Name/Title
Letter Brick Castle, Montgomery House, Hill-Hold & Bull Stone House by Robert Eurich Aug 1975Entry/Object ID
000389Tags
Letter Brick Castle, Montgomery House, Hill Hold, Bull Stone HouseSubject
Brick Castle, Montgomery House, Hill-Hold, and the Bull homestead.
From her windows at the Brick Castle Mrs. Amy Bull Crist can look at virtually the same Wallkill River setting that her ancestor, Captain William Bull, saw when he built the house there in 1780. It was originally a gambrel roofed structure with an abundance of heavy, bold, late Georgian woodwork. The roofline was changed to a gable and much Greek Revival trim was added probably in the 1820's. The front porch was a late 19th century addition. Some original furnishings still remain at Brick Castle. It is one of a dwindling number of great Orange County homesteads.
Until recently Montgomery House was a windowless ruin. It had become such after its last owner, an eccentric poet, retired to a nursing home. When acquired by the present owners the huge rooms were littered with broken furniture. There were snow drifts in the dining room. The side wing of the house was built in 1771 by Hans Smith, a German-Palatine. There was a Palatine church across the road. The settlement was called Harrison Meeting. Johannes Miller built the main section of the house about 1790. It is a fine example of a transition style from Georgian to Federal. A Greek Revival cornice was added about 1830. The shingles date from the 1930's. The exquisite landscaping was begun only in 1969. The host here is Mr. Robert Wiggins.
During the decade before the outbreak of the American Revolution a small group of related Georgian Country mansions was built in the Newburgh-Montgomery area. Crude by cosmopolitan standards, they were, however, elegant homes in the Hudson Valley wilderness. The latest of the group - Hill-Hold - was built in 1769 by Thomas Bull, brother of Captain William Bull of the Brick Castle. The interior paneling at Hill-Hold is believed to have been executed by the same carpenter who did the interiors of the great Colden mansion, now in ruins. (Colden's parlor paneling is now in the Metropolitan Museum). Hill-Hold remained in the Bull-Jackson family until 1969 when it was willed to the Orange County Parks Department. It is now being restored for museum use. The Greek Revival porch and cornice are slated for removal. Some Bull-Jackson family furnishings remain in the house.
William Bull was a stonemason born at Wolverhampton, England. He came to Orange County and in 1718 married Sarah Wells, daughter of an early patentee. Her crewel wedding dress is still in the stone house they built in 1722. Their sons built Hill-Hold and the Brick Castle. The stone house still retains its original staircase and some early paneling. A slatted partition in the cellar is believed to have have been originally an exterior fence - perhaps a unique survival of an 18th century American picket fence. The stone house with its Dutch barn and surrounding acreage are owned and maintained by the Bull Family Association. Mr. and Mrs. Michael Brown, the current residents are direct descendants of William and Sarah Wells Bull.
Robert C. Eurich
August, 1975Relationships
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Bull Stone House, Letter Brick Castle, Montgomery House, Hill Hold