William Floyd House, Westernville, NY

1803
     At an age when most people would be satisfied with reflecting upon their life-long success and service to their country, a 68-year-old General William Floyd left his family estate on Long Island. Together with his second wife, their two daughters, and entrusted servants and slaves, Floyd ventured up the Mohawk Valley to the central part of New York State and settled into their newly constructed home. The General had purchased large tracts of land in this region after the War for Independence. He chose a site in a fertile valley, south of the headwaters of the Mohawk River. This area was about eight miles north of Fort Stanwix, a fort that had played a pivotal role in defeating the British attempt to divide the Colonies during the Revolution. In 1803, this area was considered beyond the civilized boundaries of colonial settlement.
     William Floyd was, by nature and by occupation, a farmer and businessman. He loved the freedom, opportunity, and independence that farming afforded him and was successful in his endeavors. In the early days of the Revolution, it was those successful business skills and leadership qualities that caused the people of Suffolk County, Long Island to send William to the Continental Congress. He served two terms, from 1774-1777 and again from 1779-1783. At the meeting of the Second Continental Congress, he would immortalize himself in American history by signing the Declaration of Independence. Later, the General would serve in the New York State Senate, the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1801, as a member of the House of Representatives of the first Federal Congress and as a Presidential Elector on four occasions.
     Early in the 19th century, free from the rigorous responsibilities of political service and after a failed bid for the office of Lieutenant-Governor of New York State, William Floyd was able to devote himself to his love of farming at his new home in Western. The house, thought to be designed by Floyd, allowed him to resolve a number of architectural conflicts he inherited at his Long Island homestead. The architectural style he chose reflected the conservative personality of the Signer. At a time when people of his means where being swept up in the new Federalist architectural movement, Floyd was quite comfortable in designing his new home in the classical Georgian style. Although high style for the colonial frontier, the house would have been considered old fashioned by urban colonial standards.
     The house was originally a center hall, post and beam structure, comprised of eleven rooms. It sat on substantial acreage, with numerous outbuildings. Before the mid 1800s, two of these outbuildings were attached to the main structure forming a two-story wing. Currently, the house consists of 21 rooms and one original outbuilding, on eight acres in a quiet country village. Time has been kind to the General’s upstate home, having survived virtually intact. It has been home to five owners since leaving the possession of the Floyd family in1951. The house was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971. It’s current owners, Dr. Russell and Jaclyn Marriott, have owned the house since 1977. The philosophy of the on-going restoration and preservation reflects a respect for all the efforts of the previous owners, while focusing on the period in which General William Floyd occupied his estate.
     Although the General’s home is not open to the public, the current owners/caretakers attempt to share this piece of American history through both the written and Internet medias.