Old Stone House / Vechte-Cortelyou House

Old Stone House / Vechte-Cortelyou House West Facade

Old Stone House / Vechte-Cortelyou House East Facade

Old Stone House / Vechte-Cortelyou House South Facade

Old Stone House / Vechte-Cortelyou House North Facade

The Old Stone House in Washington Park - J.J. Byrne Playground was once far more than a Department of Park's and Recreation museum and comfort station. The house was the home of an early Dutch settler, as well as the site of an epic battle between the British and revolutionaries in America's fight for independence. The house itself is not the original but a replica rebuilt from the buried ruins of the house.[1]

The original farmhouse was built by Dutch settler Claes Arentson Vechte in 1699 adjacent to the Gowanus Creek near the current replica. The house was passed from generation to generation within the Vechte family until Nicholas R. Cowenhoven sold it to Jacques Cortelyou in 1797.[1] The house was sold again in 1852 and was used as a clubhouse for a skating club and later the first clubhouse for the Brooklyn Baseball Club, the team that would become the Brooklyn Dodgers. During the tenure of the Brooklyn Baseball Club, the adjacent site, Washington Park, hosted the 1889 and 1890 World Series.[2] In 1897 the house was razed, then buried.[1]

During the Revolutionary War the house was used by the British as a staging area to shell retreating American troops with artillery. After the collapse of American positions on August  27th 1776 in the Battle of Brooklyn the British commandeered the house and began firing on the Maryland Brigade.[1] The American troops led by General Alexander Sterling counterattacked six times, overtaking the house on two occasions only to be repulsed.[3] Casualties were high with almost three quarters of the brigade killed; however their valiant effort allowed Washington's Army to escape across the Gowanus marshes to fight another day.[1][2]

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References:

1. "J.J. Byrne Playground" New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Online
2. "Old Stone House" Historic House Trust online.
3. "The Old Stone House" New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Interpretive Sign