16 Aug 09: Still in Brooklyn : ), after partaking in the delicious complimentary breakfast at the hostel, I made my way via the bus to the southern part of the borough to the Wyckoff House. Unknown to me before arriving, I later learned on the tour that the house is the oldest building in New York City!
Pieter Claesen Wyckoff (1625-1694) built the house in c.1652 and it was originally a Dutch West India Company bowerie or farm. The fact that the land became a Dutch territory following the subsequent removal of the Native people (and all of New York City) will resurface later in an interesting way.
Pieter Claesen Wyckoff (1625-1694) built the house in c.1652 and it was originally a Dutch West India Company bowerie or farm. The fact that the land became a Dutch territory following the subsequent removal of the Native people (and all of New York City) will resurface later in an interesting way.
The original Canarsie Lane
The bus ride from Williamsburg to the House was approximately 50 minutes. The house resides on the corner of Clarendon RD and Ralph Ave. After deboarding the bus I was pleasantly greeted with another garden/park-like oasis in the middle of the city, just like Weeksville. The house sits in its original location. Even parts of the original street, Canarsie Lane, remain on the site. It is difficult to imagine that an area so densely populated was once a farm.
The entry to the site immediately pulled me in to the Community Demonstration Garden. Each item is visibly labeled - cucumbers, Swiss chard, tomatoes. It is a smaller version of its former farm self, yet still communicates the essence of community. The local block club members maintain the garden plots on the front of the property. Lucy, the tour guide, gave me a tour of the herb garden located in the rear of the house. Like the rest of the garden, they use this herb garden as a teaching tool for area youth. After the tour, I walked through the front garden and met a member of the block club. Before we parted ways, she offered me a tomato (see pic above). This tomato will reappear later in this journey ...
For the past five years the Wyckoff House has held a farmer's market in front of the wrought iron fence (see pic above). This year they canceled the market due to excessive rain. Something interesting that I learned in the power of community ... on some occasions the staff at Wyckoff would ask for surplus produce from the Weeksville Market to sell at their market. You see, the Weeksville Market is on Saturdays and the Wyckoff Market was on Sundays. The two historic sites engage in a network of sharing food resources to serve their communities.
The house tour provided some eye opening fodder. First, what you see in the photograph of the house is a building's full evolution. Taking a look at the second image from the top, the first section of the house built by Pieter Wyckoff is located on the left-hand side. This he built in 1652. He expands the house in c. 1740. The house is an example of Dutch colonial vernacular style with an H-frame. It is also an example of the early influence Native people had on what we term vernacular style architecture. The house contains an exposed wall section where visitors are able to see the anatomy of the building (yay!). Guess what is inside the wall? Maize (corn) cobs. Insulating the walls with corn cobs is something the colonists learned from the Native inhabitants of the region. I couldn't help but think about the cob structures I learned about last summer in Portland, OR. Yet, that kind of cob construction involves a mud compound made of straw, clay, sand, water, and soil - forming a building material similar to adobe.
Also of note is the fact that the windows did not contain glass when originally built. So, imagine sitting around the fireplace in the winter with multiple layers of clothing, getting very comfy and cozy with family. Prior to the 18th C., the original American colonies relied on Britain for pretty much everything they needed ... like tea : ) And it took months to receive goods. By the 18th C. glass was produced in Williamsburg, Virginia and the Wyckoffs were able to install the present-day windows. (Yes, the windows are original. One of the things I like to do when visiting older buildings such as this one is move my head from side to side in front of the windows : ) If I see waviness in the glass, then I know that the windows are original.)
So one of the questions I asked Lucy as we sat in the herb garden was how they involved the community in the activities at the house. I assumed that they did not have direct ties to the Dutch origins of the house. I learned from Lucy that the community residents did in fact have a connection. One day, the staff at the house held a cookout on the front lawn. They have a fire pit out front equipped with an old Dutch oven. Lucy said an older gentleman at least 100 years old came to the cookout and said that his grandfather (or grandmother) had an oven just like that one! You see, this gentleman was from the Caribbean ... a former Dutch colony! Fascinating! Much of the food they prepared that night also resonated with their neighbors and through the use of food two seemingly different cultures were united.
The visit to Weeksville and the visit to the Wyckoff House has inspired me to consider the sustainability of historic sites. I love visiting historic house museums, yet, I wonder, as visits to historic house museums and similar sites are dwindling, how we can maintain the relevancy of these relics of the past? (Even Lucy noted the unexpectedly high foot traffic on the day of my visit - 6 visitors including me.) How can a site remain an integral part of the surrounding community? How can it be a good neighbor? One way is by sharing its land resource and contributing to the food security of the community.
.............
