Hubbard House

The historic wood frame home at 2138 McDonald Ave. (formerly "Gravesend Ave.") in Gravesend is the Hubbard House, believed to date to the 1820s or 1830s. The original builder may have been local carpenter Lawrence Ryder. The first resident may have been Nelly Hubbard, who owned the house on an 1849 map. The Hubbard House - also known as the Hubbard-Luchelli House, has two major sections. The 1.5-story section is the older (ca. 1830-1835) house, with original clapboards; the 2-story section was added in 1924 by the Luchelli family. The Hubbard House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 and became a New York City landmark in 2009. It is one of the oldest Dutch style homes in New York City and one of the few that still stand in their original spot.

The Hubbard House was on a part of the original town of Gravesend that was "Plantation 15," allotted to Thomas Morrell in the 1640s. The farm - one of the wedge-shaped lots radiating out from the town center's four square sections - was divided into several smaller tracts by the 1770s, including one of 5.3 acres. In 1830, the 5.3-acre tract was subdivided by the five grown children of the late Hendrick Johnson (1751-1815) into five lots, one for each heir. Their mother died soon afterwards; the center lot of the five, allotted to her son Court H. Johnson, contained the older farmhouse (since demolished). Three of the Hendrick Johnson daughters, including Nelly Johnson Hubbard, built houses on their lots, probably by 1840.

Nelly Johnson (1780-1865) married Abraham Hubbard, a farmer and descendant of one of the original 1640s English settlers of Gravesend. Nelly was in her 50s and widowed by the time she presumably had the surviving house built. Her daughters had married and moved away but one son remained at home, Samuel. Nelly, Samuel, and a girl aged 10 to 15 (likely a servant) shared the house in 1840, according to the census. Also in the home was a "free colored" male aged 10 to 24; it is probable that he was a farm laborer, since the

Hubbard family had a farm southwest of the town center, and Samuel was a farmer.

On the 1850 census, Nelly's son Samuel (age 37, farmer) was listed as head of a Gravesend household (presumably the McDonald Ave. [then called Gravesend Ave.] house) and owner of $2,500 in real estate. Samuel shared the house with Nelly ("Ellen," 72, no occupation); probable servants George Townsend (13) and Catherine Murphy (18); and Nelly's grandson Tunis Stryker (18, laborer).

Nelly Hubbard was the head of a household elsewhere in Gravesend in 1860, according to the NYC landmarks report. The 81-year-old was a farmer and owned real estate worth $8,000 plus $1,000 in personal property. Sharing the house were Nelly's son Samuel (47, farmer) and the Foley family, probable servants (Sarah [34], Samuel [35]. and daughter Jessie [12]). Also in Nelly's house was Phoebe Voorhies (77), who owned $800 in real estate and may have been one of Nelly's sisters. The occupants of Nelly's McDonald Ave. house in 1860, likely occupied by tenants, are not known. When Nelly died in 1865, the McDonald Ave. house and lot passed to her surviving sister Elizabeth (Eliza) Johnson and two Stryker granddaughters (Aletta E. and Johanna). Samuel soon bought the house from the heirs, and lived there until his death in 1900.

The Lucchelli family, Italian immigrants, purchased the Nelly Hubbard House in 1904. Vincent (Vincenzo) Lucchelli and his wife Adenetti (Antoinette) emigrated to the U.S. in 1893. By 1910, they shared the former Hubbard home with their five children aged 5 to 12. Vincent (40) worked as operator making coats; Adenetti (34) did not work outside the home. The family added the two-story hipped-roof section on the south side of the Dutch style house, partly to provide airy sleeping quarters. The family had members with tuberculosis, and fresh air was touted as a remedy for the lung disease. The Lucchelli family owned the house until the 1990s.

Harris, Gail. Designation Report, Hubbard House, 2138 McDonald Avenue, Brooklyn, LP-2292. NYC landmarks. New York, NY. NYC Government, 2009.

U.S. Census. Household of Samuel Hubbard in Gravesend, Kings Co., NY, dwelling 48, family 52. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1850.

U.S. Census. Household of Nelly Hubbard in Gravesend, Kings Co., NY, dwelling 835, family 910. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1860.

U.S. Census. Household of Vincent Lucchelli at 2138 Gravesend Ave., Brooklyn, NY, dwelling 134, family 213. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1910.