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Gen. William Floyd House

Coordinates: 43°18′22″N 75°23′2″W / 43.30611°N 75.38389°W / 43.30611; -75.38389
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Gen. William Floyd House
South front of house, from southeast. HABS, 1970
Gen. William Floyd House is located in New York
Gen. William Floyd House
Gen. William Floyd House is located in the United States
Gen. William Floyd House
LocationW side of Main St., Westernville, New York
Coordinates43°18′22″N 75°23′2″W / 43.30611°N 75.38389°W / 43.30611; -75.38389
Arealess than one acre
Built1803 (1803)
Architectural styleGeorgian
NRHP reference No.71000549[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJune 17, 1971
Designated NHLJuly 17, 1971[2]

The Gen. William Floyd House is a historic house on Main Street at Gifford Hill Road in Westernville, New York. Built in 1803, it was the last home of Founding Father William Floyd (1734–1821), a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and a driving force in the settlement of the area.[3] It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971.[2] The house is a private residence, and is not normally open to the public.

Description and history

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The Gen. William Floyd House is located in the village center of Westernville, on the west side of Main Street at its junction with Gifford Hill Road. The house's main block is a 2+12-story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof, two interior chimneys and clapboarded exterior. It is oriented facing roughly southwest, with a two-story ell extending to the west. The main facade is five bays wide, with a center entrance. The interior follows a center hall plan, with the main staircase on the left side of the central, a pair of parlors to the right, and the dining room and study to the left. Preserved period elements include wide floor boards and paneled fireplace walls.[4]

The house was built in 1803 by William Floyd, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. Floyd, a native of Mastic, New York, served in the New York militia during the American Revolutionary War, rising to the rank of major general. For his service, he was awarded over 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) in Upstate New York in 1787. He began developing the grant soon afterward, and moved to what is now Westernville in 1803, when this house was finished. The house remained in the hands of his descendants until 1956.[4]

Floyd's home in Mastic, New York, still stands, and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The two William Floyd houses are believed to be the only surviving homes in New York of signers of the Declaration of Independence.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ a b "General William Floyd House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
  3. ^ "General William Floyd House". General William Floyd House.
  4. ^ a b "NHL nomination for Gen. William Floyd House". National Park Service. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  5. ^ John C. Poppeliers (December 1964). "General William Floyd House, HABS No. NY-5437 (the Mastic Beach home)". Historic American Buildings Survey. Historic American Buildings Survey.
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