher later years. After she died in 1903,the house seems to have been torndown.Site of Jervis McEntee’s Studio. Inthe early 1860s, Calvert Vaux designed ahouse for Jervis and his wife, Gertrude,that sat further east on the McEnteehomestead property (approximately atthe eastern end of Dietz Court). Adrawing of the house is shown Vaux’sVillas and Cottages of 1864. Jervis andGertrude played host to some wellknownfigures of the day, including thewriter Bret Harte, the actor Edwin Booth,and the artist Frederic Edwin Church(with whom Jervis had studied). In 1890,Jervis sold the property to SamuelCoykendall, who removed the house tomake room for his mansion.10

Cornell Steamboat Company, and hiswife, Mary (Thomas Cornell’s daughter),moved into a substantial three-story brickmansion on West Chestnut. Coykendallhad acquired the property from JervisMcEntee and his new home probablystood near the location of McEntee’sstudio-house (which had been removed).A drawing by Calvert Vaux for JervisMcEntee's studioIn 1879, Jervis McEntee, an acclaimedmember of what came to be known asthe Hudson River School, removedseveral trees near his studio-house (tothe right of 70 West Chestnut; no longerexisting but probably about whereMelvin Drive meets Dietz Court). Hisnew view inspired a painting of theCatskills at twilight. Almost the sameview can be seen on a clear summerevening from the lawn at number 77,looking northwest.Sunset from Jervis McEntee's studioIn the journal he kept, McEnteedescribed much of his life at home onChestnut Street trimming the shrubs,repainting the carriage, laying down anew carpet. In the winter, McEntee andhis wife, Gertrude, lived in New YorkCity, where McEntee maintained aprofessional studio and a wide friendshipwith the leading artists of the day.Evidence of the Samuel D. CoykendallMansion. About 1895, Samuel D.Coykendall, principal owner of thePostcard view of the Coykendall mansionBy early in the 20 th century, the mansionwas pictured on postcards with a broadlawn and a four-story castellated towercovered with ivy. By the late 1950s, thebuilding was vacant and then sold tomake room for the present developmentof ranch-style houses and the streets ofMelvin Drive and Dietz Court (the latterstreet named for Kingston native RobertDietz, killed in World War 2 andposthumously awarded a Medal ofHonor). The Coykendall mansion stoodabout where Melvin Drive meets DietzCourt. In front of the houses at 80 and84 West Chestnut are a few remainingtraces of the Coykendall lawn - at 80, alength of corrugated bluestone and tworound stones mark the former entranceto the driveway and, at 84, another tworound stones mark the former entranceto the walkway up to the mansion.83 West Chestnut. This solid and wellpreservedexample of the ColonialRevival was built about 1900 for PeterSchoonmaker, treasurer of the Kingstoncity trolley line.End of the Historic District. Number83 marks the western boundary of the11

Chestnut Street Historic District.However, a number of noteworthyhouses and sites lie further down WestChestnut and on Augusta Street. Weinvite you to continue your self-guidedtour.99 West Chestnut. The vaguely GothicRevival house at the intersection of WestChestnut and Orchard Street was thehome of Girard McEntee, son of theoriginal developer of the street, JamesMcEntee (and Jervis’s brother). There isevidence in Jervis’s journal that a portionof Jervis’s studio was added to Girard’shouse (probably on the right side).Notice that the second story levels aredifferent on each side of the house.102, 106, and 112 West Chestnut.These Queen Anne style houses, now“modernized,” were built about 1892-93.In 1895, Frank Dewey, Cashier of theFirst National Bank of Rondout, lived at102. John C. Van Etten, a prominentKingston lawyer, lived at 106. Marvin C.Crosby, partner in a dry goods emporiumin Rodout, lived at 112.The Site of 124 West Chestnut. Theproperty behind the stone wall was untilrecently the site of a mansion onlysomewhat smaller than that of SamuelCoykendall. The mansion, which hadbeen converted into a bed-and-breakfast,was recently destroyed by a fire.Originally, it was the home of George D.Smith, a cigar manufacturer whosecompany once employed 1,000 workers,mostly young women, in its factory inmidtown. Smith, who served a term inCongress, built the 26-room house inabout 1895. A later resident was JohnD. Schoonmaker, who quit the CornellSteamboat Company to start his own icecompany. Later, he built barges onRondout Creek. His wife, Alberta, had awalled-in sunken garden that rivaled thegarden of her friend and neighbor, IsabelCoykendall.Augusta Street Carriage Houses. Therustically picturesque carriage houses at12 and 20-22 Augusta Street once storedthe carriages and horses and later thefamily automobiles for the Coykendalls.The chief caretaker and chauffeur livedin the house at number 20. The familymonogram can be seen in the copperweathervane at 12. At 20-22, a pivotingturntable facilitated parking. A localresident remembers a Mercedes-Benz, aCadillac, and a Pierce-Arrow.The Coykendall carriage houses on AugustaStreetAcross the street at 19 Augusta, John D.Schoonmaker kept a Cadillac, hischauffeur living above the garage. Theoriginal main door has been bricked upand the building is now a residence. 27Augusta and its present brick garage inthe rear are believed to have been thecarriage house and caretaker’s residencefor John Van Etten (106 West Chestnut).166 West Chestnut. Now the center ofan apartment complex, the formalbuilding with a marble entrance, classicalwindow pediments, and decorative roofrailing was the home of Edward andIsabel Coykendall. Samuel’s son Edwardbuilt this house in 1919 shortly after hismarriage. Isabel created a formal gardenin the rear with statues, fountains, andartfully arranged views of the Hudson.As a young man, Edward helped run thefamily enterprises; later, for many years,12

