Rombout House
Why it's listed
Rombout House is a large country house built around 1854 on the Vassar Farms property off New Hackensack Road in Poughkeepsie. It is a 2-1/2-story clapboard building on a raised brick basement, with a three-bay facade, a two-story central projection, arched one-over-one windows, a Palladian-style triple-arched window and paired brackets with ball pendants under the cornice. Inside, period woodwork and ceiling medallions survive. Deed records show the property sold in January 1854 for $4,000 and again a year later for $10,000, which suggests the house was built in between. After passing through many hands in the late nineteenth century, it was sold to Vassar College in 1915. The house is regarded as the largest and best Bracketed-style residence in the Poughkeepsie area. Trees and the surrounding farmland preserve its rural setting, and the listed boundary includes enough land to protect that setting. The rear wing was remodeled about 1923, and the house remains in excellent condition.
Significance in brief: It is described as the largest and best example of the Bracketed style among houses in the Poughkeepsie area. It retains finely crafted exterior and interior period details and its original rural setting, which the nomination boundary was drawn to preserve.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 82001162, listed November 26, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | New Hackensack Rd., Poughkeepsie |
|---|---|
| County | Dutchess County |
| Listed | November 26, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82001162 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Bracketed Style |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as in excellent condition and still used as a residence; rear wing remodeled c.1923. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.67977, -73.89367 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 82001162.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7362937
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.