Mandeville House

The Mandeville House is an historically and architecturally significant home located in Garrison, New York. Historians estimate the construction date of the original dwelling to either 1735 or 1737, with those most familiar with the fabric of the home agreeing on 1735. The first known owner of the house was Jacob Mandeville, who built the dwelling on the 400-acre property that he leased from the Philipse patent. The Mandeville House, which was used as a headquarters by General Israel Putnam during the Revolutionary War and housed General George Washington on two occasions in 1779. It is the oldest house in Garrison. The home's floor illustrates the five stages of the home's evolution and historic preservation, especially the first floor. The Mandeville House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

The Mandeville House is situated in Garrison, New York, in Philipstown, at the intersection of the prominent Kings Highway. It was originally part of the 1697 land grant to Adolphe Philipse by King William III of England. Historians date the construction of the Mandeville House to either 1735 or 1737, with most on 1735. The original owner of the dwelling was Jacob Mandeville, a descendant of Yellis Jansen Mandeville, a Hollander who arrived in New Amsterdam in 1659.

Jacob Mandeville was born in 1709. He married Sarah Davenport, of Cold Spring, in 1735, the same year he likely built the Mandeville House on the 400-acre property he leased from the Philipse patent. It is believed that the original house consisted of the present dining room, rear "hall," and attic, with the kitchen, parlor, and bedroom having been added later. When Jacob Mandeville died in 1784, ownership of the house was transferred to Beverly Robinson, the husband of Susanna Philipse Robinson, who inherited a third of the Philipse lands. However, the Robinsons had supported the British during the Revolutionary War, resulting in the confiscation of their property. The home was then sold by the Commissioners of Forfeiture in 1785 to Joshua Nelson, Jacob Mandeville's son in law. The house remained in the Nelson family until the 1840s when it was sold to a Mrs. Brown.

In 1852, the Mandeville House was sold by Mrs. Brown to Richard Upjohn, a New York City-based architect. Upjohn added Gothic elements to the house, which remained during subsequent ownership of the house by Upjohn's heirs. It wasn't until the 1920s that these Gothic elements were removed and the house returned to its original Colonial appearance by owner, Colonial Julian A. Benjamin and Miss Nancy Allen. Allen later held ownership of the Mandeville House and left it to her daughter, Margaret Allen Gething. When Ms. Gething died in 1975, the house was owned by a trust set up by her will. In 2006, Richard Perry took over what became the Perry-Gething Foundation. A lawyer and former friend of Margaret Allen Gething, Perry had been asked by Gething to oversee the trust, which stipulated that the house be preserved and made accessible to the public. The Foundation opens the house for tours on occasion.

The Mandeville House is significant not only for its date of construction, which makes it Garrison's oldest home, but also for the role it played during the Revolutionary War. In 1779, Major General Israel Putnam headquartered here at the Mandeville House. It is also believed, according to records of his expenses, that on two occasions in 1779 General George Washington slept overnight at the Mandeville House. British commander, General Howe, likely also headquarter here in 1781.

The Mandeville House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

"Mandeville House #82001251.” National Register of Historic Places. United States Department of the Interior/National Park Service.1982. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75314418.

"Mandeville's." The Historical Marker Database. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=20704. Accessed Jan. 18, 2023.

Rooney, Alison. "Window Opens to See Historic Home." The Highlands Current. Sept. 25, 2017. https://highlandscurrent.org/2017/09/25/window-opens-see-historic-home/. Accessed Jan. 18, 2023.

Strom, Stephanie. "Long After Revolutionary War, House Is Still a Battle Scene." The New York Times. June 16, 2006. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/16/us/16house.html?_r=0. Accessed Nov. 14, 2018.