The John Jones Homestead

The town of Cortlandt where the John Jones Homestead stands was first settled around 1655. Settlements into Cortlandt were slow until 1734 when the Manor lands were partitioned. Following this date settlements steadily increased, with colonists taking advantage of productive land along Annsville Creek and the direct water route to New York City markets provided by the Hudson River. By the time of the Revolutionary War there were over thirty farmsteads on the roads coming out from Peekskill. By the mid-nineteenth century the community in Cortland included a school, two churches, and sixteen residences.

The Jones family has a long lineage can be traced back several generations before the Homestead was built. The first person to live in the Homestead was John Jones the fifth, born in 1732. Like many of his neighbors, he served in the militia during the Revolutionary War. Jones married Sarah Currey, the daughter of Richard Curry and inherited his father-in-law's farm. At his death in 1806 the Homestead was passed down to his two sons, John and Smith W. Jones. The two sons sold the property and it became a private residence.

The architectural construction of the Jones Homestead reflects the architectural taste, lifestyle, and ethnic heritage of the colonial settlers of the Hudson Valley at the time. It is one of the few remaining residential buildings in the area from this time period. 

The materials and techniques employed in the construction of the homestead are common among most eighteenth century frame residences in the Hudson Valley. The stones used for the foundation and heavy timbers of the frame were selected by the builders from the glacial terrain and virgin forests of the local area. Elements of the home including the brick hogging of the wall construction, the tenon jointing in the house framing, and the massive boulders in the foundation walls all reflect the construction practices of pre-industrial America. 

The home is one and a half stories high and was designed with 18th-century Federal-style detailing. The rectangular front hall retains its original wide board flooring. The homestead has a gambrel roof with three dormers and is pierced by three stone chimneys. The east front room of the house was the formal parlor. This room had the most highly detailed mantelpiece in the home. In this room the fireplace wall may have been entirely paneled. The west front room of the house was originally the second parlor. The west parlor had a baseboard, wide board flooring, panels under the window, and six panel doors like the formal parlor.

No significant additions have been made to the exterior of the Homestead since the eighteenth century. The interior of the home retains a significant proportion of its original structure and period finishes are apparent in the primary rooms of the house. The barn, which is believed to have been built at the same time as the Homestead is located behind the residence to the north. The barn is a small, one story, building with a gable roof. It has a boulder stone foundation that is similar to the foundation of the house. The Homestead remains a private home.

1. Williams, Gray. Jackson, Kenneth T.. Picturing Our Past: National Register Sites in Westchester County.
2. John Jones Homestead. National Register of Historic Places. Published May 25th 1989.
3. Beccera, Frank. "Historic home seeks owner." The Journal News . .