Voices of Preservation: A Call to Save Carmel's Belden House
In this guest blog post, Rob Yasinsac (@hudsonvalleyruins) shines a light on the historic Belden House. The house is not currently listed on the State or National Registers, but it is eligible. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection owns the building and has announced plans to demolish it.
The front facade of the Belden House seen in 2005. All photos courtesy of Rob Yasinsac/@hudsonvalleyruins
The Belden House (c. 1760, additions 1860s) in Carmel, NY is threatened with demolition by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The house, which stands on DEP watershed land near the West Branch Reservoir, is designated for house for demolition in a DEP Self-Assessment report of Water Supply Operations.
Thomas Belden was a land agent for the Philipse family, who owned much of present-day Putnam County. He probably built the first section of this house around 1760. His descendant George Mortimer Belden acquired the house during the Civil War and added vergeboards and lancet dormer windows, making it a first rate example of the so-called Carpenter's Gothic style.
The New York City DEP bought the property in 1896 when it constructed a dam behind the house. For nearly a century, the DEP used the house as an office and residence for a site custodian, until it was abandoned in the late 20th century. Rainwater leaking through the roof has threatened the structure, which retains marble fireplaces, elaborate wood trim, and plaster finishing.
Restoration efforts have started and stopped several times over the years. Preservation efforts were stymied in 2005 when Putnam County Legislators voted against funding the building's restoration. In 2006, nearly $3million was allocated for the rehabilitation of the Belden House, with the intention of turning it into an office for the DEP's Land Management Group. The DEP commissioner at the time stated that the rehabilitation project would "guarantee the future of Belden House and help preserve an important part of the region's heritage....and the restoration of the Belden House will help our staff be exemplary land managers and continue to provide excellent recreation opportunities and water quality benefits." The project was halted, although it appears that some exterior restoration work did occur in the late 2000s. In 2014 the Journal News reported that, "After years of fighting by citizens' groups to save it, the City of New York's Department of Environmental Protection finally agreed to invest in preservation efforts for the 250-year-old white wooden farmhouse.” It appears that investment did not materialize either.
From left to right: The house as seen in 2005, 2011, and 2023.
The Belden House is not a designated historic site, but it is “eligible" for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. It is very curious now to see that the DEP has changed course and plans to demolish the house, without input or approval from any state agency — or from the public. Several other area homes on DEP land are slated for demolition or have been razed already. The DEP has razed one old house on Croton Lake Road in Yorktown, and they are in the process of razing another 19th century home by the Amawalk Dam in Somers. As of early March 2023, it did not appear that demolition work of any kind has begun at the Belden House, and it would be a most unfortunate loss if this Carpenter Gothic gem would be razed, after so many efforts to save it were squandered.