Daniel Waring House
Encyclopedia
The Daniel Waring House, also known as Indian Hill, is located on River Road (Orange County
Route 29) just outside the village of Montgomery
, New York, United States. It sits on a large parcel of land overlooking the Wallkill River
at the junction of River Road and NY 17K
, just opposite the western approach to Ward's Bridge
.
It is believed that part of the house dates to the 18th century. Waring, a later resident, had the four-column
temple-style Greek Revival front section built in the 1840s. It has been occupied since his time and remains a private residence. In 1995 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
, along with several other buildings and structures on the property. The current resident, who restored
it, is a former town supervisor
.
on both sides of River Road. It slopes to the north and is elevated above grade level enough to provide good views of the river, bridge, and village across. A stone retaining wall
, with a set of entrance steps in the middle, along the front of the property is a contributing
structure to the listing. A modern swimming pool
at the rear is not included. Nor are the ruins of two old mills in the steep sloping ground between the road and the river. Contributing outbuildings include a privy
, wellhouse near the house and a large garage/barn to the east. There are other houses on the east and a woodlot
on the west.
Indian Hill itself is a two-story, three-bay
clapboard
-sided frame
house on a raised stone foundation
. On the main block is a gable
d roof with two large brick chimney
s on the east side. There are wings on the side and rear.
The south (front) facade
has four fluted
Doric
columns. A plain frieze
runs around the main block's roofline. The main entrance, on the west end, has sidelights and a transom
surrounded by flat pilaster
s supporting the cornice
above it. A single raised panel is above both front windows. All windows have louver
ed shutters
.
On the sides are two gabled one-story wings. A one-story kitchen wing, with a gable and chimney, projects from the rear, connecting to a two-story rear extension.
Inside, the house retains much of its original finish. A molded
plaster cornice
runs through most of the first floor rooms and the second-story hall. In the parlor and dining room, more flat pilasters support the cornice. Architrave
s surround the paneled field around each window.
The main stairway features a mahogany
rail with a turned newel
post and baluster
s. Both first and second floors have marble mantels, black and white respectively, unusual for Greek Revival houses in the area. The beehive oven
in the kitchen wing still has its original cast iron
door.
The most conspicuous contributing building is the barn/garage, a one-and-a-half-story frame structure with rear ell on the east side of a carport
at the end of the unpaved driveway. The privy is on the other side of the driveway, and the wellhouse on the south side, near the stone retaining wall.
The Crists had built the first mills on the future Waring property, and local tradition holds that the kitchen wing was left over from one of the Crist houses. Waring's use of not only the Greek Revival style, but a very high application of the style featuring the only colonnade on a Greek Revival house in the Town of Montgomery, with lavish interior decor reflects his prosperity and taste. The stone wall was part of the original house plan.
He died in 1881, leaving the house to his daughter and son-in-law, Sarah and Thomas Stratton. The son-in-law had bought a large gristmill
across the Wallkill from the house, and ran it until it became unprofitable around 1900. During the Strattons' time in the house, the privy and wellhouse were added.
Stratton sold it to a Charles Kaune in 1911. He added the large barn, later to be used as a garage, around 1920. Throughout the rest of the 20th century it passed through a succession of owners. Two of them, in the 1970s and 1990s, restored the house. The latter, Susan Cockburn, was later elected to two terms as Montgomery's town supervisor
, the first woman to hold the position.
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
Route 29) just outside the village of Montgomery
Montgomery (village), New York
Montgomery is a village located in Orange County, New York, United States, 60 miles northwest of New York City, and 90 miles southwest of Albany. The population was 3,636 at the 2000 census...
, New York, United States. It sits on a large parcel of land overlooking the Wallkill River
Wallkill River
The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly to Rondout Creek in New York, near Rosendale, with the combined flows reaching the Hudson at Kingston....
at the junction of River Road and NY 17K
New York State Route 17K
New York State Route 17K is an east–west state highway located within Orange County, New York, in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with County Route 76 east of Bloomingburg to a junction with U.S. Route 9W midway across the city of Newburgh...
, just opposite the western approach to Ward's Bridge
Ward's Bridge
Ward's Bridge carries NY 17K across the Wallkill River at the western end of the village of Montgomery in Orange County, New York, USA. It is named, as its predecessors were, for James Ward, an early settler in the area who established his grist mill on what is now the village side and built the...
.
It is believed that part of the house dates to the 18th century. Waring, a later resident, had the four-column
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
temple-style Greek Revival front section built in the 1840s. It has been occupied since his time and remains a private residence. In 1995 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...
, along with several other buildings and structures on the property. The current resident, who restored
Building restoration
Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...
it, is a former town supervisor
Town supervisor
Town Supervisor is an elective legislative position in New York towns. Supervisors sit on the town board, where they preside over town board meetings and vote on all matters with no more legal weight than that of any other board member .Towns may adopt local laws that allow them to provide for an...
.
