Upstate

An 18th Century Wallkill Stone Farmhouse Once Owned by a Borden Asks $1.9 Million

This historic property, with 18th century beginnings and ties to an iconic American brand, rebounded after a fire almost a decade ago and offers a bit of the old and new.

upstate homes for sale 323 borden road wallkill

by Susan De Vries

10/06/2017 0

This historic property, with 18th century beginnings and ties to an iconic American brand, rebounded after a fire almost a decade ago and offers a bit of the old and new.

Located at 323 Borden Road in Wallkill, N.Y., the property is on the market for $1.9 million, listed by Judy L. Lancia of Houlihan Lawrence-East Fishkill Brokerage.

The listing includes over 100 acres of land with an 18th century farmhouse at its centerpiece. Built by the Hasbrouck family, the stone dwelling, with its wide front and rear porches and dormered roof, has the quaint and graceful lines found in many Dutch-American homes of the Hudson River Valley.

From the front, it appears to be an 18th century house with a small mansard-roofed 19th century wing. However, looks can be deceptive. The addition is quite extensive, and transformed the house from a simple farmhouse to a manor house appropriate for a milk magnate.

In 1881, John G. Borden, of the Borden Condensed Milk Company (later Borden Company), purchased the house along with a couple of hundred acres of land, eventually expanding his property to over 1,000 acres. On his expanded estate he established a model farm, with a dairy, tenant housing, mills and other outbuildings.

The stone house served as the centerpiece of the farm, but Borden remodeled it, including adding a tower to the mansard-roofed extension built by a previous owner. The Borden tower survived until the mid 20th century.

Borden died in 1891, and in the 1930s the house was sold to Dr. Clare Hoyt. It has been in Hoyt family hands ever since.

A fire in 2009 tragically destroyed the upper levels of the stone house and the addition, according to news accounts at the time. The house was restored using “historic methods,” according to the listing. Going by the photos, it appears the essential character of the spaces was retained while, no doubt, introducing some upgrades and modern amenities.

Interior photos show that the loss of the roof was not taken as an opportunity to bump up the ceiling height and create a modern, open space — instead the ceilings remain authentically low and the rooms cozy, with wide-plank floorboards, simple moldings and big fireplaces. The thick stone walls of the house are apparent in the deeply set windows in the main rooms of the original house.

The kitchen has been decidedly upgraded from the previous centuries, with a sea of white cabinets and marble countertops and room enough for quite a few chefs in the kitchen.

There are six bedrooms and four full baths. While there is no floor plan, most of those bedrooms appear to be in the upper story, given the telltale sloping of the ceilings.

If you have a love of wallpaper, the spaces will definitely be appealing, with everything from sedate toiles to brilliant red chinoiserie.

The baths were renovated as well and continue the white cabinetry and marble countertop motif of the kitchen.

The cozy small rooms of the 18th century give way to higher ceilings and light-filled rooms in the 19th century addition. There is a showstopper of what feels like a club room, with rich wood wainscoting, window trim and a beamed ceiling.

The property also includes a small 19th century brick outbuilding with a bracketed cornice and large windows. It was added to the property by Borden and used as an office, according to the Historical Society of Shawangunk and Gardiner. With just one large room and a half bath, it would still make for a lovely office, studio or guest quarters.

Wallkill is technically a small hamlet, part of the town of Shawangunk and in Ulster County. Located north of Newburgh, N.Y., it’s about two hours from Brooklyn and near the scenic Wallkill River and Shawangunk Mountains.