David Mathews House | |
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| Location | VT 67/NY 67,Shaftsbury, Vermont andHoosick, New York |
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| Coordinates | 42°56′27″N73°16′28″W / 42.94083°N 73.27444°W /42.94083; -73.27444 |
| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1800 (1800) |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| NRHP reference No. | 79000274[1] |
| Added to NRHP | September 10, 1979 |
TheDavid Mathews House, also known as theState Line House, is a historic house straddling the state line onNew York State Route 67 andVermont Route 67 inHoosick, New York andShaftsbury, Vermont. Built about 1800, it is an imposing brick example of Federal architecture. The building is the subject of a number of tales, some of dubious authenticity. It was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1979.[1]
The Mathews House stands on the north side of NY/VT Route 67, just west of State Line Road in southwestern Shaftsbury and northeast ofWalloomsac, New York. The house is a three-story, five bay wide, brickFederal style dwelling with a gable roof. It features pattern brick bonding, laid in a modified Flemish pattern, and a fullDoric orderfrieze andcornice. As built, its main facade was originally to the north, but it has essentially identical northern and southern entrances, set in round-arch openings with fanlights above and flanking sidelights. The interior retains much original woodwork, including paneling, fireplace surrounds, and moulded door surrounds.[2]
The house was built about 1800 by David Mathews, a veteran of theAmerican Revolutionary War, and has a significant number of unusual high-style Federal period features for what was then (and is still now) a fairly remote rural setting. Mathews served in theContinental Army. He has often been confused withLoyalistDavid Mathews who served as Mayor under the British and had owned property nearby which was subsequently seized.
One apocryphal story associated with the house is that, during the war, Mathews stole some 3,000 gold coins fromFriedrich Baum, a Hessian serving with the British Army during the Revolutionary War, and buried them in the house's basement; as the house was built somewhat later, it is almost certainly false. The building saw use in the 19th century as a tavern, occasionally hosting judicial proceedings. Its position on the state line, it was said, made it impossible for a New York judge to convict a defendant on the Vermont side of the house.[2]