A side note about the last name Wyckoff ... it's not a "real" last name ... when Pieter arrived in present day Brooklyn, he did not have a surname. It is not a Dutch custom to have a surname. When the English took over New Amsterdam (Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands) and named it New York (York, being a city in England) they made all of the Dutch take surnames. Pieter created the name Wyckoff. According to the tour guide, Wyckoff is a combination of two words, both creating a rough Dutch translation of "lover of land and community." Also, Wikipedia defines the two Dutch roots as "Wyk" = parish and "Hof" = court. Pieter was a judge.
Block club member picking vegetables
The entry to the site immediately pulled me in to the Community Demonstration Garden. Each item is visibly labeled - cucumbers, Swiss chard, tomatoes. It is a smaller version of its former farm self, yet still communicates the essence of community. The local block club members maintain the garden plots on the front of the property. Lucy, the tour guide, gave me a tour of the herb garden located in the rear of the house. Like the rest of the garden, they use this herb garden as a teaching tool for area youth. After the tour, I walked through the front garden and met a member of the block club. Before we parted ways, she offered me a tomato (see pic above). This tomato will reappear later in this journey ...
For the past five years the Wyckoff House has held a farmer's market in front of the wrought iron fence (see pic above). This year they canceled the market due to excessive rain. Something interesting that I learned in the power of community ... on some occasions the staff at Wyckoff would ask for surplus produce from the Weeksville Market to sell at their market. You see, the Weeksville Market is on Saturdays and the Wyckoff Market was on Sundays. The two historic sites engage in a network of sharing food resources to serve their communities.
Exposed wall (cobs in the bottom)
The house tour provided some eye opening fodder. First, what you see in the photograph of the house is a building's full evolution. Taking a look at the second image from the top, the first section of the house built by Pieter Wyckoff is located on the left-hand side. This he built in 1652. He expands the house in c. 1740. The house is an example of Dutch colonial vernacular style with an H-frame. It is also an example of the early influence Native people had on what we term vernacular style architecture. The house contains an exposed wall section where visitors are able to see the anatomy of the building (yay!). Guess what is inside the wall? Maize (corn) cobs. Insulating the walls with corn cobs is something the colonists learned from the Native inhabitants of the region. I couldn't help but think about the cob structures I learned about last summer in Portland, OR. Yet, that kind of cob construction involves a mud compound made of straw, clay, sand, water, and soil - forming a building material similar to adobe.
Also of note is the fact that the windows did not contain glass when originally built. So, imagine sitting around the fireplace in the winter with multiple layers of clothing, getting very comfy and cozy with family. Prior to the 18th C., the original American colonies relied on Britain for pretty much everything they needed ... like tea : ) And it took months to receive goods. By the 18th C. glass was produced in Williamsburg, Virginia and the Wyckoffs were able to install the present-day windows. (Yes, the windows are original. One of the things I like to do when visiting older buildings such as this one is move my head from side to side in front of the windows : ) If I see waviness in the glass, then I know that the windows are original.)
Lucy in the herb garden
So one of the questions I asked Lucy as we sat in the herb garden was how they involved the community in the activities at the house. I assumed that they did not have direct ties to the Dutch origins of the house. I learned from Lucy that the community residents did in fact have a connection. One day, the staff at the house held a cookout on the front lawn. They have a fire pit out front equipped with an old Dutch oven. Lucy said an older gentleman at least 100 years old came to the cookout and said that his grandfather (or grandmother) had an oven just like that one! You see, this gentleman was from the Caribbean ... a former Dutch colony! Fascinating! Much of the food they prepared that night also resonated with their neighbors and through the use of food two seemingly different cultures were united.
The visit to Weeksville and the visit to the Wyckoff House has inspired me to consider the sustainability of historic sites. I love visiting historic house museums, yet, I wonder, as visits to historic house museums and similar sites are dwindling, how we can maintain the relevancy of these relics of the past? (Even Lucy noted the unexpectedly high foot traffic on the day of my visit - 6 visitors including me.) How can a site remain an integral part of the surrounding community? How can it be a good neighbor? One way is by sharing its land resource and contributing to the food security of the community.
.............
A side note about the last name Wyckoff ... it's not a "real" last name ... when Pieter arrived in present day Brooklyn, he did not have a surname. It is not a Dutch custom to have a surname. When the English took over New Amsterdam (Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands) and named it New York (York, being a city in England) they made all of the Dutch take surnames. Pieter created the name Wyckoff. According to the tour guide, Wyckoff is a combination of two words, both creating a rough Dutch translation of "lover of land and community." Also, Wikipedia defines the two Dutch roots as "Wyk" = parish and "Hof" = court. Pieter was a judge.
In front of the Wyckoff House
