This Newburgh residence was involved in an interesting court tussle in the 1930s, but before that the Second Empire-style dwelling was the home of a 19th century dry goods merchant and his family. The house has had some more recent renovations, but there is still room for a new owner to wrap up some projects and make some major design decisions, including finding some period-appropriate mantels.

The brick dwelling on the market at 272 Liberty Street is within the architecturally rich East End Historic District. A historic district inventory dates the three bay-wide house to 1870 and a map of that year seems to show the dwelling in place and labelled as owned by S. C. Mills.

newburgh birds-eye view
An 1875 bird’s-eye view shows the Liberty Street block between Catherine and South streets filled with houses. Map by H.H. Bailey & J.C. Hazen via the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library

That would be Samuel C. Mills who by the mid 1860s had entered into a partnership with John Schoonmaker and A. Y. Weller in a dry goods enterprise that would stay in business into the 20th century. Mills had married for the second time by 1870 and that year he and wife Sarah McDonald Mills appeared in the census in Newburgh with their infant son.

Digging in local papers didn’t turn up a builder or architect for the house, but its slate-covered mansard roof with dormers, cornice, and general massing are typical Second Empire-style elements found in the popular pattern books of the time. The blockfront was filling out in the late 1860s, including four brick houses at the corner of South Street, and it’s likely this house was constructed around the same time.

an 1890s photo shows the without the current door hood and side porch
Left: The house was included in an 1891 publication and identified as the Mills residence at 272 Liberty Street. Photo via “Newburgh: Her Institutions, Industries and Leading Citizens.” Right: The house today

A circa 1891 image of the house when it was still in the Mills family shows that some of the wooden flourishes to the house, including an ornamented door hood and porches, were late 19th or early 20th additions. The Mills family owned the house until roughly 1908. Sarah, Samuel, and their son Stephen all died between 1903 and 1905. Daughter Mary married in 1908 and moved from Newburgh.

In the early 1920s the house was home to local jeweler Louis Kades, but it was in 1934 that the house made a splash in the local press. Reverend William Hayes of Newburgh’s St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church purchased 272 Liberty Street after he stepped back from priestly duties in 1927 because of ill health. Upon his death in 1934, his family discovered he had changed his will, leaving his sister and nephew $1 each and the rest of his money to Adelaide M. Grady, apparently his secret wife. According to Adelaide, before his death he had turned over to her the deed to 272 Liberty Street. The house had been converted into three apartments and was no longer Reverend Hayes’ primary residence as the couple were planning on building a home in Virginia. At the time of his funeral the Newburgh community was not aware that he had gotten married in 1932. The case dragged out in the courts for several years, but the will was ultimately ruled valid.

The house is no longer three apartments, but a single-family house with, at least according to the listing, the possibility of converting the garden level into a rental unit. On the three floors above are details that reflect the centuries of alterations, including 19th century woodwork, some Art Deco bathroom details, and 21st century radiant-floor heating on the first floor.

stained glass windows

parlor with two exposures

On the first floor, the parlor and the dining room have wood floors, moldings, and ceiling medallions, but both are missing their mantels. A photo shows that the mantel in the parlor was already missing when the house was for sale in 2009. A remaining mantel on the garden level appears to show some Colonial Revival touches.

The kitchen has been renovated with white tile walls, gray cabinets, a large island, and a window seat. A bonus space for plant lovers is a sunroom outfitted with an island with a sink that could work as a flower arranging station. A door provides access to the yard.

dining room with baseboard heat and a missing fireplace

renovated kitchen with white tile on walls and pale gray cabinets

Upstairs are five bedrooms; photos show baseboard heating in each. One of the bedrooms has an en suite bathroom with a built-in Deco-era shower. It is one of the 2.5 baths in the house.

Listed with Sarah B Hooff of ReAttached Real Estate, it is priced at $578,000, a drop from $629,000 when it was first listed in August.

If the architecture of Newburgh intrigues, Archtober Newburgh this weekend, October 6 through 8, will offer an opportunity to explore more. The weekend of architecture-related programming includes talks, tours, screenings, and workshops. Learn more at the event page online.

original double entry doors and a view of the hall ceiling medallion

soriginal wooden staircase with wainscoting

modern carving on top of the newel post

detail of wood floors, wainscoting and stained glass window

parlor with medallion and moldings

parlor with two exposures, moldings and no mantel

parlor with ceiling medallion, moldings and missing mantel

dining room with ceiling medallion but a missing mantel

renovated kitchen with large white island

renovated kitchen with white tile walls and a window seat

renovated kitchen with stone floors and large island

potting porch with sink in an island

plant room with multiple exposures and island with sink

detail of stair railing

bay window on stair landing with stained glass windows

hall with stair and wainscoting

bedroom with two windows and wood floors

bedroom with closet and baseboard heating

bedroom with baseboard heating

bedroom with brick mantel

bedroom with baseboard heating and en suite bath

bathroom with deco era black and white tile and built-in shower

bathroom with deco era tub and sink

powder room with modern small sink and bold floral wallpaper

lower level with a colonial revival mantel

exterior of the house with dormers in roof

detail of first level exterior with pale painted brick exterior

detail of entry with stained glass windows and decorative door hood

exterior of the sun or plant room addition

rear yard wih some shrubs

[Photos by Nadia Tarr for ReAttached]

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