Blackwell House: The Farm That Gave the Island Its Name

New York · United States · House · Scare 3/5

Blackwell House is one of the oldest surviving farmhouses in New York, built around 1796 by the Blackwell family who owned the island and gave it its old name.

Blackwell House is one of the oldest surviving farmhouses in New York, built around 1796 by the Blackwell family who owned the island and gave it its old name. The plain wooden house in the Federal style remained standing while the city bought the island in 1828 and filled it with institutions around the old farm. During the institutional years the house was used among other things as staff housing. It is one of the few traces left from the time before the island became the city's holding place, and it was restored and preserved as a landmark. Here you can sense how the island looked when it was still farmland in the middle of the river.

An old wooden house that has survived two centuries of demolition and institutions carries stories easily. Local lore around Blackwell House speaks of footsteps on the upper floor of the empty house, of doors that move and of a sense of an earlier family that never quite left. The real charge of the house lies elsewhere, in the contrast: this was an ordinary home, a family farm, that ended up surrounded by the city's asylum and prison. It stood there and watched it all happen.

FAQ

How scary is Blackwell House: The Farm That Gave the Island Its Name?

Blackwell House: The Farm That Gave the Island Its Name has a scare factor of 3/5 according to Haunted Places’ verified ratings.

Where is Blackwell House: The Farm That Gave the Island Its Name located?

Blackwell House: The Farm That Gave the Island Its Name is in New York, United States.

Image: Jack Boucher · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons