The Tappen House
The Cornelius Tappen House, also known as the Vandenburgh-Hasbrouck House is considered to be one of the oldest houses in the Kingston Stockade District as well as one of the oldest in the United States. It was built around 1670 and is located at 10 Crown Street in Kingston, New York.
Designed and built as a salt-box style house (categorized as such due to its historic saltbox shape), the Tappen building was constructed with uncut stones, an example of a "rubble" house, one of the last in America. It is said to have been home to George Clinton, governor of New York and fourth Vice President of the United States.[1][2]
In 1777, during the American Revolutionary War, the Tappen was home to many of Kingston's oldest records. When the British came and tragically burned the city to the ground, Kingston was lucky to have Cornelius Tappen, the county clerk, who put his own safety aside and rescued the town records from the fire.
The Tappen building was one of the very lucky few that survived the great fire and even retains some of its originals windows to this day. The building was fixed up following the fire and became Kingston's first post office.
Throughout the years the Tappen house was passed through many families until the 1970s. Slated for demolition as part of uptown urban development, the house was rescued by Heritage Savings bank who restored the building for use as a banking facility. The building briefly acted as an extension of the bank and then sat empty for a few decades before being found by Chef and Owner Dan Sherman who restored it by hand to a historically relevant condition for the restaurant, duly named The Tappen.[3][4]
References
External links
