When the Casparus Pruyn House went up for sale in 1983, it was a complete wreck.
Its last owner had lived alone in the basement, leaving the rest of the two-story mansion at 207 Old Niskayuna Road with a rotting roof, peeling wallpaper and a crumbling foundation. Although fixing up the house was going to take a significant investment, a group of townspeople worked to persuade then Town Supervisor Fred Field and the Town Board that purchasing the dilapidated home was the right move given its historical significance.
“Fred Field really felt it was a great deal to take on this house in very poor condition and they knew how much money was going to have to be invested,” Friends of Pruyn House Curator Diane Morgan said. “They did know that it was one of the oldest private residences of the area. This was really a very special house.”
The decision was made to preserve the historic site and the town purchased the home resting on 5 ½ acres of land for $110,000. After two years and $140,000 in renovations, the town officially opened the Pruyn House to the public in 1986.
On Wednesday, April 24, the Friends of Pruyn House will celebrate the home’s 30th anniversary at their annual dinner meeting at the Century House Inn in Latham, where they will show a 15-minute movie about the historic site.
Although the town is honoring its 30th year as a cultural and historical museum, the Pruyn House has been around since the 1800s. The original Dutch Pruyns came to New York in the 1660s. Casparus Francis Pruyn, a seventh generation Pruyn, worked as a land agent for Stephen Van Rensselaer III, one of the last Patroons of the Van Rennselaer Manor which laid claim to nearly one million acres in the Capital District.
Pruyn leased more than 180 acres, where he built a summer home for his family that duplicated their original home in Bath that still stands today. When Pruyn died in 1846 without leaving a will, the house went up for auction. The 15-room house and 114 acres sold for $3,800.
Over the next 45 years, several different families owned the property until John Henkes purchased the home on 80 acres for $3,250 in 1893. The Henkes family used the parcel as a working farm and lived in the home until 1983 when Henry “Syd” Bailley, who married into the Henkes family, died.
Along with the overall renovations, the home was wiped clean of furniture from an estate sale when the town finally acquired it. In order to maintain the historic feel, loans and donations were collected over the years to fill the rooms with 19th century pieces of furniture.
Since its official opening, the town and Friends of Pruyn House, which is a 650-member nonprofit corporation that manages and governs the site, have spent more than $400,000 for maintenance and upkeep on the home and grounds. Eight other buildings, including a Buhrmaster barn, smokehouse and schoolhouse, sit on the land to reflect the original Pruyn property.
Now the Pruyn House serves as a cultural, historical, educational and multi-use park in the heart of Colonie. President of the Pruyn House and former Town Supervisor Mary Brizzell said the Pruyn House is the “best kept secret of the Town of Colonie.”
Though it may be a hidden gem, it’s also a busy destination. Several art and historical exhibits are on display each month and private parties can rent out the home for events. The property hosts 23 weddings a year, usually in the barn or by the 2,000-square-foot garden filled with culinary and decorative herbs and flowers. The Fort Orange Garden Club and several other organizations manage the garden from May to October and Morgan said many people come just to visit the garden to take photos.
“This fall, every time I’d look out I’d see another photographer taking pictures of a family. It’s become lovely enough out there that they like it as a setting,” Morgan said.
While the house is open for tours Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Morgan said the rest of the property is always open and likes to think of it as a public park. The site has 11,000 visitors per year, including field trips from schools and community groups.
“It’s got a lot of great things about it now that people can enjoy, and it could have been demolished!” Morgan said. “This would definitely be a housing development if the town hadn’t decided to buy it.”
The site also hosts several annual events. Every summer for more than 20 years, the Pruyn House hosts the Concerts in the Barn series. Each September, “Old-Fashioned Sunday” draws in a large crowd to see the town bands perform while highlighting old-time crafts like a sheep shearer, pony rides, a basket weaver and a blacksmith demonstration.
Morgan said she believes the town now understands the importance of the home and remembering its Dutch history.
“The fact that (Pruyn) was able to even build this house is remarkable. It is a wonderful old house now all restored so people can see what a grand house was like at that time,” Morgan said.
While the house’s winding staircase may creak, Morgan said no one is haunting the premises and she’s never heard any spooky stories about the site.
“People ask me that question all the time,” she said. “We’ll work on it for the 40th.”
The Pruyn House’s 30th Anniversary Celebration is on Wednesday, April 24, at the Century House in Latham and is open to the public as well as Friends of Pruyn House members. The dinner will also honor the Friends of Pruyn House 2012 Outstanding Volunteer. To request an invitation, call the Pruyn House at 783-1435 by April 17.