The Willows at Brandow's Point

The Project

The Greene Land Trust purchased this historic home from Scenic Hudson on October 1, 2009. The house was built in 1788 for William Brandow. The building is locally known as the Willows at Brandow's point and is located at  480 Route 385 in the town of Athens, Greene County. In November 2009 the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The building is surrounded by land owned by DEC and the County owned Cohotate Nature Preserve is nearby, both have access to the Hudson River. The Trust plans to use the building to support environmental and historical education programs and in the future will also plan to use part of the building as office space for the land trust.

While the building is in reasonably good condition it does need a lot work. Immediate priorities include asbestos remediation in the basement, repairing a failing portion of the foundation and replacing the heat delivery system. A bit further down the line - though not far we hope - are repairs to the windows and siding and replacement of the electrical system. We are consulting with experts to help us determine what else needs to be done.

The House and Family

The house sits on a hill overlooking the Hudson River. The Willows is a relatively large home for the period and is built in the Hudson Valley Dutch Georgian style. It retains much of its historic character including two original split Dutch doors. It was originally built with four bays Dutch style and was subsequently expanded to six bays.  

The farm was owned by the Brandow family for nearly 200 years being purchased by William Brandow from Annake Witbeck in the late 1700s. There is evidence that William's father Johannes had leased the property for a number of years prior to the purchase. The Brandow, family came to the Hudson Valley with the 1710 Palatine German immigration.

A group from Hudson Valley Vernacular Architecture visited the house and published an article about it that is available at their website http://www.hvva.org/hvvanews5-3.htm.