Upstate

A Petite 18th Century Stone House Packed With Charm in Piermont, Yours for Under $550K

by Susan De Vries

01/21/2022 0

There are lots of historical caveats given with this property: It’s possibly the oldest house in Piermont, N.Y., possibly a former tavern and, naturally for a house of this vintage, George Washington is rumored to have visited. No matter what is fact or fiction, what is clear is that the 18th century stone structure has charm a-plenty with wide plank wood floors, beamed ceilings and working fireplaces.

While Piermont is perched along the Hudson River, the house on the market at 272 Piermont Avenue is near another body of water that played an important role in the development of the town, the Sparkill Creek. The creek provided power to the early commercial efforts of the town, and a gristmill and shop were operating here before the Revolutionary War. This old section of Piermont, including the Piermont Avenue house, is in the Rockland Road Bridge National Register Historic District.

The rumored construction date for the three-bay house is circa 1730 although the designation report suggests a possible date of circa 1785 with later alterations. The report is silent on the matter of George Washington but the Piermont Historical Society suggests that the house did host Washington, who was in the area in 1783 to negotiate the withdrawal of British troops from New York City. Their research also identifies the early owners as Lawrence and Elizabeth Briggs.

As to be expected, it isn’t a huge house, just two bedrooms and one bath in just over 1,000 square feet. The two rooms of the first floor, divided by a central stair, pack in the period details, including those beamed ceilings and wood floors. There are fireplaces with wood mantels and stone hearths in each room and windows set deep in the thick stone walls.

A modern, but sympathetic, kitchen has been inserted with blue Shaker-style cabinets, butcher block counters and a stacked washer/dryer tucked next to the apartment-sized refrigerator.

The dormered second floor holds the two bedrooms, one large and one petite, both with baseboard heating. A modest bathroom isn’t shown in the listing photos but can be spotted in the video tour.

A low stone wall wraps around the house with a bit of green space at front. Behind a fence a paved courtyard wraps around the side and rear of the house.

The house is just a walk from downtown Piermont and while there isn’t a train station, Metro-North service into the city is available directly across the river in Tarrytown.

The house is listed for $549,500 with Russell S. Woolley of Wright Bros Real Estate Inc. It hasn’t been on the market long but the listing now shows a pending offer.