Hudson Valley's Oldest Home
The Bronck Museum complex includes the eleven remaining structures that once comprised the Bronck family farm. The land was purchased from the local Mohican tribe in 1662 by Pieter Bronck, a Swede and his Dutch wife Helletje Jans. Pieter built the first dwelling on the farm in 1663. In 1738 Pieter's grandson Leendert built his house a few feet to the north of the 1663 dwelling. The two separate houses were then connected by a fully enclosed brick passage providing the family with a unified living space. A New World Dutch Barn and a Kitchen Dependency were erected in the late eighteenth century. By the early 1800's the farm had become the single most valuable property in the county. During the nineteenth century as both the Bronck family and their farm prospered, additional barns and farm structures were built. The family maintained continuous ownership of the farm for 276 years passing it from parent to child, for eight generations. In 1939 the last family owner gave the eleven structures and surrounding acreage to the Greene County Historical Society to serve as the Society's headquarters museum.