Saturday Is Dutch Colonial Day At Onderdonk House
This Saturday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m., the Greater Ridgewood Historical Society (GRHS) will host Dutch Colonial Day at the Onderdonk House.
The GRHS will be conducting tours and offering colonial crafts for children and adults. As detailed in the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission Report in 1995, the Onderdonk House is “a rare surviving late-eighteenth century Dutch American farmhouse in the Borough of Queens, as well as one of the few houses of eighteenth century stone construction in New York City. In particular, it is one of the city’s very few eighteenthcentury Dutch-American stone houses with a gambrel roof. It has associations with many early and interrelated families of settlers, mostly Dutch, of western Long Island.”
Visitors can view the gambrel roof, stone walls, “Dutch” doors with “cross and bible”, wooden shutters, wooden shingled roof, chimneys and fireplaces, restored colonial kitchen and interior wooden framing and permanent exhibit on lathe and plaster construction.
After the tour, guests can view the current exhibits, “Nathanial Woodhull and the Battle of Brooklyn” as well as the Onderdonk Archeology exhibit, including artifacts found onsite during the late 1970s. Crafting and other activities include a history scavenger hunt, writing with quill pens, simulated wampum jewelry and for a special treat we will be making and serving donuts with a modern twist!
The Onderdonk House, located at 1820 Flushing Ave. in Ridgewood, is open to the public on Saturdays during the winter, from 1 to 4 p.m. or by reservation. For information on this and the other programs conducted by the Society, visit www.onderdonkhouse.org.
The Onderdonk House can be reached by public transportation. The Q54 bus passes two blocks away on Metropolitan Avenue and the B57 passes the house on Flushing Avenue. By subway, take the L train to Jefferson Street, then walk five blocks east along Flushing Avenue.
On-street parking is available, plentiful and free.
This event is funded in part from public service grants from the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and supported by City Council Members and Antonio Reynoso and Elizabeth Crowley and GRHS members.
