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Begun c. 1652, the Pieter Claesen
Wyckoff House is New York Citys oldest structure and one of the oldest wooden
frame houses in the country. It was the first site to be designated
a Landmark upon the creation of the Landmarks Preservation Commission
in 1965 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968.
Pieter Claesen emigrated from the Netherlands in 1637 as an indentured
servant and through connections to Peter Stuyvesant, Director-General
of New Netherlands, settled in what was then known as New Amersfoort
in 1652. Successive generations of Wyckoffs farmed the land until
1901. His descendents donated the house to the City in 1969 and
after an exhaustive restoration it opened as a museum in 1982. The
Museums mission is to educate New Yorkers about the earliest
patterns of Dutch and English agrarian life in the region. School
programs include demonstrations of household and farm activities
and public events are scheduled throughout the year. The Museum
is owned by the City of New York/Department of Parks & Recreation,
administered by the Historic House Trust of New York City, and operated
by the Wyckoff House & Association, Inc., a not-for-profit
educational organization incorporated in 1972.
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