History of the Property

The Stone Farmhouse has been continuously occupied since 1760, when it was built by the Houghtaling family as they cleared the old-growth forest and began to plow the fields. The field stones plowed-up in their earliest efforts were used to construct the fortress-like walls of the Stone Farmhouse. These walls exceed 36” at the foundation and form two solid layers filled-in with rubble. Hand-hewn tree trunks were mounted in “pockets” in the foundation walls to support the living room floor. The current living room was the entire home for at least a generation.

The first occupants of the Stone Farmhouse included John Houghtaling who served in the revolutionary war, during which the British navy sailed up the Hudson and burned Kingston. You can learn more about the colonial period and revolutionary war in Kingston’s uptown, Stockade District.

Subsequent generations of Houghtalings and Dutch immigrants expanded the house to add the east wing in the 1800s, comprising the rooms that now contain the first floor master bedroom and bathroom as well as the main stairway.

The stone portion of the kitchen was likely built in the 20th century, while the dining table sits in the newest construction, which was completed in the early 2000s. Today you can see the history of the Stone Farmhouse and its construction throughout the home, including the hand-hewn beams, interior stonework parged and plastered. Experience the solid depth of the stone walls as you perch in a window seat within the living room’s massive stone walls.