The Patchett House is located at Ward Street (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...

), on the junction with Factory Street, in 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

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. It was originally built in the early 19th century as a tavern

Tavern

A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....

 serving travelers on the Newburgh-Cochecton Turnpike, whose eastern half 17K follows today.

Arthur Patchett, at the time co-owner of the Montgomery Worsted Mills

Montgomery Worsted Mills

The Montgomery Worsted Mills, known today as Montgomery Mills, is along the Wallkill River at the end of Factory Street in the Orange County village of Montgomery, New York...

 at the end of Factory Street on 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....

, moved into the house sometime in the 1890s. His family continued living there until the 1970s.

The house was added to 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...

 in 1980. Later on, though, it remained vacant and by the end of the century had fallen into serious neglect and disrepair. In 2005, serious renovations were undertaken and today the house looks as good as new. The most recent tenants are the nonprofit artist's environmental cooperative Wallkill River School.

A nearby townhouse

Townhouse

A townhouse is the term historically used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and in many other countries to describe a residence of a peer or member of the aristocracy in the capital or major city. Most such figures owned one or more country houses in which they lived for much of the year...

 complex is named Patchett Crossing. The Montgomery Water Works

Montgomery Water Works

The Montgomery Water Works is located along NY 17K in the village of Montgomery, New York. The two small brick buildings were built in 1895 on land sold to the village by Arthur Patchett, whose own house still stands across the road....

, built on land originally owned by the Patchetts, stands almost just across 17K, and the Orange County Choppers

Orange County Choppers

Orange County Choppers is a custom and production motorcycle manufacturer based in Orange County, New York, that was founded by Paul Teutul, Sr., and Paul Teutul, Jr., in 1999. The company was featured on American Chopper, a reality TV show that debuted in September 2002 on the Discovery Channel,...

production facility is just up the street.