Home of William Church

This was the home of William Church, the rental agent. Farmers came to his office to have crops weighed. Farmers paid rent in bushels of wheat or with tithes. The agent could evict people if they failed to pay their rent.

Anti Rent War: When Stephen Van Rensselaer originally leased his sprawling acres to tenants, annual rentals were stipulated but seldom collected. After his death, his son William attempted to collect rents, touching off the Anti-Rent Wars in eastern New York State.

The Anti-Renters claimed the Van Rensselaer patroon system was inconsistent with the spirit of U.S. democratic and republican institutions because it bound farmers to the land without ownership.

Farmers dressed in calico or Native American disguises, harassed and intimidated the rent collectors. One such incident in 1869, resulted in the death of Sheriff Willard Griggs.

Source: Josephine Schweigert, Town Historian