Henry Tunis Smith Farm

Henry Tunis Smith Farm, also known as the Middlebrook Farm, is a historic farmhouse located at Nassau in Rensselaer County, New York. The house was built in 1789 in the Federal style. It consists of a ​1 1⁄2-story main block, five bays wide, with a 1-story, three-bay wing. The front facade features a finely detailed frieze.[2]

Henry Tunis Smith Farm
Nearest cityNassau, New York
Coordinates42°29′37″N 73°37′10″W
Area162.5 acres (65.8 ha)
Built1800
Architectural styleFederal, Adamesque
NRHP reference No.75001222[1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 18, 1975

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[1]

The house sits on a historic property that traces back to the 17th century Dutch Manor of Rensselaerswyck

Rensselaerswyck was a Dutch estate of approximately 1,200 sq. miles comprising the present Albany, Columbia and Rensselaer counties. The Dutch Patroon Stephen Van Rensselaer devised a solution to sustain the financial viability of the land without selling it. He divided the estate into parcels and granted tenants perpetual leases at moderate rates of about one percent of the land's output. Eventually, about 900 farms of 150 acres were established. The solution greatly increased the productivity for the land and generated large economic benefit for the entire Albany area.

The current farm property includes the original parcel leased from Van Rensselaer.

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. Doris Vanderlipp Manley and Shirley Dunn (n.d.). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Henry Tunis Smith Farm". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2010-11-21. See also: "Accompanying nine photos".


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