A look around the outside

The first thing you notice is that the Martin Berry House is impressively large. At the time this house was built (between 1720 to 1740), houses were built old school -- by hand. A foundation was dug, tons of earth and rock were moved, trees were felled and turned into lumber, and then into walls and floors... all with relatively crude tools, also made by hand... and with back-breaking labor.

One of the early photos of the House.

A panoramic view. The fireplaces would have burned wood all winter long.

The stone walls -- built by hand, of course -- are an impressive two feet thick. All but one are covered with stucco, but one wall was left uncovered. 

A huge scaffold would have been constructed to get this job done. A rope-and-pulley system would have been used to haul the stones up to the mason.

The House sits in a wooded glen.
At one time, it overlooked the sparsely populated Pompton Plain.

The house is largely unaltered, and is in pretty much the same condition as it was when it was built. It's truly a great example of 18th-Century Dutch architecture.

Be sure to visit our Facebook page!