Gideon Frisbee House
Gideon Frisbee (1758-1828) was a man of many occupations that through an industrious career included revolutionary war soldier, militia captain, pioneer, farmer, lumber merchant, justice of the peace, county treasurer, tavern keeper and vestryman.
Gideon Frisbee was born at Connecticut in 1758, the son of Philip Frisbee (1740-1813) and Phoebe (Hendricks) Frisbee. His father Philip was appointed on June 24, 1776, only ten days before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, by the inhabitants of his home district as one of 12 delegates to represent Albany County in the provincial congress in favor of independence of the American colonies. Philip went on to proudly serve during the American Revolution with the 17th Albany County Regiment, fought at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777 and later served as a member of the New York State Assembly. In 1787, Philip was appointed Lieutenant Colonel in a militia regiment in Columbia County, New York. During the American Revolution, Gideon, like his father, served with the 17th Regiment of the Albany County Militia.
In 1785 Frisbee moved from Canaan, Columbia County, New York to the town of Delhi, Delaware County, New York. There he purchased a large tract of land at the mouth of Elk Creek and its junction with the West Branch of the Delaware River. It is said that Frisbee found a man at that spot named “Kidder” girding trees for his land, and that Frisbee offered him a cow if he would quit-clam his right to the land to him. Frisbee built the first mill in the town of Delhi at the mouth of Elk Creek in 1788. Elk Creek took its name from the numerous elk and deer that flocked to the salt spring on the Frisbee farm.
During the late 1780s, Frisbee established the first sawmill and gristmill in the area east of Delhi. By 1797, Frisbee was listed on the first tax assessment roll as owning the most valuable property in the county.
In the early days of the settlement, Frisbee was a captain of militia and justice of the peace. On the formation of Delaware County in 1797, he was appointed county treasurer and at about the same time as associate judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Both these positions, he held with fidelity and honor till within a few years of his death, when he resigned them on account of his failing health. He was a vestryman, and churchwarden, of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Delhi; and was a member of the first board of trustees of the Delaware Academy, established at Delhi in 1820, holding the office until his death. He served as president of the Delaware Agricultural Society.
Gideon married twice, first to Huldah Kidder (1756-1804), with whom he had six children. After Huldah passed away in 1804, Gideon married again, to Freelove Fiske (1805-1857), with whom he had six children.
Frisbee’s Federal-style, two-story house, located two miles northeast of Delhi, was built in 1797 along the West Branch of the Delaware River. The house is sometimes referred to as the “Birthplace of Delaware County” as the first meeting of the county board of supervisors was held here in 1797. The supervisors met at his house for several years, and the first courts of the county convened here. It was rumored that the first jury of the county held its deliberations under a large tree that stood across the highway from the residence.
The building was built on the site of an earlier log dwelling house. It is situated on Route 10, the original main route of travel from Stamford, New York, near the head of the Delaware River, to the Pennsylvania state line and to points south of that along the river.
The Gideon Frisbee House was extensively described on its application for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.
“A two story, clapboarded, frame structure with a rectangular main section five bays wide and two bays deep, the house also has a one and half store wing of later construction added to the back (west) elevation. A large interior brick chimney rises through the center of the shingled, gable roof at each end of the main section. A smaller interior brick chimney services the kitchen wing on the rear of the structure. An unpainted shed is attached to the kitchen wing on the west elevation.
The architectural style could be described as plain Federal with its thin and delicate classical detailing overlaying a basically Georgian format. Especially dramatic are the giant pilasters flanking the central bay and on the corners. Above the central doorway is a three sash window in a large, classically detailed casement.
The interior of the main section has remained virtually intact. A large central hallway carries through the Georgian ideal but the thin lines of the detailing, including the paired, square balusters on the stairway, well demonstrate the ideas of delicacy and grace inherent in Federal design.
The southeast room with its large windows set above paneled bases, and its paneled door cabinets built in the fireplace wall, provides a degree of elegance and formality to this country house. In the “Tavern Room” on the southwest side of the house, the woodwork is plainer and less elegant. The room is served by an exterior door flanking the fireplace on that same southwest corner of the house. The southwest room on the second floor is notable for its original closets, unusual for the period. The room arrangement in the original rectangular block was simply two over two with a large, full width, central hall.”
Located directly behind the Frisbee House is the original dairy barn, which was built just prior to 1800. A second part was added sometime in the 19th century and an open pole shed was attached to it in 1974. The barn holds farm machinery and tools that help visitors imagine farming during the 1800s in Delaware County.
Gideon Frisbee passed away at his home in Delhi, New York on August 14, 1828. Funeral services were conducted by Reverend Mabie and Reverend Maxwell. Pallbearers included Mr. Crane, Judge Law, General Root and Honorable S. Sherwood. Frisbee is buried in the Frisbee Family Cemetery in Delhi.
Gideon was highly respected in the community. Upon his passing it was written in the local newspaper that “he acquired a handsome property by honest industry and frugality; and was one of the most useful members of society this country ever knew.” (Delaware Gazette. August 27, 1828.) “He was respected and honored by all who knew him for his sound and impartial judgment, for his sterling integrity, and for his fidelity with which he discharged all his obligations in private and public life.”
After Gideon’s passing in 1828, the house passed to his second wife, Freelove (Fiske) Frisbee. The house then remained in the Frisbee family for much of its history until it was acquired in 1960 by the Delaware County Historical Association (DCHA), for which it now serves as their headquarters.
In addition to the Gideon Frisbee House, the DCHA property is home to several other historic structures including the one-room Husted Hollow Schoolhouse, the Amos Wood Gunshop, the Woodin Blacksmith Shop, a tollgate house and the Frisbee family barns. The DCHA museum hosts historical exhibitions and special events throughout the year. Visit the DCHA website at www.dcha-ny.org for more information on the buildings, visiting hours and the history of Delaware County.
The Gideon Frisbee House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places “as a landmark and symbol of accomplishment in the early years of Delaware County’s development.”
