The Hasbroucks of Locust Lawn

In the early 1800’s, Josiah Hasbrouck, a descendant of Jean Hasbrouck, chose to move his family from a small stone house in New Paltz to a large plot of land in Gardiner, N.Y. While the family was building their future home, Josiah and his wife Sarah Decker (1764-1845), along with several of their children, lived on the same property in an 18th century stone house built by Evert Terwilliger (1686-1767), an early owner of the land.

Locust Lawn, completed in 1814, would be a symbol of the areas rural tradition while simultaneously expressing the social progress of the era; a dichotomy that Josiah seemed to embody as a descendant of one of the original New Paltz patentees, a Revolutionary War veteran, and a U.S. Congressman. By 1817, Josiah’s son, Levi Hasbrouck, had assumed responsibility of the farm. It is this family that made the estate into a prominent home that welcomed many friends and guests throughout the years. Ownership of the property passed from Levi to his only surviving son, Josiah Hasbrouck, named after his grandfather. After Josiah’s management of the farm and his untimely death in 1884, the house was vacated by the family. Today, the mansion serves as a museum where one can see the original pieces that have remained in place since the house was vacated.