Bronck House

Visitors to Bronck Museum participate in guided tours of National Historic Landmark structures that reflect over tow hundred years of architectural history. Pieter Bronck's single room stone house, built 1663, is believed to be the oldest surviving house is the Hudson Valley. This simple sturdy one room stone structure is an excellent example of the utilitarian dwellings favored by many of the first Northern Europeans to settle the valley. The house built in 1738 by Leendert Bronck possesses the rawboned elegance that distinguishes classic Dutch colonial dwellings. This spacious three story home is graced with patterned brickwork, a steely sloping roof, and "mousetoothed" parapet gables. Both dwellings and the diminutive Kitchen Dependency are filled with eighteenth and nineteenth century family furniture, regional art, textiles, and household furnishings. The inviting interiors of the Bronck homes prompt visitors to inquire "when can we move in?"

1663 Stone House

In January 1662, Pieter Bronck entered into a contract to purchase from the Katskill Indians a tract of land known by the Indian name "Koixhackung". Choosing a site at the base of the Kalkberg Ridge, Pieter built his dwelling, a small single room structure with cellar and storage garret. The original massive beams, wide floor boards, cellar hatchway, and early Dutch door still dominate the interior. This house is the oldest surviving dwelling in Upstate New York.

1685 Stone Addition

The first expansion of the original structure to accommodate the growing family. This "west wing" consists of a hallway, main room, and loft. The great storm of 1792 caused extensive structural damage, requiring rebuilding . It was during this rebuilding that the distinctive paneling was installed.

1738 Brick House

An excellent example of rural Hudson Valley Dutch architecture modified by a federal period taste. This four room dwelling has a large attic and cellar. The structure's size attests to the growing affluence of the Bronck family. Shortly after completion, the brick dwelling was connected to the stone dwellings with the construction of the "hyphen hallway".

Kitchen Dependency

Built in federal period on the foundation of an earlier structure. A house in miniature, with main room, loft, and cellar, it faces the rear courtyard in a manner typical of the detached kitchen in a plantation economy. On display are local furniture and equipment used in the preparation and serving of food to a large household of family and servants.

House Furnishings

The rooms are furnished with period furniture. In addition, china, glass and silver from several generations of Broncks as well as other Greene County families create a gracious atmosphere. Throughout the houses are important works of art by Ammi Philips, Nehemiah Partridge, Ezra Ames, John Frederick Kensett, Richard Hubbard, and Benjamin Stone. The "west wing loft" houses an important collection of regional textiles, as well as weaving and spinning equipment.