Historic home of Red Hook founding family for sale

An architecturally significant home in Red Hook, which was built in the 19th century for one of the village’s founding families, is for sale within walking distance of the village center.

The home’s exterior details include tongue and groove shiplap clapboard siding, a veranda with brackets and dentil blocks, and bay windows constructed with unusual diagonal hatching. Inside features oak and maple floors, pocket doors and large double parlors. A third-floor tower could become a reading nook.

The Gedneys played a significant role in developing a row of shops along Red Hook’s West Market Street, a commercial stretch that was referred to as Gedney Row.

“The home on the corner of West Market and Church Streets was built by Norman Kilmer, but later Andrew Gedney bought … and lived there for many years until his death,” wrote Edmund Basset, who was born in Red Hook around 1865 and recorded his “reminiscences” of the village. His memories were published weekly in the Red Hook Advertiser in November 1926.

“I now turn to St. John Street, so named because John St. John built the first house on the street. … Mr. Gedney, who did so much to develop this part of the village, built another and sold it to John Ham on an easy payment plan,” Basset wrote.

Just four owners have lived in the home, which is located near Linden Avenue Middle School and Red Hook High School, over four decades. Here’s a look inside.