Ten Broeck Mansion - Albany, New York

The Ten Broeck Mansion - Albany, New York

This mansion was built in 1797/98 to house General Abraham Ten Broeck and his wife.  The Federal style home was built on 5 acres in the Township of Watervliet.

The home was graced with sloping lawns and formal gardens and named "Prospect".  It had a stunning view of the Hudson River and the traffic of barges and schooners that were always using the river for the trade route of the day.

The house was built by Ten Broeck who had quite a list of accomplishments to his name as early as 1775 when he served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, then in 1777 as a brigadier general, he commanded the New York Militia at the famous Battle of Saratoga. From 1779-1783 he served as both mayor of Albany and as a member of the State Senate. Governor George Clinton appointed Ten Broeck the first judge of the Court of Common Pleas, in 1781.

He was also the first president of the Bank of Albany, first president of the Albany Public Library, and as a trustee of Union College.

He lived in his mansion for just 12 years before his death in 1810, his wife, Elizabeth, lived in the mansion for another three years until she passed away.

Over the next 30 years, the character of the house changed. It was refurbished and renovated in the then-fashionable Greek Revival style.

Thomas Worth Olcott purchased the residence in 1848 and renamed it Arbour Hill, after the surrounding area which today is an Albany neighborhood known by that name.  The Olcott family, one of the most prominent in Albany banking and civic improvement circles, was responsible for the addition of the first-floor butler’s pantry and the second-floor bathrooms, both of which reflect the Victorian style of the late 19th Century.

In 1948, after 100 years of Olcott family ownership, the Mansion was presented by the heirs of Robert Olcott to the Albany County Historical Association.

HOURS

Open for tours May – December
Thursday & Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission $5; students & seniors $4; children 12 & under $3
Member admission: free

Location: Ten Broeck Mansion & Gardens, 9 Ten Broeck Place, Albany, N.Y. 12210

Phone: (518) 436-9826

Email: achadirector@onecommail.com