The Gedney Farm House, possibly the oldest building in Mamaroneck, is gone.
Demolition of the house, which sat on property at 734 E. Boston Post Road owned by the Rye Neck School District, was completed on Saturday, reducing more than two centuries of local history to rubble.
Carole B. Akin, a Mamaroneck resident who led a months-long fight to save the building, built in 1790, reacted to the demolition “with a heavy heart,” saying she and fellow preservationists “regret deeply” that the school district did not grant them more time to find a way to save the property.
“All we wanted was six more months,” she writes.
Akin, however, says she hopes the “wrenching demolition” of the Farm House won’t be totally in vain, and that the loss spurs individuals to protect other historic properties from being razed.
With a “For Sale” sign on it, the 1792 DeLancey House at the corner of Fenimore and Boston Post Road could be next, Akin says. Like the Gedney Farm House, the structure (the site of James Fenimore Cooper’s marriage to Susan Delancey) cannot receive federal protection because of the many changes that have been done to it over time, Akin said.
Akin writes:
Members of the Mamaroneck community can no longer sit on their hands if they want to save their local history! All of those who value these special, meaningful, historic buildings in Mamaroneck must be proactive in supporting the Mamaroneck Historical Society’s efforts to protect our local history.
If the wrenching demolition of the Gedney Farm House awakes the Mamaroneck community to better appreciate and actively work to protect its other historic homes, the Farm House will not have gone down totally in vain.
photo credits: jacqueline silberbush, june marie sobrito, donald sutherland
As a professional in the preservation field, I am surprised by the statement in the article “the structure (the site of James Fenimore Cooper’s marriage to Susan Delancey) cannot receive federal protection because of the many changes that have been done to it over time, Akin said.” What federal protection is there for any building, altered or pristine? Protection against demolition most often occurs at the local level. In rare cases, such as in Connecticut, there are state laws that allow the for challenging the demolition of historic buildings. Perhaps Ms. Akin was misunderstood or misquoted.
I grew up in Mamaroneck and remember these buildings quite vividly. How sad to think residents do not appreciate their historic value.