Joseph Purdy Homestead

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The Purdy’s were an influential Westchester family throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The sons of Francis Purdy acquired one thousand acres of land in the early 1700s and multiple family members have served as town supervisors and judges. The hamlet of Purdy’s Station was named after Isaac Hart Purdy for his contributions to industrial projects in the town. As of 1950, seven generations of Purdy’s had lived in the house built by Joseph Purdy.

Images

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

In 1768, Joseph Purdy received a portion of the land obtained by his grandfather. Construction of the Purdy house began on June 17, 1775, which was also the date of the Battle of Bunker Hill. The homestead resembles the typical rural style of the eighteenth-century Federal Period. Wood shingles were hand cut and nailed, and the symmetrical composition of the façade is similar to that of Georgian buildings. The interior includes wide floorboards, exposed oak beams, and original windowpanes. Restorations took place sometime in the 1870s, when a full width porch and Italianate Revival brackets at the cornice line were added to the exterior.

After building his house, Purdy erected mills at the junction of the Titicus and Croton Rivers and constructed the central block of the current building in 1776. In 1895, some structures were moved to higher ground by request of the New York City Department of Water Supply. However, the Purdy Homestead still remains on its initial site and is still owned by the Purdy’s. As of 2012, it operates as a restaurant called Purdy’s Farmer & the Fish.

In addition to the contributions of Joseph Purdy, another member of the family named Isaac Hart Purdy was well-known for developing the town of North Salem throughout the late 19th century. Purdy financed the first train station in the town in the 1840s, and the surrounding area came to be known as Purdy Station. By the 1890s, Purdy Station had developed into a thriving village that consisted of a hotel, school, church, post office, markets, barns, mills, and homes – including the Purdy homestead.

Sources

National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records. “New York SP Purdy, Joseph, Homestead,” January 25, 1973. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75323187.
S. Swanson, and E. Fuller. “Westchester County: A Pictorial History.” North Salem Historical Society, 1982.
Sanchis, F. “American Architecture: Westchester County, New York,” 1977.
Warner, Fred C. “Purdy Homestead Landmark in North Salem Since 1775,” n.d.