Property
The house sits on a 1.5 acre (0.607029 ha) triangular lotLot (real estate)
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner. A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property in other countries...
on both sides of River Road. It slopes to the north and is elevated above grade level enough to provide good views of the river, bridge, and village across. A stone retaining wall
Retaining wall
Retaining walls are built in order to hold back earth which would otherwise move downwards. Their purpose is to stabilize slopes and provide useful areas at different elevations, e.g...
, with a set of entrance steps in the middle, along the front of the property is a contributing
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
structure to the listing. A modern swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
at the rear is not included. Nor are the ruins of two old mills in the steep sloping ground between the road and the river. Contributing outbuildings include a privy
Outhouse
An outhouse is a small structure separate from a main building which often contained a simple toilet and may possibly also be used for housing animals and storage.- Terminology :...
, wellhouse near the house and a large garage/barn to the east. There are other houses on the east and a woodlot
Woodlot
A woodlot is a term used in North America to refer to a segment of a woodland or forest capable of small-scale production of forest products such as wood fuel, sap for maple syrup, sawlogs, as well as recreational uses like bird watching, bushwalking, and wildflower appreciation...
on the west.
Indian Hill itself is a two-story, three-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
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...
-sided frame
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...
house on a raised stone foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
. On the main block is a 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...
d roof with two large brick chimney
Chimney
A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
s on the east side. There are wings on the side and rear.
The south (front) facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
has four fluted
Fluting (architecture)
Fluting in architecture refers to the shallow grooves running vertically along a surface.It typically refers to the grooves running on a column shaft or a pilaster, but need not necessarily be restricted to those two applications...
Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
columns. A plain frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
runs around the main block's roofline. The main entrance, on the west end, has sidelights and a transom
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
surrounded by flat pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s supporting the cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
above it. A single raised panel is above both front windows. All windows have louver
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
ed shutters
Window shutter
A window shutter is a solid and stable window covering usually consisting of a frame of vertical stiles and horizontal rails...
.
On the sides are two gabled one-story wings. A one-story kitchen wing, with a gable and chimney, projects from the rear, connecting to a two-story rear extension.
Inside, the house retains much of its original finish. A molded
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
plaster cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
runs through most of the first floor rooms and the second-story hall. In the parlor and dining room, more flat pilasters support the cornice. Architrave
Architrave
An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.-Classical architecture:...
s surround the paneled field around each window.
The main stairway features a mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
rail with a turned newel
Newel
A newel, also called a central pole, is an upright post that supports the handrail of a stair banister. In stairs having straight flights it is the principal post at the foot of the staircase, but it can also be used for the intermediate posts on landings and at the top of a staircase...
post and baluster
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
s. Both first and second floors have marble mantels, black and white respectively, unusual for Greek Revival houses in the area. The beehive oven
Beehive oven
A beehive oven is an early type of oven. It gets its name from its domed shape, which resembles that of an old-fashioned beehive, and was in common use in the Americas and Europe from the Middle Ages to the advent of the gas and electric ovens. Beehive ovens were common in households used for...
in the kitchen wing still has its original cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
door.
The most conspicuous contributing building is the barn/garage, a one-and-a-half-story frame structure with rear ell on the east side of a carport
Carport
A carport is a covered structure used to offer limited protection to vehicles, primarily cars, from the elements. The structure can either be free standing or attached to a wall. Unlike most structures a carport does not have four walls, and usually has one or two...
at the end of the unpaved driveway. The privy is on the other side of the driveway, and the wellhouse on the south side, near the stone retaining wall.
History
Amy Eliza Crist, a descendant of one of the earliest families to settle the land around today's Montgomery, sold the 16 acres (6.5 ha) that include the current house property to Waring, a successful local miller, for $4,764 ($ in contemporary dollars). Waring lived in a still-extant house on Clinton Street in the village at the time, and stored the lumber for the house he planned to build on the property in one of his own rear outbuildings. It burned, prolonging the construction of the house.The Crists had built the first mills on the future Waring property, and local tradition holds that the kitchen wing was left over from one of the Crist houses. Waring's use of not only the Greek Revival style, but a very high application of the style featuring the only colonnade on a Greek Revival house in the Town of Montgomery, with lavish interior decor reflects his prosperity and taste. The stone wall was part of the original house plan.
He died in 1881, leaving the house to his daughter and son-in-law, Sarah and Thomas Stratton. The son-in-law had bought a large gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
across the Wallkill from the house, and ran it until it became unprofitable around 1900. During the Strattons' time in the house, the privy and wellhouse were added.
Stratton sold it to a Charles Kaune in 1911. He added the large barn, later to be used as a garage, around 1920. Throughout the rest of the 20th century it passed through a succession of owners. Two of them, in the 1970s and 1990s, restored the house. The latter, Susan Cockburn, was later elected to two terms as Montgomery's town supervisor
Town supervisor
Town Supervisor is an elective legislative position in New York towns. Supervisors sit on the town board, where they preside over town board meetings and vote on all matters with no more legal weight than that of any other board member .Towns may adopt local laws that allow them to provide for an...
, the first woman to hold the position.