An FPV drone tour of a classic home in South Nyack.
Willow Knoll is a cobblestone craftsman style house that was built for Joseph Ellicott in 1891. Joseph was the inventor of the air brake and worked as an executive for several different manufacturing concerns.
The site of Willow Knoll is an old sandstone quarry. In operation from the 1700s to the early 1800’s this quarry provided stone for many brownstones in New York City. The property slopes up from River Road and terminates on the west side with a tiny cliff that is grown over with vegetation.
Built as Joseph Ellicott’s summer home, the exterior is clad in field stones. The heavy stone exterior and the abundant shade trees work to keep the interior cool in the sweltering New York summer heat.
The interior of the house is actually rather simple for the period when it was built. 1891 was the height of the Victorian age and most well to do families were building very ornate structures. By contrast you will see simple exposed beams in the living room and dining room. Throughout the house are hand hewn benches and moldings that give the house a bit of a rustic feel. Most of the floors throughout the house are original as well.
The house itself is 4500 square feet and boasts 6 bedrooms and 5.5 baths. The high ceilings give it an open and airy feel. Turret rooms off the living room and master bedroom offer shaded views of the Hudson river. The breakfast room was once the butler’s pantry and has a gas fireplace.
A key characteristic of this summer home is a 1000 square foot porch ready for neighborly conversations or coffee and a newspaper in the morning. The arches frame out a picturesque view of seasoned trees with glimpses of the Mario Cuomo Bridge.
Walking through the house you will find various cubbies along with remnants of technology long gone. I came across the original fuse panel walking up the stairs and there is an old gas lighting fixture next to the fireplace in the living room.
Traveling to the west side of the property we find a guest house that is nestled against the sandstone cliff. This guest house has many of the charming traits of the main house such rough hewn beams in the ceiling and a stone fireplace. The grand picture window in the front looks off into the garden and helps to give the cottage a vibrant airy feeling.
The gardens and landscape are in well maintained conditioned, but the southwest corner of the property has been graded for a more ornate display of flora. There is an old stone structure that looks as though it was once a storage place for tools and pots. Stone banisters remain that supported what I would assume to have been a trellis. We will go under a tiny little bridge that crosses a drainage channel. It would be interesting to see what this corner of the property would look like if someone with a green thumb took an interest in it again.