The Gomez Mill House is the oldest Jewish residence in the North America.
Its furnishings today reflect its occupancy by five different families -
including papermaker and typographer Dard Hunter - through three centuries.
The fieldstone first story was built in 1714 by Luis Moses Gomez, a
Sephardic Jew, for his trading operations along the nearby Hudson River.
Wolfert Acker, a prominent local Patriot during the American Revolution,
bought the house in 1772 and added the brick second floor. For much of the
19th century, it was the residence of gentleman farmer William Henry
Armstrong and his family. From 1912 to 1919, it belonged to Dard Hunter,
whose handmade books are highly prized. (He built the thatched
Devonshire-style cottage, which served as his paper mill.) The house's last
owner, Mildred Starin, sold it to the nonprofit Gomez Foundation for Mill
House in 1984.
The house's interior has been restored to reflect all
of these residents. Its furnishings include everything from a richly carved
17th-century kas (that may have belonged to Luis Gomez) to Wolfert Acker's
Bible box and chandeliers by Gustav Stickley, a friend of Dard Hunter's.
Also on display are examples of Hunter's work. Papermaking demonstrations
are often given in his mill.
The Gomez Mill House, on Mill House
Road in Marlboro, is open April-October 10 a.m.-4 p.m., with guided tours at
10 and 11:30 a.m. and 1 and 2:30 p.m. Admission fee. 845-236-3126.