National Register of Historic Places

Mathews, David, House

Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont
Listed
September 9, 1979
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
79000274

About this property

The David Mathews House, also known as the State Line House, is a historic house straddling the state line on New York State Route 67 and Vermont Route 67 in Hoosick, New York and Shaftsbury, Vermont. Built about 1800, it is an imposing brick example of Federal architecture. The building is the subject of a number of tales, some of dubious authenticity. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The Mathews House stands on the north side of NY/VT Route 67, just west of State Line Road in southwestern Shaftsbury and northeast of Walloomsac, New York. The house is a three-story, five bay wide, brick Federal style dwelling with a gable roof. It features pattern brick bonding, laid in a modified Flemish pattern, and a full Doric order frieze and cornice. As built, its main facade was originally to the north, but it has essentially identical northern and southern entrances, set in round-arch openings with fanlights above and flanking sidelights. The interior retains much original woodwork, including paneling, fireplace surrounds, and moulded door surrounds. The house was built about 1800 by David Mathews, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, and has a significant number of unusual high-style Federal period features for what was then (and is still now) a fairly remote rural setting. Mathews served in the Continental Army. He has often been confused with Loyalist David Mathews who served as Mayor under the British and had owned property nearby which was subsequently seized. One apocryphal story associated with the house is that, during the war, Mathews stole some 3,000 gold coins from Friedrich Baum, a Hessian serving with the British Army during the Revolutionary War, and buried them in the house's basement; as the house was built somewhat later, it is almost certainly false. The building saw use in the 19th century as a tavern, occasionally hosting judicial proceedings. Its position on the state line, it was said, made it impossible for a New York judge to convict a defendant on the Vermont side of the house. National Register of Historic Places listings in Bennington County, Vermont National Register of Historic Places listings in Rensselaer County, New York

Location

Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont
42.94088, -73.27409

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Park-McCullough House
Industrial
1.6 mi
North Bennington Depot
Industrial
1.7 mi
North Bennington Historic District
Listed
1.8 mi
Henry Covered Bridge
Early Republic
2.2 mi
Henry, William, House
Industrial
2.4 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Bennington
1777Revolutionary War
3.7 mi
Battle of Bennington (Wallomsac)
1777Revolutionary War
4.8 mi
Skirmish at Walloomsac River (Bennington approach)
1777Revolutionary War
4.9 mi
Battle of Walloomsac (Bennington)
1777Revolutionary War
5.2 mi
Battle of Bennington — Breymann Redoubt
1777Revolutionary War
5.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Mathews, David, House listed on the National Register?

Mathews, David, House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 9, 1979.

What type of historic resource is Mathews, David, House?

Mathews, David, House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Mathews, David, House?

The period of significance for Mathews, David, House is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Mathews, David, House?

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