Staats, Joachim, House and Gerrit Staats Ruin
Why it's listed
On Papscanee Island, a flat stretch of farmland along the Hudson River south of Albany, stands a cluster of resources tied to the Staats family. The centerpiece is the Joachim Staats House, a two-story fieldstone building dating to about 1700, with a brick addition of about 1790 and a wood addition of about 1880. Inside, it retains hand-planed floor joists, a wattle and daub wall, an early cone-shaped chimney and early eighteenth-century stairs. Nearby are a family cemetery on a knoll, the remains of a sloop landing and the brick ruin of the Gerrit Staats House, built in 1758 and gutted by fire in 1973. Joachim Staats, a trader and sloop owner, received the farm in 1696. A small trench dug for an electrical conduit turned up Indian and colonial-era artifacts, suggesting the grounds could yield further information about early occupation and the family's trade.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the property is significant for its historical context and its archaeological potential. The Joachim Staats House preserves a rare architectural record of a Dutch family from before 1700 through eighteenth- and nineteenth-century changes, including early Dutch framing, wattle and daub, and a cone-shaped chimney. A test trench also showed prehistoric and historic remains that could document Indian occupations and the family's commercial activities.
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 78001898, listed December 15, 1978. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | N of Castleton-on-Hudson, Castleton-on-Hudson |
|---|---|
| County | Rensselaer County |
| Listed | December 15, 1978 |
| Reference number | 78001898 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1700-1799, 1800-1899 |
| Architectural style | Dutch |
| Areas of significance | Prehistoric, Historic - Aboriginal, Other, Historic - Non-Aboriginal, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The Joachim Staats House has been continuously occupied since before 1700. The Gerrit Staats House is a standing brick ruin after a 1973 fire, with a house trailer beside it. |
| Acreage | 39 |
| Coordinates | 42.57081, -73.74890 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 78001898.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14706655
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.