Photos courtesy of Francisco Rosario / DDReps
An estate in the Catskill Mountains owned by the same family for over 200 years is for sale. Sitting on roughly 1,600 acres in Delaware County, the estate, known as Lake Delaware Farm, belongs to the descendants of the Livingston family, “early American aristocrats” who were given control over much of the area by the English crown in the 17th century, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Asking $14,000,000, the property in Bovina Center includes an eight-bedroom Greek-Revival home built on the edge of a 68-acre private lake, surrounded by rolling hills and dramatic mountain views.
Gertrude Livingston built Lake Delaware Farm in the 1780s on the 20,000 acres passed down through the Livingston family. Her great-grandfather, Robert Livingston, had been named as one of the grantees of the Hardenbergh Patent of 1708, which included 2,000,000 acres across New York given to seven loyal subjects.
With Lake Delaware as the centerpiece of the property, Gertrude and her husband, Morgan Lewis, a key figure in the American Revolution and later, governor of New York and a Supreme Court justice, made the Lake House their summer retreat.
Elbridge Gerry, who currently owns the property along with nine cousins, told the Wall Street Journal, the home has remained a family summer home ever since. They are selling the historic property because the family is now dispersed across the country, and the estate is underused. Gerry told the newspaper he hopes the buyer will “preserve the historic house.”
Sitting atop a hill and at the end of a long driveway, the Lake House features architecture inspired by Rome and Greece, including four, two-story Doric columns. While the home has been renovated and expanded over the years (including a $3 million renovation in 2000), its front porch, parlors, and entry hall date to the 18th century.
From the center hall, take in the unique carved spiral stair and 19th-century additions, like fine paneling, ceiling tracery, marble fireplace mantels, hardwood moldings, and inlaid floors.
There’s also a modern eat-in kitchen, a family room, a mud room, a laundry room, and a bar on the first floor. An elevator travels to the second-floor bedrooms.
There are eight large bedrooms, all with en-suite baths. There’s a bonus bedroom on the attic floor with its own bath as well.
Also included in the property is the private lake and a boathouse. At its peak, the original estate included working farms, stables, and a private chapel, but parts have been sold off or donated over the years.
With ties to the Livingston and Gerry families, including several of America’s founding fathers, Lake Delaware Farm has ties to the birth of the United States and to the history of the Hudson Valley and New York State as a whole.
[Listing details: Lake Delaware Drive by Norah Burden and Owen Davidson]
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Photos courtesy of Francisco Rosario / DDReps
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