SPRING
1998
VOL. II, ISSUE I
The Mabee House: Jewel of the Mohawk Valley
This issue of the Dutch Barn Newsletter is dedicated to the Mabee house in Rotterdam Junction, New York. The house is the home of the Schenectady County Historical Association and is a fine example of 17th century Dutch Colonial Architecture in the Mohawk Valley. It is the hope and plan of the Schenectady County Historical Society to relocate a Dutch barn to this site within the next few years. In order to honor the initiative of this society to preserve Dutch culture, we dedicate this issue to the Mabee House.
An old photo of the Mabee Farm looking north. The Mabee house has the steep pitched roof at the left side of the photo. To the left of the house and extending off the photo is the summer kitchen. This photo provides a good view of the house and relative locations of the outbuildings. The Dutch barn shown and outbuildings no longer exist. Photo courtesy of the Schenectady County Historical Society.
A Brief Description of the Mabee House
By Christopher Albright
The Mabee House is located on the south side of the Mohawk River about eight miles west of the Stockade area of Schenectady on a tract of land that was known as the Third Flat. The Third Flat consisted of about 127 acres of low land that was originally settled by Daniel Janse Van Antwerp about 1670. Daniel Janse received a patent for this land in 1680 from Governor Andros. The house is believed to have been built during the period 1670-1680 by Daniel Janse. In 1706, the west half of the Third Flat consisting of about 63 acres was sold by Daniel Janse Van Antwerp to Jan Pieterse Mabee. The house remained in the Mabee family until being donated to the Schenectady County Historical Association by a descendant, George Franchere.
The house walls are constructed of stone and the gabled roof has a very steep pitch. The current dimensions of the stone portion of the house are 23 feet 9 inches by 35 feet 8 inches; however its original size was most likely 23 feet 9 inches square. The house was extended longitudinally to the southeast in the eighteenth century, sometime after Jan Pieterse Mebie purchased it from Van Antwerp. A jambless fireplace was on the northwest wall of the original single room house.
A wood and brick summer kitchen stands just west of the house and an all wood addition is attached to the northeast corner of the house. The summer kitchen and wood addition are constructed using Dutch timber framing methods. An original Dutch barn southeast of the house no longer exists. (See photograph above.)
