The Krones House was built in the 1850s

By Alan B. Crawford
Posted 10/17/19

An older photo was identified this week as the Krones House, based off its unique footprint of it being built into the slope of the land. Sadly, this once beautiful structure is no longer with us. …

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The Krones House was built in the 1850s

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An older photo was identified this week as the Krones House, based off its unique footprint of it being built into the slope of the land. Sadly, this once beautiful structure is no longer with us.
The home was built approximately 1850, near the western shore of the Quassaick Creek in our town, a short distance west of the intersection of State Route 32 and State Route 300. From what has been learned, the earliest known owner was George W. Peters (b. 1826, d. 1878). The architecture style was an excellent example of the Greek revival school.
This farm was roughly 64 acres. A barn behind the home, may have dated back to the 1700’s, and may have begun as a smaller structure, possible a home. The barn had fallen in to disrepair and collapsed the early part of the 1900’s.
The Krones House was deeded over to the Town of Newburgh in 1978, by the last member of the Krones family who had lived there. At that time, from their reminiscing in local newspaper articles, a sense of family and community is evident. In the early 1900’s, our Town of Newburgh was still a farming community with approximately 5,000 residents.
Attempts were begun to save this structure and have it listed as a historical site. Unfortunately, as the wheels were slowly turning to accomplish this, the structure’s integrity began declining. As those of us who are home owners know, constant maintenance and upkeep is necessary and it seems like it never ends. I guess it doesn’t from my personal experience.

A fire, a case of arson, added to the demise of this beautiful home. With water infiltration from a failing roof, and the damage from the arson added in, the decision was finally made to raze the building. The once happy home is now just a memory, but the land has been added to our Chadwick Lake Park, so perhaps there is a bit of a silver lining.
Many of us are attracted to and attached to these early edifices which formed the beginning or our community. They represent the tenacity and dedication of the first settlers to our area and their immediate descendants who carved away the wilderness and provided us with what we have today.
We all need to realize saving and preserving these things is not a spectator sport. It takes time, commitment, and, yes, funding. Buildings do not survive without maintenance and dedicated caretakers.