Abraham Glen House
Encyclopedia
The Abraham Glen House is located on Mohawk Avenue (NY 5
) in Scotia
, New York, United States. It is a white frame house from the 18th century that is currently used as the local branch of the Schenectady County
public library system.
Built in the 1730s, it is a rare surviving example in the region of a Dutch Colonial
heavy timber frame
house. It was extensively modified at the beginning of the 20th century but still retains its basic form and original materials. In 2004 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
to nearby Schenectady
. It is aligned north-south, giving it a diagonal orientation from the road. Mature trees screen it on several sides. There is a parking lot to the north, accessible from nearby Collins Street, and a baseball field
to the northeast.
Its main block is a two-and-a-half-story rectangular (20 by) steeply pitched
gable
-roofed frame house on a mortared
fieldstone
basement
. Two wings extend from the north end, both built later on. The larger is one and a half stories high, with full basement. A one-story storage wing projects from its north end.
Mortise and tenon
joints were used in the framing
. Rafter
s rest on the roof plate. The slate-shingled
roof is pierced by brick chimneys at either end and three shed dormer windows on both east and west elevations. A wraparound porch on the first story has turned posts and is enclosed on the east side. Siding
includes a variety of materials, from early weatherboard to later clapboard
.
Inside, the first floor consists of two large rooms with the fireplaces in their original positions. The second story's bedrooms have been divided to create office space. The larger of the north wings has three rooms on the first floor and five on the second arranged around a narrow hallway. The smaller wing is a single room.
who was not Dutch. He was a Scotsman who, after taking refuge in the Netherlands
, emigrated to New Netherland
. There he obtained a patent
to land on the north side of the Mohawk.
Upon his death, his three sons divided the estate, which had been named Scotia for Lindsey's native country, and changed their last names to Glen in Scotland's honor (this led to the surrounding town taking the name of Glenville, as well). Later, one of those sons dictated in his own will
that a house be built on his property for his son Abraham.
This, the main block of the current building, was erected around 1730. Its vernacular
Dutch framing is responsible for its steeply-pitched roof. Masonry fragments found in the basement suggest that at the time of its construction it may have the standard Dutch-style jambless fireplaces.
The larger of the northern wings was built at some yet-undetermined time around the end of the 18th century. The Glen descendants continued to own the house until 1842, when it was sold to Charles and James Collins. The two continued to farm the land and harvest ice from the nearby lake.
In 1880 James Collins converted the land around the house into a garden and landscaped park. When the last member of the family died in 1924, the village acquired the property. Five years later, in 1930, a new village library was opened in the house. Since 1948 it has been part of the county library system. During the 1980s the interior was renovated and, on the upper floors, its layout altered.
New York State Route 5
New York State Route 5 is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, and several other smaller cities and...
) in Scotia
Scotia, New York
Scotia is a village in Schenectady County, New York, United States, incorporated in 1904. The population was 7,957 at the 2000 census.The Village of Scotia is part of the Town of Glenville, partly contiguous with Schenectady, New York and is connected by the Western Gateway Bridge over the Mohawk...
, New York, United States. It is a white frame house from the 18th century that is currently used as the local branch of the Schenectady County
Schenectady County, New York
Schenectady County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 154,727. It is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Schenectady. The name is from a Mohawk Indian word meaning "on the other side of the...
public library system.
Built in the 1730s, it is a rare surviving example in the region of a Dutch Colonial
Dutch colonization of the Americas
Dutch trading posts and plantations in the Americas precede the much wider known colonization activities of the Dutch in Asia. Whereas the first Dutch fort in Asia was built in 1600 , the first forts and settlements on the Essequibo river in Guyana and on the Amazon date from the 1590s...
heavy timber frame
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
house. It was extensively modified at the beginning of the 20th century but still retains its basic form and original materials. In 2004 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Building
The house is situated in Collins Park, on the north side of Route 5 just west of the Western Gateway Bridge which crosses the Mohawk RiverMohawk River
The Mohawk River is a river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital District, a few miles north of the city of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...
to nearby Schenectady
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
. It is aligned north-south, giving it a diagonal orientation from the road. Mature trees screen it on several sides. There is a parking lot to the north, accessible from nearby Collins Street, and a baseball field
Baseball field
A baseball field, also called a ball field or a baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The terms "baseball field" and "ball field" are also often used as synonyms for ballpark.-Specifications:...
to the northeast.
