In the 1800s, migrant truth Lived and worked at this Hudson Valley estate in New York, which eventually became known as the Vanderlip Mansion. Much later, in the 1970s, came a vampire.
But Truth, a leader in the women’s rights and abolitionist movements, might not have blinked at that bloodsucker’s arrival—because when she lived on the estate she was employed by one Robert Matthews, the self-styled second coming of the Messiah. Was appointed for
“You can’t make this stuff up,” Alexandra Shaw of Corcoran Legends Realty told the Post. Shaw is not only the listing agent for 3 Beechwood Way, one of three homes built from the Vanderlip mansion — now part of Beechwood in the Scarborough community — but she also lives in one of the development’s townhouses.
“When I heard about the history I thought I should do some research,” Shaw said. “A neighbor invited me over to look at the history—he’s got all these books stacked up! I didn’t know it would be so extensive.”
Located near the Hudson River in the Scarborough neighborhood of Briarcliff Manor, the Vanderlip Mansion’s latest chapter began in the 1980s when the estate was converted into a housing development. The work built three still-sizable homes, starting at about 4,000 square feet, to the sprawling mansion—and added 34 townhouses on the roughly 33-acre grounds.
Listed for $2.4 million, 3 Beachwood Way has 7,200 square feet, accessed by a grand main entrance that leads to a bright hallway where an elegant staircase leads to the second and third floors with six bedrooms and five bathrooms She goes.
Most of the rooms feature original restored wood paneling and intricate stucco molding—the latter is particularly impressive in the conservatory, which features a fountain topped by three cherubs.
Shaw said, “All previous owners have gone to extensive lengths in conservation, for which I am very grateful.” “Everything has been meticulously taken care of, right down to the powder room.”
Although the original character has been maintained, the home is very livable, with lots of natural light and a modern kitchen and bathroom. The master suite includes a marble soaking tub and a steam shower.
Additionally, the house has a screening room, a wine cellar and a large attic converted into a playroom.
But it’s the history that really matters.
The estate’s story dates back to 1780, when wealthy merchant Benjamin Folger built a farmhouse on an impressive lot along the banks of the Hudson River. Folger and his wife fell prey to the claims of the second coming of the lunatic Messiah Matthews and threw him out of the house. It is not known how Truth became his housekeeper, but the emancipated former slave – born into slavery in a Dutch household in the Hudson Valley – probably just needed work. Somehow she becomes embroiled in a murder trial involving Mathews. They got off that rap, but Madman Matthews was imprisoned for beating his daughter.
Around 1850, Henry Remsen, a financier and bank executive at the Manhattan Company, now Chase Manhattan Bank, who also served as private secretary to second President Thomas Jefferson, purchased the property as a summer home for his family. His brother-in-law, railway tycoon Henry Walter Webb, began buying land in Scarborough, eventually taking over Remsen’s house as well. Webb created a vast estate and engaged architect RH Robertson to expand the mansion, including adding a wing at 3 Beechwood Way and giving the house a Colonial Revival slant away from the early Federal style.
In 1906, the house was purchased by Frank Vanderlip, vice president of First National City Bank, now Citibank. Vanderlip and his wife Narcissa enlisted Frederick Law Olmsted, best known as the designer of Central Park, to cultivate the extensive grounds; architect William W. Bosworth, whose achievements included the restoration of the Palace of Versailles and the rebuilding of Paris Notre Dame Cathedral RoofThe mansion was brought in to be converted into a Gilded Age show home.
The Vanderlips welcomed Woodrow Wilson, actress Sarah Bernhardt, Henry Ford, FDR, and friends such as Eleanor Roosevelt and John D. Rockefeller as guests. According to Shaw, during a house party, the Wright brothers landed a plane on the great lawn, which still exists today as a communal property facility.
Shaw of the Wild West icon said, “According to Frank’s son, Annie Oakley used to ‘come up and shoot the place’.” “His words, not mine.”
Vanderlip rose from farmhand to journalist, a bank president, and assistant secretary of the United States Treasury, where he played a role in establishing the Federal Reserve System. He also founded the Scarborough School, the first Montessori school in the United States, and developed Palos Verdes in California.
“He was a self-made man who ran with a very exclusive crowd,” Shaw said. “He wrote a book titled ‘From Farm Boy to Financier’ telling his story.”
Meanwhile, Narcissa, close friends with Eleanor Roosevelt and both prominent in women’s suffrage, founded the League of Women Voters and pushed for legislative change, resulting in passage of the 19th Amendment allowing women to vote.
Frank Vanderlip died in 1937.
“Once Frank passed, the magic wore off and the property was not kept in the best condition,” Shaw said. Until the 1970s, the property was leased out for the shooting of movies and TV shows.
And then came the vampires.
“House of Dark Shadows”, a movie spin-off from the “Dark Shadows” TV show about the vampire Barnabas Collins, was filmed in part there.
“That was actually filmed at 3 Beachwood Way now,” Shaw said.
The days of property drama seem to be over and the homeowners live here, enjoying relative bucolic splendor. “It’s a quiet place, and feels private,” Shaw said. “But it’s got all this history and that makes the place more interesting, I think.”