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History and Appreciation |
| Hyde Hall Restoration In Progress NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK -- NEW YORK STATE HISTORIC SITE www.cooperstown.net/hydehall |
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Hyde Hall is a stunning reminder of a bygone American era when families of English aristocracy established vast estates in the former colonies. The house itself may well be the finest example of neoclassic country mansions anywhere in America. Roger Kennedy of the Smithsonian writes that Hyde Hall is "a great house, architecturally, and a social document of the first importance." Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan has called Hyde Hall "one of the most remarkable buildings in America."
Today Hyde Hall is a house museum and regional cultural center offering visitors the unique opportunity to tour a true restoration in progress.
HYDE
HALL'S HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE
Hyde Hall was built for George Clarke, whose great-grandfather and namesake was a prominent figure in the government of New York for 42 years prior to the American Revolution, and was the home of Clarke and his descendants for 144 years from 1819 until 1963. As secretary and lieutenant governor in the British Crown's government for the province of New York in the early- to mid-1700s, the elder Clarke amassed an estate of 120,000 acres. That land, and Clarke's Jamaican sugar cane plantations, was the basis of the family fortune inherited by George Clarke which financed the construction of Hyde Hall.
George Clarke started Hyde Hall in 1817. He purchased the site, on a hillside terrace at the foot of Mount Wellington, for its commanding view down Otsego Lake (James Fenimore Cooper's Glimmerglass). He selected upstate New York's ablest architect, Philip Hooker of Albany, to draw up his designs. Hooker's credits include the facade of Hamilton College chapel, Albany Academy, Albany City Hall, and the original New York State Capitol building. Hooker himself was an Albany politician of long standing, a member of the "Albany Regency."
Hyde Hall was Hooker's grandest domestic creation, and it remains a rare survivor of his work. A Doric pile refined to the barest essentials, its limestone walls reach 190 feet by 90 feet. Hyde is a complex of four structures, some 50 rooms, enclosing an open, stone-paved court 24 feet by 54 feet. This quadrangular plan, a Private Wing of Soane-like spatial qualities, and a Public Wing whose two neo-Palladian rooms, 36 feet by 24 feet, soar to 18 foot ceilings, set Hyde apart from other American houses. Hyde was a showplace, built to impress. To this day, a visit is a rare and rewarding experience.
George Clarke died in 1835 (a year before his friend Hooker), and construction ceased at Hyde Hall. Clarke left his mansion and a share of his lands and fortune to his son George Clarke, Jr., a dashing figure in his day, an artist, musician and fashionable gambler. He was also a landlord and hops speculator, and when the hops market collapsed late in the 19th century, George Clarke Jr. lost title to the mansion in a million-dollar personal bankruptcy that was reportedly the largest in the nation to that point.
Photo: Otsego Lake through the door/window of the Billiards Room. The balcony and wrought iron railing are above the columns of the Great House. Phil Harris.
Only through a consequence of the marriage of Clarke Jr.'s son was the mansion kept in the family. The son, George Hyde Clarke, had married into the Averell Carter family of Cooperstown and Cleveland. When the sheriff auctioned the estate to make good Clarke Jr.'s debts, George Hyde Clarke, financed by his mother-in- law, bought back the mansion, nearly all of its contents, and 3,000 acres surrounding the house.
Hyde Hall continued as a family home for three more generations of Clarkes, until 1963. New York State acquired the building that year, quite by accident, when the State acquired 600 acres around Hyde Hall for development into Glimmerglass State Park.
Photo: Hyde Hall Main Staircase, circa 1930.
Time and almost impossible maintenance costs, made worse by an outbreak of dry rot while the house was closed during World War II, had taken their toll. New York had no plans, and no funds, for restoring the mansion, and the threat of demolition became very real.
Friends of Hyde Hall was incorporated in 1964 to save the house and to assist the state in maintaining it for the public's use and enjoyment. These purposes remain unchanged. In 1988 the Friends acquired a 30-year lease of the 15-acre Hyde Hall Historic Site, as well as full responsibility for its restoration and management.
