William Pitcher Farmstead HSR

Original Green Design Strategies
In the mid-18th century, the builders of the William Pitcher farmhouse employed design
logic and strategies based on their experience with the climate and the availability of
resources in the area.
• Passive Solar
The house faces south, oriented to the property lines rather than square to the road,
with the bulk of the glazing on that facade, in order to maximize solar gain. There are
only three windows on the north side, two narrow casements to light the garret of the
ell, and a later small 6/6 in the addition on the west end. It would seem too that the
placement of the barns in relation to the house was likely intentional to provide a
buffer against the north wind.
• Use of Local Materials
The primary framing members are 25’ lengths of poplar approximately 10”x14”, which
was abundant in the area in the 18th century. The wall infill and de facto insulation of
the walls—clay, straw and riven sticks—would have been harvested nearby. The soil on
the banks above the Hudson River, especially at Tivoli, is rich in clay deposits, making it
likely that the bricks in the walls and chimneys were locally made. By about 1730
there were sawmills on both the Sawkill Creek, less than a mile to the south of the
Pitcher farm, and the White Clay Kill at Hoffman’s Mills, about 3.5 miles to the
northeast. Either mill could have been the source for the slab sheathing on the roof,
the siding planks, and the flooring, which ranges from 14” to 25” wide.
Iron nails and hardware might have been wrought by blacksmith Ryer Schermerhorn,
who had purchased land from Barent Van Benthuysen in 1741 and operated half a mile
to the east of the Pitcher farm.
• Low/No-VOC Materials and Finishes
The mortars and plasters in the house are clay and lime-based. Wall finishes upstairs
are lime-based with a protein binder, likely casein. Wall finishes downstairs are a
thinner whitewash with wallpaper on top. Doors, windows, and other woodwork are
predominantly linseed oil-based. The original floorboards are unfinished.
Recommendations
★Site Work: Excavation and Landscaping
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