Abraham Brower House

The Abraham Brower House is located at Water and Division streets in New Hamburg, New York, United States. It is a mid-19th century home of one the hamlet's early residents that was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Abraham Brower House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Front (west) elevation, 2008
Location	New Hamburg, New York
Nearest city	Poughkeepsie
Coordinates	41°35′20″N 73°56′59″W
Built	ca. 1845[1]
Architectural style	Greek Revival
MPS	New Hamburg MRA
NRHP reference No.	87000116
Added to NRHP	1987

It is a modest brick structure, built in a vernacular interpretation of the Greek Revival style popular in the decades preceding its construction. A kitchen wing was added after the Civil War, but otherwise there have been few significant alterations since then.

Building

The main block is a one-and-a-half-story, three-bay structure of brick laid in common bond. The gabled roof is shingled in slate laid in a decorative floral pattern.[2] A chimney rises from the south side.[1]

Across the west-facing front facade runs a hip-roofed porch. Its columns, and the doorway, match the nearby Adolph Brower House. The front windows are trimmed in stone.[1]

A smaller, similar addition was built later on the east (rear) elevation. Its roof decoration matches the main house. A full-length porch on its south side has been enclosed in clapboard. There is also a small brick outbuilding with asphalt-shingled roof at the northwest corner of the house's lot.[1]

The interior follows the classic Greek Revival side-hall pattern. Most rooms, save the kitchen, are as they originally were. Woodwork, especially a mantel in the parlor, is also preserved. A full brick beehive oven remains in the cellar of the addition.[1]

History

Adolph Brower, whose own house across the intersection is one of the oldest in New Hamburg, sold the lot to a relative, Abraham,[3] in 1841. At the time both Browers were involved in the lime quarrying operations along the nearby riverside that were the hamlet's major industry after river commerce. The house, likely built around 1845 although the exact date is not known, had at the time an unobstructed view over the quarries.[1]

It is first recorded in 1867, at which time the kitchen wing was added. Its roof was originally plain slate, but was later redecorated to match the main house. Similarly, the wing's tin-roofed porch was originally unenclosed, and modified sometime later in the 19th century.[1]

Locally, it is believed that the outbuilding was originally a boathouse. Although modified during the 20th century for use as a garage, it is too small to have served as a stable prior to that and the low rafters on its collar beams were ideal places to hang sails to dry.[1]

References

1. Larson, Neil. "National Register of Historic Places nomination, Abraham Brower House". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
2. Hill, Charles. "2 Water Street". Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
3. The exact nature of the relationship is not known.