he managed the Ulster and DelawareRailroad.A view from Isabel Coykendall's garden194 West Chestnut. West of theapartments and overlooking the Rondoutis a large house built in about 1887,probably by Frank Griffiths, who owneda large flour and feed business inRondout. His daughter, Anna, and herhusband Arthur Sheldon, a founder ofRotary, lived here for many years. Mrs.Sheldon was locally famous as a sponsorof musical soirees and once ran adancing school for the sons anddaughters of her neighbors.Ulster Academy and Number 2School. At the corner of Montreposeand West Chestnut stands the formerUlster Academy , a public school, andlater to become he Number 2 School, anelementary school. With 900 students,Ulster Academy was once Ulster County’slargest school. Built in 1870, it had alibrary of 1,500 volumes that could beborrowed by local residents. Thebuilding was the temporary first home ofUlster County Community College. Thebuilding has been turned into severalcondominiums, each of which comeswith a blackboard.The Last Block on the West End ofWest Chestnut. The middle-classneighborhood at the end of the streetdeveloped separately from the McEnteepart of West Chestnut during the 1880-1895 period. Many early residents of thisblock were independent trades people orcraft workers or worked in the localtransportation businesses. A notableresident was Dick Johnson, a majorleague baseball player in the 1880s. TheBenedictine Hospital was started in thebrick house at the very end of the streeton the right. This house was later thehome of Samuel Coykendall’s legalcounsel, Harry Flemming. His son,Arthur, who grew up in the house, laterbecame Secretary of Health, Educationand Welfare in the Eisenhoweradministration.“The Ups and Downs.” Until recently,the land beyond the turnaround was anuneven, wooded area known as “the Upsand Downs” by local children who usedit as an unauthorized playground.Paleontologists have found evidencesuggesting the area may have served as acamping ground for visitors as far backas 12,000 years ago. The area hasrecently been subdivided for possiblebuilding lots.Students at Ulster Academy circa 1896The View from the Turnaround.Theodore Roosevelt is said to have13

admired the view from here when hevisited Harry Flemming during aPresidential campaign, and it has beenpopular with painters over the years.Resting here is the 1874 cornerstone fromthe Presbyterian Church of Rondout,which stood at the corner of Wurts andAbeel.The McEntee family plot in MontreposeView from the West Chestnut turnaroundcirca 1940Montrepose Cemetery. If you walkback now to Montrepose and then oneblock north, you’ll see the entrance tothe cemetery where most of the earlyresidents of the West Chestnut Streetneighborhood are buried. The cemeteryis an outstanding example of the 19 thcentury cultivatedly natural landscapemade popular by Andrew JacksonDowning. The cemetery was formed in1850 by Rondout’s leading citizens.Thomas Chambers, one of Kingston’searly settlers (1652), has been reburiednot far from the entrance on the right.The Coykendall family members areburied near a wooden pergola atop alarge central knoll. William Brown, JohnD. Schoonmaker’s African-Americanchauffeur, shares a place in the familyplot. Calvert Vaux is buried among theMcEntees.14

