History and architecture
The Dyckman House stands as the last typical Dutch Colonial farmhouse left on Manhattan Island. Built of fieldstone, brick and wood, this Eighteenth Century hose replaced one of 1748 which was destroyed by the British in the Revolutionary War.
Descendants of the Dyckman family purchased and restored the house with period furnishings, presenting it to the City in 1915 which now manages it as a museum and park.
It is a modest dwelling with an unpretentious charm and warmth. Architecturally it is a country farmhouse of the period, at its best. Perched on a small landscaped hillock, with a sturdy fieldstone wall enclosing the property, it is a valued treasure of our architectural legacy.
Built in 1783, the structure has a few features and details suggesting earlier construction. The one and one-half story dwelling with high basement, has a sweeping low-pitched gambrel roof, curved over a full porch. It has brick and fieldstone walls below and clapboard above. The columns of the porch, supporting the roof, are of the plain box type. At the south end a small wing extends out from the main dwelling.
During the Revolutionary War, this area constituted the famous Hessian Hut camp, consisting of approximately 36 little rough wood huts with thatched roofs. The camp remained the outer point of defense for the British until 1783. When they left , they destroyed the orchards and the farmhouse.
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.