RESTORING HYDE HALL
Architects and historians view Hyde Hall as a singularly important building, both for its design and its place in history. It is, writes Roger G. Kennedy, director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, "a great house, architecturally, and a social document of the first importance." It is a reminder of and an unequaled monument to the landed class who governed the development of this nation. It is one of the nation's major private architectural undertakings in the years between the Revolution and the Civil War.
Photo: Hyde Hall restoration specialist Francis Milks at work on the ornamental ceiling of the Dining Room, July 1995.
In 1814 William Smith's History of New York to the Year 1732 highlighted the Clarkes' rare social position.
"The family is among the few that were high in office, who have retained their possessions through the convulsions of the Revolution."
This and the family's long residence at Hyde allowed the gathering of papers covering two and a half centuries of New York's history, from 1705 to 1963. This extraordinary archive has been given to the Friends by the Clarke heirs and is presently on loan at Cornell University.
Over the years, since the restoration of Hyde Hall began, several possible uses have been suggested for the building. The Friends are centering on purposes that will enable the house to provide both a glimpse into history and a gracious space for public gatherings, concerts, symposia, etc. Once restored, Hyde Hall will attract and serve historians, residents in the surrounding villages and towns, and the 300,000 tourists who visit Cooperstown and historic Leatherstocking country each year. In the meantime, visitors get the rare opportunity to tour a true restoration in progress. Indeed, since 1973, thousands of visitors have inspected the house on tours sponsored by the Friends of Hyde Hall.
Hyde Hall is a State Historic Site which is leased to and is being restored and operated by Friends of Hyde Hall, Inc. in cooperation with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Directions: From Cooperstown, go east on Main Street over the bridge and up East Lake Road (Rte. 31) about 8 miles, past Glimmerglass State Park. Turn left on Mill Road, and follow it for about 1/2 of a mile, where you will see our site marker. Turn left at the sign and enter Hyde Hall's drive.
From Rte. 20, go to East Springfield and turn at intersection (K.C.'s Corner and Country Cone), heading south on Rte. 31 for 3.8 miles. Turn right on Mill Road (Springfield Hill Road opposite on left).
FRIENDS OF HYDE HALL
Friends of Hyde Hall is a not for profit 501 (C) (3) organization formed in 1964 to assist New York State with the preservation and operation of this monumental site. In 1988 the Friends acquired a 30-year lease on Hyde Hall from New York State. The Friends alone now shoulder the financial and administrative responsibilities for the restoration and operation of the house and grounds.
Photo: "Tin Top," the original gatehouse for the estate, where your tour visit to Hyde Hall begins.
Friends of Hyde Hall come from diverse backgrounds and live throughout the United States and in several foreign countries. The majority, however, are local residents. Their common bond is an appreciation of Hyde Hall and the recognition of its crying need for preservation.
Since its formation, Friends of Hyde Hall has raised and invested over one million dollars in the preservation of the historic house, its rich artifact collections, and its accompanying archive of family papers and other documentary materials. The majority of these funds have come from concerned individuals who firmly believe in the organization's mission to restore Hyde Hall, and realize the ultimate public benefit that will come from the rejuvenation of this great house.
Hyde Hall is one of the "three or four great buildings in America of its time. " Brendan Gill, architectural critic 'The New Yorker' magazine, 1996
VISITING HYDE HALL
A visit to Hyde Hall is like a step back in time. Begin your tour with an introduction to Hyde Hall in our newly-remodeled visitor center located in the estate's carriage barn. Explore the house with its nearly 50 rooms and stunning architectural details. See firsthand our ongoing restoration work, and possibly talk with a skilled craftsman. Bring your picnic lunch to enjoy on the lawn as you take in the unspoiled view of Otsego Lake that inspired George Clarke to choose this site for his country house nearly two hundred years ago. You are invted to spend the day as you experience grandeur in the country.
EVENTS AT HYDE HALL
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CONTACTING US
Friends of Hyde Hall, Inc.
P.O. Box 721
Cooperstown, NY 13326
607-547-5098 The Hyde Hall National Historic Landmark World Wide
an online guide to Cooperstown's organizations and activities. The Hyde Hall World Wide Web Site is a co-production of Friends
of Hyde Hall, Inc., and The Cooperstown Network.
Fax 607-547-8462