SOURCESArchitectureVirginia and Lee McAlester. A FieldGuide to American Houses. Knopf,New York, 1984.Andrew Jackson Downing. TheArchitecture of Country Houses.Originally 1850, republished by DoverPress, 1969.Calvert Vaux. Villas and Cottages.Based on the second edition of 1864 asrepublished by Dover, 1970. (JervisMcEntee’s studio-house is discussed andshown on pages 165-168.)Ulster County Atlas. Beers, 1875. (Thehouses of Bray, Newkirk, Roosa, and Dr.Crispell are pictured in contemporarysketches.)MapsMap of Rondout, 1851, John Bevan,surveyor, Sarony and Major, lithographs.We located a copy in the New York StateMuseum, Albany.Map of Ulster County (with a Rondoutinset), 1858. A copy is located in theUlster County Clerk’s office.Combined Map of Rondout, Kingston,and Wilbur., 1870, George P. Sanford,surveyor, F. W. Beers, publisher. Copiesare available in the Ulster County Clerk’soffice and in the Kingston Library.Map of the City of Kingston, NY., nodate (circa 1880-1885). An aerial view ofthe city. A copy is located in theKingston City Clerk’s office and reprintsare available from the Friends of HistoricKingston.Local Histories and RecordsMarius Schoonmaker. The History ofKingston, New York, 1888. On pages468-69, Schoonmaker describes existingbuildings in 1820 between uptownKingston and Rondout Creek along “theStrand road” (Broadway).Various Rondout and KingstonCityDirectories, specifically those for 1858,1864, 1866, 1871-72, 1873-74, 1879-80,1885, 1892-93, 1895-96, 1900-01, 1905-06,and 1910-11. These are available in theKingston Library.William Dewitt. People’s History ofKignston, Rondout, and Vicinity(18201943).(No author indicated.) A Century ofProgress – History of the Delawareand Hudson Company. 1925.Lionel De Lisser. Picturesque Ulster –The City of Kingsotn. 1896. Recentlyrepublished and available in local bookstories, this large format softcoverincludes a number of photographs ofhouses and views of the Chestnut Streetneighborhood.Stuart Blumin. The Urban Threshold,University of Chicago Press, 1976. Thisis a scholarly study of growth andchange in Rondout during its rise in the19 th century.Jervis McEntee’s Journal (1872-1890).Available on microfilm loan from theArchives of American Art.Nathaniel Sylvester. History of UlsterCounty. 1880. This includesbiographies of Abraham Crispell, JamesMcEntee, Henry Samson, and others.Local newspapers, including theKingston Weekly (later Daily) Leader, theKingston Argus, and the KingstonFreeman. Available on microfilm at theKingston Library.15

The Proceedings of the Ulster CountyHistorical Society. Especially 1933-34and 1940-44.Genealogy of Southern New York.1914. Includes a short biography ofSamuel D. Coykendall.H. A. Haring. Our Catskill Mountains.1931. Describes the tanning industry andmentions Henry Samson.Gerald Best. The Ulster and DelawareRailroad Through the Catskills.1972. Includes much about theCoykendall business enterprises.Donald C. Ringwald. Steamboats forRondout. 1981. Mentions the “MaryPowell” and Captains Anderson, fatherand son.InterviewsSome of our information is based oninterviews with people who have livedand worked in the Chestnut Streetneighborhood.Many former residents or visitors toChestnut Street neighborhood who wereinterviewed including George Betts,William Buddenhagen, MontgomeryBurhans, Edward Diamond, JamesDwyer, Peter Dwyer, Marian Feeeney,Rose Feeney, Fred Gerhardt, GeorgeHutton, Scrappy Lewis, Jack Matthews,Norman Luedtke, Patricia Murphy,William O’Reilly, William Rylance, Dr.William Rhoads, Louise Rutski, EdSchupp, Jr., John Shults, Herb Shultz,John Nicholas Stock, ElizabethThompson, and Mary Agnes Whelan.We apologize to those whose names wehave failed to include!Ongoing Research. If you haveadditional information about the historyof the Chestnut Street neighborhood,please contact Lowell Thing (331-4985)or Jane Kellar at the Friends of HistoricKingston (339-0720).CREDITSThis walking tour would not have beenpossible without help from the followingpeople:George Allen and Carolyn Matzen, whoprovided access to the Kingston Library’slocal history collection, and Pat Carroll,who provided similar help at UlsterCounty Community College.Edwin Ford, Kingston City Historian, andJane Kellar, Executive Director of theFriends of Historic Kingston, for generaland specific support.Emily Thing, who improved theappearance of this tour.16