The Mynderse-Frederick House is one
of Guilderland's early taverns. It was built in 1802 by Nicholas Mynderse,
the first Guilderland town supervisor and a prosperous merchant. Michael
Frederick, a descendent of one of the area's early settlement families,
bought the house in the 1820s and operated it as a tavern. Three generations
of the Frederick family continued tavern operations here until 1917,
when the building became their private home.
A significant reminder of Guilderland's
early settlement
and growth, the Mynderse-Frederick House, is a fine example of Federal
and Greek Revival-era architecture. The Federal architecture is characterized
by long, narrow pillar-and-scroll decoration. a low-pitched roof,
and elliptical fan-light windows. Several of the windowpanes are original
and probably were made at the Hamilton Glass Works at Guilderland
village. This is a five-bay, center entrance house with 15 rooms.
Additions included a two-story front
entrance porch and rear wings which appealed to the tastes of the
Frederick family. Victorian porches and a latticed well house were
both removed in later years in order to return the house to its
original
appearance. The house and property were sold in 1974 to develop an
apartment complex. The developer then donated the house to the
town
for use as a historic museum. Now in addition to being a museum,
the house serves as headquarters for a chapter of the Old Hellebergh
Chapter, NSDAR, the Guilderland
Garden Club, and the Guilderland Historical Society. Each December
the Garden Club puts on its Annual Greens show here.
