Wiltwyck Chapter, NSDAR, House History

Wiltwyck Chapter, NSDAR, house stands on a triangular lot at the junction of Crown and Green Streets, within what was the original stockade area of Kingston, New York. It is one of the oldest stone houses in the city, having been built before 1695.

• The first owner of the house, of whom records remain, was Anthony Crispell. He sold the property to Matthys Van Keuren on December 27, 1703.

• In 1735-36 Van Keuren sold the house to Hendricus Sleight for £120. During the American Revolution, when the Village President Hendricus Sleight lived there, the house was damaged when the British burned Kingston. It was soon rebuilt.

• In 1782, George Washington visited Kingston, and it is believed that he called at the house to pay his respects to Mr. Sleight, Head of the Village Trustees.

• Hendricus Sleight conveyed the property to his daughter, Helen Jansen, for $400 in 1784. A copy of the deed is owned by the Wiltwyck Chapter, NSDAR.

• In 1795, Helen Jansen, who was recently widowed, deeded the house to her son-in-law, John Tappen. He was the editor of an early newspaper, The Ulster Plebian. Mr. Tappen ran his print shop and newspaper publishing businesses.

• During the Civil War, Mrs. Henry Jansen Tappen opened her home as a center for local women to meet to make bandages and hospital supplies for the Union Army. For nearly a hundred years, the property was known as “The Tappen House.”

• In 1907, Wiltwyck Chapter, NSDAR, bought the property to be used as a Chapter house and museum.​