Purdy, Jacob, House
Why it's listed
This small farmhouse in White Plains, New York, dates to 1721, when Samuel Horton built it on a 132-acre farm in the early settlement founded by people from Rye. It is one and one-half stories high, shingled, with a gable roof and three chimneys. Around 1750 an addition created a separate kitchen and parlor, and a small workroom was added in the nineteenth century. Samuel Purdy later acquired the farm, and his son Jacob owned the house by 1776. The nomination states that General Washington used it as headquarters in 1776 and again in 1778, citing military maps and a British spy report. From 1900 to 1963 it housed several families. A monument committee bought it in 1963, and the city moved it in 1973 to a nearby hilltop to avoid highway construction. Much early material survives, including wide floorboards, moldings, and hand-hewn beams. Only the house itself was nominated, not its new lot.
Significance in brief: The house is believed to be the oldest residence in White Plains and the only structure surviving from the city's original settlement. It served as General Washington's headquarters during the Revolutionary War, in 1776 and again in 1778. It also retains much early fabric and typifies modest vernacular farmhouses of the lower Hudson Valley.
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 79001651, listed August 31, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 60 Park Ave., White Plains |
|---|---|
| County | Westchester County |
| Listed | August 31, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79001651 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1700-1799 |
| Architect / builder | Samuel Horton and Family |
| Architectural style | Vernacular eighteenth-century frame farmhouse |
| Areas of significance | Military |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Owned by the City of White Plains and moved in 1973; the form says it will be restored and opened as a historical museum. The status box is marked occupied or unoccupied ambiguously, so current use is not clearly stated. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.03677, -73.77340 (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 79001651.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16898902
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.