George Strang/John Sherman House (Nelson Avenue-Fort Hill Historic District)

The Nelson Avenue-Fort Hill Historic District is a large residential neighborhood located just north of the Peekskill Downtown Historic District in northwestern Westchester County, New York. Among the 195 contributing buildings in the Nelson Avenue-Fort Hill Historic District is the George Strang/John Sherman House on Paulding Street. Constructed ca.1840, the two story, three-bay, Greek Revival house is said to have originally been built for a man by the name of George Strang. At some point before 1871, ownership of the home transferred from Strang to the Rev. Erskine Rodman of Peekskill’s St. Peter’s Church. In between those years of 1840 and 1871, the house was occupied by Miss Josephine and Miss Harriet Kissam, who conducted a private school here, reportedly instructing children of Maria Louisa Kissam Vanderbilt and her husband William H. Vanderbilt, industrialist and owner of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. In 1871, Rev. Rodman sold the house to John D. Sherman, who owned it from 1871 until the 1890s. John D. Sherman served in the United States government before becoming the first principal of Peekskill’s Oakside School, located just two blocks away from his home, when it opened in 1884. Sherman’s son, Frank Dempster Sherman, a noted poet, also resided here until his marriage in 1887. The house remained in the Sherman family until the 1940s and is still a privately owned residence. The Nelson Avenue-Fort Hill Historic District, including the George Strang/John Sherman House, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

In 1820, a Peekskill resident by the name of Stephen Gregory began producing iron plowshares in a little shop located off of Main Street in downtown Peekskill, initiating what would become a thriving and prosperous industry that attracted many families and entrepreneurs to the area over the next decades. In the 1830s, two other local gentlemen, James Taylor and Reuben R. Finch, started a successful iron and stove foundry on the east side of Division Street. By the 1840s, Peekskill, New York, was bringing many new workers and residents to its shores and ports along the Hudson River.

During these early years of Peekskill’s industrial growth, in 1840, a man by the name of George Strang, who was the son of Underhill Strang and Jemima Bedell, constructed a home on Paulding Street. At some point over the next few decades the house served as a school, run by Miss Josephine and Miss Harriet Kissam, that reportedly educated some members of the wealthy and well-known Vanderbilt family, specifically the children of William H. Vanderbilt and Maria Louisa Kissam Vanderbilt (Maria Louisa Kissam Vanderbilt was a cousin of the sisters Josephine and Harriet Kissam). By 1871, the house changed ownership and seems to have ceased hosting students. At that time, it was already in the hands of a Rev. Erskine Rodman, the Rector of St. Peter’s Church, which was originally built on North Division Street and is still standing today. The 1871 deed indicates the home was sold by Rev. Rodman and purchased by John D. Sherman.

John D. Sherman had moved to Peekskill in 1854. He served as the principal of the Howard Street School until about 1861, when he accepted an appointment by the United States Government. By 1884, John D. Sherman has returned to his profession in education when he became the first principal of another Peekskill school, the Oakside School, when it opened just two blocks away from his home. He continued living in his house on Paulding Street until his death in the 1890s, at which point ownership was transferred to his wife. Mrs. Sherman ran a florist shop out of the home until at least 1910. The house remained in the Sherman family until the 1940s. 

John D. Sherman’s son, Frank Dempster Sherman, resided in the family home from his birth in 1860 until his marriage in 1887. During this time he attended Columbia University, from which he graduated in 1884 at age 24. Like his brother Karl and sister Lucy, he went into teaching. He was a professor of graphics in the School of Architecture at Columbia from 1904 until his death in 1916. Frank Dempster Sherman also distinguished himself as a poet, authoring "Madrigals and Catches" (1887); "Lyrics for a Lute" (1890); "Little Folk Lyrics" (1892); "Lyrics of Joy" (1904); and "A Southern Flight" (with Clinton Scollard, 1906).

The two story, three-bay George Strang/John Sherman House has a simple Greek Revival architectural style, with a brick foundation, gable roof, endwall chimneys, and a side entry. A two-stall garage has been added to the west side of the house; otherwise it retains most of its original form. 

The Nelson Avenue-Fort Hill Historic District, including the George Strang/John Sherman House, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

1. Cumming, Rev. William J. “Cortlandt” in J. Thomas Scharf, ed. History of Westchester County, New York. Chapter V. Vol. II. Philadelphia, PA: L.E Preston & Co. 1886.
2. Fox, Dixson Ryan. “A Tribute to Frank Dempster Sherman.” The Westchester Historian. Vol. 8, No. 3, July, 1932.
3. “Nelson Avenue-Fort Hill Historic District #06000335.” National Register of Historic Places. United States Department of the Interior/National Park Service. 2006. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75323119 
4. Smith, Chester A. Peekskill, A Friendly Town: Its Historic Sites and Shrines: A Pictorial History of the City From 1654-1952. Peekskill, NY: The Highland Press. 1952.
5. “The John D. Sherman House.” Historic Resource Inventory Form. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. 2004.