I know of only one standing historic Colden house remaining on the original acres. It's located on the northern part of the patent and was the home of Thomas Colden, grandson of Cadwallader Sr. I have yet to see the house because it is occupied and permission needs to be arranged. Occupied is a good thing because it means, unlike the other Colden buildings, there actually is a house to see. Elsewhere on the original property there are remains of stone walls which I've been told were tenants houses, the recently reclaimed ruin of Cadwallader Jr's house built in 1767 and an educated guess as to the location of the original family home, built in 1724 but no longer existing. 1724 is pretty old, even by Hudson Valley standards but many homes from that period still exist in the area including my own, which was built in 1750 or earlier. This leads me to wonder why my house, never occupied by a historic figure, was preserved and the Colden homes were not.Jane's father Cadwallader Colden was a prominent citizen of colonial New York. In addition to his scientific studies and well respected books, he served for many years as Surveyor General in the mostly unmapped colony and was appointed to the Provincial Council, an important 12 member group serving the governor. At various times he served as Lieutenant Governor and was part of the prominent society that governed the colony for the British Royal Crown. You might think all of this would lead to the careful conservation of his properties but being a conscientious servant of the crown, he remained a fierce Loyalist as the colonies prepared to revolt. The Colden family was on the "wrong" side of the Revolution and before the war began left Coldengham, seeking security in Flushing, NY. Unlike the heroes of the revolution whose homes and headquarters are now historic sites and museums, the Colden homes eventually changed hands, were neglected and mostly fell to ruin. As a Tory, Cadwallader Colden became a forgotten figure in history and I suspect his unpopularity doomed Coldengham to the same fate.
