Topline
A sprawling private estate in New York state with ties to one of the nation’s founding families has hit the market for the first time in America’s history at $14 million.
Called the Lake Delaware Farm, the 1,600-acre parcel spans the western Catskill towns of Delhi and Bovina and includes a 68-acre private lake, boathouse, 7,000-square-foot home and eight-car garage.
The stately home has quadrupled in size since it was originally built in 1787 and now has nine bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, six fireplaces, marble fireplace mantels, a carved spiral staircase, butler's pantry, bar and elevator.
The house, designed in the Grecian style, sits at the end of a winding driveway lined with rock walls and outfitted with delicate iron gates and there are several outbuildings, including barns, stables and others that could serve as staff or guest quarters.
The home has for centuries belonged to the Livingston family, whose members include signatories of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution, and the current listing is the first time it has ever been offered for sale outside of the family.
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The parcel is part of 2 million acres in the Catskill Mountains given to loyal subjects by England's Queen Anne in 1708. The portion for sale is part of the hundreds of thousands of acres given to the Livingston family and passed to Gertrude Livingston (whose brother swore George Washington in as president) when she married Morgan Lewis, a member of Washington’s army during the Revolution, governor of New York and a Supreme Court justice. Livingston and Lewis built the original home on the property in 1787 and used it as a summer retreat. At its peak, the estate encompassed thousands of acres, with a mansion, working farms, stables and a private chapel, according to listing agent Norah Burden with real estate firm Brown Harris Stevens.
Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, as well as First Lady Eleanor Roosevelet, are all descendants of the Livingston family.
