Inside The Oldest Farmhouse In Manhattan

As you make your way through the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, you turn a corner and see something that makes you stop dead in your tracks. Nestled among the oppressive concrete jungle is an old farmhouse that looks like it belongs in a whole different world. You do a double-take, wondering if you’ve stepped into a time machine and somehow arrived back in the 1700s. And when you get closer to take a peek inside, you realize it’s not just the exterior that’s eerily frozen in time.

Out of place

To say that this farmhouse stands out like a sore thumb would be an understatement! It sits in the Inwood area of Manhattan on Broadway and 204th Street. Looming over it are what look to be high-rise apartment blocks or offices, and traffic whizzes by on the busy road out front.

Standing for over two centuries

Some might say this farmhouse looks a little out of place. And that’s hardly a surprise given that it was constructed back in 1784. But the property has held its ground for over 230 years — even as the modern world has claimed every inch of space around it. Who would have thought that something like this could still be found in a major city today? And especially in New York.

Built by Dutch immigrants

If the walls of this farmhouse could speak, we bet they’d have some pretty incredible stories to tell. It was built by the Dyckman clan, who left their home in the Netherlands back in the 17th century to make a new life for themselves in America. And the family settled in the country for roughly a decade before building their humble abode.

Tied to a historical event

Before deciding on what is now Manhattan, the family lived in a different part of New York. By all accounts, they enjoyed living there. And if tragedy hadn’t have struck, then they probably wouldn’t have had to relocate downtown.