The Van Deusen House is located on Main Street in the historic hamlet of Hurley in Ulster County, New York.

Jan Van Deusen

Jan Van Deusen, a blacksmith at Claverack, moved down the river to Ulster and married Hillegonda Roosa at Hurley in 1719. In 1743 or 1744, he conveyed his house to his son, Jan Jr., who had married Cornelia Wynkoop in 1741. Jan Jr. likely torn down this prior frame structure to erect the current stone building in 1744.

Like his father, Jan Van Deusen Jr. worked as a blacksmith. In 1738, Van Deusen Jr. was a member of the Foot Company of Militia of Hurley, under the command of “Cornelius Wine Coop.”

During the American Revolution, he was elected a deputy of the Provincial Congress for Hurley, Ulster County. He served as a lieutenant in the First Regiment Ulster County Militia; was paymaster in the Third Regiment under Colonel John Cantine; also served in the same regiment under Colonel Levi Pawling; and then served as quartermaster in the same organization. Van Deusen Jr. was a lieutenant and paymaster in 1784 to Colonel Albert Pawling’s regiment of New Levies. As a blacksmith, he did much commissioned work for the Revolutionary army.

The American Revolution

During the American Revolution, the Van Deusen House served as the temporary capitol of New York from November 18 to December 18, 1777 after the British burned Kingston and the Council of Safety fled, first to Marbletown and then to Hurley. After being headquartered at Hurley for about one month, the Council of Safety left the Van Deusen House on December 18, 1777 and relocated to Poughkeepsie at the request of General George Clinton, who wanted the group to meet at a place closer to Newburgh.

Van Deusen House, Hurley, New YorkThe Van Deusen House is located on Main Street in the historic hamlet of Hurley in Ulster County, New York.

Van Deusen House, Hurley, NYThe Van Deusen House is located on Main Street in the historic hamlet of Hurley in Ulster County, New York.

The Van Deusen House contained a “secret” room that was used during the American Revolution to store records. The secret room was surprisingly large, measuring 17 feet by 16 feet, with a massive chimney on one side. The room now has windows and a door, but they were 20th century renovations. For some 200 years it was a sealed room which could be entered only through a trap door in the floor.

A rope was attached to the top of the trap door. The rope ran through a ceiling pulley, and a log was tied to the opposite end of the rope, so that a push from below would open the trap door, with an assist from the weight of the log.

The only way to reach the trap door from outside the room is from the steep staircase which rises from the kitchen. The staircase is cleverly designed to appear to be just a kitchen cupboard, with each shelf recessed a bit more than the one immediately below. Climbing it would require skill, for each foot would have to be pulled back before it could be lifted for the next step.

Ownership

Title of the house passed through the names of Van Deusen, Krom, Ten Eyck, Nash and Gibson. The successive transfers of the house were marked in stone in the wall: J V D Jr 1744; J G K 1815; A T E 1862; and G W N 1906.

National Register of Historic Places

The Van Deusen House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of Hurley Historic District. It was described as “constructed of coursed and squared stone with clapboard in the upper half of the gable, this building is 1 1/2 stories high and 6 bays wide with a rear ell. Restored in the early 20th century, it now exhibits an off-center door with transom, 12/12 sash and shed dormers. Traditionally the building is said to date from 1727, although it bears several later dated stones, the earliest of which reads 1744.”