26 Front St Schenectady

 Christopher Yates House

Local historians have debated for decades the provenance and veracity of the traditional assertion that 26 Front Street is the birthplace of New York Governor Joseph C. Yates in 1768.  What can be determined is that property at the site came into the ownership of Joseph Yates, grandfather of the Governor, in the early 1730s, and it is likely that a small house on the lot at that time is now incorporated into the northwest corner of the present structure.  Joseph may have given this property to his son Christopher when he married Jannetje (Jane) Bratt in 1761.  Christopher was a surveyor who served during the American Revolution as a colonel of a regiment of “fatigue men” (military engineers) and was in the process of enlarging and remodeling the earlier house when he died in 1785 at the age of 48.  Ignoring the advice of her brother-in-law to set her sons to trades, his widow Jane saw to their education and their son Joseph C. became an attorney and went on to become Governor.

Historic photographs of the house prior to remodeling in 1891 show a five-bay wide two story brick Georgian house rising from an ashlar stone foundation, with a dentiled brick beltcourse between the first and second floor windows, splayed gauged brick flat arch lintels above window openings, a pedimented surround at the front entrance, Dutch style two-part door, wood cornice with built-in gutter, and a gambrel roof with shed dormers.  The brick was laid in English cross bond:   traces of the c. 1785 brickwork can be seen on the sidewalls.  Interestingly, the dormer windows retained eight-light over eight-light double-hung sash with small panes of glass, while windows at the first and second floor were six-light over six-light sash, which may have replaced earlier windows in the early 19th century when larger panes of glass became available and popular.

In 1891, following its purchase by Alonzo P. Walton, the entire front and much of the interior was remodeled.  The front façade was reconstructed with brick laid in an American common bond pattern over a brownstone foundation.  The wood entry stoop was replaced with stone.  The gambrel roof was retained, but a substantial projecting cornice with brackets was added and the shape of dormers changed from shed roof to gable roof.  Multi-pane window sash were replaced with one-light over one-light double-hung sash, ornamental decorative lintels added above window openings, and a projecting square bay window supported on scrolled brackets was added over the paired entry doors.