Its main block is a two-and-a-half-story rectangular (20 by) steeply pitched
Roof pitch
In building construction, roof pitch is a numerical measure of the steepness of a roof, and a pitched roof is a roof that is steep.The roof's pitch is the measured vertical rise divided by the measured horizontal span, the same thing as what is called "slope" in geometry. Roof pitch is typically...
gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
-roofed frame house on a mortared
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
fieldstone
Fieldstone
Fieldstone is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally...
basement
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
. Two wings extend from the north end, both built later on. The larger is one and a half stories high, with full basement. A one-story storage wing projects from its north end.
Mortise and tenon
Mortise and tenon
The mortise and tenon joint has been used for thousands of years by woodworkers around the world to join pieces of wood, mainly when the adjoining pieces connect at an angle of 90°. In its basic form it is both simple and strong. Although there are many joint variations, the basic mortise and tenon...
joints were used in the framing
Framing (construction)
Framing, in construction known as light-frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members, usually called studs, which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping...
. Rafter
Rafter
A rafter is one of a series of sloped structural members , that extend from the ridge or hip to the downslope perimeter or eave, designed to support the roof deck and its associated loads.-Design:...
s rest on the roof plate. The slate-shingled
Roof shingle
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
roof is pierced by brick chimneys at either end and three shed dormer windows on both east and west elevations. A wraparound porch on the first story has turned posts and is enclosed on the east side. Siding
Siding
Siding is the outer covering or cladding of a house meant to shed water and protect from the effects of weather. On a building that uses siding, it may act as a key element in the aesthetic beauty of the structure and directly influence its property value....
includes a variety of materials, from early weatherboard to later clapboard
Clapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
.
Inside, the first floor consists of two large rooms with the fireplaces in their original positions. The second story's bedrooms have been divided to create office space. The larger of the north wings has three rooms on the first floor and five on the second arranged around a narrow hallway. The smaller wing is a single room.
History
Scotia owes its name to Alexander Lindsey, the only one of the original founders of SchenectadySchenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
who was not Dutch. He was a Scotsman who, after taking refuge in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, emigrated to New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
. There he obtained a patent
Land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate – land or its privileges – made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service...
to land on the north side of the Mohawk.
Upon his death, his three sons divided the estate, which had been named Scotia for Lindsey's native country, and changed their last names to Glen in Scotland's honor (this led to the surrounding town taking the name of Glenville, as well). Later, one of those sons dictated in his own will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
that a house be built on his property for his son Abraham.
This, the main block of the current building, was erected around 1730. Its vernacular
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
Dutch framing is responsible for its steeply-pitched roof. Masonry fragments found in the basement suggest that at the time of its construction it may have the standard Dutch-style jambless fireplaces.
The larger of the northern wings was built at some yet-undetermined time around the end of the 18th century. The Glen descendants continued to own the house until 1842, when it was sold to Charles and James Collins. The two continued to farm the land and harvest ice from the nearby lake.
In 1880 James Collins converted the land around the house into a garden and landscaped park. When the last member of the family died in 1924, the village acquired the property. Five years later, in 1930, a new village library was opened in the house. Since 1948 it has been part of the county library system. During the 1980s the interior was renovated and, on the upper floors, its layout altered.
External links
- Abraham Glen House, Mohawk Avenue, Scotia, Schenectady, NY: 4 photos, 3 data pages, and supplemental material at Historic American Building Survey
- Library webpage